APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday June 27, 2016

You Must Be Kidding: 
In an exceptional move, the president of Ben-Gurion University canceled the Middle East Department’s decision to grant a Jewish-Arab Understanding award to the Breaking the Silence organization.

 

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

News Summary:
Israel and Turkey reached a reconciliation deal and the papers argued whether it was good or bad for Israel, the Israeli government approves a long weekend once every two months and the law giving divorced mother automatic custody of young children will be cancelled making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, new testimonies in the case of Sgt. Elor Azariya, the ‘Shooting Soldier from Hebron’ who shot dead a subdued Palestinian assailant and Maan shared information about the killing by an Israeli officer of an innocent Palestinian youth who was riding in a car with friends.
 
Israel and Turkey closed a reconciliation deal Sunday and announced it formally today that Israeli analysts said was necessary and important and which right-wing and centrist politicians and parents of Israelis missing in Gaza called a failure. The key points of the agreement are that Turkey and Israel will return to fully diplomatic relations (after six years), Israel will pay $21 compensation to the families of the 10 Turkish citizens whom Israeli soldiers killed when raiding the Mavi Marmara ship and Turkey will not sue those soldiers, that Turkey commits not to allow any attacks on Israel come out of the Hamas offices in Turkey. What isn’t included was the Turkish demand that Israel end its siege on Gaza and the Israeli promise to the parents of the three missing/dead Israelis held in Gaza by Hamas that the agreement will be on condition that the missing three will be returned. Turkey promised to make an effort to achieve the return of the missing and Israel committed to allow Turkey to transfer aid to Gaza via Israel and to build a power plant and hospital in Gaza. 
 
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is in Rome to announce the agreement with US Secretary of State John Kerry and to convince him and the Italian Prime Minister and EU Foreign Policy Chief to soften the Mideast Quartet report. 
 
Many blasted the deal. Opposition Chairman MK Isaac Herzog said, “The return of relations with Turkey is an important political goal, but the reparations to those who attacked IDF soldiers is unacceptable, especially when it is signed by the Netanyahu – Bennet – Lieberman threesome. Every Jewish mother should know that the right-wing leadership is paying compensation to those who have attacked our sons." Former defense minister Amir Peretz (Zionist Camp) said at a conference that "if a leftist government would have made this agreement, (the conference attendees) wouldn't have been able to enter the conference because of all of the protestors who would have been outside." Former minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) called the agreement “national humiliation” adding: “We don’t need to pay a penny." Maariv quoted one of the navy commandos who raided the Mavi Marmara, who said: "The agreement with Turkey is no less than spit in our faces." Indeed, MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint Arab List), who was on the Mavi Marmara when it was raided said the compensation money by Israel was an “admission of guilt.” She called for additional flotillas to be sent to Israel. The family of fallen soldier, Oron Shaul, pitched a protest tent outside the Prime Minister’s Residence demanding that Netanyahu bring back his son as part of the deal. The family of the young Bedouin man who wandered across the border into Gaza plans to hold a Jerusalem rally. Haaretz prepared background info on the agreement.
 
At the trial for Sgt. Elor Azariya, one of the military investigators, Yair Magen, said that a WhatsApp conversation was found on the phone of the settler ambulance driver, Ofer Ohana, who had kicked a knife close to the body of the Palestinian assailant. Ohana had told Azariya’s father to get his son a good lawyer. And according to a testimony by a soldier from Azariya's company that was read in court, Azariya "said something along the lines that 'my friend has been stabbed, and they tried to kill him, so he also deserves to die." Meanwhile, Ynet wrote that top brass support Maj. Tom Naaman, Azariya’s company commander who testified against Azariya and was attacked on social media networks for doing so.
 
