Israeli visitors to an idyllic West Bank village walk around with guns, swim in the nude, generate fear and wreak
havoc – either accidentally or intentionally.
And these aren't even the biggest problems facing the local
Palestinian farmers. (Amira Hass,
While the Peshmerga have been on the front lines against ISIS, the impression is that they see the government in
Baghdad as their main enemy. A special report from the front lines, part 3 (Anshel Pfeffer,
Father of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed and captured in Gaza two years ago, writes about exhibition of his son’s
paintings at UN’s central hallway last month as world leaders arrived to address General Assembly. ‘This pro-Israel
display presents the Israeli soldier as a smiling officer, an artist, a moral, courteous and earnest person, rather
than his usual image at the UN as a brutal soldier.’ (
Departures / Arrivals: A former American hippie has major plans for his grandson: Becoming the prime minister of
Israel and making peace with the Palestinians; an Aussie laments that kids these days are raised to be sociopaths.
(Liat Elkayam,
Commentary/Analysis:
A License to Kill (
Haaretz Editorial) By closing the case into the shooting of Palestinian siblings by
security guards in Qalandiyah, Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office gave stamp of approval to hasty
trigger fingers.
Obama: Last Chance to Rectify Your Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking Failures (Yossi Beilin,
Haaretz+) The election-inauguration window only happens once for every president.
Reagan used it to recognize the PLO in 1988, and Clinton for his parameters for peace in 2000. Will Obama
follow suit?
Clinton’s troubling list of donors (Sever Plocker,
Yedioth/Ynet) As a Jew, I felt great discomfort learning that the Democratic
presidential candidate’s top five mega-donors are Jewish; will people now argue that Hillary Clinton is
controlled by the Jews?
Despite Growing Pushback, Netanyahu Is Obsessed With Killing the Public Broadcaster (Yossi
Verter,
Haaretz) Cabinet ministers are making it difficult for Netanyahu to destroy the new
public broadcasting corporation. Knowing he'll have to pay a heavy price, the prime minister is putting
off the inevitably violent evacuation of the illegal Amona outpost.
Why is the Hamas government as stable as Netanyahu government? (Gideon Eshet,
Yedioth/Ynet) The rhetoric between Jerusalem and Gaza may be filled with deep hatred,
but it allows both governments to prove there is no solution; In the meantime, the strip's residents are
paying the price.
Our Holy Sites vs. Their Holy Sites (B. Michael,
Haaretz+) Israel's whining over UNESCO is arrogant and hypocritical, coming from a
state that does everything in its power to conceal or minimize everything that existed here before we
came, and after we left, until we returned.
To the very last inch (Eitan Haber,
Yedioth/Ynet) There is no need to argue over the number of houses that will be
evacuated and demolished in Amona outpost. Eventually, not a single Jewish home will remain in that
outpost – or in the entire West Bank.
Knesset Braces for Stormiest Session in Years (Jonathan Lis,
Haaretz+) From a boycott of the Arab MKs over their snub of Peres' funeral to the
looming eviction of the illegal outpost Amona, Israeli parliamentarians are in for a rough-and-tumble
winter.
Mosul as an allegory of Gaza (Alex Fishman,
Yedioth/Ynet) The fighting taking place in the Iraqi city is a practical model for the
IDF, which has yet to deal with the occupation of a city as large as Gaza, consisting of thousands of
gunmen driven by a jihadist ideology.
Clinton's Zombie Apocalypse: The Email Bombshell That Raised Trump's Campaign From the Dead
(Chemi Shalev,
Haaretz) The announcement that the email probe was being relaunched recast Clinton
from near-certain winner to almost-possible loser. Clinton aides suspect that FBI Director James Comey
intentionally sabotaged her campaign.
Are Israelis the Bad Ones? (Carolina Landsmann,
Haaretz+) B’Tselem is telling Israelis that the exception they have enjoyed from moral
judgment is over and they must recognize that they have built and solidified an entire system of values
and laws that is fundamentally a self-delusion.
Giving up national dignity in favor of regional flirtations (Elyakim Haetzni,
Yedioth/Ynet) As Jordan and Egypt keep slapping Israel in the face with diplomatic
initiatives, the Jewish state keeps holding back for the sake of a real or imaginary affair, which is
occurring – as always – solely under the table.
When bad behavior is deemed worse than killing (Ravit Hecht,
Haaretz+) Why does a court feel compelled to address the repulsive conduct of people
at the 'hate wedding' but not an incident in which a sister and brother were shot to death?
General Michel Aoun is bad news for Israel (Smadar Perry,
Yedioth/Ynet) If Aoun, who is known for changing his loyalties, is elected president
in Lebanon, he will be the one to select the country’s prime minister and dictate its foreign affairs; as
far as Israel is concerned, this means quite a headache.
So Stupid, Beautiful and Pure (Gideon Levy,
Haaretz+) Israel hasn’t changed since 1970. The pretexts for wars remain as they were;
their similarity is frightening: 'We need to be strong in order to make peace.'
Why is Bennett protecting it? (Dr. Haim Shine,
Israel Hayom) Not yet on the air, the new public broadcasting authority has become the
Left's home turf, seeking to advance its interests.
I Don't Need Jewish Historians to Tell Me About the Nakba (Sayed Kashua,
Haaretz+) I obsessively follow Israeli news in hopes of one day learning that peace
has broken out in the Mideast. But all I see are Jews arguing about 1948 and the occupation.
On October 21, the Israeli Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth published a 