News Nosh 03.06.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday March 6, 2016
 
Number of the day:
115,000,000.
--The amount of dollars donated in the last eight years to the far right-wing Elad organization, which champions Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem - much of it coming from shadowy companies based in global tax shelters.

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • “I was very hurt by your actions” – A year ago, the woman accusing (Brig. Gen.) Buchris of rape sent him a letter
  • Police in the news room // Abdullah Bozkurt, Chief editor of Zaman newspaper in Ankara
  • Investigation: Civil marriage under auspices of Rabbinical Court (which didn’t pay attention to the paper work)
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only) Israel Hayom
  • US: Battle over every  alliance – ahead of Florida primaries
  • Brig. Gen. Buchris affair: Face-off – and polygraph
  • Indictment in US: Israelis illegally sold at kiosks
  • Celebrating 25 (years of marriage. Photo of Netanyahu couple)
  • Bill: Private nursery schools must install security cameras
  • Turkey in a storm: Police took over ‘Zaman’ newspaper, which opposes Erdogan; Enormous demonstrations in Istanbul


News Summary:
The Turkish state takes over its biggest newspaper, Russia postpones the shipment of missiles to Iran and tension mounts in Israel ahead of a face-off between an esteemed Israeli Brigadier General Ofek Buchris and the woman accusing him of rape making top stories in the Hebrew newspapers along with an alleged car-ramming attack. Also in the news, Israeli opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog slammed the ‘radical left-wing in an attempt to advance his alternative diplomatic plan with the Palestinians and US Vice President Joe Biden will arrive in Israel on Tuesday, but reportedly won’t be focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to a ‘Al-Jarida’ Kuwaiti daily, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to stop the delivery of the advanced aerial defense system because Iran failed to live up to its promise not deliver advanced weaponry to Hezbollah. Putin reportedly received the proof from Israel. Meanwhile, a Hezbollah official warned that if a conflict breaks out with Israel, Hezbollah forces “won't stay in Lebanon; they will reach the Galilee” inside Israel.
 
In what Yedioth called an attempt to advance his diplomatic separation plan from the Palestinians, Zionist Union leader, MK Isaac Herzog, said the “Israeli public is sick of hearing from the radical left-wing that blames Israel for the situation, without offering solutions that preserve Israel’s security, and from the radical right-wing, which forces us to annex the masses of Palestinians in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria.” Herzog’s plan calls for unilaterally disengaging from the Palestinians – for which it was criticized by some in the left-wing. According to a Channel 2 News poll, Herzog's party, Zionist Union, has lost popularity. Likud would also lose four mandates if elections were held today. Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, however, has jumped in popularity. Last Friday, papers reported about behind-the-scenes plans to rid Likud and the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
 
In violence on Friday, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the West Bank after being hit by a car driven by a Palestinian woman, who was shot dead by soldiers. Hundreds attended the funeral of Amani Husni Sabatin, a 34-year-old mother of four, in Husan. The head of Husan's village council rejected the allegation that she had attempted to carry out an attack. Sabatin’s husband works in Israel. But Yedioth/Ynet’s Elior Levy reported that ‘it was reported’ that she made the attack in a successful suicide attempt after she got in a fight with her husband, who according to Palestinian sources, beat her and accused her of adultery.
 
