APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday February 9, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

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Breaking News:
 2 Palestinian girls detained after separate alleged attempts to carry out stabbing attacks in E. Jerusalem and in West Bank (Ynet, Haaretz and Maan)
At Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli Border Police said a 16-year-old Palestinian resident of the city pulled out a knife when asked to check her bag. She was overpowered [without being shot – OH] and arrested. Shortly after, Israeli media reported a 13-year-old Palestinian girl armed with a knife came to the entrance of the Karmei Tzur settlement in the West Bank. When the guard requested her ID, she threw her knife down and was quickly arrested. [Note: Karmei Tzur settlement is next to the area on Road 60, where a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Halhoul was shot dead Friday and after which the ‘synagogue’ tent, between Halhoul and Karmei Tzur, was arsoned. – OH]


Front Page:

Haaretz

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News Summary:
The storms in the Knesset with the suspension of three Arab Israeli lawmakers and a flurry of controversial legislative bills in the Knesset along with the first complaint to police against a famous Israeli actor for sexual harassment were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, a bereaved Jewish Israeli parent slams a veteran Israeli journalist for comparing the pain of Israeli and Palestinian bereaved parents. And Yedioth reported that Israeli diplomats are depressed. 
 
The Knesset was stormy on Monday. The Ethics Committee (Shas MK Yitzhak Vaknin, Zionist Camp MK Eyal Ben-Reuven and Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria – Joint List MK Yusuf Jabarin opposed) decided to suspend the three Balad party Arab MKs (from the Joint List) from the Knesset, after determining a meeting they held last week with families of Palestinian assailants, who sought to get Israel to return their children’s corpses, constituted unbecoming conduct. They can still show up for votes but not discussions. MKs Haneen Zoabi and MK Basel Ghattas were suspended for four months, while MK Jamal Zahalka was suspended for two months. Zahalka told the Committee: “The aim was to transfer the information to the police, not to hide anything. The only aim was the return of the bodies, the rest is lies. All the other matters have no basis in reality. We call for the return of the bodies immediately.” In the plenum, Netanyahu said: "We will not tolerate a situation where MKs support the families of individuals who murder Israeli citizens, observing a moment of silent in memory of those who kill our children. There is a line that cannot be crossed. There is such a thing as national pride.” The Joint Arab List called the decision: “'Miserable, anti-democratic and unethical.” Israel’s Deputy Attorney General said that it was wrong to meet with the families, but it may not be illegal, Haaretz+ reported.
 
*Most Jewish Israelis saw the meeting as outrageous. Some Jewish-Israelis saw the meeting as a provocation by the Balad party members because of the minute of silence (see Nurit Cannetti’s Op-Ed in Commentary/Analysis.) A minority of Jews said that even if the Jewish Israeli majority does not like what the Arab MKs did, they still have a right to do it. In a Facebook post, journalist Amnon Levy slammed the media for its coverage of the affair and called it ‘stigmatizing.’ “The crackdown on Arab MKs for their visit with families of the terrorists is disgusting. The attempt to remove them from the Knesset because of it is terrible. The fact that the media mostly play along with it, and compete over insulting expressions against the Arab MKs is sad,” he wrote. Levy also wrote that the fact "that Meretz MK Ilan Gilon is a participant in the assault on the Arab MKs is disturbing.” To Jewish Israelis he explained: "For those who did not notice: they are Arab Knesset members, they represent the views of the Israeli Arab community. They did not come to cheer us Jews, nor to represent us…It's hard to accept their stance? Deal with it. This is what they think and you just need to deal with. Making them disappear from the Knesset will not eliminate these opinions from the Israeli reality. It just will highlight our racism.”
 
Another Jewish Israeli journalist who expressed understanding for holding the meeting was attacked by a Jewish bereaved father. Army Radio host Razi Barkai now faces suspension after suggesting that efforts by Israeli families to retrieve their sons' remains from Hamas are akin to efforts by Palestinian families to have terrorists' bodies returned. "Can you imagine a similar situation where Israeli families, and we know of such cases from [Operation] Protective Edge, just wait and wait for the remains of their loved ones to be released?" he asked Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who opposed and prohibited the releasing the bodies of the attackers from E. Jerusalem. The IDF, however, believes that holding the bodies sparks more violence and returned the bodies of Palestinians from the West Bank. Simcha Goldin, whose son Hadar was killed in Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and whose remains are believed to be held by Hamas, slammed Barkai, accused Barkai of “comparing IDF soldiers to terrorists.”  Barkai apologized for hurting Goldin and explained that he was comparing the parents, not the children: “As far as comparing the feelings of Palestinian and Israeli mothers -- there's no difference." (Also Haaretz+) 
 
Related or unrelated to the hullabaloo, it appears that Israel has made an agreement with the Palestinian families of E. Jerusalem for the return of the 10 bodies Israel is still holding. 
 
