APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday November 15, 2016
Quote of the day:
"It’s easy to obey when [the court] accepts our position, but it must be just as easy to accept a ruling
when it’s not compatible with our position."
--Israel's Attorney General tells the state and the settlers they must respect the court ruling to demolish Amona outpost and cannot pass a law legalizing outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land.*
--Israel's Attorney General tells the state and the settlers they must respect the court ruling to demolish Amona outpost and cannot pass a law legalizing outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land.*
Front Page:
Haaretz
- High Court rejected state request: Amona outpost will be evacuated in December
- Deputy Minister Qara revealed secret life-threatening affair
- President Trump’s senior advisor: Radical right-wing man identified as racist and anti-Semite
- Achievement for Putin: His supporters were elected as presidents of Bulgaria and Moldova
- Antitrust Authority probing whether banks coordinated between them the prices of mortgages
- Netanyahu vs. (journalist Raviv) Drucker: He is funded by the New Israel Fund
- IDF examining integrating women as tankists
- Three months later, the suspect in the murder of three residents of Seifa were not caught
- El-Al pilots inflated their salaries to 100,000 shekels ($26,000) a month
- In the name of G-d // B. Michael
- Fear, not despair // Yehuda Bauer
- The new media start-up of the owner of ‘Israel Hayom’, Sheldon Adelson
Yedioth Ahronoth
- The Attorney General vs. the government– The Amona outpost snarl
- The red line // Ben-Dror Yemini
- Smell of elections // Yoaz Hendel
- Amona diary // Oded Shalom
- Kafkaesque outpost // Yossi Dagan
- Deputy minister revealed security secret
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The minister, the drone and the US camera
- Deputy Minister and the confidential affair: MK Ayub Qara revealed a life-threatening security affair and the details are under gag order; MK Qara: “I acted in a humanitarian way”
- High Court and Attorney General vs. the government
- The trap // Ben Caspit
- High Court revenge // Adv. Yehiel Gutman
Israel Hayom
- Amona crisis - Attorney General: We won’t accept illegal solutions; Residents declare – “We will stand like a wall against the eviction”
- The homeland cannot be expropriated // Dror Eydar
- The land is ours, but we need to respect the High Court // Haim Shine
- Ayoub Qara revealed a security affair
- Investigate Qara // Yoav Limor
- Those same commentators who did not expect Trump’s victory – now know exactly how the next four years will look // Boaz Bismuth
- What kills Israelis: first place is cancer, third place is diabetes
News Summary:
*The eviction of settlers from Amona outpost was the top story in today’s Hebrew papers after the High Court rejected the State’s request to again postpone the eviction from and demolition of the outpost, Israel’s Attorney General insisted the state must carry out the High Court ruling and criticized the government for approving a draft bill to legalize the building of settlements on private Palestinian land, and Amona settlers vowed they would fight their eviction. The US slammed the ‘Regularization bill,’ calling it a troubling step. Palestinian landowners welcomed the court decision and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that legalizing the outposts would bring disaster. Opposition leader, Zionist Camp MK Isaac Herzog, sparked outrage after calling outpost settlers 'a virus.' Amona residents say they’ll fight their eviction with the aid of ‘thousands’ of supporters. At an emergency meeting last night they made an emotional plea to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: “Our lives are in your hands. The responsibility will be yours alone.” One Amona resident told Israel’s Army Radio that "Even Hitler's troops got orders. So what?" Tamar Nizri said, "I personally won’t lift a hand, but I am not responsible for masses of guys when we tell them to prepare for the day of the (demolition) order." (Maariv) Meanwhile, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of the pro-settler party, Habayit Hayehudi, told foreign reporters that the election of Donald Trump means time to 'reset' policies.
Also making top news, Deputy Minister Ayoob Qara revealed secret ‘life-threatening’ information, which was under a gag order. (But, Richard Silverstein wrote about what the Israeli papers can’t here.)
