APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday October 21, 2015
Quote of the day:
"I have a great deal of respect for those in uniform who defended themselves and the citizens around
them without killing the terrorist..."
--Prof. Asa Kasher, who compiled the IDF ethics code, writes that shooting a terrorist in the head is "immoral and illegal."
--Prof. Asa Kasher, who compiled the IDF ethics code, writes that shooting a terrorist in the head is "immoral and illegal."
You Must Be Kidding:
"Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews."
--Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tells the 37th Zionist Congress in his speech Tuesday.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Violence in Hebron area increasing; Israeli attacked with stones was run over and killed, two soldiers stabbed and lightly injured
- New class order // Zvi Bar’el
- Tragedy of the Arabs of Israel // Ravit Hecht
- Police chief Sau: Hundreds of arrests of youth from E. Jerusalem expected
- (Lynched) Asylum seeker Habtoum Zarhoum won’t be recognized as a ‘victim of hostile action’
- Casualties to Russian forces in Syria; In Israel, expecting difficulties for Putin
- Adelson plans competition for AIPAC // Chemi Shalev
- The drop in the percentage of secular students was removed from the report: Central Bureau of Statistics decided to stop publishing the comparative forecasts of the different (religious, secular, Arab) schools
- Turnaround in Canada: Conservative Harper lost to left-center candidate
- Video clips from Allenby: The young woman called men over and seduced them
- Invasion of privacy // Haaretz Editorial
- From October 2000 to October 2015 // Sawsan Zaher
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Preparing for a continued wave of terror – IDF: Forced to summon reserve soldiers in order to narrow the harm to training
- Moment before fatal hit and run – Avraham-Asher Hasno from Kiryat Arba killed by truck after he got out of car armed with club after his car was hit with rocks
- One week ago: “Settlements grew by 40% during my period”; Netanyahu yesterday: “I built less in Judea and Samaria than anyone else”
- No limits: An explosive device was found in a kindergarten in Nes Ziona
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The terror doesn’t stop: One killed and four wounded in West Bank
- After Amir Peretz, the Prime Minister also was photographed observing through closed binoculars
- Panic in Nes Tziona: Hundreds of children evacuated to safe room because of explosive device - police investigating background
- The journey after the bones of the Jewish grandfather in Tunisia ended in disappointment
Israel Hayom
- Prime Minister: Abu Mazen joined the lies of Hamas and ISIS
- Day of terror in Judea and Samaria, especially in Hebron area: Stabbings, stones and hit-and-runs
- Doubtful if Abu Mazen wants to calm the winds // Dan Margalit
- IDF examining: Did the soldiers run away from the attack at the Beersheva bus station?
- The job of the soldiers – to fight // Yoav Limor
News Summary:
Three more alleged Palestinian stabbings of Israelis and one Israeli killed after being run over in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu compared Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with ISIS making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
The IDF believes that each Palestinian attack inspires others. Some writers mentioned that the videos of the attackers being shot dead fans the flames. “It’s contagious, but we can’t identify a directing hand. It’s a continuous dynamic process and even if it’s calm for a few days, this doesn’t mean that this spate of attacks is over” said a defense establishment source. “It could take many more weeks.”
There were some surprising statements at the press conference held by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who made a surprise visit and Netanyahu. Netanyahu compared Abbas to ISIS saying he had joined them and Hamas in incitement. However, Ban chided the Israelis, saying that that “security measures can be counterproductive if they are applied without special efforts to defuse the situation before people lose their lives.” Any misuse of force, he said, “may breed the very frustrations and anxieties from which violence” can erupt.
Ban will meet today with Abbas. The Palestinians are preparing a report detailing alleged Israeli violations by settlers under the aegis of the State and the military, Haaretz+ reported. Netanyahu leaves today for Berlin and will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel this evening and US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini tomorrow.
Three more alleged Palestinian stabbings of Israelis and one Israeli killed after being run over in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu compared Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with ISIS making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
The IDF believes that each Palestinian attack inspires others. Some writers mentioned that the videos of the attackers being shot dead fans the flames. “It’s contagious, but we can’t identify a directing hand. It’s a continuous dynamic process and even if it’s calm for a few days, this doesn’t mean that this spate of attacks is over” said a defense establishment source. “It could take many more weeks.”
