APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday November 29, 2016  
 

Quote of the day:

“The nationalist dybbuk of the leaders of the right, first and foremost Netanyahu, is the main threat to Israel’s future."
--At a book launch for general Shlomo Gazit, former prime minister Ehud Barak charged that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is creating Israel's greatest threat. *

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

 Israel Hayom

News Summary:
The Israeli Prime Minister and the Attorney General warned the cabinet about passing the outpost legalization bill while settlers prepared to protest Amona outpost’s demolition, questions whether the fires in Israel should be defined as terror nd its victims compensated accordingly (and Palestinian outrage and the little thanks it received for its part in fighting the fires), and Israel attacked ISIS in the Golan Heights as Bashar al-Assad began to take over Aleppo from the rebels making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, diplomacy and not such great diplomacy vis-à-vis Turkey, the results of an ‘Israeliness’ poll and Yedioth and Maariv ran large spreads on “the man who doesn’t know how to win” – President-elect Donald Trump and his latest declarations on Twitter.
 
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned the cabinet that Israel could be brought to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, if the cabinet passes the ‘Regularization Bill,’ which would ‘legalize’ settlement outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land. Netanyahu also said that passing the bill would push US President Barack Obama to the UN Security Council. And Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said he would allow a ‘temporary solution’ only on condition that the bill not be passed. Mendelblitt's solution would be relocating the settlers for eight months to three other plots of privately-owned Palestinian lands that are ‘abandoned.’ In an unusual step not seen since the eviction of settlers from the Gaza Strip, 120 religious Zionist rabbis wrote a letter calling on the public to “passively resist” the evacuation of Amona. 
 
Meanwhile, left and centrist politicians were upset at the report in Maariv that Deputy Defense Minister MK Eli Ben-Dahan (Habayit Hayehudi) was promoting laws to apply certain laws regarding fostering children, building and construction to settlers in the West Bank. At present these laws only apply inside Israel. Once the laws get approval from the Attorney General they will go to the General Command to become a military order which will apply to all of Israeli citizens living in the West Bank. MK Ksenia Svetlova (Zionist Camp): "The government wants to eliminate the two-state vision.” She and MK Aida Toma-Suliman (Joint List) said the move is one step before annexation of the West Bank.

Israel hit a compound of an ISIS affiliate in the Golan Heights, after which Netanyahu said, “We won't let radical Islam or any extreme entity open a new front against us in the Golan Heights.” 
 
Israel is delaying whether to officially define the fires as ‘terror,’ despite Netanyahu’s naming and blaming. Such a definition would mean that Israel would have to greatly compensate its victims. Nevertheless, the Israel tax authority announced that it would recognize some of the fires as politically motivated arson, paving the way for victims in those nine areas to receive compensation for lost property and damages. [Note: The decision is unusual as it was based on information from police and rescue services that suggested politically motivated arson, yet that has yet to be finalized and no one was indicted. Moreover, the government itself has not made such a decision. -OH]  IDF special forces and lookouts have joined the Israel Police in an effort to prevent further blazes and catch suspects, Haaretz+ reported. 
 
**Former prime minister Ehud Barak had some sharp words for Netanyahu, who has been slammed for blaming the Arab community as a whole for the fires. Barak said Israel's biggest threat was the 'nationalistic' demon of Netanyahu. Barak also accused Netanyahu and his ministers of being 'populists' who exploited the fires to incite against Israeli Arabs and he said sarcastically that the 'arson terror' would be made Israel's new existential threat. Read the quotes here. On Tuesday Netanyahu did give Arabs a little credit, when he said: “I want to commend the leaders of the communities and the Israeli citizens who contributed, Jews and Arabs. This is an example of good citizenship and Israel at its best.”
 
