News Nosh 12.26.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"Years of uninterrupted right-wing rule have emblazoned on many Israelis’ minds the slogan of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal and undivided capital, such that they accept it reflexively as truth. Many Israelis are happy to pocket Trump’s gift of recognition without giving anything in return. American Jews are in a position to remind Jewish Israelis of the damage caused by eschewing compromise over Jerusalem."
--Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, Debra Shushan, calls on Jewish Americans not to pander to so-called left-wing Israelis who have moved right.*

You Must Be Kidding: 
"The crusade of the European countries against Trump in the wake of his declaration, together with their vote in favor of the resolution that denies the connection of the Jewish people to the Western Wall, can only come about for one reason. It turns out that Europe is not really enlightened. Beliefs, opinions, and feelings that have taken root throughout history have not disappeared. The ideological platform that spawned the pogroms, blood libels and Nazism was not completely uprooted."
—Maariv commentator and former Knesset member from Likud and from National Union, Michael Kleiner, draws a line between Nazism and voting against US President Donald Trump’s unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.**

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • The Shabbat rebellion - Cities and towns in race against time to pass regulations that will allow opening businesses on Shabbat - before the Supermarkets Law is passed
  • Political jahnun (food) // Nadav Eyal
  • Dramatic jump in number of speeding tickets
  • “I returned to life” - Two years after being severely injured by the shooting of a terrorist in the Simta pub, Ido Lazan runs a gym across the street from the site o the attack
  • Ziv Shilon’s start-up  - The combat soldier who was injured and became a symbol is starting a new career
  • Israel’s 70th (poll) - Israel chooses: David Ben-Gurion or Menachem Begin? Yitzhak Rabin or Binyamin Netanyahu? Shlomo Artzi or Eyal Golan? Sarit Hadad or Hava Alberstein? Falafel or Bamba? Jerusalem of Gold (song) or Hallelujah? The answers in Friday’s paper
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom
  • This is how Leitzman will stand at the head of the Health Ministry
  • Likely: Testimony against (former coalition leader) Bitan
  • A lone female soldier, left in the street after moving from house to house; IDF: We offered solutions
  • Michal’s house of dolls: Special project for Holocaust survivors
  • “Implement the High Court ruling regarding (Police investigations chief) Ritman” - Woman who complained against him
  • Trump effect: President of Guatemala announced - “I will transfer the embassy to Jerusalem”
  • After the threats: Effort to prevent strike tomorrow in kindergartens and schools
  • Channel 20 employees demonstrated: “We are suffocating from the regulation”

News Summary:
Opposition members of Knesset and municipality leaders across the country made efforts to thwart two controversial bills making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, the latest on the ‘Trump effect’,’ following his unilateral declaration to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Monday night, opposition lawmakers began a marathon debate to filibuster the passing of the ‘Recommendations Bill,’ also known as the ‘Bibi Bill,’ which would shield officials under probes by preventing the police from releasing recommendations for indictment at the end of its investigations. The filibuster could last up to 45 hours.

Meanwhile, local authorities in a number of cities and towns are racing to pass bylaws that would permit businesses to remain open on Shabbat, ahead of the passing by the ruling coalition of a law forbidding operations on weekends. The bill is highly unpopular, but the coalition promised to pass the bill in order to keep the ultra-Orthodox party members in the coalition and prevent the government from falling.

Following Trump’s example and after talking with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced he would move his country’s embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, and Yedioth reported that Honduras and Paraguay are expected to join the embassy move to Jerusalem. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said that Israel was in talks with more than 10 other countries to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Interestingly, Israel Hayom has reported that Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were displeased with the way the Palestinian Authority was conducting its reaction to the Trump declaration, which has put the US-friendly Arab states at odds with Trump, and they have joined together to change it.  The Arab League announced the creation of a new committee, comprised of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudia Arabia and the Palestinian Authority, which would devise a new policy on Jerusalem and which one source said “effectively puts the Arab League in charge of the policy on Jerusalem, taking it away from the Palestinians.”