Quick Hits:
  • Israeli forces shoot 12-year-old with live fire - and man carrying him away in West Bank protests during Israeli Apartheid Week - Palestinian and international activists demonstrated in marches in the occupied West Bank during Israeli Apartheid Week on Friday, with Israeli forces targeting several protests with tear gas and live fire, injuring a 12-year-old boy and the man trying to carry him away. (Maan+VIDEO)
  • Surveillance cameras to be installed on Temple Mount  - Live-streaming footage from closed-circuit TV grid across holy site to be monitored by Israeli and Jordanian officials. No cameras will be installed inside Al-Aqsa mosque. Jerusalem official says measure will help maintain order on the Temple Mount. (Israel Hayom)
  • At least 1 Palestinian detained by Israeli police after Jerusalem fist fight between Israelis and Palestinians -  Israeli police said 19-year old Israeli suffered from “light head wounds” on Friday after verbal argument between three Israeli youths and three young Palestinians turned into fist fight. However, witnesses said Israeli forces detained two Palestinians after they were attacked by an Israeli as they were walking in the Old City. (Maan and Haaretz)
  • PLO seeks international pressure over Israel's withholding of bodies - Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat on Friday urged the international community to pressure Israel to release the bodies of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces while allegedly carrying out attacks. (Maan)
  • Gazan farmers forced to leave land after Israeli forces open fire - Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli soldiers stationed on the Israeli side of the borderline opened fire on the farmers while they were tending to their land. No injuries were reported. (Maan)
  • Rights groups call on Israel to reject bill banning mosques from broadcasting call to prayer - The bill would infringe on religious freedom, Israel Democracy Institute says ahead of Sunday's vote at ministerial panel. (Haaretz+)
  • Newborn twins left homeless after Israel demolishes Palestinian terrorist's home - Nineteen people were left without homes when the houses of two Palestinians who perpetrated terrorist attacks were razed last week. Since the start of the uprising, Israel has razed 31 homes, not all of them intentionally. (Haaretz+) 
  • 2 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against administrative detention - 26-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Hasan al-Fasfous began a strike on Feb. 20, after his detention was renewed without trial for the third six-month period in a row, said a lawyer for the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs. (Maan
  • Fire erupts in Jerusalem prison for Palestinian detainees - A fire erupted on Thursday in the ceiling of the Russian compound detention center in west Jerusalem, filling cells with smoke before prisoners were evacuated. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces detain 6 Palestinians, including 2 boys, near Hebron - The two children -- identified as Bakr Mahmoud Ali Najajreh, 13, and Abeer Youssef Makhamreh, 10 – were detained around noon on Saturday while they were herding sheep in near Yatta. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces target ambulance crew during Bethlehem clashes - The tear gas canister smashed through the front window of the ambulance, causing two of its crew to suffer excessive tear gas inhalation. (Maan)
  • Education Minister Bennett Refuses to Fund Training for Arab Women Doing National Service - Ministry only funds national service training for women whose positions are from the ministry itself, most of them religious Jewish women. (Haaretz+) 
  • Mizrahi Jewish subjects to get larger school focus - A committee established by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, headed by poet Erez Biton, is to examine ways to intensify school subjects that deal with culture, history, and Zionism among Jews of non-European descent. (Ynet
  • Bedouin villagers slated for evacuation take their struggle to the streets - After the legal process failed, residents of Atir and Umm al-Hiran protest and vow not to allow their homes to be demolished. (Haaretz+) 
  • UK news site transforms Palestinian attacker in Israel to Moroccan teen in Germany - The Sun claims footage of Palestinian stabbing Israeli shows Moroccan teen stabbing policeman in Germany. (Ynet
  • Israel announces first-ever municipal elections in Negev Bedouin diaspora - Interior Minister Arye Deri sets date for long-delayed polls for two regional councils. (Haaretz+) 
  • Jerusalemites moving to Tel Aviv, Tel Avivians to Ramat Gan - New data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows where 17,000 Jerusalem residents moved to - their preferred destination was Beit Shemesh and other nearby cities, but Tel Aviv wasn't far behind; Tel Avivians also did not stray far from home, moving mostly to neighboring cities. (Ynet
  • Naomi Campbell to Make Maiden Visit to Israel Next Week - The supermodel will be the guest of former President Shimon Peres at an International Women's Day conference hosted by the Peres Center for Peace. (Haaretz
