APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday November 6, 2015
Quote of the day:
“In the wake of the current radicalization of Israeli policy in various areas, I informed my hosts that
I prefer not to be invited to events in my honor at Israeli consulates abroad."
--Israeli author Amos Oz explains why he is quietly boycotting state events.
--Israeli author Amos Oz explains why he is quietly boycotting state events.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Finance Ministry opposes selling Golan Telecommunications to Cellcom: Cellular prices will skyrocket
- Until the next escalation:
- The real concern: political crisis with the Palestinian Authority // Amos Harel
- Worrying moves in Hebron // Amir Hass
- The strange incident at the checkpoint (late at night) // Gideon Levy
- Post-Intifada police // Yaniv Kabovitz
- Also after a generation in the country, the ethnic gap in academia is preserved
- Netanyahu to re-examine (his) appointment of head of public diplomacy
- The future national explainer got the Prime Minister in trouble ahead of his trip to the US // Barak Ravid
- IF ISIS did crash the plane in Sinai, the West will need to change its strategy against it // Zvi Bar’el
- The peace formula in Colombia is found between building a future and making justice with the past – Economist
- Independent Israeli farmers don’t give up on sesame
- 1.5 shekels difference determines whether a child will get a healthy lunch at pre-school
- Sports: Israelis are forced to compete for their flag – without their flag
Yedioth Ahronoth
- “How did they appoint him without checking” – The storm over the national public diplomacy appointee has reached Washington
- The national embarrasser // Nahum Barnea
- The big farce // Sima Kadmon
- An exit at our expense – Three years after Golan Telecom entered the cellular communications market and prices dropped, now it wants to be sold to Cellcom and customers fear a rise in prices
- Forecast: rainy
Maariv Weekend (Hebrew links)
- “Netanyahu promised Kerry to re-examine appointment of Baratz”
- Disturbed Bureau // Ben Caspit
- Ticking time bomb // Udi Segal
- Contacts continuing to bring Zionist Camp into coalition
- Reception problem – Mortal blow to cellular market
- Illegitimate deal // Yehuda Sharoni
- After the haze, seeing the floods
- Nehama Rivlin to her friends: “I’m not afraid for my life. I’d be happier without the security”
- Amos Oz: “I don’t support the opposers to Israel. My protest is private”
- Haim Ramon answers (settler reporter) Karni Eldad: We need to separate for the sake of Jerusalem
Israel Hayom
- Harsh blow to cellular market – Cellcom announced it is acquiring Golan Telecom
- Kerry: “Netanyahu told me he will reconsider appointment of Baratz”
- A good person, a troubling storm // Dror Eydar
- The hero from Gush Etzion Junction (who shot three terrorists)
- Amos Oz boycotts government of Israel
- Commander of Zevulon District suspected of taking bribes
- In the service of terror: Mother of 7 from Haifa filmed targets for attacks in Israel
- Health Ministry cancelled stipends for doctors in periphery
- A year after assassination attempt, Yehuda Glick looks at the cup half-filled
- The compensation after the bad agreement: Ahead of a Netanyahu-Obama summit // Boaz Bismuth, Yoav Limor and Shlomo Cesana
News Summary:
The embarrassing new national ‘explainer’ causes tension ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s meeting with US President Barack Obama and the planned acquisition by Cellcom of Golan Telecom causes concern for rising prices making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, famous Israeli author Amos Oz quietly boycotts official state events, the state accuses an Arab-Israeli mother of 7 of spying for a militant organization in Gaza, which her family says is ‘ridiculous,’ and another Palestinian youth from Hebron was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in an alleged stabbing attack at a junction near Hebron. No soldiers suffered injuries. Meanwhile, the ‘terrorist’ divorced mother, who was shot when she waved a knife was released to house arrest after a judge ruled she was trying to commit ‘suicide by a cop, and Maariv’s Ben Caspit writes that despite Zionist Camp leader MK Isaac Herzog’s denials, talks are in their final stage for Zionist Camp to join the coalition – at the expense of the far right-wing Habayit Hayehudi party.
Netanyahu is under pressure from all directions to cancel his appointment of Ran Baratz as ‘National Explainer,’ as the Hebrew newspapers are referring to the job of head of Head of Public Diplomacy and Media. Immediately after Baratz's appointment, the media revealed that Baratz had made negative comments on Facebook about Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The timing was terrible, causing tension with the US administration just days ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama on Monday. Netanyahu distanced himself from the statements and Kerry said Netanyahu promised to reconsider the appointment, but Israeli officials said that he would only handle it upon his return from the US. Even Likud ministers and Abe Foxman urged him to find another man for the job.
Obama reportedly has no hope of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement or even that negotiations will re-ignite before the end of his term. At one briefing, Obama’s senior adviser on the Middle East, Rob Malley, said Obama wants to hear from Netanyahu what he is willing to do to reach some sort of progress in the current situation and will call on him to take steps to avoid slipping towards a one-state solution, Haaretz+ reported. Obama’s national security advisor, Ben Rhodes, repeated the ‘pessimistic’ (Maariv) forecast, that ruled out talks and a peace deal. Rhodes said the Administration was looking for confidence-building moves. The two leaders will also discuss the details of Israel’s ‘compensation package’ for the Iran nuclear deal. Israel will ask to increase the annual $3 billion in aid to $5 billion.
The embarrassing new national ‘explainer’ causes tension ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s meeting with US President Barack Obama and the planned acquisition by Cellcom of Golan Telecom causes concern for rising prices making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, famous Israeli author Amos Oz quietly boycotts official state events, the state accuses an Arab-Israeli mother of 7 of spying for a militant organization in Gaza, which her family says is ‘ridiculous,’ and another Palestinian youth from Hebron was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in an alleged stabbing attack at a junction near Hebron. No soldiers suffered injuries. Meanwhile, the ‘terrorist’ divorced mother, who was shot when she waved a knife was released to house arrest after a judge ruled she was trying to commit ‘suicide by a cop, and Maariv’s Ben Caspit writes that despite Zionist Camp leader MK Isaac Herzog’s denials, talks are in their final stage for Zionist Camp to join the coalition – at the expense of the far right-wing Habayit Hayehudi party.
Netanyahu is under pressure from all directions to cancel his appointment of Ran Baratz as ‘National Explainer,’ as the Hebrew newspapers are referring to the job of head of Head of Public Diplomacy and Media. Immediately after Baratz's appointment, the media revealed that Baratz had made negative comments on Facebook about Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The timing was terrible, causing tension with the US administration just days ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama on Monday. Netanyahu distanced himself from the statements and Kerry said Netanyahu promised to reconsider the appointment, but Israeli officials said that he would only handle it upon his return from the US. Even Likud ministers and Abe Foxman urged him to find another man for the job.
Obama reportedly has no hope of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement or even that negotiations will re-ignite before the end of his term. At one briefing, Obama’s senior adviser on the Middle East, Rob Malley, said Obama wants to hear from Netanyahu what he is willing to do to reach some sort of progress in the current situation and will call on him to take steps to avoid slipping towards a one-state solution, Haaretz+ reported. Obama’s national security advisor, Ben Rhodes, repeated the ‘pessimistic’ (Maariv) forecast, that ruled out talks and a peace deal. Rhodes said the Administration was looking for confidence-building moves. The two leaders will also discuss the details of Israel’s ‘compensation package’ for the Iran nuclear deal. Israel will ask to increase the annual $3 billion in aid to $5 billion.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.