 
Quick Hits:
  • Israel Sentences 68-year-old Bedouin Activist to 10 Months in Prison for Building Illegal Structures (on his expropriated property) in His Village - Sheikh Sayekh Abu Madi'am struggled for years along with other Bedouin for their rights to the lands of Al-Araqib, and was among those who repeatedly rebuilt structures at the site after the land authorities demolished them. (The village has been demolished 121 times.) (Haaretz+)
  • East Jerusalem Palestinians Petition Israel's Top Court in Last-ditch Effort to Prevent Eviction - The petition by more than 100 residents of Silwan states that an illegal decision 16 years ago gave the land they live on to the custody of Ateret Cohanim, a right-wing group that settles Jews in Arab areas. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel Extends 16-year-old Palestinian Girl's Detention Because She Could 'Pose a Danger' - Ahed Tamimi, who was recently filmed slapping Israeli soldiers, [and was detained a week ago after the video went viral], gets four more days as judges say she might obstruct investigation, with one saying she could endanger soldiers. Her lawyer: “The goal of the detention - punishment.” (Haaretz+, Maarivand Maan)
  • Israeli activists stage vigil to release the Tamimi women - 16-year-old Ahed, her 20-year-old cousin Nur, and her mother, Nariman, have been in prison for nearly a week. Activists in Tel Aviv say the vigil is meant to remind the Israeli public of the reality of the occupation. (+972mag)
  • Red Cross Rebukes Israel After Right-wing Lawmaker Confronts Palestinian Prisoners' Families on bus - Likud MK Oren Hazan boarded bus headed toward an Israeli prison on the Gaza border, shouting that the prisoners were 'terrorists who belong in the ground' and told one mother that her son was an 'insect' and a 'dog.’ (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Hamas against MK Oren Hazan: "Barbarian, sadist, come to Gaza if you are a man" - Hamas slammed the Likud MK, who had a confrontation with Palestinian families visiting their relatives at Nafha prison.  The Palestinian Authority also reacted: "You don’t even reach the level of cockroaches in the bathroom.” (Maariv)
  • WATCH: Israeli troops train assault rifles on medics and journalists - After arresting and wounding a Palestinian protester, Israeli Border Police attack medics who try to reach the detained man, as well as the photographers covering the arrest. (+972mag)
  • Four Settlers Arrested for Assaulting Israeli Security Forces During West Bank Outpost Eviction - The settlers at Yishuv Hada'at, however, say they were attacked by tear gas and other riot-dispersal methods first. (Haaretz)
  • Israel Helped Establish 14 Illegal West Bank Outposts Since 2011 - State support ranges from turning a blind eye to offering government funds. Review reveals system that helps clear the way for 'legalization.’ (Haaretz+)
  • Case Reopened Palestinian Allegedly Beaten by Breaking the Silence Spokesman Called to Give Testimony - The Palestinian who Dean Issacharaff insists he assaulted during his military service in Hebron has been summoned for questioning, a move the left-wing organization sees as a police admission of error. (Haaretz)
  • Pope Francis Uses Christmas Speech to Call for Two-state Solution Following Trump's Jerusalem Decision - In his annual 'Urbi et Orbi' Christmas address, Pope Francis feels 'winds of war' in world following Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, 'sees Jesus' in suffering children worldwide. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Yair Lapid Says Jerusalem Is Non-negotiable Even if It Means No Peace - In a press conference, Yesh Atid party chairman said 'If there's no peace because of that, then there won't be.’ (Haaretz)
  • Journalist Amit Segal: "A day before (Ehud) Barak warned that (soldiers and commanders) would refuse orders, he met with the chief of staff" - A reporter for the News TV said that before the former prime minister warned last week that senior officers would oppose government policy, he met with Chief of Staff Gad Eisenkot at Barak’s home. (Maariv)
  • Labour's Corbyn Says Palestinian Teen Arrested by Israel 'Shouldn't Be in Prison' - Corbyn urged a 6-year-old girl who raised Ahed Tamimi's case with the politician to tell 'the authorities' that children should never be in prison, (Haaretz)
  • Israel Orders Deportation of Turkish Nationals Arrested During Jerusalem Protests - Three were arrested on Friday during anti-Trump protests near the Temple Mount, and were released the next day despite a police request to extend their detention. (Haaretz)
