APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday May 25, 2016
Note: APN will hold a briefing call today with Akiva Eldar, senior
political columnist with Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse and formerly with Haaretz. Eldar will discuss the
recent developments in the Israeli political arena and the increasing tension in Israel between the government and
the security establishment.
Time: Wednesday, May 25th, 2:00 pm Eastern Time
Dial-in Number: 951-797-1058
Participant Access Code: 147414
Quote of the day:
Time: Wednesday, May 25th, 2:00 pm Eastern Time
Dial-in Number: 951-797-1058
Participant Access Code: 147414
Quote of the day:
"Even before the game was over, the coach of Bnei Sakhnin took the (sobbing) coach of Be'er Sheva into
his arms, and congratulated him. The players on both sides embraced each other. Both teams, and both cities,
belong to a better world, a better land, than we've come, sadly, to expect."
--Haaretz+ columnist Bradley Burston writes about the end of a soccer game this week where the losing Arab team hugged the players of the winning team of Jews, Muslims and Christians.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Hebron settlers steal wooden furniture from Palestinian home in Hebron for Lag BaOmer bonfire.**
--Haaretz+ columnist Bradley Burston writes about the end of a soccer game this week where the losing Arab team hugged the players of the winning team of Jews, Muslims and Christians.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Hebron settlers steal wooden furniture from Palestinian home in Hebron for Lag BaOmer bonfire.**
Breaking News:
MK Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party signs agreement to join coalition government - Coalition calls on Herzog to join unity government. (Israel Hayom, Ynet and Haaretz+)
Front Page:
Haaretz
- State Comptroller: Suspicion of receiving benefits, conflict of interests and double charging in Netanyahu family’s trips
- The big smear job // Gidi Weitz
- The battle of authorities between the gov’t ministries paralyzes the battle against BDS
- Only 2% of the construction work accidents are investigated
- The nuclear reactor in Dimona transferred business in the millions to a former employee
- Wasteful and bad management at Habima Theater
- B’Tselem NGO breaking relations with the IDF: “We will stop filing complaints, it does not lead to justice”
- Bank Leumi plans to cut 1,000 jobs within a year
- Trump getting stronger: Passed Clinton on average in polls
- In a complex operation, effort to save antiquities of the desert
Yedioth Ahronoth
- BibTours affair: The Netanyahu method; State Comptroller in severe report: “The trips were funded by foreign agencies, suspicion of receiving benefits
- The mice gave birth to a mountain // Sima Kadmon
- On the verge of signing: Night agreements in negotiations with Lieberman
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- BibTours affair - State Comptroller: Suspicion of receiving benefits; Netanyahu: The mountain gave birth to a mouse
- Netanyahu got scared from the investigation of Olmert – and paid retroactively for aggregated flying points
- Contacts for expanding coalition: on verge of an agreement
- Arik Pinto to be appointed director of Bank Hapoalim
Israel Hayom
- “Disappointment of the Left: The report won’t cause Netanyahu to fall” // Haim Shine
- Attorney General Mandelblitt: “We will review findings without delay”
- The State Comptroller on Habima: “National theater?”
- Prime Minister, Lieberman and Kahlon agreed: Coalition to be expanded to 66 MKs
- Tonight Lag B’Omer holiday: Some 400,000 people expected to go to ‘Hilula’ at Mt. Meron
- New CEO at Bank Hapoalim: Arik Pinto
News Summary:
As negotiations for a government that will include MK Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party got close to an agreement yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that everyone was making a mountain out of a molehill over the Israel State Comptroller’s report, which revealed that Netanyahu and his family took trips abroad at the expense of foreign states, public organizations and tycoons when he was finance minister between 2003-2005. The report also stated that there was suspicion that he double billed and diverted funds – making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. The report revealed other problems in the state (see Quick Hits). Also in the news was B'Tselem's decision not to file complaints with the Israeli military about alleged crimes by soldiers against Palestinians because it doesn't help and only harms the complainant, the prominent NGO said. And, the latest on diplomacy over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
State Comptroller Yosef Shapira called on the Attorney General Amichai Mandelblitt to investigate the suspicions against the Prime Minister immediately, which Mandleblitt said he would. Shapira suggested also that Mandelblitt’s predecessor, Yehuda Weinstein, covered up the case.
