News Nosh 03.08.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday March 8, 2016
 
You Must Be Kidding #1: 
“This horrific episode was not an ‘incident."
--Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, writes in letter to UN Secretary General after a UN report on 'The State of Palestinian Women' described the November 2014 terror attack in Jerusalem’s Har Nof synagogue as an “incident" in which five Israelis and two Palestinians were killed.  

You Must Be Kidding #2: 
“Eight-year-old children shouldn’t know the difference between a stun grenade and a gas grenade.”
--One of the unhappy parents told Haaretz+ after Border Policemen gave Israeli second-graders a presentation at school that included explanations of crowd-dispersal tactics and displays of various types of weaponry.


Breaking News:
Palestinian woman, 50, shot and later died after allegedly pulling knife on Border Police in Jerusalem’s Old City
Border Police said she pulled a knife out from behind her back. A witness told Ma’an that Israeli officers shot Fadwa Ahmad Imteir, from E. Jerusalem, several times in al-Wad street, where "she was left bleeding" as the officers prevented locals and paramedics from accessing her. (Ynet, Maariv and Maan)

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Murdered in front of her children – Who shot to death the wife of state witness?
  • Brig. Gen. Buchris affair – After the polygraph: face-off with the accuser
  • The questionable cancelling of the Netanyahu-Obama meeting
  • Women write Yedioth – Chief Justice Miriam Naor, President’s wife Nehama Rivlin and international model Naomi Campbell
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom


News Summary:
The wife of a state witness was gunned down, the IDF general accused of raping a soldier took a polygraph test and a number of Arab Israeli lawmakers sparked a storm for condemning Arab states for listing Hezbollah as a terror organization, while the US administration got angry after learning from the press that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu cancelled his meeting with President Barack Obama - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
 
Right-wing MKs were outraged, calling the Balad and Hadash MKs “traitors,” after the two Arab factions condemned the move by the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab League ministers to list Hezbollah as a terror organization. Netanyahu said they “lost their minds.” The factions, both part of the Joint List party, explained that they view the GCC and Arab League ministers’ decision as dangerous because they said it fuels the Sunni-Shia conflict, is in line with Israel's interests and helps maintain the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Balad officials said that it was also wrong “to tag Hezbullah, an organization which represents a large part of the Lebanese nation - as a terrorist organization, despite criticism over its participation in the fighting in Syria." They responded to Netanyahu's criticism saying that "The one who owes explanations to the pubic is actually the one who makes relations with the Saudi kingdom, which stands behind Daesh (ISIS) and the radical Salafi movements." The Sunni states oppose Hezbollah’s intervention in favor of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. Last week, the six-member GCC designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Shortly afterwards, the Arab League foreign ministers reached the same decision, despite reservations by Lebanon and Iraq, both of whom have Shia citizens. Jerusalem Post reported that Bahrain's king was spearheading the move to blacklist Hezbollah and that he met with interfaith New York rabbi Marc Scheier and told him that there were one or two countries among the GCC who had wanted to distinguish between Hezbollah’s military wing and its political wing, but that this was rejected. 
 
An angry White House said it learned from the media that Netanyahu opted out of meeting with Obama this month and it forthrightly rejected that Netanyahu's excuse that no appropriate time for meeting was found ahead of the AIPAC conference, as Netanyahu's bureau had said. But Netanyahu's associates gave two additional reasons why it was better for him not to travel to the US: 1.) So as not to be sucked into the US election campaigns and 2.) to avoid signing a new Memorandum of Understanding between Israel and the United States on US military aid to Israel. But it was exactly for that reason that US Vice President Joe Biden lands in Israel today: to convince Netanyahu to sign one, which will ensure Washington's continued security aid to Jerusalem for the next 10 years. However, Israel seeks to add $10-15 billion to the US aid it already gets. On Wednesday evening, Biden will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The news of the cancelled meeting also coincides with the end of a joint Israeli military exercise with the US in which Israel tested one of the most advanced missile defense systems in the world. Interestingly, the pro-settler 'Land of Israel Lobby' said at a special meeting yesterday in Knesset that the Prime Minister's Bureau pressured them not to hold their meeting - coming a day before Biden's visit. Among those who attended were MK Yair Lapid and MK Avigdor Lieberman. 
 
