News Nosh 3.02.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday March 2, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"You want to win, but it's friendly too."
--Karem Joubran, a 27-year-old Palestinian from Shuafat refugee camp, in E. Jerusalem, who crossed IDF military checkpoints to participate in a very special Jewish-Arab backgammon event held in west Jerusalem.*

You Must Be Kidding: 
MK Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi), who spearheaded the law to expropriate privately-owned land Palestinian land on which settlements were built, lives in an illegally built house in a West Bank settlement that might be on private Palestinian land.**


Front Page:
Haaretz
  • IDF Intel Chief: Gaza is close to crisis, the frustration in the West Bank could cause flare up
  • Netanyahu pushed for replacing CEO of Defense Ministry, Harel, with an associate
  • Home of Deputy Speaker of Knesset MK Bezalel Smotrich was built illegally
  • Ministers approved law that would harm donations to left-wing organizations
  • The (Israeli) father died and Interior Ministry refuses to recognize his baby daughter
  • Court rejected appeal and ruled that the ammonia container must be emptied within a month
  • Prime Minister’s Office offered Haifa Chemicals Co. to establish an ammonia factory in the south with twice as much aid as allowed by law
  • Knesset approved in preliminary vote: maternity leave extended to 15 weeks
  • Shameful disconnection // Haaretz Editorial
  • The alibi is ready // Gideon Levy
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Living with fear in our land – Jewish Americans fear: it will end in blood
  • President being tested // Nadav Eyal
  • The homework revolution – Education Ministry considering: Ease up on kids and completely drop homework in some of the study subjects
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom
News Summary:
*Most of the defense team of Elor Azaria, the ‘Shooting Soldier from Hebron’, resigned when the soldier’s father insisted on appealing the light prison sentence (the defense team said they obtained a "fantastic and impossible result in a murder case that became manslaughter" even with the presence of video documenting the incident), the Israeli shekel became one of the strongest currencies in the world, and the IDF warned that the Gaza Strip is on the verge of crisis and tension could spark into flames in the West Bank, while Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lauded US President Donald Trump for his 'strong stance in condemning anti-Semitism,' and Deputy Speaker of Knesset, MK Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi), lives in an illegally built home, which is possibly on privately-owned Palestinian land – making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Quick Hits:
  • Israeli wounded in West Bank stabbing, shoots Palestinian assailant, army says - Stabbing took place within settlement home; Israeli settler lightly wounded before stabbing his assailant. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Rocket fired from Gaza explodes on Ashkelon beach - A rocket exploded on Ashkelon beach, marking the fifth rocket fired at Israel within the last month; no casualties or property damages reported; Hamas begins evacuating posts fearing retaliation. (Ynet)
  • Scuffle between noisy Jewish revelers and Palestinian homeowners ends in Palestinians' arrest - Two brothers from Jerusalem Old City phone police to file a noise complaint, but were ignored. Only when they confronted the revelers did the police arrive - and put them under arrest. (Haaretz+) 
  • *With a roll of the dice and shouts of 'yalla,' Jews and Arabs face off - A street tournament of backgammon—or shesh besh as it's known in Israel—brings Jews and Arabs together in Jerusalem, with Arabic Dabke music getting ultra-Orthodox Jews and Palestinians from Shuafat dancing. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Israeli Leftists Mull 'Tea Party' Tax Revolt Against Occupation - Catalyzed by 'illegal law' that 'legalizes embezzlement of Palestinian land,' pro-peace leftists want to block entrances to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and withhold relative portion of their tax bill that goes to financing the settlement enterprise. (Haaretz+) 
  • Legislation Could Disqualify Knesset Candidates for Their Statements - Knesset to vote on banning potential members who voice support for armed struggle by terrorist group or enemy state, deny Israel’s Jewishness or incite to racism. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
  • Israel Says It Doesn't Have Drone Use Procedures, Adds That Revealing Them Is Security Risk - In response to a petition demanding exposure of procedures on drone use in West Bank and Gaza, state says that outing the procedures, which don't exist, would harm state security. (Haaretz+) 
  • Human rights movements urge UN to add IDF to blacklist - Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict implores new UN chief to add the IDF to the list for 'grave violations against children'; Having remained off the 2015 list following US and Israeli lobbying, the IDF could now join a host of violent organizations, including the Pakistani Taliban, which systematically kill or injure children. (Agencies, Ynet
  • Breaking the Silence claims victory in deal with state prosecutor over witness' identity - Israel's state prosecutor requested the anti-occupation NGO to provide details liable to expose a soldier's identity whose testimony raised suspicions of war crimes. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israeli convert to Islam held on suspicion of seeking to join ISIS in Syria - Belarus-born father of five said to have bought one-way ticket to Turkey, planning to cross to Syria, Shin Bet says. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Education minister blasted over failure to translate Israeli Arab pupils' diplomas into Arabic - Naftali Bennett says the ministry cannot translate the diplomas because of the difficulty in getting Arabic names correct; Israeli Arab lawmaker calls his explanation 'outrageous.' (Haaretz+) 
  • Hebrew University to become first Israeli school to recognize Palestinian Authority test scores - New policy expected to significantly increase the number of East Jerusalem Palestinians expected to apply and attend. (Haaretz+) 
  • 'Cabinet ministers not briefed on tunnels over concerns of leaks' - Ministers and senior MKs come out against the criticism the state comptroller's report on Operation Protective Edge levels at the cabinet's work • Knesset rejects motion by the opposition to name a state commission of inquiry to investigate the campaign. (Israel Hayom
  • Knesset Quashes Bid to Set Up Inquiry Commission for Gaza War - The motion, submitted by the opposition, would probe the government and security establishment's performance during the 2014 conflict. (Haaretz+)
  • Former IDF chief defends conduct during 2014 Gaza campaign - In response to critical state comptroller's report, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Benny Gantz says "everything was out in the open, known, and presented to the cabinet" • Director of Military Intelligence say IDF has more information about the tunnels than in the past. (Israel Hayom
  • Israel Demolishes Settler Homes Built on Private Palestinian Land - Two arrested after reportedly attacking police, who say that five officers were slightly injured. (Haaretz+) 
  • Tel Aviv suburb ordered to restore utilities to homes of African asylum seekers - Petah Tikva had cut water, power to 12 illegally subdivided apartments in battle against landlords and refugees. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel Quietly Begins Exporting Natural Gas to Jordan Amid Political Sensitivities - To keep the Israeli side at arm's length, the gas is technically being sold to the Jordanians by an American company. (Haaretz)
  • 'This Is White Supremacy Country' Synagogue Shooting Sends Shockwave Through Indiana Jewish Community - Rabbi Gary Mazo says the response from near and far has been astounding after a bullet hole was found in a Hebrew school classroom window. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israel's Ampal Wins Damages From Egypt Over Abortive Gas Deal - Ruling sets a ceiling of $174 million; Ampal's lawyers say they're optimistic Egypt will pay up. (Haaretz
  • Israel’s Largest Development Plan Approved: 23,000 Homes - One of the biggest issues facing the potential development has been the pollution at the site, which for years housed the Israel Military Industries' factories. (Haaretz)


