APN's daily news review from Israel

Wednesday March 9, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

"This is our reality. One can try to change it, but at the moment we still don’t really want to. We have become addicted to the status quo and we will be able to kick it only when things become really intolerable. We are not there yet."
--Maariv top political commentator, Ben Caspit, writes that in its current form, the Israeli battle against Palestinian violence cannot win. 

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Breaking News:
East Jerusalem resident seriously wounded in shooting attack near Damascus Gate; Both Palestinian assailants killed
The two Palestinians from E. Jerusalem drove a car armed with makeshift rifles and first opened fire in Ramot, Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem over the Green Line. No one was injured. They continued into Jerusalem and opened fire on Border Police and possibly civilians near the Old City’s Damascus Gate, where numerous attacks have taken place. Border Police fired back and killed them both as they were stopped in traffic near the New Gate. A 50-year-old Palestinian man was shot in his car and severely injured. The reports did not say who shot him. (Haaretz and Ynet)

16-year-old Palestinian shot dead after attempting stabbing outside blockaded village
Al-Zawiya village was blockaded yesterday by the IDF after a 17-year-old from the village stabbed and injured an Israeli man in Petach Tikvah yesterday. The youth today was from the adjacent village of Mascha. Ynet reported that a suicide letter was found on him parting from his parents and telling them that he made the attack because he owed money to a number of restaurants.  (Maan, Ynet Hebrew and Maariv)

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

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News Summary:
Three separate and seemingly unrelated attacks on Israelis by three young Palestinians in the space of two hours just as US Vice President Joe Biden had arrived in the country was the top story of today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, a groundbreaking survey found that almost half of Jewish Israelis support transferring or expelling Arabs citizens.
 
Israel Hayom's top commentator Boaz Bismuth used yesterday’s violent events to portray Israel as a helpless victim with a ‘Welcome to our reality, Mr. Vice President’ Op-Ed, while Yedioth, Maariv and Haaretz commentators blamed the Israeli government for having its “head in the sand” (Yedioth’s Nahum Barnea), and not finding a diplomatic way to end this violence. Yedioth’s Alex Fishman wrote that now the army “will put another siege on another village, detain more Palestinians, look for some connection between the attackers and terror organizations, recycle the declarations about dealing with Palestinians in Israel without permits, and maybe take a few steps to reign in Palestinian incitement: a lot of noise and bruhaha, but it’s all just froth on the water.” Maariv’s Yossi Melman and Ben Caspit both wrote that the Israeli public has simply accepted these attacks as part of the routine day of life and thus are not pressuring the government to make any changes. Neither Maariv's Ben Caspit, Haaretz’s Amos Harel or Yedioth’s Nahum Barnea believed that these attacks were inspired by ISIS or by Biden’s visit. “Despair,” wrote Barnea. (Israel Police did not rule out that they weren’t inspired by Biden’s visit.) 
 
Three attacks on Israelis took place yesterday: A 25-year-old Palestinian from E. Jerusalem’s Issawiyeh riding a motorbike aimed at Border Police standing outside the Old City in E. Jerusalem and wounded two before being shot dead. Then a youth who turned 17 yesterday traveled from his village, Zawiya in the northern West Bank, to Petach Tikva where he stabbed an ultra-Orthodox man in a store. The injured man, with the help of the storeowner, grabbed the knife, pushed back his assailant and stabbed him to death. Ynet Hebrew called it “heroism.” Within an hour, a 22-year-old Palestinian from Qalqilya, who returned a week earlier from Mecca, began a stabbing rampage. Starting at Jaffa port, he stabbed two US tourists, killing one, and another man before continuing on along the promenade towards Tel-Aviv and stabbing more people as he ran away from police and others chasing him. At that moment, Biden was meeting with former President Shimon Peres in Jaffa, less than a kilometer away. Biden asked for all the details. Of the wounded, four tourists remain in hospital in moderate to lightly wounded condition, the rest of the wounded were discharged, Maariv reported. The three attackers were young, unemployed and had no security record, Maariv’s Noam Amir reported.
 
Also yesterday, Israeli security forces shot and killed a 50-year-old woman from E. Jerusalem, who they said pulled out a knife on them inside the Old City. No Israelis were injured. Palestinians said that she might have survived if forces hasn’t prevented paramedics from accessing her for 10 minutes. That barely was mentioned in the media, and Haaretz was careful to note that the attack was 'according to the police.'
 