Quick Hits:
- Channel 2 News Head Accuses Netanyahu of Trying to Kill Off Israel TV Channels - Avi Weiss says prime minister wants to split Channel 2 in order to aid a new media group headed by Sheldon Adelson. (Haaretz)
- Café in Haifa tells employees to stop speaking Arabic at work - Café Café says its customers felt threatened, but Arab workers refuse to stop speaking mother tongue. (Haaretz+)
- (In protest to controversial bill,) Arab MKs perform Muslim call to prayer in Knesset - Watch: Following the passing of a bill to limit the volume on mosques during the call to prayer, Joint Arab List MKs recite the call in Knesset; bill limits volume of mosques who blast call to prayer from minarets at 4:30am. (Ynet)
- 'Ridiculous' Israeli Minister Gifts Russian Premier With Pricey Drone That Isn’t His - Uri Ariel, who also broke rules over maximum value of official gifts, promises to buy Volcani Institute a new drone (at the taxpayers' expense). (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Netanyahu blasts Herzog for using the word 'virus' in connection with settlers - Opposition leader responds that he was referring to a draft law to legalize settlement on private Palestinian land and not to settlers. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Decline in terrorism in Jerusalem area in 2016 - Over 3,000 cases of stone and Molotov cocktail-throwing have been recorded in the Israeli capital during 2016 so far, but the police nevertheless reports that this is a dozens-percent decline. (Ynet)
- After Israeli Arab teen's death on Egyptian border, new restrictions on contractors - From now on, Israel's Defense Ministry bans contractors from employing minors. (Haaretz+)
- Northern Branch of Islamic Movement's imprisoned leader embarks on hunger strike - Sheikh Ra'ad Salah protests solitary confinement and searches of cell, as part of what he termed humiliating treatment by prison authorities. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Jewish Federations in letter to Netanyahu: We expect you to deliver on Western Wall deal - Board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America votes to send a letter to Israeli prime minister underscoring the 'urgency' of creating an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall. (Haaretz+)
- President Rivlin arrives in India for state visit - During the visit, Rivlin will meet with his Indian counterpart President Mukherjee as well as Prime Minister Modi and other officials in an effort to promote bilateral cooperation between the two nations, particularly in the fields of defense, agriculture and water. (Yedioth/Ynet and Israel Hayom)
- Educational programs in Israel still segregating Ethiopian Israelis, report claims - Education Ministry continues to run activities like after-school and matriculation-preparation classes despite decision to stop them in the name of integration. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli army reviews enlisting women in tank combat units - Six months ago, the IDF decided against allowing women to serve in the units, but the issue will now be revisited. (Haaretz+)
- Captured fallen soldier's family petitions High Court over inaction by government - Family of Sgt. Oron Shaul, who was killed in battle in Gaza and taken by Hamas, asks court to order the prime minister to convene a special team formed to handle the return of their son—as it has yet to meet even once. (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
- Israeli forces detain Palestinian businessman at Erez crossing - Israeli forces have detained around 20 businessmen from Gaza since the start of 2016 for various reasons, the source said. (Maan)
- Israeli troops detain PA customs agents for 3 hours in Hebron area - As the agents, who had seized a truck loaded with contraband construction material, arrived at a bypass highway, which serves both Palestinians and Israeli settlers, an Israeli military patrol stopped their vehicle and detained them for around three hours. (Maan)
- 5 Palestinians suffer from tear gas inhalation during demolition in Jericho area - At least five Palestinians were hurt, one seriously, when Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas canister into their home while carrying out demolitions in the village of al-Auja. (Maan)
- 9 Palestinian households lose source of income as Israel forces owners to demolish their own shops - Muhammed Al-Najjar said his 50-square-meter store, which was used as a fruit and vegetable market, was built nine years ago, and was the main source of income for four households. (Maan)
- Reports: Molotov cocktail thrown at settler bus near Hebron - A Molotov cocktail was reportedly thrown at an Israeli settler bus on Monday on Route 60, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tzur north of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank. (Maan)
- Health of jailed Palestinian teen shot by Israeli soldiers improving - Anas Zaid was being held by Israeli authorities at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He was shot in his right leg and left arm last week when Israeli soldiers opened fire at protesters near the Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. (Maan)