There were some surprising statements at the press conference held by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who made a surprise visit and Netanyahu. Netanyahu compared Abbas to ISIS saying he had joined them and Hamas in incitement. However, Ban chided the Israelis, saying that that “security measures can be counterproductive if they are applied without special efforts to defuse the situation before people lose their lives.” Any misuse of force, he said, “may breed the very frustrations and anxieties from which violence” can erupt.
Ban will meet today with Abbas. The Palestinians are preparing a report detailing alleged Israeli violations by settlers under the aegis of the State and the military, Haaretz+ reported. Netanyahu leaves today for Berlin and will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel this evening and US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini tomorrow.
Quick Hits:
- (E. Jerusalem) Palestinian Family: Ill Mother Died After Being Delayed at Checkpoint - Relatives of woman from Isawiyah say car was detained half an hour and that she had inhaled teargas, while Israel police reject their version of events on both counts. (Haaretz+ and Maan)
- Palestinian medical sources: 27-year-old protester killed by IDF fire - Palestinian medical sources are reporting that a 27-year-old Palestinian protester has been shot dead by the IDF during clashes along the Gaza border fence. (Ynet, Maan and Maariv)
- Senior West Bank Hamas leader arrested for incitement - Security forces say (Palestinian MP from Hamas) Hassan Yousef has been ‘instigating and inciting terrorism’ and praising attacks on Israelis. (Times of Israel and Maan)
- The judge ordered the police: Locate the "great hero", who kicked a neutralized Arab woman in the head - Following the video clip in which an unidentified person kicked in the head an Arab woman suffering from mental problems who attacked a religious man but was neutralized, the court ordered the police to track down the attacker, "Is Gomorrah in our blood?" (kikar+VIDEO, i24news, Maariv)
- Knesset Welfare Committee Head: Arab Protest Partly Due to Poverty - Percentage of poor Israeli Arabs about twice that of Israeli Jews. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli Army to Look Into Conduct of Soldiers Who Fled Be'er Sheva Terror Attack - IDF will also examine if soldiers took part in lynching of Eritrean asylum seeker, killed by bystanders who apparently believed him to be a terrorist. (Haaretz+)
- Fatah calls for a general strike in Hebron as a sign of mourning over the killing of the terrorists - Palestinians in Hebron called their deaths a 'massacre'. (Ynet)
- Education Minister calls E. J'lm school teacher and head to hearing on suspicion of inciting - The two are suspected of inciting and encouraging students to use violence against IDF soldiers. (Ynet and Maariv)
- Zahava Gal-On vs. journalist Dan Margalit: "You piece of slime, aren’t you ashamed to dance on blood?" - Meretz party chief wrote the comments on Facebok after the journalist', who writes for the far right-wing Israel Hayom, Tweeted on Twitter against her comments that security forces hands are trigger-happy. "Perhaps Zahaveleh Gal-Onaleh will come to the hospital to explain to the injured from her Meretz party?” Gal-On said she would file a complaint for incitement. (Maariv)
- Police Chief Expects Israel Will Arrest Hundreds of E. J'lem Palestinians in Coming Days - Top cop says surge of Palestinian is ebbing, 'expect for the Jerusalem area.' (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Israeli Settler Imprisoned Without Charges on Suspicion of Arson in West Bank Village - The suspect, who allegedly set a car on fire, is the fourth Jew being held under administrative detention. (Haaretz+)
- Rabbi: Despite terror attacks, don't give up Jewish clothing - Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, leader of the anti-Zionist Eda Haredit faction, orders his followers to keep wearing traditional black suits in public and growing beards and side-locks 'as a sort of declaration that Orthodox Judaism is still alive and kicking and that we are not ashamed of being Jewish.' (Ynet)
- Netanyahu: Hitler Didn't Want to Exterminate the Jews - Prime minister tells World Zionist Congress that Hitler only wanted to expel the Jews, but Haj Amin al-Husseini convinced him to exterminate them, a claim that was rejected by most accepted Holocaust scholars. (Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed by the Nazis even before Hitler met with Husseini, wrote Meretz chief Zehava Gal-On in a Facebook post.) (Haaretz+, Ynet, Globes English)
- For First Time, Sex Assault Victim Recognized as 'Hostile Action Casualty' - Jerusalem woman who was sexually assaulted by four Palestinians to be compensated after Defense Ministry concludes she was attacked for being Jewish. (Haaretz)
- Eritrean killed in Beersheba ineligible for 'Hostile Action Casualty' - Haftom Zarhum, shot by guard and brutally beaten by mob after being mistaken for terrorist, had entered Israel illegally. (Times of Israel)