  • New Zealand Singer Lorde Cancels Israel Show After BDS Pressure - Lorde axed her planned show in Tel Aviv after an open letter urged her to 'join the artistic boycott of Israel.’ (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Lorde on Israel Concert Cancellation: 'Right Decision at This Time' to Nix Tel Aviv Show - Lorde said she educated herself about Israel before booking the show, but 'didn't make the right call on this one.’ (JTA, Haaretz)
  • Lorde Not the First to Back BDS: Eight Other Musicians Who (Cancelled Performances and) Boycotted Israel - From Elvis Costello to Sonic Youth, here are eight performers they tried to make go to Ramat Gan, and they said 'no, no, no.’ (Haaretz+)
  • Israel Won't Reveal Names of Organizations on BDS Blacklist - Minister says the list, meant to bar boycott activists from Israel, is not yet in complete, but the parameters have already been determined. (Haaretz+)
  • PM to Birthright participants: Israel is your home - "Wherever you come from, whatever you look like, however you pray, Israel is your home. Israel is your birthright," PM Netanyahu tells thousands of young Jews at event celebrating 18th year of program. Dr. Miriam Adelson: Remember we are all one family. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israel Must Stop Revoking Immigrants' Citizenship Retroactively, Attorney General Says - Legal opinion by comes in response to ministry’s review of citizenship of immigrants seeking residency for foreign spouses. (Haaretz+)
  • After NSC advice, Cabinet vows to boost drone defense - Following state comptroller's report on Israel's failure to counter threat posed by drones, Security Cabinet adopts National Security Council recommendations on delineating areas of responsibility for drone defense. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Netanyahu Ordered to Reveal Dates of Calls With Embattled Telecoms Tycoon- Relationship between Shaul Elovitch, who controls Bezeq through the Eurocomm group, and Netanyahu will be partially disclosed. Netanyahu served as the minister responsible for overseeing Bezeq’s affairs without declaring his ties to Elovitch. (Haaretz)
  • On the background of his investigations: Netanyahu summoned senior religious Zionist rabbis to an urgent meeting - Prime Minister Netanyahu summoned Rabbis David Stav, Yaakov Medan, Eli Sadan and Haim Druckman to meet Tuesdsay at his office. The assessment: He will seek their support in light of Rabbi Cherlow's speech at the anti-corruption demonstrations. (Maariv)
  • Netanyahu Joins Trump's 'War on Christmas': Israel Is a Country That 'Says Merry Christmas' - The prime minister sends greetings to Israeli Christians and those celebrating around the world and offers to give guided tours to Christians coming for a visit. (Haaretz)
  • Be'er Sheva Orders NGO to Vacate Bomb Shelter After Hosting Israeli Arms Industry Discussion - Be'er Sheva municipality said Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality's activities at the shelter were 'in breach of the agreement between the parties and in breach of the allocation of land and the criteria that were determined' (Haaretz+)
  • Air force seeks recruitment of more female pilots - In seeking to increase number of women graduating from its flight course, Israeli Air Force takes measures to bolster female participation, including deploying 'safety net' for course dropouts, promoting more women to senior positions; 'Decision operational necessity more than agenda,' says force's head of personnel. (Ynet)
  • Tax Havens and U.S. Top List of Foreign Countries With Most Investments in Israel - Israel has the highest rate of foreign investment relative to gross domestic product, according to a report by the Finance Ministry's chief economist. (Haaretz)
  • Jewish Defense League Member Charged for Assaulting Arab Teacher Outside AIPAC Conference - Yosef Steynovitz faces three counts of assault, the third of which includes significant bodily injury with a hate crime advancement for 'anti-Arab bias.’ (JTA, Haaretz)
  • Ex-Marine Who Plotted San Francisco Christmas Attack Claims He Was Angry About Trump 'Giving Jerusalem to the Jews' - Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. (JTA, Haaretz)
  • Iran's Top Court Approves Death Penalty for Researcher Accused of Spying for Israel - Ahmad Reza Jalali was shown on TV confessing to providing information to the Mossad spy agency. (Agencies, Haaretz)


Features:
What Brings a Group of Bollywood Filmmakers to Israel?