Quick Hits:
  • Knife found on Palestinian woman planning West Bank attack - Border Police called on the woman to stop and toss her bag. She did as told, and the guards found a knife inside, said the police. Under initial investigation, the suspect admitted that she intended to carry out a terror attack against security forces. (JPost, Maariv and YouTube
  • At least 10 to face charges over 'wedding of hate' - Guests and groom Yakir Ashbal are expected to be indicted for incitement and illegal possession of arms after being documented 'celebrating' the Duma murders. Footage from the December wedding led to outrage on both the left and right wing. (Ynet+VIDEO and Times of Israel)
  • No one charged in 10-person (Jewish) assault of Druze man - Arrests were made when Druze student Tommy Hasson, 22, was beaten by about 10 Jewish assailants in Jerusalem, after they heard him speaking Arabic. A year has passed since, and no one has been indicted. (Ynet
  • Israel sentences prominent Palestinian lawyer, brother to long prison sentences - Prominent Palestinian lawyer Shireen Tareq al-Issawi and her brother, Medhat, got four and eight years in prison for 'harming state security' after exchanging messages with Palestinian prisoners from Hamas, whom their law office represented, on which Palestinian prisoners should be released during the negotiations over the release of Gilad Shalit. (Maan and Israel Hayom)
  • Israeli Second-graders Get Lesson in Using Stun Grenades During 'Community Policing Day' - Tel Aviv school says presentation's goal was 'to increase students' feeling of being protected,' but many parents were unhappy. (Haaretz+) 
  • Study shows Arab women in Israel live in fear of the state - Sense of personal security lowest among Arab women, who fear home demolition, crime and domestic violence. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel slams UN report blaming it for domestic abuse of Palestinian women - Israeli Amb. to UN Danny Danon calls UN report on the state of Palestinian women a "distortion of reality." Danon demanded that Ban Ki-moon amend the report containing harsh criticism of Israel. In one of the sections an attack which killed five Israelis was referred to as an ‘incident’ in which Israelis and Palestinians were killed. (JPost/Maariv and UN report)
  • Knesset defense committee scrubs session with Shin Bet chief over 'leaks' - In a letter to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee members, chair says numerous details from recent classified hearings appeared in the media. (Haaretz+ and Maariv
  • Senior IDF officer tells Saudi website: "We will put Lebanon back by 300 years " - The officer stated in an interview to ‘Eilaf’ "that the IDF also conquer the Gaza Strip nd destroy all of its infrastructure.” According to the officer, Israel transferred messages of deterrence to Hassan Nasrallah via Russia. (Maariv)
  • Police investigate artist who stuck flag up his backside during culture conference - Ariel Bronz summoned for questioning after Culture Minister Miri Regev ordered her ministry to file a complaint after Sunday’s incident. (Haaretz+ and Times of Israel)
  • Film About Palestinian Hunger Striker al-Qiq to Be Screened at Cannes Festival - The film is an 11-minute dramatization of the relationship between an Israeli investigator and al-Qiq, who launched a hunger strike after being jailed without trial on suspicion of involvement with terrorism. (Haaretz
  • 46 Palestinian prisoners at Etzion detention center end hunger strike after Israel agrees to demands - The prisoners, who went on hunger strike on Thursday last week, called off the protest after the committee was allowed to donate clothes, cleaning materials, blankets and other supplies to them. (Maan)
  • Israeli troops raid orphan aid center in Beit Ummar - Dozens of Palestinians suffered from severe tear gas inhalation on Monday after Israeli troops raided a West Bank aid organization serving orphans, seized equipment and assaulted staff. (Maan
  • Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian man near Gaza border - Sources said the man was shot east of al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said the victim was left bleeding on site for half an hour before a Palestinian ambulance could reach him. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces place concrete barriers near Gush Etzion junction - More than 10 Palestinians and at least three Israelis have been killed until now at the Gush Etzion junction since a surge of violence shook the occupied Palestinian territory at the beginning of October last year. (Maan)
  • Clashes erupt as Israeli forces enter Hebron-area village - Local said Israeli troops raided al-Shyoukh and closed the village's northern entrance. Youth threw stones at Israeli forces and Israeli soldiers responded with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas. (Maan)