Knesset State Control Committee chair, MK Karin Elharrar, accused Weinstein of violating the law by delaying the decision on the financing of Netanyahu’s overseas trips. Former Finance Ministry director-general Yechiel Leiter, who used his personal credit card to help Netanyahu finance trips, insisted Netanyahu “doesn't understand credit cards.” Maariv political correspondent, Ben Caspit, wrote that when former prime minister Ehud Olmert was being investigated for using accrued frequent flyer points that belong to the state for his own personal use, “Netanyahu rushed to send a very close associate to El Al with a check of $10,000 to pay for the points which he used himself.” Caspit wrote that a well-placed senior source in El-Al confirmed the information.
On the diplomatic front, Netanyahu has lost clout. After he again rejected the French initiative for a multi-lateral peace conference and instead proposed direct bilateral negotiations, the US said it was skeptical of Netanyahu’s offer - it wasn’t interested in negotiations for the sake of negotiations. The Palestinians also rejected Netanyahu’s offer and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah accused Netanyahu of ‘trying to buy time.’
Meanwhile, Egypt seeks to advance its own Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative with a summit between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu, Ynet’s Elior Levy reported first. Maan added that an Israeli delegation is in Cairo to arrange the summit.
And Tony Blair, the international diplomat who tried to bring Zionist Union into Netanyahu's coalition, promised Netanyahu that Sunni states would normalize ties with Israel if Israel would only negotiation on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative.
As negotiations for a government that will include MK Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party got close to an agreement yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that everyone was making a mountain out of a molehill over the Israel State Comptroller’s report, which revealed that Netanyahu and his family took trips abroad at the expense of foreign states, public organizations and tycoons when he was finance minister between 2003-2005. The report also stated that there was suspicion that he double billed and diverted funds – making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. The report revealed other problems in the state (see Quick Hits). Also in the news was B'Tselem's decision not to file complaints with the Israeli military about alleged crimes by soldiers against Palestinians because it doesn't help and only harms the complainant, the prominent NGO said. And, the latest on diplomacy over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
State Comptroller Yosef Shapira called on the Attorney General Amichai Mandelblitt to investigate the suspicions against the Prime Minister immediately, which Mandleblitt said he would. Shapira suggested also that Mandelblitt’s predecessor, Yehuda Weinstein, covered up the case.
Knesset State Control Committee chair, MK Karin Elharrar, accused Weinstein of violating the law by delaying the decision on the financing of Netanyahu’s overseas trips. Former Finance Ministry director-general Yechiel Leiter, who used his personal credit card to help Netanyahu finance trips, insisted Netanyahu “doesn't understand credit cards.” Maariv political correspondent, Ben Caspit, wrote that when former prime minister Ehud Olmert was being investigated for using accrued frequent flyer points that belong to the state for his own personal use, “Netanyahu rushed to send a very close associate to El Al with a check of $10,000 to pay for the points which he used himself.” Caspit wrote that a well-placed senior source in El-Al confirmed the information.
On the diplomatic front, Netanyahu has lost clout. After he again rejected the French initiative for a multi-lateral peace conference and instead proposed direct bilateral negotiations, the US said it was skeptical of Netanyahu’s offer - it wasn’t interested in negotiations for the sake of negotiations. The Palestinians also rejected Netanyahu’s offer and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah accused Netanyahu of ‘trying to buy time.’
Meanwhile, Egypt seeks to advance its own Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative with a summit between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu, Ynet’s Elior Levy reported first. Maan added that an Israeli delegation is in Cairo to arrange the summit.
And Tony Blair, the international diplomat who tried to bring Zionist Union into Netanyahu's coalition, promised Netanyahu that Sunni states would normalize ties with Israel if Israel would only negotiation on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative.
