APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday September 1, 2015
Quote of the day:
"He’s a pro rifleman. All the rest of his body is shouting for help. He’s overpowered a child half of his size,
who may or may not have been correctly identified as throwing stones, but the soldier doesn’t know what to do
next."
--Haaretz's Anshel Pfeffer describes the absurdity of a situation where year after year trained IDF soldiers hold Palestinian child in a headlock or some similar drama, as if there were a military solution to the conflict.
--Haaretz's Anshel Pfeffer describes the absurdity of a situation where year after year trained IDF soldiers hold Palestinian child in a headlock or some similar drama, as if there were a military solution to the conflict.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Haaretz probe: Growing gaps in education system between socioeconomically strong and weak families
- Education based on separation // Or Kashti
- Cosmetic solutions for 52 billion shekels // Lior Dattal
- Gas stocks parachuted; Netanyahu cancelled the vote over the gas agreement
- Turkel Commission to discuss today (Gal) Hirsch’s appointment (as police commissioner)
- Last night: Police commando fighter was moderately wounded in fire exchange with Palestinians in Jenin
- Appeal to High Court was rejected: Former Balad party MK to be sent to a year in prison because he met with senior PFLP members (in Syria)
- Ultra-Orthodox in Jerusalem oppose bicycle initiative: “It will bring desecration of Shabbat”
- IDF’s secret reports: The Dakkar naval ship sunk due to technical failure
- Whose values? // Haaretz Editorial
- Their refugees // Yitzhak Laor
Yedioth Ahronoth
- We are all First Grade
- Letter to my son // Yoaz Hendel
- Police commando fighter wounded in Jenin
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Returning to class
- Close to midnight: Serious shooting incident in Jenin
- (Police Commissioner candidate) Hirsch: The complaints against the police – not to my taste
- The Dakkar mystery: The report was given to the families (of the sailors who drowned)
Israel Hayom
- Good luck! (First day of school photos)
- Police commando fighter moderately wounded in an arrest operation in Jenin
- Today: Terkel Commission to discuss Hirsch’s appointment as Police Commissioner; Danino will tell Commission: I oppose appointing a police commissioner from outside
- National Soccer Association to (Minister) Deri: Permits to work on Shabbat – or we the soccer league will go on strike
News Summary:
Two million students go back to school today (and a Haaretz probe reveals that socioeconomic status still determines one’s educational fate in Israel), an Israeli soldier was wounded, likely by friendly fire, in a shootout with Palestinians during an arrest operation in Jenin, followed by rocket alarm sirens in the south of Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists former IDF commander Gal Hirsch is fit to serve as police chief, despite the controversy around him, making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, the storm continues over viral photos and video of an IDF soldier and Palestinian women and children.
Netanyahu declared that Hirsch will be a suitable police chief for Israel. Today Hirsch will speak before the Turkell Commission, which will examine the claims against him. Reports emerged of international criminal investigations against Hirsch for alleged money laundering as part of arms deals. Former IDF Generals also opposed the appointment, citing findings from the Second Lebanon War saying that Hirsch was unfit for the job.
Violent photos from a weekly West Bank protest went viral around the world, but Yedioth reported that some British media are taking a step back. The first photos show an IDF soldier holding a terrified 12-year-old Palestinian boy with a broken arm in a headlock. The photos and video that follow show a young girl and two other Palestinian women struggling to release the boy. The young girl, who was caught on video in the past responding without fear to Israeli soldiers, bit the soldier in the video. The father of the soldier said he was proud of his son's restraint. For some six years, Nabi Salih villagers have held weekly demonstrations to protest the confiscation of their lands and the takeover of their spring by the nearby Israeli settlement, Halamish. Haaretz commentators discussed the meaning of the photos at length (See Commentary below.)
Two million students go back to school today (and a Haaretz probe reveals that socioeconomic status still determines one’s educational fate in Israel), an Israeli soldier was wounded, likely by friendly fire, in a shootout with Palestinians during an arrest operation in Jenin, followed by rocket alarm sirens in the south of Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists former IDF commander Gal Hirsch is fit to serve as police chief, despite the controversy around him, making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, the storm continues over viral photos and video of an IDF soldier and Palestinian women and children.
Netanyahu declared that Hirsch will be a suitable police chief for Israel. Today Hirsch will speak before the Turkell Commission, which will examine the claims against him. Reports emerged of international criminal investigations against Hirsch for alleged money laundering as part of arms deals. Former IDF Generals also opposed the appointment, citing findings from the Second Lebanon War saying that Hirsch was unfit for the job.