  • Palestinian woman detained during protest over Al-Aqsa (Temple Mount) 'blacklist' - A group of blacklisted men and women marched the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to protest not being allowed to enter the compound, raising posters with slogans like "I have the right to pray in al-Aqsa," and "Al-Aqsa belongs to us and it's not their temple." (Maan
  • Sweden refuses to link Palestinian aid to incitement - Minister criticizes MP from the opposition pro-Israel Christian Democrats for citing examples of violent rhetoric linked to PA ; Israel slams her ‘irresponsible’ position. (Times of Israel)
  • MK Amsalem attacks: "Israel isn’t bringing to Israel the Falashmura because they are black" - The coalition member attacked: "They receive 30,000 immigrants per year, but the 9,000 Ethiopians they leave there in a deteriorating health condition, they have no food, and their families are already in the country… It’s because they are Ethiopians, black, people who need to be taken care of on welfare issues. It’s unpleasant. The state isn’t taking care of almost any welfare issue. They are all thrown into the backyard." (Maariv)
  • Zionist Camp faction and Labor MK Margalit against Labor leader MK Herzog: "You are turning the Labor Party into Yair Lapid" - MK Arel Margalit claimed that the chairman of the Labor Party is acting like a dictator and ruining the party and called for party elections by the end of the year. Labor MK Cabel responded: "Stop doing a trick on us all" and Margalit responded calling Cabel and Herzog "Max and Moritz." (Maariv+VIDEO)
  • German town says pulled 'Mossad agents' out of the mud, sends Israel the bill - Northern town demands 1,263 euros for helping suspicious armed 'agents' whose car entered a prohibited area and got stuck in the mud. (Haaretz
  • Year-long exhibit celebrates Israeli ingenuity and innovation - Israel's international airport to showcase achievements in medicine, agriculture, to millions of travelers • "This is a major public diplomacy asset for Israel, showing the vast contributions of Israeli science and technology to the world," says minister. (Israel Hayom)
  • U.S. Jewish College Accused of Illegally Obtaining Federal Funding for Fake 'Study Abroad' Program in Israel - Michigan Jewish Institute received Pell Grants for students enrolled in Israeli institutions though 'not a single one of them ever physically attended classes at MJI,' Department of Education accuses. (Haaretz
  • Woman's seal from First Temple discovered - A rare 2500-year-old seal inscribed with the name of 'Elihana bat Gael' in ancient Hebrew letters was unearthed at the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park. (Ynet
  • Minus the hair: Gaza's modern-day Samson performs extraordinary physical feats - 'Go Samson go!' cheer Mohammed Baraka's fans, but he remains modest. Calling him 'The Incredible' would do just fine. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Nasrallah: Mossad assassinated Palestinian fugitive in Bulgaria - "The Mossad assassinated him and the Arab regimes don't raise a finger," Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah says of Omar Nayef Zayed, who was killed in the Palestinian Embassy in Bulgaria in February. He accuses Saudi Arabia of collaboration with Israel. (Israel Hayom
  • Carlos the Jackal says covert Swiss deal protected PLO activists - Symbol of Cold War anti-imperialism says it was open secret among PLO militants that they would not be arrested in Switzerland under a 'non-aggression pact.' (Haaretz)
  • President of Indonesia: Patience for Israel 'has long run out' - Organization of Islamic Cooperation meets in Jakarta at behest of Palestinian Authority with Sudanese president wanted for war crimes in attendance. Indonesia's leader calls on Muslim world to unite on solution to Palestine. (Agencies, Haaretz and Israel Hayom+VIDEO
  • Bernie Sanders says he's 'very proud of being Jewish' - The Democratic presidential candidate, who has been fairly hesitant to discuss his religious background during the campaign, expressed pride in his roots during a debate with rival Hillary Clinton on Sunday in Flint, Michigan. (Ynet)
  • French PM: Won't Accept Reality in Which Jews Are Afraid to Wear Kippa - Prime Minister Manual Valls says he understands French Jews' fear amid heightened religious tension, condemns anti-Semitism on both 'far-left' and 'far-right.' (Agencies, Haaretz
  • France: Turkey's Seizure of Zaman Newspaper 'Unacceptable' - Turkey 'can't want to get closer to European standards and not respect the pluralism of the media,' French foreign minister says. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • US to build second airbase in Kurdish controlled northern Syria - A second US airbase will be constructed on the outskirts of Kurdish controlled Kobane, as construction on the US airfield in the Kurdish controlled northern Syrian city of Rmeilan nears completion. (Agencies, Ynet
  • E-mail Accusing Israel of Responsibility for 9/11 Sent to Oberlin College Students - The Ohio college's dean of students condemns the e-mail as 'anti-Semitic and deeply offensive.' (Agencies, Haaretz


