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Biden's Israel Visit a Kickstart
by John Lyons
 The U.S. is about to begin another
push to restart the Middle East peace talks with the highest-level
visit to Israel by the Obama administration. Vice-President
Joe Biden arrives in Israel on Monday with two aims: to restart the
peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians and to discuss possible
responses to Iran's nuclear program. The visit comes as U.S.
mediators try to bring together key ministers from Israel and the
Palestinian Authority, to foster goodwill. The aim would be that these talks would be a step towards leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas resuming talks. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell returns to the region this weekend
to try to start the proximity talks. (Australian)
Support for Israel in U.S. at 63%, Near Record High
by Lydia Saad
 For the first time since 1991, more than 6 in 10 Americans -- 63% --
say their sympathies in the Middle East situation lie more with the
Israelis than with the Palestinians. Fifteen percent side more with the
Palestinians, down slightly from recent years, while a combined 23%
favor both sides, favor neither side, or have no opinion. The 63% sympathizing with Israel today is statistically unchanged
from the 58% to 59% seen from 2006 to 2009; however, it is considerably
higher than most of the previous readings on this Gallup measure since
1993. The trend includes two 38% readings in 1996 and 1997. Only in January 1991 -- shortly after Israel was hit by Iraqi Scud
missiles during the Gulf War -- did U.S. support for Israel register as
high as it does today. (Gallup)
Israel Begins Distributing Gas Masks
 Israel has begun distributing new gas masks to its 7 million citizens to offer protection against a possible chemical attack. Israel's postal service is handing out the equipment. It says the process will take about three years. Distribution began Sunday. The Israeli military says it is routine and not in response to a specific threat. Israel believes a chemical attack could potentially come from Syria or Iran. (AP-Washington Post)
Ahmadinejad Calls 9/11 ‘A Big Fabrication’
by Robert Mackey
 In remarks reported by IRNA, the official Iranian news agency, and translated by Reuters, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday, “The September 11 incident was a big fabrication
as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for
staging an invasion against Afghanistan.” Ahmadinejad also
reportedly described the attacks in New York as a “complicated
intelligence scenario and act.” In a speech during Iran's annual anti-Israel day
in September, Mr. Ahmadinejad said of the Holocaust, “The pretext for
the creation of the Zionist regime is false.” He added: “It is a lie
based on an unprovable and mythical claim.” (New York Times)
The Son of Hamas: "They Need to Be Liberated from Their God"
by Matthew Kaminski
 Mosab, 32, is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founder and leader of
the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Throughout the last decade, from
the second Intifada to the current stalemate, he worked alongside his
father in the West Bank. During that time the younger Mr. Yousef also
secretly embraced Christianity. And as he reveals in his book "Son of
Hamas," out this week, he became one of the top spies for Israel's
internal security arm, the Shin Bet.
The news of this double conversion has
sent ripples through the Middle East. One of Mr. Yousef's handlers at
the Shin Bet confirmed his account to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz.
Hamas—already reeling from the assassination of a senior military chief
in Dubai in January—calls his claims Zionist propaganda. (Wall Street Journal)
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Pro-Israel Groups Set to Counter Campus Apartheid Claims
by Ben Harris
 At universities across the globe, the annual springtime ritual known
as Israel Apartheid Week is kicking off this week, and Jewish students
and pro-Israel groups have been readying themselves to respond in force. Unlike past years, when intense pro-Palestinian activity in the wake
of Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon caught many Jewish students
off guard, this year the pro-Israel community is ready with initiatives
of its own. The largest effort, Israel Peace Week, is helping coordinate
responses at 40 campuses and counting. "In the U.S., I'm aware of some isolated pockets of activity, but in
five years that IAW has been running, we haven't seen it catch on in
the mainstream campus community," said Stephen Kuperberg, the director
of the Israel on Campus Coalition, an umbrella group comprising 33
groups. (JTA)
Clinton Appears to Extend Timeline for Iran Sanctions
by Lachlan Carmichael
 U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton said Monday it could take months for new UN
sanctions against Iran, appearing to back away from her contention
before the Senate last week that a new resolution could be obtained in
the "next 30 to 60 days."
"We are moving expeditiously and thoroughly in the Security Council. I
can't give you an exact date, but I would assume sometime in the next
several months," she said before landing in Buenos Aires. (AFP)
IDF's Newest Heroes: Women Spotters on Gaza Border
by Anshel Pfeffer
 At an Israel Defense Forces command center on the border with Gaza, six 18- and 19-year-old female soldiers sit staring at screens that show what's happening inside the Strip. They are under the command of a woman their own age who, for her four-hour shift, is responsible for monitoring dozens of kilometers inside Gaza. When fog sets in and the monitors become useless, the spotters switch to radar. Dozens of terrorists have been hit after being identified by the spotters. (Ha'aretz)
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Palestinian Sees Lesson Translating an Israeli’s Work
by Ethan Bronner
 Six years ago, when violence was the order of the day in Jerusalem, Elias Khoury’s 20-year-old son, George, was killed in a Palestinian
terrorist attack. The Khourys are Palestinian, so the murder of George
— who was out for a jog and shot from behind by gunmen in a car —
produced an apology. Sorry, the killers said, we assumed the jogger was
a Jew. Mr. Khoury was not only disconsolate, he was appalled. A prominent
Jerusalem lawyer who often fights Israeli confiscations of land from
Palestinians, he considered violence a toxin corroding his nation’s core. So in memory of George, a charismatic law student and musician, Mr.
Khoury did something that shocked many in his community. He paid for
the translation into Arabic of the autobiography of Israel’s most prominent author and dove, Amos Oz.
The Arabic version of the book, “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” went on
sale late last month in Beirut, Lebanon, where it has received positive
commentary. (New York Times)
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