After a successful Indian version of a popular local series, Israel is keen to collaborate with Bollywood. Could the world’s most prolific film industry be on its way to the Holy Land? (Itay Stern, Haaretz+)
13 years after his death, Arafat’s memory remains purely symbolic
Although it may seem as if the former Palestinian leader is still the unshakable symbol of Fatah, the movement has gone to great lengths since his death to distance itself from his associates and from his legacy of pursuing peace talks with Israel while supporting terrorism. (Elior Levy, Yedioth/Ynet)
Older Than the Pyramids and as Mysterious as Stonehenge: The Unexplained Stone Circle in Israel's Golan Heights
The stone circle at Rujm el-Hiri remains one of the most neglected archaeological finds in Israel. Experts are calling for it to be turned into a national park – even though it isn’t connected to the area’s Jewish past. (Moshe Gilad, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:
*The Israeli 'Left' Is Gaslighting U.S. Jews Into Support for Trump on Jerusalem(Debra Shushan, Haaretz) American Jews shouldn't take their cue from an Israeli left which is veering rightwards and indoctrinated by the false slogan of an 'eternal and undivided Jerusalem'. Trump's move sabotaged peace, and we U.S. Jews must push back against it.
**Europe's failure to support Trump's declaration is Holocaust denial in new garb (Michael Kleiner, Maariv) The UN vote against the American recognition of Jerusalem proves that Europe is not really enlightened, and that the ideological platform that gave rise to Nazism has not completely been uprooted.
The Palestinians Just Gave Netanyahu What He Always Wanted for Christmas(Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) If there is one goal the Israeli premier has devoted his entire career to, it is trying to sever ties between the Americans and the Palestinians – and Abbas has handed it to him wrapped with a bow.
Time is working in our favor: I hope that the American deal is buried forever (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) After 70 years they recognized Jerusalem. Perhaps in another 70 years they will also recognize East Jerusalem as a sovereign part of Israel, if only we do not scare ourselves…
The U.S. Should Not Be a Neutral Peace Mediator (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) Abbas says Trump's America cannot be a neutral mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, and he is right.
What happens at the UN GA stays at the UN GA (Yoav Fromer, Yedioth/Ynet) Netanyahu and Trump apparently fail to understand that the United Nations General Assembly is all about pretend diplomacy; as long as the General Assembly focuses on words against Israel, the Security Council will likely avoid taking real action against Israel.
Why the 'Donald Trump of Guatemala' Will Move His Country’s Embassy to Jerusalem (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz) Jimmy Morales has gone from TV comedian to convention-busting president – but he's deadly serious when it comes to Israel.
Bennett's decision against Association for Civil Rights Israel is an anti-educational act (Attorney Eli Bachar, Maariv) The Education Minister's decided to cancel a joint conference on the subject of workers’ rights, organized by the Association for Civil Rights Israel (ACRI). The media reported that the background to the decision was that ACRI was "working to defend terrorists who murdered Israelis." It is hard to find a more refined expression of the lunar eclipse in which we live, than the gross trampling of basic values by the education minister. It appears that the distorted description of ACRI's activities, as reflected in the Minister's statement, appears to be the basis for the scandalous decision. This was based on a misperception of the role of human rights organizations in our democratic regime, which needs to offer an alternative approach to a position based on security considerations.
If I Was Palestinian, Would the Knife-wielding Settler Who Attacked Me Have Faced Justice? (Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Haaretz+) The toxic environment of radical Israeli settlements is incubating violence, while Israel’s security forces has a miserable record of bringing those who attack Palestinians to justice.
This Christmas, Santa Is Barred From Gaza for 'Security Reasons' (Muhammad Shehada, Haaretz) Some of the Mideast's most embattled Christians have little to celebrate. After 11 years of blockade, only 1000 Christians are left in Gaza, and the call to join relatives in exile grows stronger every year.
Why Should 'We' Take Care of 'Your' Handicapped? (Samah Salaime, Haaretz+) After a poem I wrote about the murder of the Palestinian double amputee went viral, I wondered about the ranking of human beings, from the unnecessary to the chosen.