Commentary/Analysis:
Hezbollah Issue Is Splitting the Arabs (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Paradoxically, the definition of Hezbollah as a terror group has turned into a dividing line between Arab countries, which must now decide whether to embrace Saudi hegemony. 
A conversation with Minister Ze'ev Elkin on possibility of PA collapse (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Immigrant absorption minister tells Nahum Barnea that Israel must begin planning for the day after the Palestinian Authority collapses; Elkin suggests that Israel should begin talks with local leaders and village councils about future arrangements. 
Israeli Leaders Talk About Israel and Apartheid. So Why Can't We? (Jewish American university student Caroline Morganti, Haaretz+) If prominent Israeli leaders have made the apartheid comparison countless times, why is the word out of bounds for American Jews? 
One-way freedom of speech (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The Left is up in arms about the Turkish government taking over a newspaper, but the Left has been trampling on opposition media voices for decades.
Calm down, Israel's democracy is alive and well (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) In comparison to refugee-besieged Western Europe, Israel, threatened by aggression and terrorism since its creation, does not look bad at all. 
Yes, Suspension: It is time to stop the craziness of the Arab MKs (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Suddenly, the Balad and Hadash MKs turned the ‘Suspension law’ into something essential and proportionate. MKs who oppose defining Hezbollah as a terrorist organization are begging to be suspended from the Knesset. 
Culture in Israel Is Stronger Than Those Who Would Control It (Aluf Benn, Haaretz+) We, at Haaretz, feel the cultural institutions and the system that supports them should operate with quality artistic management and judgment, and not on the basis of populism or in accordance with political representation. 
Literary Community Can Create a Better Israel for Jews and Arabs (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) The move by Israel's prestigious Sapir Prize committee to accept nominations not originally written in Hebrew is especially welcome in these dark times.
Hamas links to Cairo assassination test Egypt’s ties with Turkey and Saudi Arabia (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Egypt may demand Jerusalem halts its reconciliation with Ankara. Those who'll pay the price will be, as usual, the people of Gaza. 
How Donald Trump Won the U.S. Elections, Scared the Jews and Saved Israel (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) A nightmarish fantasy: After the 2016 'War of the Races,' thousands of liberal Jews fled to the one place that would accept them, and changed it forever. 
Trump and Cruz's Christian 'Jihad' (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+) Donald Trump denigrates Islam’s ‘intrinsic’ violence and promises ‘Christianity will have power’. But if he or Ted Cruz become president, we should fear violence of Biblical proportions. 

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