- Turkish Warplanes Strike 15 Targets in Northern Syria - Ten ISIS defensive positions, command centers and ammunition stores were destroyed by the Turkish warplanes in the operation in al Bab, in northern Syria, on Sunday. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- ISIS and Taliban Ready to Use Trump Win to Expand Their Ranks - From Afghanistan to Algeria, jihadists plan to use Donald Trump's shock U.S. presidential victory as a propaganda tool to bring new fighters to their battlefields. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Prominent U.S. Jewish Academics Issue Stark Warning Against President Trump - 'It is our duty to resist the degradation of rights that Trump’s rhetoric has provoked,' say 60 American scholars of Jewish history. (Haaretz+)
- Jihadists say Trump victory a rallying call for new recruits - Following Trump’s perceived anti-Muslim comments, including calls to ban Muslims from entering the US, ISIS, the Taliban and al-Qaeda call him a 'maniac' who will help aid recruitment; 'His utter hate towards Muslims will make our job much easier because we can recruit thousands.' (Ynet)
- ADL, J Street, Democrats Denounce Trump's Choice for Senior Aide Over 'anti-Semitic and Misogynistic Views' - Former campaign chief and ex-Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon, headed to president-elect's inner circle, is 'hostile to American values,' ADL head says. J Street calls for Trump to rescind appointment. (Haaretz)
- FBI: Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Up 67 Percent, anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Up 9 Percent - Figures mark the second highest number of crimes against Muslims since the national statistics began being reported in 1992, second only to 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. (JTA, Haaretz)
- Trump Effect: Jewish and Muslim Organizations Form New Alliance - A new Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council will work to protect religious minorities' rights as well as other 'issues of common concern.' (Haaretz)
- Russia and Iran in Talks Over $10 Billion Arms Deal - Deal would include Moscow delivering T-90 tanks, artillery systems, planes and helicopters to Tehran. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
Eye on Mosul: Blogger Reveals Horrors of Living Under ISIS
A Mosul blogger documenting the suffering of the city’s residents talks about his longing for the head of his friend, decapitated by Islamic State fighters. (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Could Israeli Government Be Toppled by Crisis Over Illegal Outpost? It's Been Felled by Less (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) In his pathetic kowtowing to the far-right, Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrates that he's now serving in Naftali Bennett's cabinet.
The Amona crisis is pure deception (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The state’s request from the High Court to delay the illegal outpost’s evacuation was not aimed at regulating the land’s ownership, but at allowing Netanyahu to get through the two months between the US elections and the new president’s arrival at the White House.
Amona affair: the Supreme Court decided to take revenge on the government, and the revenge is justified (Attorney Yechiel Gutman, Maariv) The State placed a gun on the table in the form of the ‘Regularization Law,’ and breached the requirement that it come to the High Court with ‘clean hands.’ The current situation, with an unconstitutional law and a clear Supreme Court ruling, could create a real constitutional and political crisis.
Residents of Amona should not have to pay for state’s mistakes (YIfat Erlich, Yedioth/Ynet) Settler leaders are responsible for the Amona failure too, but it was the state’s messengers who were involved in the construction and development of communities on private lands. A mistake cannot be fixed with the mistake of evacuating Amona.
Netanyahu's Surrender to Settlers Proves Him a Cowardly Leader (Haaretz Editorial) Preme minister would prefer to fight for settlers' approval rather than avoid disapproval of the world after acquiescing to bill that retroactively legalizes outposts in the West Bank.
Trump’s win puts a smile on al-Sisi and Assad’s faces (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) The Egyptian leader expects Washington to stop nagging Cairo on human rights issues, and the Syrian president believes his problem will be solved once the new American president teams up with Russia’s Putin.
Trump’s Win Has Emboldened Racists in Israel’s Government (Saeb Erekat, Haaretz+) Senior Israeli government officials see Trump’s victory as a free rein to finally bury the two-state solution. They should think seriously, however, about what could come next.
New era for US-Israel relations (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) The Trump administration is expected to pursue moves that will reboot the U.S. posture of deterrence, as well as enhance its relations with Israel.
Bibi and Obama, a Bad but Successful Gamble? (Yehezkel Dror, Haaretz+) The Israeli prime minister’s gamble – relying on the Republicans and expecting a change at the White House – looks at this stage like a major success.
A diplomatic opportunity (Zalman Shoval, Israel Hayom) Improved U.S.-Israeli relations in the wake of Trump's election can result in steps toward peace, or at least interim agreements that will not harm Israel's security and other interests.