  • Discovered: Rabbi’s letter from Jerusalem 1948, under siege - Letter of first rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Orenstein, and two other letters recently discovered, shed light on the reality faced by residents of the Jewish Quarter during the siege by Arab forces. (Ynet
  • Israeli forces re-open Hebron road in H2 area - The Palestinian military liason office had confirmed the opening of a road leading to Shuhada al-Haram Girl’s School in the Jabal Jawhar area of H2 -- the area of Hebron under full Israeli military control. (Maan
  • Teachers Tutoring Palestinians on Democracy and Cooperation as Strike Enters Fourth Week - Palestinian Authority still refusing to negotiate with teachers’ elected representatives, as 700,000 students miss out on schooling. (Haaretz+ and Maan)
  • Blind Palestinian kids learn English through music in Hebron - However some parents in the religiously conservative town are concerned use of music is not in harmony with Islamic tradition. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Road leading to Gaza crossing in poor repair - With not enough lanes and a defective road plagued with potholes, Route 232 - used by local residents, the IDF and trucks leading humanitarian aid to Gaza - is a dangerous thoroughway to travel on. (Ynet)
  • Brother of senior Hamas member charged with planning attacks in Ukraine, Israel - Sami Habib, who lived in Ukraine between 2010 and 2016, drew up three different plans for terrorist attacks against Israelis in Ukraine and Israel. (Haaretz+ and Ynet
  • Tunnel collapse claims another Hamas victim in the Gaza Strip, Hamas members refuse to dig - At least 11 Hamas operatives have died in tunnel collapses since the beginning of the year. Eisenkot recently said that most of Israel's anti-tunnel activities are 'hidden from the public eye.' (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
  • Israeli envoy to Cairo dismayed over Egyptian MP's ouster - In interview with BBC Arabic, Haim Koren bemoans Egyptian Parliament’s decision to ban MP Tawfik Okasha for five years for meeting with him, says Israel and Egypt have understandings about the Sinai. (Ynet
  • India okays spy plane deal with Israel ahead of PM Modi's visit - The sub-continent is expected to procure some $3 billion worth of military equipment from Israel prior to the visit of Narendra Modi later this year. (Haaretz)
  • U.S. Envoy: ISIS Is Losing in Iraq and Syria, Coalition to Step Up Attacks -  Official Brett McGurk, however, refused to put a timeline on when the group will be defeated. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • U.S. Delivers Eight Black Hawk Helicopters to Jordan to Bolster anti-ISIS Defenses - Jordanian and U.S. officials say another eight Black Hawks would begin arriving next year under a military aid deal worth about $200 million. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Jordanian newspaper sorry for Israeli job ad - Publication says policy is to 'oppose normalization' and apologizes for publishing a job advertisement for Jordanians to work in Eilat, which caused outrage on social media. (Ynet
  • Egypt's Tourism Ministry Holds Memorial for Slain Italian Student - A week after he went missing in Cairo, Giulio Regeni's was found with signs of torture. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Iran Expecting 2016 Economic Growth to Exceed Five Percent in Wake of Sanctions Ease - Energy minister says country is implementing plan to reach eight percent growth, a figure required to deal with inflation, unemployment, says president. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Report: Hezbollah prepares for 'biggest war ever' with Israel - Sources tell Foreign Policy that the group has developed a new level of military organization, the ability to capture and hold Israeli towns, accurate guided missiles, and equipment that could target Israel's air force and navy. (Ynet
  • Turkey's Largest Opposition Daily Zaman Reopens Under Government Control - With its editor-in-chief removed from his post, supporters gather outside the offices of the newspaper decaying what they see as a crackdown on freedom of the press. Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Al-Qaida warns: We are coming to Al-Aqsa - Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula holds major event titled "O Aqsa, We Are Coming.” Hundreds of people in attendance, many of them children. Posters at event glorify various al-Qaida terrorists. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Petition Backing Sanders' Economic Policies Wins Support of 45 Rabbis - 'We declare support for the economic reforms expressed by Senator Sanders in the hope that all candidates for public office will embrace the goal of an economically just society,' says petition. (JTA, Haaretz
  • CUNY to probe anti-Semitism after 'Zionist pig' incident at Brooklyn College - Probe follows a string of incidents across CUNY campuses that ADL characterized as featuring 'anti-Israel bias,' but also praised the university for taking action. (JTA, Haaretz)


