APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday August 6, 2015
Quote of the day:
"In my view, if we all are silent about these things, we are all collaborators.”
--President Reuven Rivlin responds to his detractors for speaking out against Jewish terror.
You Must Be Kidding:
“Of course I am.”
--Right-wing Lehava organization director, Beni Gopstein, answered the question in a debate about whether he is in favor of burning churches.
You Must Be Kidding:
“Of course I am.”
--Right-wing Lehava organization director, Beni Gopstein, answered the question in a debate about whether he is in favor of burning churches.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Obama in aggressive speech: Only Israel opposes agreement, Netanyahu is mistaken
- Unprecedented bitterness // Chemi Shalev
- Isolating Netanyahu // Barak Ravid
- Rivlin to Haaretz: Netanyahu needs to hold himself back, his battle could hurt Israel
- Gopstein, head of Lehava organization: We need to go out and burn churches
- Why did the Prime Minister visit the home of businessman Arnon Milchan four times in two months?
- Netanyahu and Steinitz suspended the Director of the Electricity Authority who opposed the gas (monopoly) guideline
- State Comptroller approves Locker Commission conclusions: in the IDF, there is no streamlining and no oversight
- Soldiers shot and injured an asylum-seeker at the border, in the army they changed their versions
- The plan that allowed building next to the shoreline was thwarted
Yedioth Ahronoth
- The radicals will bring about our end” – President of israel in interview with Nahum Barnea
- The missiles speech - Obama: If the agreement with Iran fails, missiles will rain on Tel-Aviv
- Obama’s mistake // Ben-Dror Yemini
- They are now alone - parents of soldier who died of heat stroke yesterday
- Do you eat spicy? You have a chance of living longer
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- “We are isolated and that worries me” –Special interview with President Reuven Rivlin
- Obama took off the gloves
- The daughter’s protest: Hunger-striking until a caretaker is approved for her sick mother
- Dream flight – El-Al to invest $900 million to acquire 15 Dreamliner Boeings
Israel Hayom
- Israel to Obama: “We differ from you”
- The mistake: Khamenei is not Khrushchev // Boaz Bismuth
- Obama’s show: Candy for the eyes // Prof. Avraham Ben-Zvi
- Prime Minister sides with Yaalon and Eisenkot: We will increase the security budget
- Zero VAT in disguise // Hezi Sternlicht
- Security first // Dan Margalit
- Rivlin: “I don’t fear for my life”
- Touching the skies: El-Al to purchase 15 Dreamliner planes
News Summary:
US President Barack Obama made an aggressive speech in support of the Iran nuclear agreement, pointing an accusatory finger at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who rejected the speech, and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin did not flinch from warning Israelis that Netanyahu’s attitude towards the US could harm Israel and that the extremist right-wing activists could bring about Israel’s end, just as the head of an radical right-wing religious organization called to burn churches - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, a far right-wing submitted complaint to police for incitement against him, which got a very interesting response from the left-wing.
President Obama “took off his gloves” (Maariv) and accused Israel of being the only country in the world that opposes the Iran deal. Yedioth called it the ‘Missiles Speech’ because he warned that without the agreement, missiles will rain on Israel. Haaretz+’s Washington correspondent Chemi Shalev called it a speech of ‘unprecedented bitterness.’ And Yedioth’s Washington correspondent Orly Azoulay explained that “Government officials in Washington are rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Never before has a representative of a foreign government tried to burn down a president's political power base from under his feet.” Former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy wrote in Yedioth: “It would be a historic mistake to push the (US) Jews into the corner and force them to choose between the trust and respect they owe to their President and between answering the cry of despair emanating from Jerusalem.”
After the speech, an Israeli official said that Obama was right to say that a nuclear Iran is much more dangerous than an Iran that enjoys the easing of the economic sanctions. Speaking to Maariv’s political correspondent Dana Somberg, he said that the deal gives Iran the capacity to develop nuclear weapons and it gives it the ability to earn hundreds of billions of dollars by which it will finance increased terror. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog said Netanyahu should not clash with Obama because “the public confrontation between Netanyahu and Obama brings a smile to our enemies and those who hate us, who enjoy seeing us fight in front of the whole world.” Herzog said Netanyahu “should go into the Oval Office, argue with him, tell him difficult things about the agreement with Iran, but particularly he needs to conduct a dialogue with Obama on the way to building a global front and broad regional against Iran.” US Secretary of State John Kerry said, “This deal is as pro-Israel, as pro-Israel’s security, as it gets.” In an interview in the Atlantic, he said that saying ‘no’ to the agreement would be “reckless” and that the alternative was war. Meanwhile, the State Department says its ready to discuss enhancing Israel’s security – i.e. Israel’s ‘compensation package.’ Until now Israel has refused to because it sees that as declaring that it accepts the Iran deal.