What Do You Want From Trump? (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) Because I don’t want to live in a world controlled by a Hitler, I want to travel to the farthest place possible: Mars.
Israel’s Squalid Embrace of Trump: Not in My Name (Larry Derfner, Haaretz+) Don’t be fooled by our politicians’ sycophancy. Millions of Israelis, Jews and Arabs are sickened, horrified and enraged by the president-elect. The next step: Join the anti-Trump resistance.
Rabin's Death Wasn't a Political Murder - It Was a Religious One (B. Michael, Haaretz+) Benjamin Netanyahu didn't lead the incitement against Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, extremist rabbis did.
Steve Bannon's Appointment Is a Moment of Truth for U.S. Jews (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) After tapping campaign CEO Stephen Bannon as chief strategist, no one can say there is any ambiguity as to who Trump is and what kind of president he plans to be.
A Mosul blogger documenting the suffering of the city’s residents talks about his longing for the head of his friend, decapitated by Islamic State fighters. (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Could Israeli Government Be Toppled by Crisis Over Illegal Outpost? It's Been Felled by Less (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) In his pathetic kowtowing to the far-right, Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrates that he's now serving in Naftali Bennett's cabinet.
The Amona crisis is pure deception (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The state’s request from the High Court to delay the illegal outpost’s evacuation was not aimed at regulating the land’s ownership, but at allowing Netanyahu to get through the two months between the US elections and the new president’s arrival at the White House.
Amona affair: the Supreme Court decided to take revenge on the government, and the revenge is justified (Attorney Yechiel Gutman, Maariv) The State placed a gun on the table in the form of the ‘Regularization Law,’ and breached the requirement that it come to the High Court with ‘clean hands.’ The current situation, with an unconstitutional law and a clear Supreme Court ruling, could create a real constitutional and political crisis.
Residents of Amona should not have to pay for state’s mistakes (YIfat Erlich, Yedioth/Ynet) Settler leaders are responsible for the Amona failure too, but it was the state’s messengers who were involved in the construction and development of communities on private lands. A mistake cannot be fixed with the mistake of evacuating Amona.
Netanyahu's Surrender to Settlers Proves Him a Cowardly Leader (Haaretz Editorial) Preme minister would prefer to fight for settlers' approval rather than avoid disapproval of the world after acquiescing to bill that retroactively legalizes outposts in the West Bank.
Trump’s win puts a smile on al-Sisi and Assad’s faces (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) The Egyptian leader expects Washington to stop nagging Cairo on human rights issues, and the Syrian president believes his problem will be solved once the new American president teams up with Russia’s Putin.
Trump’s Win Has Emboldened Racists in Israel’s Government (Saeb Erekat, Haaretz+) Senior Israeli government officials see Trump’s victory as a free rein to finally bury the two-state solution. They should think seriously, however, about what could come next.
New era for US-Israel relations (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) The Trump administration is expected to pursue moves that will reboot the U.S. posture of deterrence, as well as enhance its relations with Israel.
Bibi and Obama, a Bad but Successful Gamble? (Yehezkel Dror, Haaretz+) The Israeli prime minister’s gamble – relying on the Republicans and expecting a change at the White House – looks at this stage like a major success.
A diplomatic opportunity (Zalman Shoval, Israel Hayom) Improved U.S.-Israeli relations in the wake of Trump's election can result in steps toward peace, or at least interim agreements that will not harm Israel's security and other interests.
What Do You Want From Trump? (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) Because I don’t want to live in a world controlled by a Hitler, I want to travel to the farthest place possible: Mars.
Israel’s Squalid Embrace of Trump: Not in My Name (Larry Derfner, Haaretz+) Don’t be fooled by our politicians’ sycophancy. Millions of Israelis, Jews and Arabs are sickened, horrified and enraged by the president-elect. The next step: Join the anti-Trump resistance.
Rabin's Death Wasn't a Political Murder - It Was a Religious One (B. Michael, Haaretz+) Benjamin Netanyahu didn't lead the incitement against Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, extremist rabbis did.
Steve Bannon's Appointment Is a Moment of Truth for U.S. Jews (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) After tapping campaign CEO Stephen Bannon as chief strategist, no one can say there is any ambiguity as to who Trump is and what kind of president he plans to be.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.