Violent photos from a weekly West Bank protest went viral around the world, but Yedioth reported that some British media are taking a step back. The first photos show an IDF soldier holding a terrified 12-year-old Palestinian boy with a broken arm in a headlock. The photos and video that follow show a young girl and two other Palestinian women struggling to release the boy. The young girl, who was caught on video in the past responding without fear to Israeli soldiers, bit the soldier in the video. The father of the soldier said he was proud of his son's restraint. For some six years, Nabi Salih villagers have held weekly demonstrations to protest the confiscation of their lands and the takeover of their spring by the nearby Israeli settlement, Halamish. Haaretz commentators discussed the meaning of the photos at length (See Commentary below.)
Quick Hits:
- How many new schools has Israel built in East Jerusalem? Depends who’s counting - Statistics released by the municipality last week don’t correspond with data recently given by various council departments to a local Israeli NGO, Ir Amim. (Haaretz+)
-
Netanyahu: Israel to increase security to contend with recent spate of attacks
PM tells cabinet ministers that in meeting with defense minister, transportation minister and public security minister, it was decided to augment forces and expand vehicle fortification. (Haaretz+) - Israel asks Egypt: Stop move to monitor our nuclear facilities - Netanyahu's advisers went to Cairo three weeks ago to discuss matter with Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who heads effort to lobby internationally against Israel's nuclear program. (Haaretz+)
- IDF reservist dies during army training at military base - After having chest pains, the 44-year-old solider was taken to the Adam base’s infirmary, where he was pronounced dead, the IDF said. (Haaretz+)
- Jerusalem police suspect tunnel dug under museum to steal antiquities - Entrance to the 30-meter long tunnel discovered at a private home near the Rockefeller Museum, but an antiquities authority official casts doubt that it was to be used to steal from the museum. (Haaretz+)
- Father of IDF soldier attacked by Palestinians says proud of son's restraint - If women had been hurt, the incident 'would have ended in a completely different way,' father tells Army Radio; Palestinian girl seen on video tells Channel 2 soldier used too much force. (Haaretz)
- Ashkelon parents threaten to keep kids out of school over new principal’s politics - Avital Benshalom, the principle of Ashkelon’s School of the Arts, allegedly called on soldiers not to serve in the territories in a 2002 letter. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Israeli mayor calls to dismiss teacher who attended Palestinian protest - Herzl Schubert allegedly seen on viral video showing Palestinian women scuffling with soldier. (Haaretz+)
- Supreme Court upholds former Israeli Arab MK’s conviction for visiting Syria - Said Nafa sentenced to year in prison for traveling to Syria in 2007. (Haaretz+)
- Minister Regev denies paying firm without tender - Culture and sports minister challenges network after report that she hired ad agency without following protocol; recording apparently captures Regev's attempts to settle on an explanation. (Ynet)
- Human Rights Watch: Israel's ban on migrants in Tel Aviv and Eilat has no legal basis - 1,178 Eritreans and Sudanese migrants released from Holot with permits to live and work in Israel. (Haaretz)
- Egypt building fish farms to stop Gaza smuggling tunnels - Military begins work on fisheries that would fill border area with water in attempt to finally put an end to smuggling tunnels into Hamas-ruled enclaved. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Report: Palestinian women smuggling huge quantities of cheap tobacco from Jordan - 2.8 million cigarettes have been confiscated this year, but smuggling techniques are difficult to detect and mean 'much bigger' quantities of tobacco pass freely through customs. (Haaretz)
- Russian jets in Syrian skies - Russia has begun its military intervention in Syria, deploying an aerial contingent to a permanent Syrian base, in order to launch attacks against ISIS and Islamist rebels; US stays silent. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Activists launch 'SchumerMobile' in NYC to protest senator's opposition to Iran deal - Truck goes on five-day tour, carrying billboard featuring yearbook-style photos of Schumer and Sen. Menendez, captioned 'most likely to start a war.' (Haaretz+)
Features:
Otherwise Occupied: The Shin Bet provides coffee as well as torture
The trial of Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar also touched on what the Shin Bet offers its ‘guests’ while they’re sleep-deprived and cuffed. (Amira Hass, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
The trial of Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar also touched on what the Shin Bet offers its ‘guests’ while they’re sleep-deprived and cuffed. (Amira Hass, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Removing the mask, seeing the occupation (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) The scene from Nabi Saleh encapsulates all the insanity, injustice,
stupidity, purposelessness and pointlessness of the occupation.
How the tides have turned for Gal Hirsch (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Gal Hirsch's problematic personality earned him no friends in the IDF, and won't help him much in the police; despite that, he's exceptionally brave with an impressive operational record. Would that be enough for the appointed police commissioner?
Education in Israel is based on separation (Or Kashti, Haaretz+) Between Jews and Arabs, rich and poor, center and periphery, and between outstanding students and slow learners.
A perfect picture of the occupation (Haaretz Monday Editorial) The video clearly shows, once again, the truth about a great deal of the IDF’s operational activities: chasing children. And an army that fights children and chases them as they flee is an army that has lost its conscience.