Quick Hits:
- Israeli soldier who shot, killed Palestinian in Hebron: Indictment is discriminatory - Elor Azaria's lawyers call manslaughter charge in case, involving death of terrorist in Hebron, 'arbitrary' when compared to other incidents. (Haaretz+)
- **Video: Hebron settlers steal wooden furniture from Palestinian home for Lag BaOmer bonfire - A group of right-wing Israeli settlers broke in and stole wooden furniture a Palestinian house, which was unhabited since 1994 when Israeli forces sealed the area around al-Shuhada Street, after the massacre by US-born Israeli settler, Baruch Goldstein. (Maan)
- Ending the abuse of animals on Lag B'Omer: special campaign against throwing animals into bonfires - The group "Project 100," together with the Israel Association of Veterinarians and the Israel Police, will try to reduce the scale of the shocking phenomenon. "Kids are search ahead of time for puppies and kittens and cage them," says a social activist. (Maariv)
- Judge rejects state secrecy request about freeze on Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem - Plan to build Palestinian housing in Beit Safafa was approved by professional committee, but has been frozen by policymakers for undisclosed reasons. (Haaretz+)
- Palestinian man found dead in police cell after interrogation - Ashraf Rash, 36, was held for domestic violence. According to police, he committed suicide using a broken light bulb, but his family claims he was beaten to death by officers. (Haaretz)
- Citing IDF Failure to Bring Soldiers to Justice, B'Tselem Stops Filing Complaints on Abuse of Palestinians - The human rights group says filing Palestinians’ complaints with the military justice system causes the plaintiffs more harm than good. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Israel to demolish 4 water wells, 3 structures, road in southern Nablus - Abd al-Athim al-Wadi, the mayor of Qusra, told Ma'an that the Israeli Civil Administration delivered demolition notices to locals in the eastern area of the town for four water wells that were built by the Dutch government, in addition to three structures and an agricultural road that was opened by a “European humanitarian institution.” (Maan)
- Israel returns bodies of 2 E. Jerusalem Palestinians after withholding them for 7 months - Footage taken by Ma'an at the scene showed large numbers of Israeli troops in a tense situation with Palestinian bystanders. Hassan Manasra, 15, was shot dead on October 12 after allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack in the illegal settlement of Pisgat Zeev in occupied East Jerusalem, injuring two Israelis aged 13 and 21. Alaa Abu Jamal, 22, was killed by Israeli police on October 13, after he rammed his car into a bus stop in West Jerusalem, killing one Israeli and injuring four others. (Maan+VIDEO)
- Minister freezes return of Palestinian bodies after anti-Israel chanting at funeral - Attorney representing the family of Alaa Abu Jamal said they kept their commitment to Israel about limiting the number of people at the cemetery to 40, but could not prevent a large crowd from gathering at the mosque in the village. (Haaretz and Maan)
- Watchdog: State of Arabs’ employment is ‘grim, alarming’ - Comptroller says government-level discrimination is crippling state’s own ‘ineffective’ integration efforts. (Times of Israel and Maariv)
- Watchdog: Regulation of Bedouin settlement is ‘an issue of national importance of the first order’ - State Comptroller report charges that the current situation allows the Bedouin population, which is generally poor, to become a breeding ground for crime. (JPost and Maariv)
- Watchdog: Israeli army failed to update its munitions supplies after Gaza war - State Comptroller also says that, for more than 18 years, the Air Force did not update its purchasing targets 'despite the significant changes that have occurred over the years in the types of threats facing it.' (Haaretz+)
- 15 agents win Shin Bet awards - but we can't tell you who they are - Security agency's top employees are honored at ceremony • "You are responsible for safeguarding our most valuable assets: defending the citizens of Israel, and no less important, [fighting] the battle for democracy," President Reuven Rivlin tells them. (Israel Hayom)
- Hamas anti-Semitic Ramadan show enters second season - Fida'i Ramadan mini-series starting second season in two weeks following rave reviews of first season last year; Included are crude anti-Semitic tropes, poor acting, and pompous music score. (Ynet)
- Watchdog: Power struggles between ministries hindered Israel's battle against BDS - Two highly critical state comptroller reports detail how the creation of new ministries in 2009, at the Foreign Ministry’s expense, hobbled Israel’s battles against boycotts and global anti-Semitism. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- Hundreds of doctors protest dangerously long work shifts - Junior doctors launch campaign against 26-hour work shifts. Potesters say fatigue prevents effective treatment; 'We feel like abandoned soldiers on the front lines.’ (Ynet)
- New cabinet secretary: US-born David Sharan - David Sharan, currently the chief of staff of PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office, will fill vacancy left by Avichai Mendelblit's appointment as attorney general earlier this year. Yoav Horowitz to serve as Netanyahu's next chief of staff. (Israel Hayom)