At the end of the day, Netanyahu held security consultations and said Israel would complete its separation barrier construction around Jerusalem and the southern West Bank. [NOTE: Such moves would not have prevented yesterday’s attacks. The attacker at Damascus Gate lived in Jerusalem, the attacker in Petach Tikva and the attacker in Jaffa were both from the northern West Bank, where the security barrier exists. Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) urged all MKs to support the rapid legislation of a bill to expel terrorists' relatives to the Gaza Strip or to Syria. The bill will be introduced during a plenum session set for Wednesday afternoon. (And Maariv)
 
Reporters interviewed Arab and Jewish residents of the mixed city of Jaffa, who said they will continue to co-exist. The Arab owner of the legendary Abulafia bakery: "We were a symbol of co-existence and that will continue. We won’t let the bad guys win.” (Maariv) Hamas and Islamic Jihad lauded Tuesday's attacks in three Israeli cities as "heroic” and said it proves the intifada is continuing. Yesterday was also the first anniversary of this Israeli government and Channel One News shared the results of a poll that found that "73% are dissatisfied with how the government is dealing with the wave of terror” – and half of Likud voters felt that way as well. In addition, most of the public thinks the economic situation has deteriorated. (Maariv)
 
According to the groundbreaking Pew Survey:

• Almost half of Israeli Jews back transfer or expulsion of Arabs - There is also a decline in the proportion of Israeli Jews and Arabs who believe peace between Israel and a future Palestinian state is possible. (Haaretz) 
• Increasing Polarization Amongst Jews in Israel - Among the findings: Most Israeli Jews oppose turning Jewish law into state law, the vast majority believe in God, and many don't necessarily see themselves as Zionists. Haredi and secular Jews are largely isolated from one another. (Haaretz and Israel Hayom)

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Reconnecting refugees' bodies and souls: A Haifa resident's humanitarian mission
Although traumatized after his first experience helping beleaguered refugees who landed on Greece’s shores, psychologist Essam Daod decided to establish Humanity Crew, an aid agency that offers not only medical care but social support – in Arabic. (Ayelett Shani, Haaretz+) 
WATCH: Palestinians, Israelis protest settler privileges in Hebron
Days after an Israeli settler murdered 29 Muslim worshippers in 1992, the Israeli army put the city of Hebron on lockdown, closing off some of its main thoroughfare — Shuhada Street — to Palestinian traffic. Twenty-two years later, some parts of Hebron are still off limits to its Palestinian residents. Every year, Palestinian and Israeli activists demonstrate to commemorate the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, and call on the Israeli army to open Shuhada Street. (+972mag)
From Golda to Gal-On: What do you know about women in Israeli politics?
In honor of International Women's Day, the Israel Democracy Institute has put together a quiz to test your knowledge of women in the Israeli political system. (Haaretz)
U.S. Citizen Thomas Webster Has Called Damascus Home for 40 Years, and He's Not Leaving Anytime Soon
Despite the daily risks associated with being one of the few foreigners in Damascus, Webster says 'There's no way I'm going to leave this country.' (Maeva Bambuck, Agencies, Haaretz)
Palestinian Syrian Becomes Refugee and Repeats Her Parent’s Fate
Her parents fled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war; today Abeer al Hosary has become one of the estimated 5 million Syrian refugees, reliving her parent’s emigrant fate. (Elena Becatoros, Agencies, Haaretz)

