APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday July 20, 2016
Quotes of the day:
"Through dirty tricks, the coalition unanimously passed one of the basest laws in its history. This is one
of the most embarrassing moments of the humiliation of the Knesset. This law is designed to remove the Arab MKs
from the Knesset. I am ashamed for the Knesset."
--Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On said at stormy Knesset session in which the impeachment bill was approved.**
"Democracy is not a stable building. There are shocks and you (the opposition) pulled out a brick. This time, it’s against the Arabs, the second time it will be against women, and the next time you will harm some other group, until in the end they get to you. And there will be no one to protect you. When you...allow the Israeli parliament to oust its own members, that is where the trouble starts.”
--MK Nachman Shai (Zionist Camp) said at the same stormy Knesset session.**
--Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On said at stormy Knesset session in which the impeachment bill was approved.**
"Democracy is not a stable building. There are shocks and you (the opposition) pulled out a brick. This time, it’s against the Arabs, the second time it will be against women, and the next time you will harm some other group, until in the end they get to you. And there will be no one to protect you. When you...allow the Israeli parliament to oust its own members, that is where the trouble starts.”
--MK Nachman Shai (Zionist Camp) said at the same stormy Knesset session.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Bennett attacks Netanyahu: The laws against the media raise deep concern
- (Netanyahu’s) rage attack // Yossi Verter
- Melania Trump copied from Michelle Obama’s speech
- Erdogan makes cleansing campaign in the academia: Demands dismissal of all 1,500 deans of the universities
- 15,000 asylum requests are waiting – state did not approve even one since start of year
- Minister Shaked approved new regulations that will deter Palestinians from suing their Israeli employers over exploitation
- (Yuli) Tamir, go home // Haaretz Editorial
- (Culture Minister) Regev opposes broadcasting program on (poet) Mahmoud Darwish on Army Radio
- The brains are leaving
Yedioth Ahronoth
- “I won’t go to the gay pride parade. It offends the religious (Jewish) sector” – says Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, a year after the murder of Shira Banki at the last parade
- Bennett: “I am concerned about the laws restricting the media”
- The stolen speech (by Melania Trump)
- Moshe Katsav’s fateful day
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Katsav’s day: Rehab at home or continued prison
- Short circuit in media – Knesset committee to discuss PM’s decision to postpone closure of Broadcasting Authority and opening of public broadcasting corporation
- “If the Palestinians don’t go back to negotiations – we will consider annexation of land in settlements” – Trump’s advisor
- His own opponent // Shmuel Rosner
- The Social Welfare Ministry’s new initiative: Triple the number of apartments for at-risk youth
Israel Hayom
- Katsav’s fateful day
- (IDF:) “Examining ties with Rabbi Levenstein”
- Preparing for the vote (Photo of Melania Trump kissing Donald)
- Radio program on Darwish? Army Radio did not go crazy, they never were sane // Haim Shine
- The (public broadcasting) “corporation” crisis: In Likud, they are angry at Bennett – “He wants to close down ‘Israel Hayom’ and now he is ‘fearful for freedom of expression’?
- After a storm: Knesset approved impeachment bill by 62:47
News Summary:
**A committee will decide today whether to release rapist former president Moshe Katsav from prison early, far-right-wing minister, Naftali Bennett, slammed Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for “an accumulation of laws restricting the media (that) raises deep concerns over the future of freedom of expression, yet that minister and a majority of Knesset members approved a law allowing the ousting of other Knesset members (after a stormy session with vocal protests from Arab MKs, whom the bill targeted, and from Meretz and Zionist Union MKs), and the army says it is reconsidering its ties to the homophobic rabbi, Yigal Levinstein, who leads a military-yeshiva that is subsidized by the army – making top news in the Hebrew newspapers today. The army has now banned Levinstein from visiting and speaking at army bases and demands he retracts his statements. Levinstein also criticized the military’s policy on avoiding civilian casualties, but the Hebrew media has not highlighted that. Now the IDF wants him to retract his homophobic statements as well as his assertion that efforts to avoid injuring innocent civilians 'delegitimize combat.'
