APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday September 8, 2015 
 

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

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News Summary:
The controversial gas agreement was passed in Knesset with a snag, calls for revenge at the funeral of the Palestinian mother who died from the burn wounds of a right-wing Israeli attack on her family, the Shin Bet announces it detained some Jewish extremists (not those who killed the family), an Arab MK sparks a debate after accusing the Labor party and one of its most popular members of racism towards Arabs, and rumors abound that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will declare the cancellation of the Oslo Accords making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also, Maariv has the latest on the EU labeling of settlement products and the newspaper reporters write differently about the assessment of an IDF commander about Hamas. 

Tensions were high among the thousands that attended the funeral of Riham Dawabsheh, 27, in the West Bank village of Duma, who died of her wounds five weeks after the arson attack presumed to be by extremist right-wing Jews, and which killed her infant son and her husband. Only her son, Ahmed, 4, remains alive in serious condition. Some Palestinians called for a ‘Day of Rage’ for after Friday prayers. Yedioth/Ynet’s Elior Levy has the most interesting and revealing report (with photos) from the funeral, where marchers carried Hamas flags openly and Riham’s father asked, “How if the Shin Bet hears what I say to my wife at night, it isn’t able to catch the murderers of my daughter?” (Also in Maariv)
 
On Monday, hours after Riham Dawabshe's death, the Shin Bet revealed it had detained three radical right-wing Jewish activists and the State served an indictment against two of them. One of them, Avi Gafni, 19, from Beit Shemesh, “is a member of a Jewish terror group,” according to the Shin Bet. Gafni has had three restraining orders to stay out of the West Bank following information that showed his involvement in a number of incidents of arson of religious and personal property of Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The two were accused of setting fire to a Bedouin tent home to eight people near the Palestinian village of Ein Samia and for spraying graffiti nearby. There were no injuries. The teens live in the Baladim outpost, known as a home to extremists.

Joint List MK Jamal Zahalka accused Labor party (Zionist Camp) MK Stav Shafir and the Ashkenazi left-wing of "quiet racism" against Arabs, saying she doesn't even say hello to him in the Knesset halls. "I'm invisible to you." Shafir had warned in recent days of a possible pact being in the works, by which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly promised higher budgets to the Arab sector in return for Arab support of the gas agreement. The Joint List eventually opposed the bill, but Zahalka slammed Shafir for lecturing the Arabs. In a poignant and sharp speech he spoke of how it the Labor party built kibbutzim on top of the ruins of Palestinian villages, while the Likud at least only built them settlements beside Arab towns. He said that unlike her, who doesn't say hello when he says hello to her, the right-wing MKs do say hello to the Arab MKs and smile. Times of Israel has excerpts of the speech in English and Maariv shared Tweets by Israelis on the issue. Elad Schwartz Tweeted: "I really don't blame Stav Shafir that she didn't say hello to (MK) Zahalka in the (Knesset) corridors. She probably just wasn't sure whether he were one of the cleaners." 

The Israeli right-wing was celebrating the alleged intention by Abbas to announce at the UN General Assembly later this month that he is no longer bound by the Oslo Accords, since Israel doesn’t abide by it. Habayit Hayehudi MK Inon Magal said, "I congratulate Abu Mazen on his announcement that he intends to cancel the Oslo Accords, which were also violated by him and his partners from Hamas day after day for the last 22 years. At this opportunity, I call on him to return the guns the Palestinian Authority received in the framework of the agreement, which were used to murder Jews." Palestinian Authority officials expressed their disappointment that the nuclear agreement with Iran wasn't linked to progress on the Palestinian issue and that the international community is increasingly focusing on Syria.

Maariv’s Dana Somberg reported that a delegation representing the EU’s foreign affairs desk began discussing with senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials the labeling of Israeli products produced over the Green Line. The decision-making process will likely end in October and then the committee will publish its guidelines. 