Also in the Knesset, a bill is being formulated to suspend lawmakers from Knesset for denying Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and the Knesset approved the controversial 'NGO transparency bill' in its first reading. Likud MK Nava Boker slammed the European Parliament members for urging MKs to vote against bill.
 
Meanwhile, Israeli diplomats say the Foreign Ministry is collapsing. "The foreign service is in a crisis, the foreign ministry is collapsing. The feeling of people here is very difficult. Top diplomats and young cadets are leaving, delegations aren't coming." These were the desperate words from the Chairman of the Ministry's labor union, Hanan Goder, at the conclusion of the Ministry's Ambassadors' Conference that ended over the weekend, Yedioth's Itamar Eichner reported. Goder added: "This government is serving almost one year. All the time they promise us they will find solutions, but in reality there isn't a solution and the State of Israel is being damaged." Senior diplomats say: "They are running us over, they make light of us. They don't give us budgets. There is evil in the air. A feeling that Prime Minister Netanyahu, who serves also as Foreign Minister, wants to destroy the Ministry. They closed five representative offices abroad while Israel is dealing with isolation and de-legitimization." Israel has 106 diplomatic offices in the world compared to 142 to IRan, 142 to Greece, 166 to Egypt and 223 to Turkey. The number of representative offices of Muslim and Arab countries, 1,941, is "frightening and worrying," said Goder. 
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Sounds of occupation shape political art by wounded Palestinian
Whispers, screams and gunshots – heard but not necessarily seen – are integral parts of the documentary-artistic works created by Rehab Nazzal, who was shot in the leg by IDF soldiers in December. (Amira Hass, Haaretz+)
Hello, hello - Peace, peace
They are bereaved Palestinian parents who still today call for co-existence together with the bereaved Jewish parents. But since the beginning of February, the IDF is preventing Palestinian peace activists from entering Israel. "Now our activities in Israel are almost completely paralyzed because of our inability to receive entry permits for members of the forum," said Doubi Schwartz, member of the steering committee of the Forum of Peace Organizations. From documents that reached Yedioth's hands, we've learned that COGAT, the coordinator for civilians in the Territories, decided to change for the worse its guidelines for Palestinians entering into Israeli territory. "This is an absurd situation. Of all people the Palestinian peace activists who work on activities that bring closeness and reconciliation are prevented from entering Israel. And that's a result of guidelines that have nothing to do with security considerations," said Yuval Rachamim, Chairman of the peace organizations forum. Is this just a a change for security reasons or is this an intentional change of policy? (Yehuda Shochat, Yedioth's '24 Hours' supplement, p. 12)
How Canada's Last Jewish Newspaper Came Back From the Brink
On the verge of closing, the Canadian Jewish News found new life with a fresh look, racier content, and a willingness to challenge opinions across the political spectrum. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+) 
Egyptian Geeks Gather Near Tahrir Square to Fuel Anime Revolution
Egyptian manga fans celebrate the third comic con in Cairo, celebrating their obsession with the Japanese cultural phenomenon while adhering to local religious values. (Paul Sánchez Keighley, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:

The Reluctant Boycotter: Why This Liberal Zionist Now Supports BDS (Larry Derfner, Haaretz+) Calling the occupation 'unsustainable' is how liberal Zionists ease their conscience and excuse their timidity, by telling themselves it can’t last. But it will last – unless we start acting more like radicals.
Netanyahu, Prime Minister for Corruption (Haaretz Editorial) Two moves being pursued with the premier's blessing weaken the professional echelon of government, undermine its independence and open it up to a wave of unworthy political appointments. 
What Israelis Can Learn From Ex-kibbutznik Bernie Sanders (Nitzan Horowitz, Haaretz+) 'I'm not a great fan' of Netanyahu, Sanders admits; as a Jew, he had always admired a different Israeli leader, David Ben-Gurion, the social democrat. 
Arab MKs abuse their immunity (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) The outrageous trio - Zoabi, Zahalka and Ghattas are dancing on the blood of the dead. What do they care? In the Israeli democracy even this event will be forgotten; they would not would not dare test the limits of democracy in one of the neighboring countries.
On the border of incitement (Dr. Aryeh Bachrach, Israel Hayom) Arab MKs' identification with murderers adds fuel to the fire that has sparked the recent terrorist attacks by Israeli Arabs.
Haaretz Is Siding With the Families of Terrorists (Minister Gilad Erdan, Haaretz+) Israeli public security minister responds: Instead of lowering the flames of Palestinian incitement to terror, Haaretz editorial fanned the flames.
Gaza - a human time bomb (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) We have more to worry about than just Hamas' terror tunnels. In 2015, 140 Gazans were caught trying to climb over the border fence into Israel, a number that could vastly increase in light of the political, economic and social crisis in the Strip. 
Next onslaught in Gaza: Why the status quo is a precursor for war (Ramzy Baroud, Maan) Israel's exceedingly violent past in Gaza does not hinge on Hamas' relative control of the terribly poor and besieged place, nor is it, as per conventional wisdom, also related to Palestinian factionalism. Certainly, Hamas' strength there is hardly an incentive for Israel to leave Gaza alone, and Palestinians' pitiful factionalism rarely help the situation. However, Israel's problem is with the very idea that there is a single Palestinian entity that dares challenge Israel's dominance, and dares to resist.
Bernie Sanders Is Smart to Keep His Mouth Shut About Israel (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) The U.S. presidential candidate has the Democratic progressive vote in his pocket and is wise not to reveal that, on the Middle East, he stands more to the right than his fans would like him to. 
Keeping the silence: Ayman Odeh’s party (Joint List) failed on the issue of the Balad MKs’ meeting (Nurit Cannetti, Maariv) Assuming that many Joint List voters don’t identify with the Balad party members’ meeting with the families of the murderers, the Joint List preferred its narrow political interests. This article assumes that the Joint List MKs understand from the outset that this was a provocation. Why? Because it was videotaped and posted online. There is a big difference between meeting with the families of Palestinian terrorists who seek help in demanding from Israel the bodies of their loved ones back - which is an action that can be considered legitimate for those working all the time on the border between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the West Bank - and between defining the murderers as martyrs and standing for a moment of silence in their memory. Balad members understand that, and of course are satisfied with the provocation, and there is no doubt that the members of other factions on the Joint List understand that it was a provocation, but for political reasons play mum. This is a mistake. 
Neither Left nor Right in Israel Has a Monopoly Over Radicalism and Incitement (Sara Hirschhorn, Haaretz+) The tempo of mutual delegitimization between Israel's political extremes is accelerating. Are we nearing the point where left and right can no longer co-exist?
Justifying the means: Netanyahu's strategy finally won (Uri Savir, Maariv) Benjamin Netanyahu has strategic goals and from his point of view, he will do everything possible to achieve them, even if it is something perceived by many as a failure of policy, such as the ongoing rift with the US administration.
Greece can embrace Israel without 'betraying' the Palestinians (Charalampos Tsitsopoulos, Haaretz+) Despite its history of boisterous support for the Palestinian cause, Greece's pivot towards Israel is a necessary step to leverage whatever power the Greek state still has.
Putin Turned Syria Into His Private Playground (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Even Washington is no longer sure that Moscow's solution for Syria is terrible, as the Kremlin’s power-grab a la Chechnya dwarfs even the war on ISIS. 
Israel Sees Aleppo Battle as Tilting Balance in Favor of Iran-Hezbollah Axis (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Though Jerusalem rarely voices its opinion on the raging Syrian war, Israel secretly prefers war of attrition between the Assad's regime and its enemies.
 

The MK who met Sheikh Yassin and doesn’t succumb to stereotypes
She covered the events in Beirut and Damascus as a journalist. She’s from the former Soviet Union and an expert on the Middle East who works to include the heritage of Jews of Arab lands in the education system. But Ksenia Svetlova will probably be remembered because of the MK, who couldn’t pronounce her name. (Interviewed by Neta Bar in Maariv)
(See also interview ‘A Rare Breed of Israeli Lawmaker: Russian-born, Leftist and Reform’ in Haaretz+ in June, 2015)

 

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