APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday May 17, 2016
 

You Must Be Kidding:

Israel's Culture Minister Miri Regev, who supports a bill to end state funding for art institutions that are not 'loyal' to Israel, gave a speech at the Cannes Film Festival meant to encourage foreign film companies to engage in joint ventures with Israeli companies, saying Israel's beauty lies in its contrasts – between left-wing and right-wing, secular and religious, Jews and Arabs. 

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Front Page:

Haaretz

• Herzog met with Netanyahu; demanded to receive Communications Ministry or Justice Ministry
• Talk of unity deepened the rift between Netanyahu and Yaalon // Amos Harel
• Two years prison to singer Kobi Peretz for tax evasion
• Integration of ultra-Orthodox in academia will expand, without fixing the failures of the program
• Civics textbook: Shchem (Nablus) and Jenin are marked as Israeli
• Trump plans defamation campaign against Clinton, including the cheating by her husband
• 46 degrees Celsisus in the Bekaa (Jordan Valley), today it drops
• Free Gaza // Haaretz Editorial
• 20 years in line – Older immigrants wait years for an apartment in a hostel, some die before they get it
• The Israeli developing the brain in Apple products
• The Gorevitch affair – Khan Theater to discuss whether director should continue serving

Yedioth Ahronoth

• “This is not a reconciliation” –after reprimand talk, Netanyahu and Yaalon announced “things were worked out”
• They are right and wrong // Eitan Haber
• Tied, in the meantime // Alex Fishman
• The divorce revolution: Before going to the rabbinate – arbitration
• Two years in jail – Singer Kobi Peretz
• The operation to eliminate the appointment (of Gal Hirsch as police commissioner)
• Economy falling
• The Israeli rock climber who reached highest
• Chic! (Culture Minister) Miri Regev on the red carpet at Cannes festival (Hebrew)

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• Night time meeting between Herzog and Netanyahu – contacts for unity government continue
• Police officers on Police Commissioner Alsheikh: “He has no understanding of the police”
• Two years prison for Kobi Peretz
• Yaalon against the ministersY

Israel Hayom

• The negotiations: Herzog considering calling for meeting of the Labor party Central Committee next week
• Reconciliation after the “clarification talk” between Netanyahu and Yaalon
• Parting from the heat wave
• Behind bars: Kobi Peretz – goes to two years in prison
• Killing on the roads: 3 killed in one hour
• Economic growth in first quarter – only 0.8%

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News Summary:
The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon declared that they ‘cleared the air’ between them over the latter’s speech on Sunday urging IDF officers to speak their minds even if it contradicts government sentiments and Opposition leader Isaac Herzog continues to work to form a unity government making the two top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers along with the prison sentence of a popular Israeli singer for tax evasion. 
 
Netanyahu and Yaalon released a joint statement after the ‘clarification-reprimand meeting,’ saying that they agree
 that IDF commanders should share their views on IDF related issues in IDF-related closed forums. The rift, according to Yedioth’s Itamar Eichner, was because Netanyahu thought that Yaalon’s remarks were in reference to IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan's comments (that Israeli society was showing signs of German society in the ‘30’s), but Yaalon said it was about the controversy over Sgt. Elor Azaria, who is on trial after he shot in the head and killed an already neutralized Palestinian assailant. In essence, Yaalon said that he was telling IDF commanders that on the issue of purity of arms they should speak their mind even if it goes against the views of government officials.  But, as  Haaretz’s Amos Harel and others have pointed out, Yaalon’s speech was on values – not only in the army but in society, and the need to preserve liberal and democratic principles. Hence, Netanyahu and Yaalon are still not on the same page, wrote Eichner
Meanwhile, Likud ministers Yuval Steinitz and Miri Regev condemned Yaalon, accusing the Defense Minister of involving the army in political affairs. (Yaalon responded saying Steinitz lacked backbone and that Regev was a populist. But, numerous IDF retired and reserve generals and a former Mossad chief made statements in support of Yaalon, saying it was the politicians who were getting involved in army affairs about purity of arms. (Also Maariv) Among them was General (res.) Amos Yadlin, former head of IDF Military Intel. 
 
A Maariv poll found that while the Defense Minister is liked by the public, he is less popular within the Likud party of which he is a member. The survey showed that the Likud party would plunge to 19 seats if Yaalon were running at its helm, and if he ran separately with Gideon Saar and Moshe Kahlon they would rake in a ‘nice’ 17 seats. (See graph for how many mandates each party has today –blue- and how many they would get if elections were held today, red.)
 
Opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog is demanding the Justice or Communications portfolio to form a unity government, the papers write. But he faces much opposition from within his own party whose members also accuse him of hiding details of deal. Meanwhile, Netanyahu appointed Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi as minister without portfolio, but has yet to appoint new ministers of communication, economy, foreign affairs and regional cooperation as he awaits results of the negotiations with Herzog.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:
Good Neighbors: When Israeli and Lebanese Communities Helped Each Other
Did some south Lebanese residents really speak Yiddish? And did Jewish mothers actually ask Lebanese women to nurse their babies? Unlikely tales from northern Israel about an era when coexistence was possible. (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+) 
Trump style: a big blunt mouth is a basic necessity for our country’s politicians
Erel Margalit, with his curses video clip, is not alone. It seems that more and more Israeli politicians are adopting the Trumpism method – aggressive, blunt, freestyle behavior founded by the controversial candidate for president of the United States where you say whatever you want, attack everyone and stay like Teflon. Emily Muati: "There is no doubt that 'Arabs are going in droves to the polls" was Trumpism at its best and Netanyahu makes a completely Trump agenda. But what about Yitzhak Rabin's 'It's better the difficulties of peace than the difficulties of war'? That is also talking in slogans. Because the ability to accept deep ideas is getting shorter."  [Note:  Likud MK Oren Hazan is another example as is MK Avigdor Lieberman, who said disloyal Israeli Arabs should be beheaded. - OH] (Dana Somberg, Maariv's Magazine supplement, cover)
Dreaming of Independence, Iraqi Kurds Reach Out to Jews and Israel for Support
An independent Kurdish state would be cut off from the world, but the Kurds refuse to give up their national aspirations and are even enlisting Jewish aid. There is even talk of renewing Erbil's Jewish quarter. (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+)
For Israelis and Kurds, Mideast Chaos Poses Opportunity to Rattle Sykes-Picot
With bloodshed and sectarianism tearing countries apart throughout the region, many now have begun to question the sanctity of the European designed boundaries. (Dan Williams, Reuters, Haaretz)
Letters to the Editor: Muslims and Jews’ Shared History (Haaretz)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
 IDF values at core of crisis of confidence between Netanyahu and his defense minister (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The army has turned into a kind of tennis ball being lobbed between the prime minister and the defense minister, in a match that also involves personal and political considerations. 
There is a partner in Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is a man of peace, and it is uncertain whether his replacement will think like him (Uri Savir, Maariv) Abbas is one of the moderate Arab leaders, and it is likely that his replacement will be a nationalist with whome it will be hard to reach an agreement. In Jerusalem sits the person who is putting sticks in the wheels of negotiations. 
The French peace initiative is doomed to fail (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) History has taught us that any peace proposal that doesn't include the right of return is rejected out of hand by the Palestinians. This proposal will be rejected as well. But for as long as Israel has been saying 'yes' to peace initiatives, it has prospered, while the insistent Arab refusal has only led the Palestinians astray. 
It's Been a Decade. Open Gaza, the Palestinian Ghetto (Haaretz Editorial) The closure of Gaza hasn't stopped the rockets or led to the overthrow of Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel uses it as a bargaining chip, knowing full well that justifications of security are meaningless.
Not for uniformed officers (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Certain statements may be made by any public figure or ordinary citizen, but not by uniformed officers.
I Believe in a Palestinian State. But I Can’t Mark Nakba Day (Steven Klein, Haaretz+) Israelis hold many, often competing, narratives about 1948. Palestinian leaders like Saeb Erekat demand one narrative, and no reconciliation with even moderate Israeli voices. 
Careful with his words: The Deputy Chief of Staff laid the groundwork for a military coup ([Far right-wing) Prof. Aryeh Eldad, Maariv) Yair Golan is perhaps a worthy person but he is certainly an inappropriate officer. His statements against the political leadership violated a basic principle of democracy and he should have been removed from office. 
The mega terrorist who never gave up on the good life (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet) Mustafa Badreddine, Imad Mughniyeh's successor as the head of Hezbollah's military wing, used aliases and numerous different phones to lead a flashy lifestyle away from the watchful eye of his enemies. Last week, he was assassinated on the outskirts of Damascus.
Netanyahu Is Bringing the Whole Center-left Camp to Its Knees (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) How did Issac Herzog become such a political rag? How does he suddenly not care what hundreds of thousands of his voters think of him? 
No mention of Israel, please (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) In unusual move, Hezbollah asks journalists to avoid implicating Israel in recent assassination of Mustafa Badreddine. Possible motive is the terror organization's hesitancy to open second front against Israel, considering it's already busy fighting in Syria.
Saudi Arabia, the Mediator Israelis and Palestinians Have Been Waiting For? (Nicholas Saidel, Haaretz+) Only Saudi Arabia has warm or developing relations with all three partners to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Will King Salman take the next step and mediate peace talks? 
Lies and secrets in the White House (Zalman Shoval, Israel Hayom) The disagreement between the U.S. and Israel cannot be explained by policy differences. The philosophical approaches are almost irreconcilable.
Inviting Ayelet Shaked to Speak on Holocaust Lessons Gives a Pass on Racism (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) About the same time a Muslim conquered the mayor's office, Israel's racist justice minister was preaching her form of morality to leading jurists in Poland.US Jewry distances itself from Israel (Dr. Gabriella Berzin, Israel Hayom) Adopting a radical leftist agenda and the Palestinian narrative shoots us all in the foot.
 

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