President Rivlin also had very critical words for Israel and its leader. On the anniversary of his first year in office, he gave interviews to all the main Hebrew newspapers, which headlined his fears for the country, except for Israel Hayom, which focused on his lack of fear for his life, despite death threats. He said that relations with the US are of utmost importance and that Netanyahu is campaigning against the US as equals, which could hurt Israel. Regarding the recent attacks on the Palestinian family in Duma and at the Gay Pride Parade that killed two people he said that “what is happening in the country is what happened to the (racist soccer team) Beitar Jerusalem (which recently rioted at a game in Belgium and injured the Belgian goalie). They stole our team.” He denied he has become a left-winger. “I’m the same Ruvi," he said. “Soul-searching begins when we ask ourselves the question whether we did deceive ourselves when we preferred, for reasons of comfort, to think that the extremist acts are something that will pass, that doesn’t need to be dealt with all the full extent of the law.” He also responded to those who attacked him when he said that “The people of my nation chose terror.” Rivlin: “When I said, the ‘people of my nation,’ I meant about those who chose terror. I did not speak about the whole nation. My words were distorted. In my view, if we all are silent about these things, we are all collaborators.”
Meanwhile, leader of the radical racist right-wing Lehava organization was caught on tape saying churches in Israel should be burned. And another incitement video was posted on the internet showing Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon in Nazi uniform. And, the American-accented parents of Mordechai Mayer, the radical religious right-wing activist, who was put under administrative detention (jail without charges - normally used only against Palestinians) complained, "We thought this was a democratic state."
Meanwhile, the leader of the far-right wing Habayit Hayehudi party, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, filed a complaint over incitement against him after his Facebook page was inundated with calls for violence ever since the attack at the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade. [His party is known for being anti-LGBT. –OH] That raised eyebrows among the left-wing, Maariv reported. One Israeli left-winger submitted a complaint to the police against Bennett, his fellow party members MK Bezalel Smutrich, MK Yinon Magal and Minister Ayelet Shaked for inciting against LGBT people. And, Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg wrote on her Facebook page that “Instead of looking deeply inward, Bennett turned it into a cynical demonstration of victimization in an attempt to turn the real victims into scapegoats. No one has ever perfected the ability to incite and howl at the same time as Naftali Bennett has. In Habayit Hayehudi party, they made homophobia and racism into an open and declared ideology, then cried when they received criticism after it turned out that (their) words have deadly results.” Peace Now organization posted a video on Facebook which shows numerous ugly Facebook posts of threats and incitement against the peace organization and its leader, Yariv Oppenheimer.
US President Barack Obama made an aggressive speech in support of the Iran nuclear agreement, pointing an accusatory finger at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who rejected the speech, and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin did not flinch from warning Israelis that Netanyahu’s attitude towards the US could harm Israel and that the extremist right-wing activists could bring about Israel’s end, just as the head of an radical right-wing religious organization called to burn churches - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, a far right-wing submitted complaint to police for incitement against him, which got a very interesting response from the left-wing.
President Obama “took off his gloves” (Maariv) and accused Israel of being the only country in the world that opposes the Iran deal. Yedioth called it the ‘Missiles Speech’ because he warned that without the agreement, missiles will rain on Israel. Haaretz+’s Washington correspondent Chemi Shalev called it a speech of ‘unprecedented bitterness.’ And Yedioth’s Washington correspondent Orly Azoulay explained that “Government officials in Washington are rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Never before has a representative of a foreign government tried to burn down a president's political power base from under his feet.” Former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy wrote in Yedioth: “It would be a historic mistake to push the (US) Jews into the corner and force them to choose between the trust and respect they owe to their President and between answering the cry of despair emanating from Jerusalem.”