Maan previously shared interesting details from the night of the killing of Mahmoud Raafat Badran, 15, the Palestinian teen who was on the way home from a swimming pool where he celebrated the visit of village friends visiting from Qatar, when an IDF officer opened fire on their car killing him and injuring the other four.  One of the injured, Dawood Issam Abu Hassan, 16, said they were “surprised by a man wearing black plain clothes who stepped out of a white Toyota and started to fire at them.” The soldier was later identified by Israeli media as being a member of the Kfir Brigade (the same brigade that Elor Azariya serves in). The parents of the boys who had arrived from Qatar were traveling in the car behind their sons’ car and witnessed the incident unfold. Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulances said Israeli soldiers prevented paramedics from reaching the wounded Palestinians for over an hour and a half. Mahmoud’s father was the Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia for several years.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Israeli Army Unit That Assesses Arab Mood Offers a New Take on Lebanon
Soldiers from Military Intelligence tell TheMarker how the price of oil will impact Saudi Arabia or what trash piling up in Beirut means for Hezbollah. (Shuki Sadeh, Haaretz+) 
Not alone in the air: The Air Force wants you to meet the people behind the drones
Remotely manned aircraft have in recent years become a superpower, and the Air Force is working to change the perception that there is no person standing behind them. “Behind each aircraft like this there is an operator who flies it, solves the glitches and makes fateful decisions,” explains Col. S. (Noam Amir, Maariv) 
Tony Blair Travels in the Holy Land: What did Blair do in the Middle East other than make money?
A sumptuous party during Operative Protective Edge, acting as a middleman in giant business deals and rumors of an affair -  the output of the Quartet envoy was amazing, but it seems that primarily served one person – himself. (Sara Leibovich-Dar, Maariv) 
Impact Journalism Day 2016 In War-torn Iraq, a Photojournalist Teaches Children to Tell Their Own Stories
'Until now, the story is almost always told by us, by a foreigner. I would like to see the story told by those that lived the story.' (Rebecca Collard, Haaretz)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
I Went to See the Plight of the Dried-out Settlements. I Found a Pool (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) With Israel having cut the Palestinians’ water supply, I visited two settlements where the people are supposedly suffering too.
With Brexit, Israel Loses a Major Asset in the European Union (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) Britain helped moderate and balance EU decisions about the peace process, blunt criticism and even harness the member states against anti-Israel moves at the UN; voices sympathetic to the Palestinian cause could now become more dominant. 
Terms of surrender (Gilad Sharon, Yedioth/Ynet) Years of kowtowing to Erdoğan’s demands have not repaired our relationship with Turkey; it is time Israel puts a premium on its national dignity. 
The Left-wing must realize there is no choice but to allow the retired generals to save democracy (Uri Savir, Maariv) The Israeli democratic camp must mobilize to enable people with a security reputation to lead a change of government. There is a need for an emergency government that can lead the country to the values of the Declaration of Independence.
Sorry Obama: Radical Islam Is the Correct Label (Yehuda Bauer, Haaretz+) Using the term 'radical Islam' allows nonradical or antiradical Muslims — and they are the majority — to come out against such murderous acts.
Unity and uniformity: Lessons for Israelis from Britain’s exit from the EU ((Tel-Aviv Chabad) Rabbi Menachem Gerlitzky, Maariv) If the British could decide to keep their identity, then of course we can also. I think the referendum results are encouraging: We have reached the point where national identity is translated immediately as fascism, and religious identity is translated as racism. But then a nation stood up and declared that despite the negative future consequences, it chooses to leave the EU, to preserve its unique historic identity, among other things… It is time we understand that the insistence to maintain our Jewish identity, our various customs, to avoid assimilation, between nations and between genders, are not as primitive and dark as some are trying to convince us. Equality is an important value, but not at the expense of defining our own identity. 