- Arab town looks to build awareness of deaths on construction sites - Deir Hanna has lost four locals to work accidents in Israel's construction industry, where five times more employees are injured than in Britain. (Haaretz+)
- Netanyahu reveals: Some of my family's origins are in Spain - Dedicating new wing of Beit Hatfutsot museum, PM Netanyahu says his brother recently found Spanish roots in their family • He says every Jew should visit the museum, which tells "the story of our people ... scattered ... and returned to its homeland." (Israel Hayom)
- Abbas: Israeli occupation prevents PA from hosting refugees - In a speech at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority (PA) would be ready to host thousands of refugees that have been displaced by violence in Syria and across the region, were it not for Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory. (Maan)
- In tough times, most Palestinians view government as corrupt - As unemployment grows and the economy stagnates, Palestinians are becoming increasingly fed up with the PA leadership; Almost all Palestinians believe PA is corrupt. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Israeli novelist's books boycotted in the Arab world - Arab activists call on Obeikan bookstores to remove David Grossman's books from their shelves; one activist writes, 'Every person who belongs to the occupying Zionist entity is an enemy. No normalization with occupying murderers.' (Ynet)
- The EgyptAir Flight 804 Crash: What We Know So Far - The question of what caused the EgyptAir flight to crash in the Mediterranean, killing all 66 on board, remains shrouded in confusion, speculation and conflicting statements. (Haaretz)
Features:
Underground Jerusalem: An Interactive Journey
From Silwan to the Western Wall, without seeing daylight, Border Police jeeps or Palestinians. An interactive journey through the Old City's secret tunnels. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
Netanyahu's Travel Expenses Report: The Final Chord in a Long Concert of Procrastination (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) Compared to the damaging documentation collected by the police, the state comptroller's report is hollow; nevertheless, it illustrates a man who is pathologically averse to paying for himself.
A Serious Disaster Was Prevented in Israel (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) So an Arab lost a few teeth, he even received devoted care in a hospital, and we have to hope that they didn’t put him next to an injured Jew.
Keeping B’tselem: The most prominent human rights organization in Israel is at a crossroads (Ran Adelist, Maariv) At B'Tselem, they came to the conclusion that the military law enforcement system is unable to deal with the violence (targeting Palestinians) in the Territories. Their challenge now is to find the right way to reach the public and the decision-makers.
*The Secret Israel Will Not Tell (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) I watched something miraculous happen Saturday night. This is what cannot be defeated in us.
Practice what you preach (Dr. Gabi Avital, Israel Hayom) Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon is too busy preaching ethics and morals to ensure a smooth transition of office for his successor.
One Report, Two Tests for Israel (Haaretz Editorial) From a public standpoint, Netanyahu’s conduct is intolerable - he preaches to Israelis to live within their means, while he lives within others’ means.
Time to end the ‘hasbara’: Palestinian media and the search for a common story (Ramzy Baroud, Maan) It is still too early to claim any kind of paradigm shift, but the second Tawasol Conference in Istanbul, which took place on May 18 and 19, served as an opportunity to consider the vastly changing media landscape, and to highlight the challenges and the opportunities facing Palestinians in their uphill battle.
Israel's Fundamental Irresponsibility (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) The State of Israel was never a state of law - Law with a capital 'L,' the backbone of every democracy, but rather a state in which 'someday there will be law.'
A starting point of mistrust (Dr. Yehuda Balanga, Israel Hayom) Arab media outlets are highlighting incoming Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman's background and settlement residence in an attempt to delegitimize him.
A Practical Proposal to Save Israel From Netanyahu (Uri Avnery, Haaretz+) If the young Knesset members of the Zionist Union will arise and form a new party, there could yet be hope.
The burden of proof: Attorney General needs to make an impact but he is moving in the right direction (Attorney Yechiel Gutman, Maariv) The entry of Avichai Mandelblitt into the office was not smooth, but he did not seem to let it affect his work. The short time that has passed since he took office is not enough to judge his actions, but there are encouraging signs, mainly his permission given to open investigations into Isaac Herzog, Arieh Deri and Haim Katz in a highly sensitive political period. These indicate a solid foundation for the concept of the rule of law.
Look at Bernie Sanders, Then Look at Isaac Herzog (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) The senator from Vermont proudly calls himself a 'democratic socialist,' while Israel’s Labor leader assails his party rivals as 'radical leftists' and 'anarchists.'