Quick Hits:
- Probe against Netanyahu: Police to summon a senior public servant to testify - After Netanyahu’s fundraiser, Ari Harow, was questioned again monday under warning about the case of Prime Minister Netanyahu, the police will summon a senior official in the public service. This is in order to complete the picture from Harow’s testimony about the manner in which capital and donations were raised for the Prime Minister abroad. Suspicion: Donations transferred to Netanyahu were not reported on. (Nana Hebrew and Maariv, p. 10)
- Three Israeli Minors Charged for Revenge Arson Attack, Graffiti - Two of the three set out to damage Palestinian property in revenge for the Sarona attack in June, while the third failed to prevent a crime. (Haaretz+)
- Palestinians say 12-year-old killed by IDF fire - Military looking into claims Muhye Muhammad Sidqi al-Tabbakhi, who was killed during clashes with Israeli security forces in the East Jerusalem town of al-Ram, died of Israeli fire. (Ynet)
- Israeli navy shoots and injures Gaza fisherman, bulldozers level land near border - Israeli naval ships opened fire on a Palestinian fishing boat injuring a fisherman and six armored Israeli bulldozers enter the Palestinian side of the border and leveled land in eastern al-Bureji refugee camp. (Maan)
- New Regulations Would Impede Palestinians Seeking to Sue Israeli Employers - Jordan Valley farmers, who are frequently sued by their laborers for denial of basic rights, have welcomed new regulations. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli lawmakers significantly boost penalty for desecrating flag - New law, like existing one for offensive behavior toward foreign flag, calls for punishment of three years in prison and $15,100 fine. (Haaretz+)
- Knesset Advances Bill to Withhold Names of Soldiers Under Investigation - The proposed law was inspired by the case of Sgt. Elor Azaria, the soldier on trial for manslaughter who shot and killed a subdued Palestinian assailant in Hebron. (Haaretz)
- Army Radio aired a program about Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish; (Culture Minister) Regev: "The station has gone mad" - Minister of Culture is furious over granting a stage to Mahmoud Darwish, who is considered the poet of the Nakba. Regev: "A public radio station of the Defense Ministry cannot allow itself to magnify and glorify the anti-Israel narrative." She also said: “Mahmoud Darwish is not an Israeli, his texts are not Israeli and his significance is resistance to the central values of Israeli society…We must fight Palestinian incitement content that appears in textbooks and the media and not give them another stage with public funds, an army radio station.” [NOTE: Darwish, who passed, was both an Israeli citizen and Palestinian nationalist poetand his poetry was taught in Israeli public schools when Yossi Sarid was education minister. – OH] (Maariv and Israel Hayom)
- Netanyahu warns Israeli Arabs: We'll respond to every aggression with force - In special Knesset meeting marking 10 years since Second Lebanon War, the prime minister says the relative calm on the Lebanon border is a result of 'effective and continuous deterrence' and that the war was justified. President Rivlin praises country's self-criticism, urges unity in advance of a possible future conflict. (Yedioth/Ynet and Haaretz+)
- Suspicion: Drone that infiltrated to Golan Heights from Syria – was Israeli made - Air Force examining the possibility that the UAV was made by IAI and sold to Russia many years ago. Air Force rejects the criticism of its failure to intercept the drone and believes the drone accidentally infiltrated into Israel. (Maariv)
- Israel Approves Fence Along Jordan Border to Prevent Infiltration of Jihadists - Fear of shootings and booby-trapped cars speeding towards the border prompted the plan; the separation fence is the second one Israel is to erect along its eastern border. (Haaretz+)
- Jerusalem’s Ghost-home Owners Get First Bills With Higher Tax Rate - Measure aims to alleviate housing shortage and high prices by raising cost of leaving a home unoccupied most of the year. (Haaretz)
- Europe Looks Towards Israel for Anti-terror Technology - Private experts say Israel's methods are enough to provide often basic alerts regarding potential attackers, then require follow-up investigation. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Domestication of barley began in northern Israel, 6000-year-old grains reveal - Barley was key to prehistoric man in the Levant as he transitioned from a life of hunting and gathering to one of settlement and farming over 10,000 years ago. (Haaretz)