Netanyahu also called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and thanked him for the help he sent in the way of fire fighting teams. However, the Palestinian Authority was deeply disappointed when the Israeli Foreign Ministry released a “disgraceful message” of thanks. Maariv wrote: “Much was spoken about the fact that the Palestinian Authority sent firefighting teams in order to help put out the fires in Israel and prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and thank him for the help. However, it seems that the Foreign Ministry, did not see fit to thank the Palestinians. The (Israeli Foreign) Ministry issued a statement on social networks thanking the countries that helped fight the wave of fires, and added the flag of each. The Palestinian Authority was pushed to the bottom of the page in small letters.” Maariv gave the Palestinian response, writing that the Palestinians stressed that "despite the Palestinian need for aid, given the brutality and injustice caused by the occupation, and despite our basic means, our people did not hesitate and sent fire engines to assist the efforts of extinguishing fires in Israel. The fire trucks were sent despite the immediate need for them and for the teams over the possibility of the expansion of the fires in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli Foreign Ministry not only did not mention the State of Palestine and its flag, but it wrote in miniscule letters and in the margins the name 'Palestinian Authority'. Not only that, the Ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett made provocative visits to the illegal settlement of Halamish, in response to accusations that Palestinians set the fires. In addition, they continued to threaten to destroy (Palestinian) homes and to continue building settlements with racist and anti-Semitic statements, in addition to the (religious) ruling of Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who permitted the murder of Arabs. The State of Palestine announces in response to the disgraceful response by some senior Israeli officials about the humanitarian aid of the heroic firefighting teams that is willing to help again." See Israel’s thank you announcement in English. (Also JPost)
 
Some strange diplomacy and anti-diplomacy was going on vis-à-vis Turkey. After Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan and thanked him for sending the firefighting helicopters and teams to Israel, Erdogan said he gave the order to send aid the moment he heard about the extent of the fires. Erdogan asked Rivlin to tell Israel to reconsider the Muezzin-muzzling law. Maariv’s Ben Caspit wrote today that Rivlin seemed agitated and troubled after the telephone conversation about the controversial law. Rivlin said, "Who needs it?" Speaking to Knesset members afterward, he stressed: "Now we have to calm things down, not to agitate." Yet, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had a different attitude. Despite the recent normalization of ties and the help against the fire, Lieberman told EU representatives that the EU should 'learn from Putin' when dealing with Erdogan.
 
The Israeliness Index found that the most popular people or organizations in Israel were the IDF and MADA (Israeli Red Cross) and the most despised – those who don’t serve in the army. Prepared by Sapir College, the index polled over 500 Jewish citizens and looked at the degree of their sympathy with institutions, organizations and various officials. The IDF and MADA got 91%. ZAKA (burial services), doctors and teachers are also at the top. At the bottom: youth who don’t serve in the army (7%), politicians (10%), political parties (20%), Arab Israelis (24%), and Social Security (25%). The survey was conducted only among Jews. The media got 41%, the High Court got 51%, the Police got 53%. The poll indicates that each of the sectors is sympathetic to different factors. The ultra-Orthodox and the religious are bigger fans of ZAKA fans, the politicians and anyone whoever doesn’t joins the army. The secular Jewish Israelis are fans of state auditing bodies, such as the State Comptroller, the High Court, the courts and the press. Young people are fans of the burial society and political parties. Women are fans of universities and workers' committees. And men are fans of the State Comptroller and settlers. (Maariv)
 

Quick Hits: 

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Features:

Next stop, Shiraz: How Iran is becoming a hot tourism destination
UNESCO sites, desert treks, ski and shopping jaunts – these are among the attractions drawing millions each year to Iran. Still, all is not smooth sailing. (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) 
Schisms and Dissent Loom Large as Palestinian Leadership Convenes for First Time in Years
Rivals from Fatah claim that Palestinian Authority president Abbas has no idea how to pursue struggle against Israel. (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) 
In wake of fire, Haifa's famous Jewish-Arab coexistence threatens to go up in smoke
A senior firefighter says local Arab politicians 'set fires in the morning and come to be interviewed at night'; Mohammed, a paramedic, says that while saving people from the flames, he doesn't think about accusations being made against Arabs. (Roy Aray, Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
Israel Fires as 'Divine Retribution'? The Cartoon God of Israel’s Settler Rabbis (William Kolbrener, Haaretz+) Their nasty, petty God moonlights as an instigator of death and destruction, burning homes, even destroying lives, all for the good of the outposts of Judea and Samaria. 
The collective accusations by the Prime Minister and his ministers against the Arab sector fanned the flames (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) The wave of fires showed the ability to cope and to safeguard human life, it revealed moving brotherhood between Jews and Arabs and it also helped Netanyahu to put a smokescreen  in front of all of the revelations in that (submarine) affair. 
Netanyahu Fights Fire With Ire (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) Despite the anti-Arab rhetoric by government leaders when the fires blazed in Israel, the words were intended more to cover up feelings of guilt than to actually incite. 
Swimming in the prime minister’s aquarium (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) A brave, independent attorney general would order attorneys David Shimron and Yitzhak Molcho to either leave the prime minister’s operations room or quit their private businesses altogether. The question is whether Avichai Mendelblit, who came from the prime minister’s bureau, is capable of thoroughly cleaning up the system. 
Israel's Far-right Minister’s Brave pro-Bedouin Revolution (Meirav Arlosoroff, Haaretz+) 10 billion shekel plan by Uri Ariel, in conjunction with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, calls for 25,000 housing units on state land to be given away – and that’s just for starters. 
The reality of women in combat roles (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Research shows that not only has operational preparedness suffered as a result of women’s incorporation in combat units, but that female soldiers themselves have paid a heavy price for the social experiment performed on them and on their bodies. But who cares about women when it’s more important to appear enlightened?
How Israel Misread Lebanon, Failed Ron Arad and Helped Hezbollah Rise to Power (Clinton Bailey, Haaretz+) Lebanese Shi'ites welcomed Israel's invasion with flowers. But we dismissed any possible alliance with them, a mistake of critical proportions. 
Egypt's al-Sissi Sets Records in Crushing Dissent (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Egypt takes another step to restrict human rights NGOs and media; as in Israel, they are seen as source of all evil
When the anti-Semite and the Jew-lover exchanged sides: the presidential elections in Austria and the connection to Israel (Michael Kleiner, Maariv) Just like in George Orwell’s book, ‘1984,’ also now it seems that everything logical went wrong. In elections to take place this week, left-wing presidential contender Alexander Van der Bellen, an anti-Semite is presented as a supporter of Israel and has the support of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, while [far right-wing-OH]) Norbert Hofer is presented as an anti-Semite. [Note: writer is right-wing, Van der Bellen supports open immigration and Hofer opposes it. Hoffer visited Israel during the 2014 Gaza war and expressed solidarity with Israel. – OH]
The Unbearable Stupidity of Donald Trump's Election (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Who in his right mind hands over the keys to the world to an impulsive, narcissistic know-nothing show-off, just to teach everyone else a lesson? 
Fire is stronger than 'isolation' (Dr. Gabi Avital, Israel Hayom) The efforts of other countries and of the Palestinian Authority to help Israel fight the flames are a sign that things are moving in the right direction and changes are taking place in the region.
F-35 Deal: As Always - Israeli Air Force Got What It Wanted, Despite Costs and Concerns (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The IAF says the pricey fighter jet sends a message to Israel's neighbors, reinforces Israel’s advantage and contributes to its deterrence. 
How are there billions for submarines but combat soldiers are sent to fight in armored personnel carriers that are not fortified? (Ron Kaufman, Maariv) Why have the (protesting) voices of MK Shelly Yachimovich and her friends disappeared in the crisis in El-Al? 
Syrian Rebels Can Blame America for Loss of Aleppo (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The Russians and Syrian Kurds tipped the odds in the regime’s favor; the next battle will likely be in the diplomatic arena. 
 
 

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