News Nosh 02.13.15

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday February 13, 2015

Number of the day:
61.
Percentage of Israelis who think that the US administration is intervening in Israeli elections.**


Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Israel Prize: The disgrace – Attorney General ordered Netanyahu: Stop intervening
  • Habayit Hayehudi: Netanyahu wants to destroy us and establish a left-wing government
  • Not everything is accepted, Bibi // Nahum Barnea
  • Judges on behalf of // Meir Shalev
  • Shoots and cries // Sima Kadmon
  • They don’t take them into account // Ben-Dror Yemini
  • The pistol is on the table // Yoaz Hendel
  • After the dust: Rain and snow
  • Without him – Girlfriend of First Sgt. Dor Haim Nini, who was killed in the north, in a moving interview
  • How much did they pay them for this photo – How Instagram turned into a business for celebrities
Maariv Weekend (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom
  • “If Obama bypasses Congress – he is hiding something”; Steinitz: Iran is not compromising in the negotiations with the West in 7 of the 8 issues;
  • The deal was exposed: “It was agreed to form a central block with Lieberman as Prime Minister” – Faina Kirschenbaum breaks her silence and claims: “There was a plan to dismiss Netanyahu after the elections”; Elections Committee rejected Zouebi’s and Marzel’s candidacy
  • Israel Prize: Wave of resignations, protests and accusations
  • Selective protest: Give expression also to others // Dror Eydar
  • Be careful of the hnor of the Hebrew culture // Omer Lachmanovitch

**Election 2015 Polls:
Maariv Poll: Almost even – Netanyahu leads by only one mandate over Zionist Camp. Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid continues to rise, Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu makes some improvement and support for Naftali Bennett’s Habayit Hayehudi drops.
 
Likud: 24; Zionist Camp: 23; Joint (Arab) List with Hadash: 13; Yesh Atid: 12; Habayit Hayehudi: 11; Yehadut Hatorah: 7, Kulanu: 7; Shas: 6; Meretz: 6; Yisrael Beiteinu: 6; Yachad: 5
 
Do you think that the US administration is intervening in Israeli elections? 61% yes; 31% no; 8% don’t know.
What should Netanyahu do regarding the criticism over his planned speech in Congress? 41% go and speak; 36%: don’t go at all; 17% go, but speak only before AIPAC; 6%: don’t know.

News Summary:
Disqualifications made the top stories in the Friday Hebrew newspapers. More withdrawals of jurors and candidates (David Grossman spoke to media after withdrawing candidacy) as storm continues over Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s move disqualifying judges on jury of the esteemed Israel Prize (update: Netanyahu retracted today following order by Attorney General), while the Central Elections Committee disqualified firebrand Arab MK Haneen Zouebi (Balad) and far right-wing Kahanist MK Baruch Marzel (Yachad) from running in the upcoming elections (Maariv and Haaretz+ write about the stormy hearing), despite the Attorney General recommendation not to disqualify Zouebi, now leaving it to the High Court to make the decide.
 
Meanwhile, Habayit Hayehudi accuses Netanyahu of both trying to steal its voters, even though the far-right-wing party is Likud’s #1 ally in a future coalition, and of planning to form a left-wing government – which would not be supported by Habayit Hayehudi’s far right-wing voters. And ISIS said it has captured a 19-year-old Mossad spy from E. Jerusalem. Muhammad Musallam's family denied he was a spy.

Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.