- Rabbi accused of sexual harassment extradited to Israel - Eliezer Berland, who fled Israel three years ago when called for police questioning and who has wandered from country to country since then, has landed in Israel and been taken into police custody; hundreds of Breslovers greeted the plane. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Islamic Jihad fighter killed, 2 injured in tunnel collapse east of Khan Younis - The Islamic Jihad movement said in a statement that one of its fighters “died [as a] martyr during a Jihad mission” during the tunnel collapse, without giving more details. (Maan)
- Paraguay's President Cartes, PM Netanyahu reaffirm strong ties - "In Israel we don't take our friends for granted. ... We are committed to working with them to make us all stronger, safer and more prosperous," PM says as leaders meet in Jerusalem. Cartes "ashamed" his visit is first of any Paraguayan head of state. (Israel Hayom)
- Brazilian University Head Apologizes for Suggesting Zionism Taught Alongside Nazism - After publishing a public notice seeking to hire a 'racial-ethnic relations' teacher, required to teach Zionism as a racist concept, Klaus Capelle apologizes to the Jewish community. (Haaretz)
- Russia, U.S. Criticize UN Secretary-General on Iran Nuclear Deal Report -UN chief Ban Ki-moon's first report on Iran 'goes beyond the appropriate scope,' U.S. Ambassador to UN says. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Turkish Intel Agency Suspends 100 on Suspicion of Links to Supposed Coup Plotter - Turkey says followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher are behind the attempt to overthrow the government, which killed over 200 people. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- At Least 56 Civilians Killed in Airstrikes on ISIS-held Syrian Villages, Activists Say - Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 11 children among dead, residents blame U.S.-led coalition for strikes that targeted villages near ISIS' stronghold Manbij. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- More Than 250,000 Syrian Children Refugees Receive No Formal Education in Lebanon - Human Rights Watch said that although Lebanon has allowed Syrian refugee children to enroll for free in public schools, limited resources and residency issues, as well as work restrictions on their parents, are keeping the kids away from school. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
The Exile: The story of the mysterious Turkish leader whom, according to Erdogan, is behind the coup
attempt
A liberal cleric leader or money-addict waiting for Islam to take over the West? Who is Fethullah Gulen, leader of the secret and ultra-conservative "Hizmet" movement, which is suspected of being responsible for the attempted coup? (Sara Leibovitz-Dar, Maariv Magazine supplement, cover)
Commentary/Analysis:
Israel’s Vox Populi Is the Voice of Racism (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) A taxi ride and a wait or two in line show me that your typical Israeli should be nicer to the Ethiopians, Arabs and everybody else.
Where's the wisdom? (Hanoch Daum, Yedioth/Ynet) Rabbi Yigal Levinstein's pronouncements are reprehensible, and so is political exploitation of an opportunity to condemn; perhaps we should redirect our attention to more deserving persons.
What I Saw Last Friday in Hebron (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) Palestinians asked American Jews to join them in a 'Freedom Summer.' The result was extraordinary.
The Turkish model: what Netanyahu can learn from the attempted coup in Turkey (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) Some lessons from the incidents in Turkey: all that this ruler wants, he gets. For now. Even without a law to throw out MKs; One needs to know who not to trust (Putin), who to pander to (Putin), who to disrespect and insult (United States of Obama, the European Union) and with whom to act with caution (Iran, China, ISIS)…And if his path succeeds, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is more likely to fulfill our destiny and be a light unto the nations. So, hurry up and to reconcile with him, whatever the cost (compensation for the Marmara affair, ending the siege on the Gaza Strip and a price for the gas) - then maybe Netanyahu will get the role of his life: being the agreed upon mediator between Erdogan, Putin and Trump, and that will bring a status quo between the four leaders with the ultimate egos.
While a Rabbi Focuses on Hate, Other Israelis Move Judaism Forward (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) Rabbi Yigal Levinstein abhors gay people, but many religious people are striving to build a bridge between Jewish law and the changes time has wrought.