Commander of the Southern Command Sami Turgeman gave interesting insight about Hamas at a conference of the Institute for Counter-terrorism at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center. Both Haaretz+ and Maariv quoted him saying that Israel would not be capable of ruling Gaza and dealing with its problems [likely a message to those right-wingers who want Israel to ‘destroy Hamas and takeover the Gaza Strip.’ – OH]. Maariv noted that Turgeman said that Hamas leadership does not want an ‘Operation Protective Edge 2.’ Nevertheless, Times of Israel led its article noting that Turgeman said, “Hamas would like to replace the State of Israel with an Islamic state, and we would like to replace it as well.” Turgeman said Hamas could be toppled in a future confrontation with Israel. But that statement came in contradiction to another one: That Hamas is losing members to more radical groups. [Why would Israel want to topple Hamas for a more radical group? OH]
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Know your enemy: How Arabic is taught in Israel's Jewish high schools
The teaching of the language has been coopted by the army's intelligence corps, leading to teachers who don't speak Arabic and students who study it only in the hope of foiling terrorists. (Or Kashti, Haaretz+) 
Our woman in Beirut
It's hard to imagine, but this attractive young woman was one of the boldest Mossad agents to ever serve the agency, taking part in several major operations, and earning the Chief of Staff's commendation. (Amira Lam, Yedioth/Ynet)
Stef Wertheimer Still Dreaming of Miracles at His Nazareth Industrial Park
The industrialist’s park, which he built and personally financed two years ago at a cost of 85 million shekels, is meant to house 1,000 workers – Jews and Arabs alike – and serve as a foundation for more industries. But for now it only employs 300 people. (Janan Bsoul, Haaretz+)
Abbas leaving? A journey among the people
PA President Mahmoud Abbas plans to leave two of his important political positions. Is this really a sign that the long-time Palestinian leader is headed for retirement? And what do the Palestinian people actually think of this? We walked around Ramallah and asked. (Oded Shalom and Elior Levi, Yedioth/Ynet)
Nightmares, intrusive memories, depression: Israeli researchers look at the dark side of asylum-seeking
The media floods us with reports on the geopolitical implications of the mass migrations, but the psychological toll is almost ignored. (Kim Yuval and Amit Bernstein, Haaretz+) 
Building upward? The construction dilemma has become a hot topic in the Arab sector
On the one hand, the desire to join the modern building momentum and move to life in the towers. On the other hand, the difficulty of letting go of tradition of living on homes on the land alongside parents. (Carmit Sapir-Weitz, Maariv) 
Syrians gathering in Serbia share the same politics: survival
They have traveled a month to reach the Hungarian border, racing against time to save families left behind in the Syrian civil war. (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:

Israel clamping down on Jewish terror - but not tightly enough (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israeli security services have cracked other cases involving arson attacks by Jewish extremists, but those who set fire to a home in Duma, killing a baby and his parents, are apparently still at large. 
There is an historic opportunity that might not return. There is no chance that Netanyahu will take advantage of it (Uri Savir, Maariv) Our cooperation with countries in the Persian Gulf to defeat the agreement with Iran could be a historic step, but it is not of great concern to the Prime Minister. 
Rage and Restraint: Duma's Third Funeral (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) First Ali, then Saad, now Reham: Third Dawabsheh family funeral held in the village, where a terrible silence still grips the house that was burned down.
Give young Bedouin a chance (Kher Albaz, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel should take advantage of the immense potential latent in the Bedouin society in the Negev in order to meet the growing needs of industry, commerce and the public sector.
What ‘Jewish compassion’? Israel still won't recognize Nakba (Zuher Andrawous, Haaretz+) There's an obligation to return the Palestinian refugees to their homeland from which they were expelled in 1948. So don't tell us lies about the Syrian refugees. 
Parade of generals: Appointment The appointment of (Gal) Hirsh (as police chief) is an expression of our militarism syndrome (Prof. Cielo Rosenberg, Maariv) Military experience is not relevant for an appointment outside the military system. Instead of looking for "stars” from the security establishment or from the top of the top brass of the police, we have to look for them in the civilian world. 
Israel must deal with its own refugees first: the Palestinians (Ron Ben-Tovim, Haaretz+) Instead of bickering over whether it is the Jewish State's morally duty to receive Syrian refugees, we should consider this: What has Europe learned from the Holocaust, and what has Israel yet to learn?
Can a shocking picture change the plight of Syrian refugees? (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) As he buried his wife and two little boys in Kobani, Abdullah al-Kurdi appealed to Arab leaders to draw conclusions from his tragedy and help other refugees. But will anything happen after the shocked world forgets the 'picture of the year'?  
In Holocaust’s Shadow, Israelis Argue Over Whether to Offer Syrian Refugees a Safe Haven (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Jewish and humanitarian values battle security concerns in Israeli hearts and minds as migrant crisis plays out on their border and on their television screens.
Don’t say we did not know: one day the Palestinians will march towards us, just like in Europe (Michal Aharoni, Maariv) Just like the immigrants coming to Europe, one day millions of Palestinians could simply walk towards the Israeli fences in search of a better future for themselves. The day will come when our neighbors from Gaza will have the same feeling as those refugees (in Europe) who are trying to reach a safe haven. They are looking for a better future for themselves and their children. They dream that they will have dreams. Yes, it will happen here too. In ten years, or 20, it does not matter. One day, millions of Palestinians, hungry, tired and worn out will just start walking towards Israel. A swarm of people who cannot take it anymore, just are not able to continue…. What is happening in Europe should serve as a warning signal. An hour's drive from Tel Aviv, millions of people live without hope, without a future. They, like the refugees coming to Europe, want to live. And one day, our ignoring this and our lack of desire to make a decision will cause them to do the same thing - to look for life.
Israeli lawmakers who approved defense budget gave government blank check (Haaretz Editorial) The scandalous process behind defense budget's approval proves yet again that the public cannot put its faith in its elected officials or ministers.
The U.S.'s major mistake vis-a-vis ISIS: Treating it as an organization, not an evil regime (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) The Americans keep on making the mistake of seeing the Islamic State as an organization, not an occupying regime that maintains civilian rule – even if it has to execute a gynecologist or two to keep order.
By fighting Iran deal, Netanyahu made key win over Obama (Amiel Ungar, Haaretz+) The Iran deal will pass, but Netanyahu's fight was worth it, because it strengthened the hands of those in the administration who are wary of turning Iran into a welcome player in the Middle East.
 
 

Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.