More similar than different: A left-winger prefers his kids go to school with Arabs than with settlers (Karni Eldad [settler daughter of far right-wing former MK Arieh Eldad], Maariv) Integrated education, where religious and secular children learn together, is a flourishing field with the help of people who believe that we are all Jews, and it does not matter who fulfills all the commandments.
A picture of a headlock that's worth a thousand words (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Why hasn't the IDF, one of the most sophisticated and advanced militaries in the world learned a damned thing since the first intifada?
A State of Israel where (Justice Minister) Ayelet Shaked is responsible for the values of the law has lost its moral compass (Uri Savir, Maariv) The Prime Minister knows the United States well enough to know that his battle against Obama has no chance, but Netanyahu has calculations and skills of his own.
Daniel Barenboim, Israel's voodoo doll (Noam Ben-Zeev, Haaretz+) For generations of Israeli governments, Barenboim is a tremendous find. Mention of his name is more effective than the Iranian bomb, because for the right Barenboim is the ultimate symbol of fear.
Too much to lose (Dr. Col. (res.) Moshe Elad, Israel Hayom) The Palestinian residents of the West Bank see the turmoil taking place in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and they want no part of it.
Israel is a card-carrying member of the 'free world' (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) Who today, amidst the daily tragedies in Iraq or Syria, recalls his own opinion then regarding 'freedom'? Who even cares? How easy it is to blame the victims.
On day after Congress backs Iran deal, what will happen to Israel-U.S. ties? (Alfred Moses, Haaretz+) Netanyahu and Obama will have to cure the hangover of this bitter battle.
Garbage crisis symbolic of Iran's threat to the region and itself (Yaron Friedman, Yedioth/Ynet) Lebanon and Iraq, home to Iranian puppet- regimes, are now paying the price for being the spearhead in the Islamic Republic's battle against Sunnis; poverty and corruption in these countries raises potential of descent into anarchy.
Bennett's 'strengthening identities' program undermines Israeli secularism (Haaretz Editorial) The state education system needs to emphasize the liberal values that are the cornerstone of any country that seeks to be enlightened and democratic.
How the tides have turned for Gal Hirsch (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Gal Hirsch's problematic personality earned him no friends in the IDF, and won't help him much in the police; despite that, he's exceptionally brave with an impressive operational record. Would that be enough for the appointed police commissioner?
Education in Israel is based on separation (Or Kashti, Haaretz+) Between Jews and Arabs, rich and poor, center and periphery, and between outstanding students and slow learners.
A perfect picture of the occupation (Haaretz Monday Editorial) The video clearly shows, once again, the truth about a great deal of the IDF’s operational activities: chasing children. And an army that fights children and chases them as they flee is an army that has lost its conscience.
More similar than different: A left-winger prefers his kids go to school with Arabs than with settlers (Karni Eldad [settler daughter of far right-wing former MK Arieh Eldad], Maariv) Integrated education, where religious and secular children learn together, is a flourishing field with the help of people who believe that we are all Jews, and it does not matter who fulfills all the commandments.
A picture of a headlock that's worth a thousand words (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Why hasn't the IDF, one of the most sophisticated and advanced militaries in the world learned a damned thing since the first intifada?
A State of Israel where (Justice Minister) Ayelet Shaked is responsible for the values of the law has lost its moral compass (Uri Savir, Maariv) The Prime Minister knows the United States well enough to know that his battle against Obama has no chance, but Netanyahu has calculations and skills of his own.
Daniel Barenboim, Israel's voodoo doll (Noam Ben-Zeev, Haaretz+) For generations of Israeli governments, Barenboim is a tremendous find. Mention of his name is more effective than the Iranian bomb, because for the right Barenboim is the ultimate symbol of fear.
Too much to lose (Dr. Col. (res.) Moshe Elad, Israel Hayom) The Palestinian residents of the West Bank see the turmoil taking place in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and they want no part of it.
Israel is a card-carrying member of the 'free world' (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) Who today, amidst the daily tragedies in Iraq or Syria, recalls his own opinion then regarding 'freedom'? Who even cares? How easy it is to blame the victims.
On day after Congress backs Iran deal, what will happen to Israel-U.S. ties? (Alfred Moses, Haaretz+) Netanyahu and Obama will have to cure the hangover of this bitter battle.
Garbage crisis symbolic of Iran's threat to the region and itself (Yaron Friedman, Yedioth/Ynet) Lebanon and Iraq, home to Iranian puppet- regimes, are now paying the price for being the spearhead in the Islamic Republic's battle against Sunnis; poverty and corruption in these countries raises potential of descent into anarchy.
Bennett's 'strengthening identities' program undermines Israeli secularism (Haaretz Editorial) The state education system needs to emphasize the liberal values that are the cornerstone of any country that seeks to be enlightened and democratic.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.