Features:
Expose: Right-wing Israeli Group Elad Received Millions From Shadowy Private Donors
Donations to the NGO, which champions Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, topped $115 million over eight years, much from companies based in global tax shelters. (By Uri Blau and Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
 
Krav Maga (touch battle)
Guidance and support for the accusers, education conferences, disciplinary arbitration and warnings to commanders who acted inappropriately. The multiple cases of sexual harassment that made headlines in recent years testifies to the dramatic change that the IDF has gone through in dealing with this subject. But has this war born fruit? (Noam Amir, Maariv’s Magazine supplement, cover)
On a mission to save the exotic zoo animals of Gaza
International nonprofit Four Paws provides food and medical aid to the declining population of six Gaza zoos, including at ‘one of the worst in the world.’ (Rich Tenorio, Haaretz+) 
Meet the IDF's new female combat officers
Of the 360 soldiers in the graduating class of the most recent IDF combat officers’ course, 20 are women; 6 are combatants and 14 are involved in surveillance. They say they didn’t receive any special treatment from their commanders or fellow soldiers during the course, and recommended that every girl follow their path. (Amir Alon, Ynet)
Palestinian Israelis find kinship rescuing Arab refugees, but can’t escape politics - Despite discomfort some feel working with the Israeli organization IsraAID, Arab volunteers in Greece focus on helping refugees. But why, they wonder, isn’t the Arab world joining them? (Leora Eren Frucht, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
The Strategy for Erasing the 1967 Line (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) Nouveau settlers know they need to convince other Israelis that the line is purely imaginary, not an actual border, and gradually they’ll cross it. 
How Netanyahu twists the truth (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister already knew what AG Mandelblit's legal opinion was on expelling the families of terrorists to Gaza, so why did he still send him an open letter requesting for an examination of the issue? 
Not all Jewish millennials are angry with Israel. Some of us are proud (Jason Langsner, Haaretz+) Simone Zimmerman’s fiery op-ed assumes we Jewish millennials speak with one voice on Israel and 'the occupation.' But when she avoids speaking about Palestinian terror, and of Israel’s desire for peace, she doesn’t speak for me. 
With Trump in Mind, Two Rare and Valuable Examples of Leaders Who Refuse to Play on Our Baser Instincts (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) A rabbi from Jerusalem who held his followers in check against harming coexistence, and a Muslim mayoral candidate in London who's totally uninterested in winning an election on communal tensions. 
The PC pendulum (Yoaz Hendel, Yedioth/Ynet) Harassment and abuse of women is an important problem, and most complainants are telling the truth; that said, censoring satire in the name of political correctness can only lead to a Trumpian backlash.
Israel's Government Reaches a New Moral Low (Haaretz Editorial) A state that adopts the legal methods and laws of totalitarian states begins to look like those countries, even if it calls itself 'the only democracy in the Middle East.' 
The scuttlebutt on settlements (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) Pray that Biden doesn't use his visit to Israel to pour more fuel on false fires over settlements.
Israel's military now sees Hezbollah as an army in every sense (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The Shi'ite Lebanese militia's battle experience in Syria raises its game considerably. 
IDF is changing the rules of the game for the next conflict with the “Hezbollah Army" (Alon Ben-David, Maariv) The IDF is preparing new programs that are supposed to bring victory in incidents in the north with an “echoing achievement” by using a “series of surprises.” The IDF is preparing for more than two thousand "on-ground tunnels" on the Lebanese border and are responding with a huge engineering project. 
An Israeli Arab lawmaker can't even get a worthy traffic bill passed (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) The Yisrael Beiteinu party won't vote in favor of any legislation submitted by MKs from the Joint Arab List; MK Tibi: That’s what it’s like to be an Arab in the Knesset. 
A lesson about Jerusalem (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s announced the next school year as The Year of The Unity of Jerusalem; the decision is legitimate: I think it is educationally more important and relevant to visit Jerusalem than to visit Auschwitz. Students will admire the city's natural beauty but will wonder why its streets are so dirty, and will want to know why it is so poor and becoming more ultra-Orthodox. 
