APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday March 22, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

News Summary:
Yedioth focused on the sorrow of bereaved Israelis of victims of terror: orphans dressed up for Purim, the ‘joyous holiday,’ and bereaved buried their loved ones killed in Istanbul. Maariv and Israel Hayom focused on the Israel-related statements in the speeches of US presidential candidates at the AIPAC conference. And Haaretz focused on the government attacks on ‘Breaking the Silence.’ But the secret operation that brought the last 17 Jews of Yemen to Israel, along with an 800-year-old Torah scroll, was a top story in all of today’s papers. Meanwhile, Israel fortifies its northern and southern borders, as Hezbollah’s leader warns that if attacked, he will reach nuclear sites. And today, the Knesset will mark the International Fight Against Racism Day, but a recent poll and remarks by author David Grossman point to the radicalization of Israeli society.
 
Of all the speakers at the AIPAC conference, Donald Trump made the biggest splash in today’s papers for saying ahead of the speeches that Israel needs to pay the US back for its aid. Israel Hayom, which goes to print later than the other papers, showed Trump in a more Israel-friendly light, quoting from his speech when he said he would prevent the UN from forcing a peace agreement on Israel. Hillary Clinton was quoted saying she would remain committed to Israel and would oppose attempts to impose an Israeli-Palestinian solution. Israeli Opposition leader and Zionist Camp chairman, MK Isaac Herzog said a peace deal was unrealistic for now due to the lack of trust. US Vice President Joe Biden spoke Sunday night after the papers went to press, so his statement that Israel’s settlements raise questions about its commitment to peace and his call on Israel's government to demonstrate its commitment to a two-state solution to end the conflict with the Palestinians got little coverage in the print Hebrew newspapers today. He also criticized unilateral Palestinian actions at the U.N. and called out the Palestinian Authority's silence on terrorism. 
 
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon called the actions of ‘Breaking the Silence’ treasonous in the latest government attack on the anti-occupation organization. The organization responded saying that “Breaking the Silence does not store any state secrets, and Ya'alon knows that well” and called on him to "provide (Israelis) and their children with security rather than deceitful and pitiful political incitement.” MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) said his remarks endangered the lives of the people of Breaking the Silence, “who are patriotic citizens working in support of the moral image of Israel and the end of the occupation."
 
Israel boosted security along the Egyptian border and is building a nine-meter-high wall on the Lebanon border, but Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, said he would reach Israeli nuclear sites if Israel were to launch a Lebanon offensive.
 