- 'End the occupation from Metula to Rafah' - Arab students protesting at Tel Aviv University call for an end to the 'daily executions and occupation' while glorifying the blood of 'martyrs' and their significance to al-Aqsa. (Ynet)
- Blood Brothers: Palestinians and Jews Share Genetic Roots - Jews break down into three genetic groups, all of which have Middle Eastern origins – which are shared with the Palestinians and Druze. (Haaretz+)
- Jordan plays host to Israel hate fest - Students and lawyers show off their hatred of Israel in violent displays of 'solidarity with the Palestinians' by stepping over Stars of David. (Ynet)
- Violence Prompts Some Foreign Students to Stay Away From Israel - Spate of attacks lowers enrollment of foreign students at some universities, but most Israel programs say they haven't been affected. (Haaretz+)
- Amid Violence and Fear, Arabs and Jews Seek to Use Food as a Language for Peace - Grassroots initiatives have popped up over the last week hoping to use food to restore sense of trust between the two communities. (Haaretz)
- Sweden: Israel's most fervent European opponent - The Swedish government has yet to condemn a single terror attack against Israelis, while media coverage in the country is biased against Israel, as are the Swedish church's activities. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Retail Sales Continue to Slide, Especially in Jerusalem - Receipts decline 12.7% nationwide, 21.5% in capital in just five days, according to research firm. (Haaretz+)
Features:
A fragile coexistence at Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital
Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem hospital is an island of fragile sanity in an ocean of violence, where Arab and Jewish doctors work shoulder to shoulder to save the lives of both terrorists and victims of terror, regardless of the circumstances. (Yifat Erlich, Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement/Ynet)
How an Israeli Jew Went From Anti-terror Vigilante to Stopping an Arab-lynching Mob
Calls by officials for civilians to arm themselves risk encouraging a culture of vigilantism that targets innocent Arab citizens. (Danna Harman, Haaretz+)
The attack in Beersheva threatens to break the fragile coexistence in the Negev
The act of a Bedouin terrorist endangers the relationship of Jews and Bedouins. "After this wave is over, we will find a way to return to life together,” they hope in the Bedouin sector. (Yasser Okbi, Maariv)
Poem Like Sheep, With Blood Flowing in the Main Artery
Salman Masalha tries to get some sleep when it’s dangerous to go out in the streets. (Vivien Eden, Haaretz+)
“How did we get to a situation where ‘left-wing’ is a word equivalent to traitor and a call like ‘Death to Arabs,’ sounds completely okay to too many people”
20 years after Rabin’s murder, despair replaces singer Aviv Geffen’s anger. In the documentary film that he directed, “Bond of Silence,” he goes out to examine how Rabin’s murder changed the State of Israel. (Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover)
Adelson’s IAC: American-Israeli Expat Society, AIPAC Foil or Both?
The billionaire’s funds are turning the Israeli American Council into a thriving organization with a distinctly political potential. (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+)
In the Hotline Seat: Training a Lens on Asylum Seekers' Tragedies
From its perch in the offices of a Tel Aviv-based NGO dealing with refugees, Silvina Landsmann's camera has unobtrusively revealed the absurd bureaucracy that ensnares people seeking asylum in Israel. (Vered Lee, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem hospital is an island of fragile sanity in an ocean of violence, where Arab and Jewish doctors work shoulder to shoulder to save the lives of both terrorists and victims of terror, regardless of the circumstances. (Yifat Erlich, Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement/Ynet)
How an Israeli Jew Went From Anti-terror Vigilante to Stopping an Arab-lynching Mob
Calls by officials for civilians to arm themselves risk encouraging a culture of vigilantism that targets innocent Arab citizens. (Danna Harman, Haaretz+)
The attack in Beersheva threatens to break the fragile coexistence in the Negev
The act of a Bedouin terrorist endangers the relationship of Jews and Bedouins. "After this wave is over, we will find a way to return to life together,” they hope in the Bedouin sector. (Yasser Okbi, Maariv)
Poem Like Sheep, With Blood Flowing in the Main Artery
Salman Masalha tries to get some sleep when it’s dangerous to go out in the streets. (Vivien Eden, Haaretz+)
“How did we get to a situation where ‘left-wing’ is a word equivalent to traitor and a call like ‘Death to Arabs,’ sounds completely okay to too many people”
20 years after Rabin’s murder, despair replaces singer Aviv Geffen’s anger. In the documentary film that he directed, “Bond of Silence,” he goes out to examine how Rabin’s murder changed the State of Israel. (Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover)
Adelson’s IAC: American-Israeli Expat Society, AIPAC Foil or Both?