The real Lieberman: We must hope that the new tenant at the IDF Headquarters will restore a sense of security [for settlers – OH] in the West Bank (Karni Eldad, Maariv) Hopefully the statements made by the ideological right, by which Lieberman’s appointment is cause for concern, will so annoy the designated defense minister that he will want to prove otherwise.
Bernie Sanders, the Israeli Left and White Privilege (Vered Kellner, Haaretz+) For the Israeli left, Bernie Sanders' failure with voters of color and minorities is all too familiar.
Death Watch for Democracy in Israel and Turkey? (Louis Fishman, Haaretz+) By methodically eroding liberal democracy, Netanyahu and Erdogan could endanger their states' domestic and international legitimacy. At least if the current diplomatic moves bear fruit they’ll have each other.
From Silwan to the Western Wall, without seeing daylight, Border Police jeeps or Palestinians. An interactive journey through the Old City's secret tunnels. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
Netanyahu's Travel Expenses Report: The Final Chord in a Long Concert of Procrastination (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) Compared to the damaging documentation collected by the police, the state comptroller's report is hollow; nevertheless, it illustrates a man who is pathologically averse to paying for himself.
A Serious Disaster Was Prevented in Israel (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) So an Arab lost a few teeth, he even received devoted care in a hospital, and we have to hope that they didn’t put him next to an injured Jew.
Keeping B’tselem: The most prominent human rights organization in Israel is at a crossroads (Ran Adelist, Maariv) At B'Tselem, they came to the conclusion that the military law enforcement system is unable to deal with the violence (targeting Palestinians) in the Territories. Their challenge now is to find the right way to reach the public and the decision-makers.
*The Secret Israel Will Not Tell (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) I watched something miraculous happen Saturday night. This is what cannot be defeated in us.
Practice what you preach (Dr. Gabi Avital, Israel Hayom) Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon is too busy preaching ethics and morals to ensure a smooth transition of office for his successor.
One Report, Two Tests for Israel (Haaretz Editorial) From a public standpoint, Netanyahu’s conduct is intolerable - he preaches to Israelis to live within their means, while he lives within others’ means.
Time to end the ‘hasbara’: Palestinian media and the search for a common story (Ramzy Baroud, Maan) It is still too early to claim any kind of paradigm shift, but the second Tawasol Conference in Istanbul, which took place on May 18 and 19, served as an opportunity to consider the vastly changing media landscape, and to highlight the challenges and the opportunities facing Palestinians in their uphill battle.
Israel's Fundamental Irresponsibility (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) The State of Israel was never a state of law - Law with a capital 'L,' the backbone of every democracy, but rather a state in which 'someday there will be law.'
A starting point of mistrust (Dr. Yehuda Balanga, Israel Hayom) Arab media outlets are highlighting incoming Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman's background and settlement residence in an attempt to delegitimize him.
A Practical Proposal to Save Israel From Netanyahu (Uri Avnery, Haaretz+) If the young Knesset members of the Zionist Union will arise and form a new party, there could yet be hope.
The burden of proof: Attorney General needs to make an impact but he is moving in the right direction (Attorney Yechiel Gutman, Maariv) The entry of Avichai Mandelblitt into the office was not smooth, but he did not seem to let it affect his work. The short time that has passed since he took office is not enough to judge his actions, but there are encouraging signs, mainly his permission given to open investigations into Isaac Herzog, Arieh Deri and Haim Katz in a highly sensitive political period. These indicate a solid foundation for the concept of the rule of law.
Look at Bernie Sanders, Then Look at Isaac Herzog (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) The senator from Vermont proudly calls himself a 'democratic socialist,' while Israel’s Labor leader assails his party rivals as 'radical leftists' and 'anarchists.'
The real Lieberman: We must hope that the new tenant at the IDF Headquarters will restore a sense of security [for settlers – OH] in the West Bank (Karni Eldad, Maariv) Hopefully the statements made by the ideological right, by which Lieberman’s appointment is cause for concern, will so annoy the designated defense minister that he will want to prove otherwise.
Bernie Sanders, the Israeli Left and White Privilege (Vered Kellner, Haaretz+) For the Israeli left, Bernie Sanders' failure with voters of color and minorities is all too familiar.
Death Watch for Democracy in Israel and Turkey? (Louis Fishman, Haaretz+) By methodically eroding liberal democracy, Netanyahu and Erdogan could endanger their states' domestic and international legitimacy. At least if the current diplomatic moves bear fruit they’ll have each other.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.