After the speech, an Israeli official said that Obama was right to say that a nuclear Iran is much more dangerous than an Iran that enjoys the easing of the economic sanctions. Speaking to Maariv’s political correspondent Dana Somberg, he said that the deal gives Iran the capacity to develop nuclear weapons and it gives it the ability to earn hundreds of billions of dollars by which it will finance increased terror. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog said Netanyahu should not clash with Obama because “the public confrontation between Netanyahu and Obama brings a smile to our enemies and those who hate us, who enjoy seeing us fight in front of the whole world.” Herzog said Netanyahu “should go into the Oval Office, argue with him, tell him difficult things about the agreement with Iran, but particularly he needs to conduct a dialogue with Obama on the way to building a global front and broad regional against Iran.” US Secretary of State John Kerry said, “This deal is as pro-Israel, as pro-Israel’s security, as it gets.” In an interview in the Atlantic, he said that saying ‘no’ to the agreement would be “reckless” and that the alternative was war. Meanwhile, the State Department says its ready to discuss enhancing Israel’s security – i.e. Israel’s ‘compensation package.’ Until now Israel has refused to because it sees that as declaring that it accepts the Iran deal.
President Rivlin also had very critical words for Israel and its leader. On the anniversary of his first year in office, he gave interviews to all the main Hebrew newspapers, which headlined his fears for the country, except for Israel Hayom, which focused on his lack of fear for his life, despite death threats. He said that relations with the US are of utmost importance and that Netanyahu is campaigning against the US as equals, which could hurt Israel. Regarding the recent attacks on the Palestinian family in Duma and at the Gay Pride Parade that killed two people he said that “what is happening in the country is what happened to the (racist soccer team) Beitar Jerusalem (which recently rioted at a game in Belgium and injured the Belgian goalie). They stole our team.” He denied he has become a left-winger. “I’m the same Ruvi," he said. “Soul-searching begins when we ask ourselves the question whether we did deceive ourselves when we preferred, for reasons of comfort, to think that the extremist acts are something that will pass, that doesn’t need to be dealt with all the full extent of the law.” He also responded to those who attacked him when he said that “The people of my nation chose terror.” Rivlin: “When I said, the ‘people of my nation,’ I meant about those who chose terror. I did not speak about the whole nation. My words were distorted. In my view, if we all are silent about these things, we are all collaborators.”
Meanwhile, leader of the radical racist right-wing Lehava organization was caught on tape saying churches in Israel should be burned. And another incitement video was posted on the internet showing Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon in Nazi uniform. And, the American-accented parents of Mordechai Mayer, the radical religious right-wing activist, who was put under administrative detention (jail without charges - normally used only against Palestinians) complained, "We thought this was a democratic state."
Meanwhile, the leader of the far-right wing Habayit Hayehudi party, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, filed a complaint over incitement against him after his Facebook page was inundated with calls for violence ever since the attack at the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade. [His party is known for being anti-LGBT. –OH] That raised eyebrows among the left-wing, Maariv reported. One Israeli left-winger submitted a complaint to the police against Bennett, his fellow party members MK Bezalel Smutrich, MK Yinon Magal and Minister Ayelet Shaked for inciting against LGBT people. And, Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg wrote on her Facebook page that “Instead of looking deeply inward, Bennett turned it into a cynical demonstration of victimization in an attempt to turn the real victims into scapegoats. No one has ever perfected the ability to incite and howl at the same time as Naftali Bennett has. In Habayit Hayehudi party, they made homophobia and racism into an open and declared ideology, then cried when they received criticism after it turned out that (their) words have deadly results.” Peace Now organization posted a video on Facebook which shows numerous ugly Facebook posts of threats and incitement against the peace organization and its leader, Yariv Oppenheimer.