The Brexits show the need to build a model society in Israel (Avihu Sofer, Maariv) We need to deal with the social lesson that Israel must take from the British exit from the European Union - finding a common connection between the tribes that have been created here. We cannot base the relationships between us on economic benefits alone, and even on the security threat from outside. The State of Israel must based itself on a direct connection between the different "tribes" that have been created here, find the ethos and shared connection, and work systematically on creating unity above our differences. We have no need to be like each other, to oppress unique cultures, on the contrary. The beauty in this country is in the differences and the variety, but above them it is important to invest in an ongoing and systematic process of building a model society. Otherwise, we are Brexit. 
For Israel's New Defense Minister, a Bad Arab Is One Who Seeks Reconciliation (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) The world according to Avigdor Lieberman: When a PLO official holds a discourse with Israelis he must be silenced.
Reconciliation is essential: from this tree both sides had to come down (Ben Caspit, Maariv) The bottom line, neither Erdogan nor Netanyahu had any other option. They need each other now, they do not like it, but they understand it. The alternative is worse… We should not fool ourselves: Although the Turks promises to do everything to help Israel return the bodies of the dead and missing (in Gaza), it won’t happen. Just as Hezbollah did not help solve the mystery of Ron Arad as it promised in a prisoner exchange with Israel. It is lip service to help Netanyahu in the face of the noble families of Shaul and Goldin. The bodies will be returned only when Palestinian murderers will be released from prison. That is what we got Hamas accustomed to. Whoever signed the exorbitantly priced Shalit deal, should not come with complaints that even more exorbitant prices are being demanded for future transactions. Also regarding Hamas, it’s not certain there will be big news: Turkey promised that no attacks on Israel will come out of Hamas headquarters in Istanbul and Ankara. So they promised. They will do their best. What if a terrorist attack or two trickle out? Nothing will happen. Israel will protest, Hamas will deny, the Turks will avoid and we will swallow and move on. This is the way of the world. Yes, we are going to pay $21 million compensation to the families of terrorists who tried to kill the naval commandos with clubs, axes and knives (including at least one gun), but this is not the first time that hypocrisy plays a leading role in diplomacy. And the apology to Turkey we made already three years ago, in the last moments of Obama's visit to Israel in 2013. Since then until today, three interesting years have passed: the process of the dismantling of Syria continues, Iran emerged from isolation and the danger of the establishment of an armed Iranian-Shiite state on the Turkish and Israeli fences make Erdogan and Netanyahu allies, against their will. That’s the way it is in the Middle East. If you are not at the table, you are on the plate… 
Pressure instead of a handshake: Instead of tears, we need to prepare for the day after Abbas (Revital Amiran, Maariv) The A handshake between President Reuven Rivlin and (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas won’t narrow the gaps between the sides. In Israel, it would have been accepted with a grin and rage and on the Palestinian street it would further weaken the position of Abbas. 
Free the Palestinian Poet, Arrested for Expressing Her Opinions (Haaretz Editorial) The very fact that Dareen Tatour was indicted raises very tough questions about freedom of expression in Israel, and in any case, her continued detention until her case is decided in court is intolerable.
A victory for patriotism (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) Pure and simple patriotism is what drove Brexit supporters, the kind of nationalism that leftist-liberal elites in the West do not identify with. 
The EU Is Showing Its First Cracks. Could the Arab League Be Next? (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) The EU has ignored the massacres in Syria, the fighting in Libya and Yemen and the rise of ISIS while repeatedly criticizing Israel, the region's sole democracy and only anchor of stability.
Cautious Optimism: Will Erdogan’s failures allow the reconciliation agreement to succeed? (Meir Uziel, Maariv) A positive email I received from Turkish author Sezer Duru, an assessment by the former Israeli ambassador to Turkey Pini Avivi that there is nothing more natural than good relations between the two countries and the political corner that the Turks were pushed into, have succeeded in persuading that there might be a chance for relations between the two countries that have seen better days. 
Egypt’s Sissi Respects the Courts - and That's No Mean Feat (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Still, the president's applying the Camp David Accords to give islands back to the Saudis enraged Egyptians. 
Iran's Rohani Stands Up to the Revolutionary Guards (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The Iranian president, who wants to open Iran to the world, is standing firm against a conservative alliance that fears a 'Western invasion' in the wake of the nuclear agreement.
 
 

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