The billionaire’s funds are turning the Israeli American Council into a thriving organization with a distinctly political potential. (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+)
In the Hotline Seat: Training a Lens on Asylum Seekers' Tragedies
From its perch in the offices of a Tel Aviv-based NGO dealing with refugees, Silvina Landsmann's camera has unobtrusively revealed the absurd bureaucracy that ensnares people seeking asylum in Israel. (Vered Lee, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Lynch Mob Murders Israel's Illusion of 'Moral Superiority' (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) Contrasting 'us' and 'them' isn't just prejudice: It has become a way for
right-wing governments to justify non-action on peace.
Shooting a terrorist in the head is immoral and illegal (Prof. Asa Kasher, Walla) In recent days, there have been calls from various MKs that anyone brandishing a knife should get a bullet in the head. This call is illegal, immoral and irresponsible...I have a great deal of respect for those in uniform who defended themselves and the citizens around them without killing the terrorist, because they neutralized him as is proper, even without killing. In a Jewish and democratic state one does not kill if not absolutely necessary. They did not have to kill so they do not kill. Thus, they maintained the values of the country and I respect them very much for that. Human dignity requires taking extreme measures necessary to thwart the danger, to neutralize the terrorist. The famous words “He who rises to kill you, kill him first" is intended in a case where there are only two possibilities: either he kills me or I'll kill him. When there is a third possibility that solves the problem, you must use it and not kill. In a A short, accurate and justified phrase: "Given the imminent danger, defend yourselves properly." Not the fear of the terrorist’s life should guide he who restrains himself as is fitting, but loyalty to the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. (Professor Asa Kasher compiled the IDF code of ethics.)
The Israeli Civil War (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) Formal citizenship doesn’t protect Israeli Arabs from plunging to a status even lower than that of asylum seekers.
Avoiding harming a terrorist who does not pose danger is morally important to us (Adv. Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, Maariv) Harming an attacker when he no longer poses a danger destabilizes the public order and the proper conduct of the country. When citizens take the law into their own hands, they undermine the foundations of the proper government.
Victims if They Do, or They Don’t (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) The demand to choose one side or the other in such a painful dilemma essentially is a demand to kill one part of yourself.
Another self-deception produced by the free world (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) According to the logic of American administration spokespeople, led by Secretary of State Kerry, the US should be condemned for its bombings of the Taliban and ISIS because 'both sides must exercise restraint.'
From October 2000 to October 2015 (Sawsan Zaher, Haaretz+) The events of these days are in some way a continuation of the events then. They are a result of the immunity given to the police who killed civilians in October 2000 but were never held accountable.
Give them something: Netanyahu is not able to deliver the goods that Kerry and Merkel want (Ran Adelist, Maariv) US Secretary of State and the German chancellor did not want to hear speeches about the Holocaust. They want separation - if not from the Palestinians, then from Habayit Hayehudi party. But Netanyahu is not capable of giving them those goods.
Canada's Israel Policy on the Day After the Elections (Mira Sucharov, Haaretz+) Harper may have had a different tone when it came to Israel, but some argue that he 'changed not one comma' on Canada's official policy.
Blowing up in our faces (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) Over 40% of terrorism committed by Israeli Arabs is by Palestinians who gained Israeli ID cards under family reunification provisions.
Don’t Allow Stop and Frisk (Haaretz Editorial) Upholding human rights means police can only search a person when there is concrete suspicion. The volatile security situation should not change this fundamental approach.
Shin Bet's new challenge: Terrorists with an Israeli ID card (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel's defense establishment is dealing with an uprising which is generating unguided and unorganized perpetrators, who go to sleep as ordinary citizens and wake up as terrorists.
Battling the 'Instafada,' Israel’s Government Gets Bloody on Social Media (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Authorities think that if they don't publicize a full narrative video of every attack, the Israeli side won't be heard.
Hassan Yousef is not the problem, and Israel knows it (Avi Issacharoff, Times of Israel) Hamas may be an easy target, but arresting its leaders while leaving Palestinian Authority officials untouched won’t change much.