Commentary/Analysis:
Gaza war report: Netanyahu's claims regarding Hamas' terror tunnels have been obliterated (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The State Comptroller's report contradicts claims IDF was prepared for Gaza war and Netanyahu informed cabinet of tunnel threat, but Shapira misses the main point: The hasty deterioration into war could happen again today. 
Israel Loves Wars (Gideon Levy , Haaretz+) There's no other way to read the state comptroller's report on the 2014 Gaza war and there's no more important conclusion that arises from it.           
Israel Must Stop Leaving Asylum Seekers in the Dark (Haaretz Editorial) The case of Petah Tikva, where families were forced to live in dark apartments without heat or running water, raises the urgent need for a national plan to normalize asylum seekers' status.
Volatile and dangerous: a look at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza (Elior Levy, Yedioth/Ynet) While Israel is engrossed in the comptroller's report on the Security Cabinet's behavior during Operation Protective Edge, over in the Gaza Strip there is a growing sense of civil unrest: with shoddy water infrastructure, polluted ground water, power outages and massive unemployment, Gaza is looking more and more like a powder keg in the making. 
How Can pro-Trump Jews Still Be in Denial About anti-Semitism? (Liza Rosenberg, Haaretz+) During the campaign, my pro-Trump friends twisted themselves in knots to pretend hate crimes weren’t rising. They belittled, unfriended and insulted me. Do they have buyer’s remorse, yet?
The Privilege and Responsibility of Jewish 'Whiteness' (Josh Rosenbaum, Haaretz) We white Jews have the choice of navigating our lives without ever having to grapple with our racial identities and our place in a racially hierarchical system. A university class gave us this chance.
Banning entry is not the way to fight anti-Israel groups (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Barring representatives of organizations with a clear anti-Israel agenda from the country only generates more hostile headlines and articles. The most logical move would be to prevent funding originating in bodies that support the BDS movement or deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.
Taylor Force Act Could Trigger Israelis' Nightmare Scenario (Michael J. Koplow, Haaretz+) U.S. Senators have the best intentions in seeking to punish the Palestinian Authority for financially rewarding terrorists' families. But they risk paving the road to Israel’s hell. 
Why I said no to dual citizenship (Yaron London, Yedioth/Ynet) I may have also been tempted to obtain a foreign citizenship if I were not troubled by the suspicion that those seeking foreign passports are preparing a lifeboat for themselves in case the Zionist project fails. 
Illegitimate Targets on Both Sides of Israel's Border (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The onslaughts on Gaza have introduced to our world three terms that have no right to exist: proportionate killing, collateral damage and target bank. 
Fight anti-Semitism in America, but Not by Demonizing Muslims (Naomi Dann, Haaretz+) Time for clarity: Desecrating graves and threatening JCCs are anti-Jewish hate crimes. Activism for Palestinian rights is not. 
With no sanctions, Protective Edge mistakes will be repeated in the future (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) The state comptroller’s report creates an illusion that it will set in motion a process of fixing the failures and the mistakes of the 2014 Gaza war. But although the IDF has drawn its own conclusions and will try to implement them while they are still fresh, the political echelon will likely show the same irresponsibility and reckless behavior in the next battle as well.
Netanyahu's Government Should Be Ashamed of the Gaza War Report (Emilie Moatti, Haaretz+) But those responsible for a war that might have been avoided altogether - according to the scathing report of the 2014 conflict in Gaza - are busy slinging mud.

 Interviews:
Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon: "Elor Azaria basically did what Yair Lapid told him to"
In an interview with Maariv, Ami Ayalon, who was formerly head of the Shin Bet and commander of the Navy and is now leader of the ‘Blue White Future’ movement looked at the people leading Israel and commented on the Elor Azaria trial. (Interviewed in Maariv)

On the trial:
"Elor Azaria basically did what Yair Lapid told him to. Lapid, during the period of the stabbings [late 2015-2016], said that any terrorist needs to end the incident in death. I was horrified. Children hear that from every politician seeking to get elected."
 
On Israeli leaders:
"There was never a greater gap between the characteristics required to be elected and the characteristics required to lead. There are very few people who are leaders in politics. Not the Likud, which is led by extremists and not the Zionist Camp and certainly not Yair Lapid, who is afraid of his own shadow.
Netanyahu is a gifted politician and a failed statesman.

"The worst (situation) is the continuation of the status quo."

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