Israeli society is very racist – particularly against its Arab citizens – and the vast majority of Israelis believe their society has become more racist over the past two years. One out of every four Israelis has acted or spoken in a racist manner against Arabs in the past year, a poll taken on behalf of the Israel Coalition Against Racism showed. The groups with the most anti-Arab feelings were young adults age 18-28, and new immigrants from former Soviet Union countries. In an interview with Euronews, renowned Israeli author David Grossman spoke about the radicalization and increasing fanaticism of Israeli society, led by the right-wing Israeli government.  Today the Knesset is marking International Fight Against Racism Day for the first time and to mark the day it is holding a special exhibition of photos of events of ‘Tag Meir,’ an Israeli organization that responds to racist nationalist ‘price-tag’ attacks by Jews against Arabs. The photos show visits by the organization such as to the arsoned home of the murdered Dawabsheh family and to the synagogue in Har Nof. The Ethiopian community in Israel used the day to launch their vision, demanding to raise awareness about racism in Israeli society. Minister Moshe Kahlon said: "The threat of large social gaps is greater than the threats of terror." (Maariv)
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:
The warrior academics
Jews from all over the world move to Israel and enlist in the IDF every year as lone soldiers, and many join after getting a college degree. For various reasons, they decide to leave the civilian world behind in order to serve in something much bigger than themselves. (Eitan Goldstein, Ynet) 
Before Islam: When Saudi Arabia Was a Jewish Kingdom
The discovery of the oldest-known pre-Islamic Arabic writing in Saudi Arabia, from ca. 470 CE, evidently caused some consternation, given its Christian and Jewish context. (Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
Israeli Defense Minister's Cowardly Move Against Breaking the Silence (Haaretz Editorial) By calling group of veterans dedicated to ending the occupation 'traitors,' Ya'alon joined gang of ministers concerned with serving extremists and inciting against Arabs and leftists. 
It is recommended that every citizen would be as moral as ‘Breaking the Silence’ (Orit A. Brown, Maariv) The Left-wing organization examines what is improper in the conduct of the army and there is every reason to examine that. When security forces shot a 15-year-old girl when she was lying on the pavement - it requires investigation. 
In Targeting Breaking the Silence, Ya'alon Is Shooting the Messenger (Aeyal Gross, Haaretz+) All such tactics have the same goal: To divert discussion from the injustices that left-wing organizations expose into a debate over the organizations themselves. 
We will miss him: With regard to the conflict, Prime Minister Netanyahu will miss President Obama (Uri Savir, Maariv) The outgoing leader offered his good offices on behalf of the two-state solution, and when he was received with hostility by both sides, he disconnected. The next president will probably more coercive.
The Speech Bernie Sanders Didn't Give at AIPAC (Ben Harris, Haaretz+) Democratic candidate released text of address he would have delivered at Israel lobby conference, in which he castigates both Netanyahu and Abbas. 
To divide or not to divide, that is the question (Yuval Karni, Yedioth/Ynet) Haim Ramon and the Save Jewish Jerusalem Movement want to remove the surrounding Arab villages and neighborhoods from the capital's city limits, leaving 200,000 Palestinians out; but the plan provokes criticism both on the right, that says the proposal is dangerous, and the left, that define it as impractical.
Is ISIS Setting Its Sights on Israelis Abroad? (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) It's still unclear whether Istanbul bomber deliberately targeted Israeli tour group, but Hezbollah has long ago reached conclusion that weakest link in Israel's security is its citizens abroad.
A desperate deal (Zalman Shoval, Israel Hayom) Thanks to its geographical location, Turkey holds the strategic "keys" to Europe, and can therefore makes outrageous demands. 
Rubio Missing From AIPAC: The End of the 'Good for Israel' Neocons (Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) Rubio was the last neoconservative in the race ideologically tethered to using the U.S. military to promote democracy and freedom abroad – whose vigorous support of Israel invoked a generational struggle against Islamist terror.
Erdogan's painful lesson (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) The Turkish president is gradually learning that his focus on Assad and the Kurds does not grant him immunity from Islamic State.
Israeli Apartheid Week and Bibi Have the Same Lesson to Teach the Rest of Us (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Nothing will fundamentally change in this impossible place until we – both sides – truly honor the innocents killed on both sides. Nothing will change until we recognize our own side's crimes – yes, crimes – not just those of the other. 
Why Netanyahu is so threatened by Breaking the Silence (Dotan Greenvald, +972mag) What will the prime minister do on the day the Israeli public gets up and refuses to keep living by the sword?
Lapid: The Israeli Nobody Who Is Still Doing Damage (Iris Leal, Haaretz+) By effectively saying that the last stop for Breaking the Silence is jail, Yair Lapid knowingly entered new territory for propaganda.
The rise of the pro-censorship journalist (Noam Sheizaf, +972mag) The latest right-wing sting operation against Israeli human rights groups made it to primetime this week. Israeli journalists, once again, played a central role in shaming those who criticize the occupation. 
Adelson is right about Trump's pro-Israel credentials (Seth Lipsky, Haaretz+) It's a feather in Trump's cap that Sheldon Adelson, who will make Israel one of the tests for his support, is prepared to back him. And today's speech at AIPAC is Trump's chance to win more of us over. 
The U.K. Labour Party must decide if it's a political home for anti-Semites or for British Jews (Dave Rich, Haaretz+) Whole swathes of today's British Left either cannot or will not acknowledge the anti-Semitism that's staring them in the face.
How the U.K. Labour Party’s 'Zionist problem' started (James R Vaughan, Haaretz+) Once a warm home for left-wing Zionists, the British left developed a campaigning language of anti-Zionism that adopted analogies to apartheid and Nazism and accusations of 'divided loyalties' whose effects are reverberating today.
 

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