If Netanyahu can remain in office, why can’t Bitan? (Yuval Karni, Yedioth/Ynet) If the prime minister has no problem running the state’s affairs under investigations and even under recommendations for an indictment, why can’t his coalition chairman, who is up to his neck in his own legal troubles, keep his position?
How Donald Trump Lost the 'War on Christmas' (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz) During his presidential election campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to Make Christmas Merry Again. But the reality has proved different to all his Yuletide rhetoric.
The Israel-U.S.-Saudi alliance will likely end in disaster (Eitay Mack, +972mag) By supporting the Saudi kingdom with military aid and intelligence cooperation, while ignoring the regime’s human rights abuses and support for terror organizations, Israel and the U.S. risk repeating the Cold War era’s worst mistakes.
Saudi Arabia's Jew-friendly Face Is Just a Mirage (Jonathan S. Tobin, Haaretz) After all the talk of a geopolitical love affair, when Riyadh bans the entry of Israeli chess players, it's time to sober up: the Saudis aren't the saviors of Mideast peace - and they'll never normalize relations with the Jewish state.
The guillotine cannot replace the ballot (MK Yuli Edelstein, Israel Hayom) The person who brandished the mock guillotine in Tel Aviv over the weekend is not fed up with the right-wing government – he is fed up with democracy and sick and tired of waiting for elections.
Inventing Incitement (Monday Haaretz Editorial) The cardboard guillotine at anti-corruption protests are not the same thing as the incitement that led to Rabin's assassination, no matter how hard the right tries to show the dangers of 'both sides.’
Not everything is incitement (Shlomo Puterkovsky, Yedioth/Ynet) Pretentious protest artists, who harm their own side much more than they harm the other side, exist both on the Right and on the Left; the problem is we also have people in both camps who keep crying out ‘incitement’ over every bit of nonsense, as if we have lost our sense of proportion.
Woe to such a pacifist: A guillotine for heads of politicians is a danger to democracy(Meir Uziel, Maariv) I saw hundreds of pictures of cigar cutters, none of which looked like this, so the argument that at the demonstration one was carrying such a device is a claim that was invented at the last minute.
Defending Israeli Democracy Is More Urgent Right Now Than Fighting the Occupation (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Gideon Levy lambasts right wing protests against Netanyahu’s corruption when he should be embracing them.
Right-wing anti-corruption protest is just the tip of the iceberg (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Anyone paying attention to the discourse developing in the Right in general, and in Likud in particular, knows that the frustration there is on the rise; the things being said about Netanyahu, and not just behind closed doors, are far from expressions of unconditional support.
The Shin Bet's Former Chief Is Worried (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Avi Dichter says he finds it worrisome that 90% of Palestinians object to disarming the military organizations in Gaza. But what's more worrisome is that Israel's being portrayed as the party being targeted by violence.
BDS, unfortunately, is still alive and kicking (Einav Schiff, Yedioth/Ynet) The international artists who flooded Israel this past summer gave us the feeling that the boycott movement had been defeated; Lorde’s cancellation indicates it was just an illusion: In the touring industry, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears to be a relevant issue.
Israel's Interior Ministry Has Failed at Citizenship (Haaretz Editorial) Israelis who sought to acquire legal status for their foreign spouses have found their own citizenship called into question. The state has apparently forgotten its job - to serve the public.
Secular Coercion Under the Guise of Liberalism (Israel Cohen, Haaretz+) This patronizing attitude by secular people, reflected in the assumption that women’s organizations and female MKs know better than any average ultra-Orthodox woman what’s good for her, is both arrogant and insulting.
What the Arab Spring failed to do (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Seven years after the first protests, what should have been the Arab world's finest hour has become another nail in the coffin of Arabism.
A Daring Assassination Attempt Shows ISIS in Sinai Has the Ultimate Weapon: Intel(Amos Harel, Haaretz+) An air force helicopter was blown to pieces in a by-the-book military operation that could have seen two senior ministers killed. This was the latest in a string of attacks that could force Egypt – and Israel – to respond.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.