Quick Hits:
- Hamas favors diplomacy over war, considers Gaza war a failure - A source close to Hamas says the group concluded it has no good military option against Israel, while Saudis, Egyptians are warming up to the Islamic organization. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli extremist group leader calls for torching of churches - Lehava’s Benzi Gopstein tells yeshiva panel that the Rambam’s ruling for destruction of idol worship is still valid. (Haaretz+ and Maariv)
- MK Rosenthal to Attorney General: "While you're sleeping, the rule of law disintegrates. Resign!" - Zionist Camp MK reacted to the tape, where the chairman of Lehava organization is heard calling to burn churches, and attacked Yehuda Weinstein: "This is laxity? This is fear? No, this is Yehuda Weinstein!” (Maariv)
- Palestinian residents prevent settler attack in Salfit village - Villagers noticed dozens of settlers sneaked into the outskirts of the village through fields and gathered not far from village houses. The villagers chased them in groups, forcing them to run away. Israeli soldiers fired flares and stun grenades at the villagers. (Maan)
- Four Palestinian families face eviction from East Jerusalem home next week - Court ruled that Silwan home where the Abu Nab clan has lived since 1948 is built on land owned by Jewish organization; eviction is first stage in move to evict dozens of families and replace them with Jewish ones. (Haaretz+)
- Jerusalem Gay Pride attacker's mother speaks to victim's family - Yishai Schlissel's mother Rivka told family members of 16-year-old Shira Banki that she thinks the incident is 'really a great tragedy and we regret it very much.' (Haaretz+)
- Pride Parade attacker sent to psychiatric evaluation - Shlissel continues rejecting services of public defender; police presents documents and past reports on suspect's mental state, showing he was fit to stand trial. (Ynet)
- ‘Baby Ali is every Palestinian’s child’ - At a memorial ceremony held a decade after IDF soldier Natan Zada shot dead four Israeli Arabs in Shfaram, the Duma arson attack reverberates throughout. (Haaretz+)
- Netanyahu, Herzog Held Secret Meeting at Hollywood Producer's Home - Opposition leader's bureau says many others attended the meeting, but security footage shows otherwise. (Haaretz+)
- 2,000-year-old mikveh discovered at Jerusalem construction site - Mikveh discovered in cave whose walls are covered with paintings and cryptic Aramaic inscriptions. "This kind of concentration of inscriptions and symbols from the Second Temple era is rare and most intriguing," says archaeologist overseeing the dig. (Israel Hayom)
- Former settler leader Dani Dayan tapped as Israel's ambassador to Brazil - Dayan served as chairman of Yesha Council between 2007 and 2013; he competed on Habayit Hayehudi's last list for Knesset. (Haaretz+)
- State comptroller: Defense establishment failed to streamline - Yosef Shapira releases report on defense budget, finding weak supervision and control by senior staff over streamlining process. (Ynet and Haaretz+)
- Boston native joins IDF, inspired by Operation Protective Edge - Yaakov Ben-David: "Last summer I saw the news coverage of Protective Edge on TV. They showed IDF soldiers entering Gaza in long lines. Those images were hard for me and I broke, all of a sudden I just started crying.” His next goal: the Golani Brigade. (Israel Hayom)
- TechNation Economist: Israeli Cyber Exports Exceed Arms Sales - Startup Safe-T exploring Wall Street IPO, Taboola signs agreement with USA Today publisher Gannett. (Haaretz+)
- Official: Hamas will not deal with new Palestinian ministers - Hamas political bureau member Moussa Abu Marzouq said Hamas won’t deal with the new ministers sworn into the Palestinian government in a reshuffle last week, because there was a national agreement on removing the incumbent Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. (Maan)
- Turkey says comprehensive battle against ISIS to be launched soon - Turkey formally approved use of its air bases by U.S. and coalition aircraft last month, a major change in policy. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- U.S. launches first drone strike in Syria from Turkish airspace - The raid by an unmanned drone was launched from the Incirlik air base near the southern city of Adana in Turkey. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Assad forces, Hezbollah advance in Syria-Lebanon border region - The fighting came as the ultraconservative Ahrar a-Sham insurgent group said that it has stopped communicating with Iranian mediators after they insisted that fighters and residents leave Zabadani. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Sinai's ISIS offshoot threatens to kill Croatian hostage in 48 hours - In video, Tomislav Salopek, an employee of a multinational company which specializes in oil and gas geology, says group demands an exchange of prisoners. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
50 Shades of Gay: How views on homosexuality are splitting the Orthodox world
While some congregations are slowly opening to gay Jews, others are becoming deeper entrenched in their rejection. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
Problem across the border: The origins of Israel's policy on Palestinian refugees
Jacob Tovy’s extensive research is a welcome addition to the corpus of materials on the Arab-Palestinian refugee question, opening a door to the Israeli decision-making process from 1948 to 1956, which at times avoided tackling the problem, allowing it to fester and grow. (Asaf Romirowsky, Yedioth/Ynet)
For Arab women in Israel, a café of their own
At first the Muslim clergy and even the owner’s own mother objected to the idea of a women’s cafe. (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+)
The missing link: the difficulties the Shin Bet has when faced with Jewish terror
Small teams, the lack of a clear leader and the difficulty of the Shin Bet to turn intelligence into an indictment. No wonder the police turned to the public in investigating the murder in the village of Duma. Senior former Shin Bet officials explain. (Arik Bender, Maariv's Magazine supplement, cover)
The Human Cost of the IDF's 'nonlethal' Ammunition (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+) Security forces entered a refugee camp to make arrests and fired a sponge bullet at short range at Nafez Demiri, who is deaf and mute, blinding him in one eye.
