"On this (International Holocaust) Remembrance Day, world leaders are coming to a prime minister who is trying to incite them against the court in The Hague. It’s hard to think of a more galling use of the Holocaust, it’s hard to conceive of a bigger betrayal of its memory than the attempt to undermine the court in The Hague only because it wishes to fulfill its role and investigate Jerusalem."
--Haaretz commentartor Gideon Levy writes on the occasion of the arrival of leaders and dignitaries from from 49 countries to participate today in the 5th annual Holocaust Forum, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.*

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Numbers of the Day**:
2
--Number of Israeli soldiers who fell in battle or were killed by Palestinians in 2019.
12
--Number of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide in 2019. A record high.
27
--Total number of Israeli soldiers who died in 2019, a record low.

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Front Page:

"Gantz, the citizens of the country deserve hope and not imitation - that's not how to replace the prime minister. Annexation is the elimination of any chance of democracy and peace. You've probably forgotten that there is life also after the (election) campaign. The pathetic attempt to scramble a few votes from the right is not worth the destruction of the future of us all."
--Chairman of the Joint List, Ayman Odeh, said in response to Kahol-Lavan leader, Benny Gantz's, declaration that Israel must annext the Beqaa Jordan Valley in the West Bank.*

"At least the right wing is consistent.  Not only is incitement against Arabs one of its standard tools to whip up the base, but the right’s ethnocentric and nationalist ideology also mandates a callous disregard for the Arab minority, its history and its demands for full integration and equality. On the left, it’s the other way around: Its leaders’ refusal to engage with Arabs not only contradicts its supposedly liberal worldview, but also lends credence to right-wing efforts to trash the left."
--Haaretz commentator Chemi Shalev writes about the left-wing's refusal to take the outstretched hand of leading Israeli Arab politicians.*

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Front Page:

Judges ruled to give Ateret Cohanim settler organization the land in E. Jerusalem on which live 23 members of the Rajbi family in a home they bought over 40 years ago, on grounds that the structure was built on land owned by Jews before 1948. Israeli law enables Jews to repossess properties in East Jerusalem that they lost during the 1948 war, but does not allow similar rights to the thousands of Palestinians who lost their property in that war.**

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Front Page:

"Our religion is the motorcycle and its horsepower. Politics remain beyond the fence.”
-Comment by an Israeli organizer of a meet at a West Bank settlement for Israeli and Palestinian motorcyclists.*

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Quote of the Day #2:
"I am flooded with many hundreds of moving messages of support from students, alumni, and parents. You are an example, an inspiration and hope that one day a society will be established here, where Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Mizrachi will live together in peace and friendship."
--Long-time high school teacher Meir Baruchin posted on Facebook after he was fired for political remarks he made.**

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Front Page:

You Must Be Kidding: 
The Hecht Museum at Haifa University canceled a talk by an Arab Israeli artist because the appearance by “a Palestinian artist” would displease the Hecht Foundation, which is associated with the museum.**

“I expect the state authorities in the area, both the army and the Civil Administration, to treat Palestinians, especially those who are innocent of any crime, as they would Israelis who are injured parties. I expect that after [the authorities] are forced to damage businesses, they act fairly when considering the compensation due them and not try to evade responsibility using creative legal arguments.”
--Military Judge Ronen Atzmon wrote in an unusual ruling because it awarded compensation to the plaintiffs — Palestinians whose plant nurseries were needlessly destroyed by Israeli soldiers in 2000, during the Second intifada.*

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You Must Be Kidding: 
"The charges against Netanyahu are much more serious. If Netanyahu can [run for Knesset], so can we."
—Gali Silver, wife of Amos Silver who is in jail on drug trafficking charges for running Telegrass, an online illegal Israeli cannabis and drug distribution network. Amos registered the New Economic Dawn party from jail on Tuesday.**

500.
--Number of Bedouin elementary school students without running water at Tel Arad Elementary School in the Negev.*

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Front Page:

"It will turn us into Saudi Arabia."
--Author Haim Be'er said in answer to an interviewer, who asked him how will Israel look if religious Zionism comes to power and leads the country.*

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Front Page:

“Regretfully, the law is abandoned on the road to Isawiyah."
--Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) lawyer Tal Hassin wrote in a letter to the police, following the detention in an illegal manner of about two hundred Palestinian children, some under the age of 12, since the start of regular police raids in the E. Jerusalem neighborhood of Isawiyeh.*