A melting pot for a well-oiled machine: This is how we are losing out in academia on the ultra-Orthodox and the Arabs (Gilad Arditi, Maariv) Instead of serving as a veritable melting pot, the academia has become a well-oiled machine of grades that only perpetuates the gaps between the sectors. The academia must understand the responsibility placed on its shoulders.
My Jewish Leftist Sisters and Brothers, Trump Needs You (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) He needs you to not vote. Or if you do vote, he needs you to vote for anyone other than Hillary Clinton.
The Flawed Narrative of Israel's Mizrahi Deprivation Activists (Oded Lifshitz, Haaretz+) The Mizrahi thought police of Bennett's great cultural revolution will harm all of us, particularly the Mizrahim.
Failed coup is Turkey’s Iraqification moment (Tulin Daloglu, Yedioth/Ynet) Just as the American purge of the Baath party in Iraq following the occupation led to the collapse of the country's state structure, Erdogan's massive cleanse of state institutions could lead to similar catastrophic results.
Israeli Art Schools Should Teach Freedom of Expression, Not Censor Nudes of Cabinet Ministers (Haaretz Editorial) The president of Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Ramat Gan must admit her mistake in censoring a student's portrait of Ayelet Shaked, and resign.
Netanyahu Runs Amok in His Attack on Freedom of the Press (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Fortunately, his partners in the governing coalition are waking up to his stifling of democracy.
Interviews:
A liberal cleric leader or money-addict waiting for Islam to take over the West? Who is Fethullah Gulen, leader of the secret and ultra-conservative "Hizmet" movement, which is suspected of being responsible for the attempted coup? (Sara Leibovitz-Dar, Maariv Magazine supplement, cover)
Commentary/Analysis:
Israel’s Vox Populi Is the Voice of Racism (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) A taxi ride and a wait or two in line show me that your typical Israeli should be nicer to the Ethiopians, Arabs and everybody else.
Where's the wisdom? (Hanoch Daum, Yedioth/Ynet) Rabbi Yigal Levinstein's pronouncements are reprehensible, and so is political exploitation of an opportunity to condemn; perhaps we should redirect our attention to more deserving persons.
What I Saw Last Friday in Hebron (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) Palestinians asked American Jews to join them in a 'Freedom Summer.' The result was extraordinary.
The Turkish model: what Netanyahu can learn from the attempted coup in Turkey (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) Some lessons from the incidents in Turkey: all that this ruler wants, he gets. For now. Even without a law to throw out MKs; One needs to know who not to trust (Putin), who to pander to (Putin), who to disrespect and insult (United States of Obama, the European Union) and with whom to act with caution (Iran, China, ISIS)…And if his path succeeds, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is more likely to fulfill our destiny and be a light unto the nations. So, hurry up and to reconcile with him, whatever the cost (compensation for the Marmara affair, ending the siege on the Gaza Strip and a price for the gas) - then maybe Netanyahu will get the role of his life: being the agreed upon mediator between Erdogan, Putin and Trump, and that will bring a status quo between the four leaders with the ultimate egos.
While a Rabbi Focuses on Hate, Other Israelis Move Judaism Forward (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) Rabbi Yigal Levinstein abhors gay people, but many religious people are striving to build a bridge between Jewish law and the changes time has wrought.
A melting pot for a well-oiled machine: This is how we are losing out in academia on the ultra-Orthodox and the Arabs (Gilad Arditi, Maariv) Instead of serving as a veritable melting pot, the academia has become a well-oiled machine of grades that only perpetuates the gaps between the sectors. The academia must understand the responsibility placed on its shoulders.
My Jewish Leftist Sisters and Brothers, Trump Needs You (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) He needs you to not vote. Or if you do vote, he needs you to vote for anyone other than Hillary Clinton.
The Flawed Narrative of Israel's Mizrahi Deprivation Activists (Oded Lifshitz, Haaretz+) The Mizrahi thought police of Bennett's great cultural revolution will harm all of us, particularly the Mizrahim.