Commentary/Analysis:
While some congregations are slowly opening to gay Jews, others are becoming deeper entrenched in their rejection. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
Problem across the border: The origins of Israel's policy on Palestinian refugees
Jacob Tovy’s extensive research is a welcome addition to the corpus of materials on the Arab-Palestinian refugee question, opening a door to the Israeli decision-making process from 1948 to 1956, which at times avoided tackling the problem, allowing it to fester and grow. (Asaf Romirowsky, Yedioth/Ynet)
For Arab women in Israel, a café of their own
At first the Muslim clergy and even the owner’s own mother objected to the idea of a women’s cafe. (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+)
The missing link: the difficulties the Shin Bet has when faced with Jewish terror
Small teams, the lack of a clear leader and the difficulty of the Shin Bet to turn intelligence into an indictment. No wonder the police turned to the public in investigating the murder in the village of Duma. Senior former Shin Bet officials explain. (Arik Bender, Maariv's Magazine supplement, cover)
The Human Cost of the IDF's 'nonlethal' Ammunition (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+) Security forces entered a refugee camp to make arrests and fired a sponge bullet at short range at Nafez Demiri, who is deaf and mute, blinding him in one eye.
Commentary/Analysis:
Israeli justice minister's goal: Weakening democracy (Haaretz Editorial) Ayelet Shaked's move to split attorney general's role is clearly
intended to damage the rule of law.
Saboteurs of Obama's foreign Policy (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) Government officials in Washington are rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Never before has a representative of a foreign government tried to burn down a president's political power base from under his feet.
Proud in the ‘State of Tel Aviv’ (Avner Bernheimer, Haaretz+) In the face of two horrific murders committed in the name of God, we must stand up for a secular, humanistic, and pluralistic culture.
Obama isolates Netanyahu as head of warmongers (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) In a speech that is liable to be seen as turning point in U.S.-Israeli relations, president clarified that the two countries' security interests are not always the same.
With a firm hand: Rather than stand up for the rule of law, leaders of the public spoke out against the High Court (Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Maariv) The depths we reached requires a comprehensive overhaul of law enforcement and mobilizing education for a campaign against hatred. But mostly what is needed is a change in the attitude of our leaders.
UNRWA tightens the purse strings (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) Cutting U.N. Relief and Works Agency aid to the Palestinians may prove to be their first step on the path toward independence.
President in the crosshairs: the photo of the Israeli leader wearing a keffiyeh is a warning siren (Avraham Tirosh, Maariv) Beyond finding the terrorists who operated in Duma and preventing "price tag acts,” one of the most important roles of the Shin Bet now is to secure President Rivlin to the maximum extent and guard his life.
The intolerable ease of incitement (Smadar Bat Adam, Israel Hayom) Once again we have to keep a stiff upper lip and prove -- to ourselves -- that we are the chosen people.
The root of Israel's soul-sickness: The primacy of religion (Hadara Levin Aradi, Haaretz+) All those crying out feel an uncontrollable need to back up their horror at the murder of a Palestinian toddler with support from Jewish sources - as though without religious validation, the liberal viewpoint has no validity either.