Commentary/Analysis:
Series of terror attacks have nothing to do with ISIS - or Biden (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) At most, one could say there’s an 'ISIS-like effect' after the attacks in Jaffa, Petah Tikva and Jerusalem, but this has been a common thread throughout the recent intifada. 
Israel's anti-democratic administrative detention policy (Tamar Kaplansky, Yedioth/Ynet) Israeli security services arrested a Palestinian journalist without indictment; after a 94-day hunger strike, an agreement was struck to free him, but future hunger strikers will continue to challenge Israel's anti-democratic administrative detention policy.  
Accepting terror as routine: the public accepts the reality as if it were  predestined (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The attitude indicates national strength, but the public’s acceptance of the situation plays into the hands of the government. Ministers are not facing criticism and so feel confident to deceive the public with false proposals that have no chance. 
Netanyahu and Erdogan Are Distorting the Essence of Democracy (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Both leaders are giving their countries a bad name. However, Erdogan is not deceiving anyone, while Netanyahu is confident that no one notices the fakery he ladles out.
What do Israelis really know about Palestinian suffering? (Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova, +972mag) Mass funerals for terrorists are no more a representation of Palestinian society than Israelis who dance with knives and glorify Baruch Goldstein are a representation of Israeli society. 
Make America Hate Again: A Trumped-up Memo From Bibi (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Dear Donald: I can't come out with this publicly, but you're my man. Take it from Mr. Adelson, if you take nothing else from him: It's not democracy that makes countries great and leaders last. It's power. 
They are supporting terrorists (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) The Arab MKs' show of support for Hezbollah has taught us that we must go over their heads to build bridges with the Arab community.
The Idiocy of Israeli Arab Leaders Defending Hezbollah (Haaretz Editorial) Unwittingly, they’re crushing the community’s struggle for equal rights and recognition of their unique status in the Jewish state.
When the fight over BDS is a Jewish civil war (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) It’s not anti-Semitism that makes pro-Israel Jewish students at Vassar feel uncomfortable, it’s anti-Zionism, sometimes championed by fellow Jews. 
How and why Palestinian nonviolent resistance failed (Thimna Bunte, +972mag) A decade ago popular protests against the separation wall, settlements, and occupation were the great promise of the Palestinian struggle. Now a new book takes a look at why these demonstrations were never actually able to bring out the Palestinian masses to the streets, and what activists can learn for the future. 
Minister Ya'alon Reminds Israeli Army It Should Be Defending Women, Too (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) One might argue with Moshe Ya'alon over his rigid views on the Palestinian issue, but when it comes to the rule of law, he's a ray of light in very dark times.
The war that can't be won: the security forces are not succeeding in extinguishing the fire (Ben Caspit, Maariv) This is a war against an enemy without a face, a hierarchy, a chain of command or power centers. An enemy who defines himself in motion, decides what to do on the run, improvises the attack, the weapons and the victims. In the end, Tel-Aviv Mayor (Ron) Huldai is right: This is our reality. One can try to change it, but at the moment we still don’t really want to. We have become addicted to the status quo and we will be able to kick it only when things become really intolerable. We are not there yet.
Bring on the day after: The Palestinian Authority exists thanks to the IDF (Nadav Haetzni, Maariv) Threats by its senior officials that it will soon collapse is not a horror scenario but rather a great opportunity. This terror mechanism does not have the right to exist in our midst, and the the continuation of it functioning endangers our existence.
Netanyahu, Lapid play politics over BDS, stand in way of real fighters (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) The true picture of the BDS phenomenon in Britain is far more complex than the panic that has gripped both coalition and opposition politicians over the last few months. 
National hasbara: Only cooperation among all Israelis will lead to an improvement over the boycott movements (situation) (Omar Dostri, Maariv) Cooperation and firm action on the part of the Jewish communities led to a balance of the picture. All activity against the boycott movement against Israel is likened to an obscene act by many governments.
Palestinian Authority's Failure Lets Israel Off Easy (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) At a demonstration this week by striking Palestinian teachers, the chanting was aimed at the PA. There was none against the Israeli occupation.
In-house solution: The path to developing the Israeli economy passes through Taybeh, Sakhnin and Nazareth (Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yehiyeh, Maariv) Just before they import engineers from abroad, I would like to suggest to the Prime Minister to thrown a glance during his drive from Jerusalem to (his beach home in) Caesarea at the ‘(Arab) Triangle region,’ which produces talented engineers.
Republican Jews’ Damning Silence on Trump (Lea Rappaport Geller, Haaretz+) If Trump is going to be stopped, it is going to be from within. Given that Republican Jews are well-positioned to take him on, why aren’t they actively sounding the alarm?
The results of the survey regarding the expulsion of Arabs testifies to a healthy instinct (Kalman Libeskind, Maariv) Anyone who lives here and doesn’t think to himself he would be better here without the Arab minority is either a romantic, a liar, or just someone who is screwed up.
 
 

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