Failed coup is Turkey’s Iraqification moment (Tulin Daloglu, Yedioth/Ynet) Just as the American purge of the Baath party in Iraq following the occupation led to the collapse of the country's state structure, Erdogan's massive cleanse of state institutions could lead to similar catastrophic results.
Israeli Art Schools Should Teach Freedom of Expression, Not Censor Nudes of Cabinet Ministers (Haaretz Editorial) The president of Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Ramat Gan must admit her mistake in censoring a student's portrait of Ayelet Shaked, and resign.
Netanyahu Runs Amok in His Attack on Freedom of the Press (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Fortunately, his partners in the governing coalition are waking up to his stifling of democracy.
Interviews:
Jerusalem's mayor won't attend pride march to avoid 'harm' to religious public
Nir Barkat in an interview stated that, while he supports the right of the LGBT community to march, he considers it damaging to the ultra-Orthodox and National-Religious sectors, exposing a kind of hypocrisy that the LGBT community asks for consideration while failing to do the same for the religious crowd who considers their orientation 'invalid.' (Interviewed by Telem Yahav in Yedioth/Ynet)
Nir Barkat: “Of course, it's their right to march.,.but they need to know that this hurts others.
Yedioth: Perhaps it is precisely now, after what happened last year, that the mayor should come and say, "I stand at the head of this march, because I will support every disadvantaged population in my city"?
NB: "Don't obsess over the march."
Yedioth: A march is a symbol.
NB: "It's a symbol that has positive and negative complications. So as mayor, I positively support its message and the right of the members to march."
Yedioth: But there's also symbolic importance in a mayor who comes to express his support.
NB: "So you're basically coming and asking me to be part of the harm caused to the ultra-Orthodox and Religious-Zionist population. And I say no; I don't want to harm that population. As mayor, I represent everyone, and therefore I'm on the side of the heads of the community and their rights, and I'll do everything to facilitate their realizing them."
Top Trump advisor to ‘Post’: Settlement annexation legitimate if PA continues to avoid real peace
Trump sees in Netanyahu "all the things that were lacking in Obama," David Friedman says. (Interviewed by Danielle Siri in Maariv and JPost)
IDF's next chief rabbi praised despite controversy
Some of Colonel Eyal Karim's former colleagues and fellow officers have misgivings about some statements the rabbi has made, but virtually all praise his character and overall conduct. (Interviewed by Nechama Duek, Yedioth/Ynet)
Nir Barkat in an interview stated that, while he supports the right of the LGBT community to march, he considers it damaging to the ultra-Orthodox and National-Religious sectors, exposing a kind of hypocrisy that the LGBT community asks for consideration while failing to do the same for the religious crowd who considers their orientation 'invalid.' (Interviewed by Telem Yahav in Yedioth/Ynet)
Nir Barkat: “Of course, it's their right to march.,.but they need to know that this hurts others.
Yedioth: Perhaps it is precisely now, after what happened last year, that the mayor should come and say, "I stand at the head of this march, because I will support every disadvantaged population in my city"?
NB: "Don't obsess over the march."
Yedioth: A march is a symbol.
NB: "It's a symbol that has positive and negative complications. So as mayor, I positively support its message and the right of the members to march."
Yedioth: But there's also symbolic importance in a mayor who comes to express his support.
NB: "So you're basically coming and asking me to be part of the harm caused to the ultra-Orthodox and Religious-Zionist population. And I say no; I don't want to harm that population. As mayor, I represent everyone, and therefore I'm on the side of the heads of the community and their rights, and I'll do everything to facilitate their realizing them."
Top Trump advisor to ‘Post’: Settlement annexation legitimate if PA continues to avoid real peace
Trump sees in Netanyahu "all the things that were lacking in Obama," David Friedman says. (Interviewed by Danielle Siri in Maariv and JPost)
IDF's next chief rabbi praised despite controversy
Some of Colonel Eyal Karim's former colleagues and fellow officers have misgivings about some statements the rabbi has made, but virtually all praise his character and overall conduct. (Interviewed by Nechama Duek, Yedioth/Ynet)
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.