An incomplete Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel): It seems that there are two states for one people (Tal Schneider, Maariv) Parts of Israel's citizens are watching astounded at what is happening and are rubbing their eyes. Did they all grew up here together, under the same sun, in a similar education system?
What must Palestinians do for Israelis to feel their pain? (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) The memory of Auschwitz has blunted Israelis' feelings for any other suffering – at least in feelings' political sense, that is, where shock is translated into political resistance.
What BDS and Israeli Settlers Have in Common (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The settlers have done everything they can to make sure no one distinguishes them from Israel proper. That’s playing into the boycotters' hands.
Yazidi Sex Slaves in ISIS Captivity Must Escape or Hope to Be Purchased (Judit Neurink, Haaretz+) The only hope for thousands of abducted Yazidi women to escape is to be purchased, usually for exorbitant sums.
Saboteurs of Obama's foreign Policy (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) Government officials in Washington are rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Never before has a representative of a foreign government tried to burn down a president's political power base from under his feet.
Proud in the ‘State of Tel Aviv’ (Avner Bernheimer, Haaretz+) In the face of two horrific murders committed in the name of God, we must stand up for a secular, humanistic, and pluralistic culture.
Obama isolates Netanyahu as head of warmongers (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) In a speech that is liable to be seen as turning point in U.S.-Israeli relations, president clarified that the two countries' security interests are not always the same.
With a firm hand: Rather than stand up for the rule of law, leaders of the public spoke out against the High Court (Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Maariv) The depths we reached requires a comprehensive overhaul of law enforcement and mobilizing education for a campaign against hatred. But mostly what is needed is a change in the attitude of our leaders.
UNRWA tightens the purse strings (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) Cutting U.N. Relief and Works Agency aid to the Palestinians may prove to be their first step on the path toward independence.
President in the crosshairs: the photo of the Israeli leader wearing a keffiyeh is a warning siren (Avraham Tirosh, Maariv) Beyond finding the terrorists who operated in Duma and preventing "price tag acts,” one of the most important roles of the Shin Bet now is to secure President Rivlin to the maximum extent and guard his life.
The intolerable ease of incitement (Smadar Bat Adam, Israel Hayom) Once again we have to keep a stiff upper lip and prove -- to ourselves -- that we are the chosen people.
The root of Israel's soul-sickness: The primacy of religion (Hadara Levin Aradi, Haaretz+) All those crying out feel an uncontrollable need to back up their horror at the murder of a Palestinian toddler with support from Jewish sources - as though without religious validation, the liberal viewpoint has no validity either.
An incomplete Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel): It seems that there are two states for one people (Tal Schneider, Maariv) Parts of Israel's citizens are watching astounded at what is happening and are rubbing their eyes. Did they all grew up here together, under the same sun, in a similar education system?
What must Palestinians do for Israelis to feel their pain? (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) The memory of Auschwitz has blunted Israelis' feelings for any other suffering – at least in feelings' political sense, that is, where shock is translated into political resistance.
What BDS and Israeli Settlers Have in Common (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The settlers have done everything they can to make sure no one distinguishes them from Israel proper. That’s playing into the boycotters' hands.
Yazidi Sex Slaves in ISIS Captivity Must Escape or Hope to Be Purchased (Judit Neurink, Haaretz+) The only hope for thousands of abducted Yazidi women to escape is to be purchased, usually for exorbitant sums.
Interviews:
'Israel Would Be Embarrassed if It Were Known It's Selling Arms to These Countries'
Itay Mack, a Jerusalem-based human rights lawyer and activist, seeks greater transparency and public oversight of Israel’s military exports. (Interviewed by Ayelett Shani in Haaretz+)
Working behind the scenes to confront Israel boycotters
In a farewell interview, Israel’s outgoing ambassador to Britain and next anti-BDS czar reflects on leftist media outlets and the ‘chill factor’ of the delegitimization campaign. (Interviewed by Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz+)
Itay Mack, a Jerusalem-based human rights lawyer and activist, seeks greater transparency and public oversight of Israel’s military exports. (Interviewed by Ayelett Shani in Haaretz+)
Working behind the scenes to confront Israel boycotters
In a farewell interview, Israel’s outgoing ambassador to Britain and next anti-BDS czar reflects on leftist media outlets and the ‘chill factor’ of the delegitimization campaign. (Interviewed by Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz+)
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.