The Curious Case of the Palestinian Toddler and the Israeli Policemen (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) Forget what you've read, this is what actually happened when Israeli officers detained a 2-year-old boy from East Jerusalem. And yes, invisible satanic forces were clearly at work. 
Horizon: Charges against the officer could become a stain on the IDF (Avi Benayahu, Maariv) If the investigation confirms the serious accusations against Brig. Gen. Buchris - it will be a black day in the annals of the Israeli military. And also, the storm over the growing of a beard in the army and the real reason for its outbreak.
Maybe Waze Should Determine Israel's Borders (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) There's no reason for optimism for Israel-Palestine. So why do I cling to hope. 
Rivlin was right to bar Zahalka's entry to President's Residence (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The president wanted to promote the five-year plan for development in the Arab sector. He wanted all of Israel's citizens, the Arabs included, to enjoy full rights. But he didn't want provocation.
No Excuse for Violent Disruption of Talks by Israeli Speakers at Universities (Edward Byrne, Haaretz+) U.K. universities have a duty to uphold freedom of speech within the law and will fight against intolerance wherever it is found.
Move the border: It’s easier to violate the right to freedom of speech than to violate human rights (Tehila Schwartz-Altshuler and Elad Mann, Maariv) In this period, we need to call for the narrowing of the mandatory and anti-democratic arrangements and enshrine in legislation the fundamental commitment to freedom of expression and the press. 
The anti-Semitism problem of pro-Palestinian progressives (David Schraub, Haaretz+) Mira Sucharov’s op-ed advanced a familiar cabal: Jews level charges of anti-Semitism to stifle all criticism of Israel. On campus and elsewhere, its effect is to automatically delegitimize most claims of discrimination or marginalization against Jews. 
Jerusalem's secondary casualties (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Terrorist attacks in the capital are down significantly, but tourism, so crucial to the city's economy, is not rebounding, and dozens of businesses are closing down • Meanwhile, Jews and Arabs are growing increasingly mistrustful of each other. 
An Israeli Theory of Justice Only for Jews (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) People who were forced to abandon their homes during a war or riot are entitled to get them back, a professor says. Well, maybe not Palestinians.
Fools of the black prophecy: What can we learn from the election results in Iran (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The victory of the reformists in the Islamic Republic and the ceasefire in Syria: Six lessons from the past week. The lesson from last Sunday: The reformis front won in Iran. Only the fools of black prophecy, deaf and with little faith (most of them, of course), who did not listen to the voices of reason, did learn the facts and did not listen to Obama, were surprised by the sweeping victory of the reformists, who took all 30 seats in the elections in Tehran.
Israel's boorish thugs are a disgrace, but liberal Zionist values will prevail (Ari Shavit, Haaretz+) I look at my government and my capital and feel deep disgrace. Who are these hoodlums who have taken over the government offices and begun smashing and shattering everything precious and sublime that was created here? 
Israel should stay out of the U.S. election (Alfred Moses, Haaretz+) Republican and Democrat presidents have been both supportive of and hostile to Israel. What matters is the candidates' commitment to the bilateral relationship's heart: Israel's military security. 
A Dystopian French Mini-series as a Metaphor for the Israeli Occupation (Michael Handelzalts, Haaretz+) Trepalium, starring Israeli cinematic diva Ronit Elkabetz, offers a bleak 
view of the future and a reflection of our own Israeli present. 
Russia’s New Federal Plan Will Allow It to Divide and Rule Syria (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) While Moscow imagines a Swiss-style canton arrangement, there are countless holes emerging in the cease-fire between the Assad regime and rebel forces. 
Arab states deal Hezbollah a major blow with terror listing (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) After Saudis and Arab League deem Hezbollah a terrorist organizations, Lebanese groups faces new challenges at home and abroad. 
 
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.