The Ya’alon Doctrine: Inside the Mind of Israel's Defense Minister (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Israel’s response to the latest wave of attacks seems increasingly muddled, but a frank interview with Moshe Ya'alon last week reveals a coherent strategy.
Donald Trump Is Right: Bush Is to Blame for 9/11 (Peter Beinart, Haaretz) The Bush administration did nothing with intelligence pointing to an imminent al-Qaeda attack, even when high level security officials stepped down over being ignored.
Shooting a terrorist in the head is immoral and illegal (Prof. Asa Kasher, Walla) In recent days, there have been calls from various MKs that anyone brandishing a knife should get a bullet in the head. This call is illegal, immoral and irresponsible...I have a great deal of respect for those in uniform who defended themselves and the citizens around them without killing the terrorist, because they neutralized him as is proper, even without killing. In a Jewish and democratic state one does not kill if not absolutely necessary. They did not have to kill so they do not kill. Thus, they maintained the values of the country and I respect them very much for that. Human dignity requires taking extreme measures necessary to thwart the danger, to neutralize the terrorist. The famous words “He who rises to kill you, kill him first" is intended in a case where there are only two possibilities: either he kills me or I'll kill him. When there is a third possibility that solves the problem, you must use it and not kill. In a A short, accurate and justified phrase: "Given the imminent danger, defend yourselves properly." Not the fear of the terrorist’s life should guide he who restrains himself as is fitting, but loyalty to the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. (Professor Asa Kasher compiled the IDF code of ethics.)
The Israeli Civil War (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) Formal citizenship doesn’t protect Israeli Arabs from plunging to a status even lower than that of asylum seekers.
Avoiding harming a terrorist who does not pose danger is morally important to us (Adv. Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, Maariv) Harming an attacker when he no longer poses a danger destabilizes the public order and the proper conduct of the country. When citizens take the law into their own hands, they undermine the foundations of the proper government.
Victims if They Do, or They Don’t (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) The demand to choose one side or the other in such a painful dilemma essentially is a demand to kill one part of yourself.
Another self-deception produced by the free world (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) According to the logic of American administration spokespeople, led by Secretary of State Kerry, the US should be condemned for its bombings of the Taliban and ISIS because 'both sides must exercise restraint.'
From October 2000 to October 2015 (Sawsan Zaher, Haaretz+) The events of these days are in some way a continuation of the events then. They are a result of the immunity given to the police who killed civilians in October 2000 but were never held accountable.
Give them something: Netanyahu is not able to deliver the goods that Kerry and Merkel want (Ran Adelist, Maariv) US Secretary of State and the German chancellor did not want to hear speeches about the Holocaust. They want separation - if not from the Palestinians, then from Habayit Hayehudi party. But Netanyahu is not capable of giving them those goods.
Canada's Israel Policy on the Day After the Elections (Mira Sucharov, Haaretz+) Harper may have had a different tone when it came to Israel, but some argue that he 'changed not one comma' on Canada's official policy.
Blowing up in our faces (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) Over 40% of terrorism committed by Israeli Arabs is by Palestinians who gained Israeli ID cards under family reunification provisions.
Don’t Allow Stop and Frisk (Haaretz Editorial) Upholding human rights means police can only search a person when there is concrete suspicion. The volatile security situation should not change this fundamental approach.
Shin Bet's new challenge: Terrorists with an Israeli ID card (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel's defense establishment is dealing with an uprising which is generating unguided and unorganized perpetrators, who go to sleep as ordinary citizens and wake up as terrorists.
Battling the 'Instafada,' Israel’s Government Gets Bloody on Social Media (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Authorities think that if they don't publicize a full narrative video of every attack, the Israeli side won't be heard.
Hassan Yousef is not the problem, and Israel knows it (Avi Issacharoff, Times of Israel) Hamas may be an easy target, but arresting its leaders while leaving Palestinian Authority officials untouched won’t change much.
The Ya’alon Doctrine: Inside the Mind of Israel's Defense Minister (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Israel’s response to the latest wave of attacks seems increasingly muddled, but a frank interview with Moshe Ya'alon last week reveals a coherent strategy.
Donald Trump Is Right: Bush Is to Blame for 9/11 (Peter Beinart, Haaretz) The Bush administration did nothing with intelligence pointing to an imminent al-Qaeda attack, even when high level security officials stepped down over being ignored.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.