“In the Diaspora, the handful of rabbis did not damage Jewish identity, whereas today in Israel a swarm of rabbis practice as spiritual guides humming in our ears from circumcision to the grave. Many of them are immune to criticism, even if they are thieves, rapists, racist instigators, or attackers of IDF soldiers, as they relentlessly conspire to undermine democratic institutions. As secular law—which is becoming weaker day by day—tries to restrain them, these rabbis receive the support of Hassidic followers, politicians or corrupt government leaders smelling of fascism, who are ready to sell the good of the country for personal gain. Against the defiled trinity of corrupt government, devouring wealth and a violent messianic religion, the people stand helpless, paralyzed and confused.”
--Renowned Israeli author and President of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Sami Michael, 90, writes in a biting Op-Ed examining where the country has gone since he immigrated in 1951 full of hope.**

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

For Trump, moving embassy to Jerusalem is tempting but risky (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Netanyahu could reap significant political benefits from the move. So what could go wrong? 
'Never Again' Has Become an Empty Phrase: Why We Must Remember the Holocaust’s Forgotten Massacres (Robert R. Singer, Haaretz+) Consider the tragedy in Aleppo, so horrifically fresh in our consciousness today. In the years to come, they too may be forgotten, overshadowed by other unthinkable tragedies and remembered just by the victims and their relatives. 
Massacre in Aleppo: the mark of Cain on the forehead of humanity (MK Issawi Freij, Maariv) Victims of the genocide taking place in Syria in recent years are paying with their lives for the mood of the Trump era - the era of egocentricity and indifference to suffering. The State of Israel must also do soul-searching. 
The Hypocrites Crying Over Aleppo (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Anyone who is unwilling to volunteer their own children to fight to stop the killing and liberate Syria has no right to preach morality to anyone else. 
**Where has the land of hope gone? (Famed author Sami Michael, Yedioth/Ynet) From submarines to attacks on the Supreme Court, from social polarization to Black discrimination, a painful article by the senior writer. 
Israel Bids a Final Farewell to Shame (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) Ben-Gurion's founding concept of non-partisan governance is becoming a thing of the past under Netanyahu.
The need for evidence is for the weaklings: This is how the police instinct is under Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich (Ran Adelist, Maariv) Security forces are engaged in a constant search for of informants, and that is a real and important matter. Only that it should not be at the cost of false arrests, violation of the law and violation of human dignity.
'Skirtgate' in Knesset exposes anger over modesty issues (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) What's the length of an inappropriately short skirt, and why are Israelis so furious about it?
Post Truth? Immorality (Emilie Moatti, Haaretz+) Rapists, assailants and hatemongers have their side of the story to tell, too — often, with the help of PR people and the media. 
Diplomatic isolation for our enemies (Ariel Bolstein, Israel Hayom) Remember the great "diplomatic tsunami" that was supposed to wash over Israel when it refused to make concessions? Well, a tsunami is coming, but it is a wave of support.
Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem: Trumpwashing That Works (Samuel Heilman, Haaretz+) Trump throws a 'pro-Israel' crumb to the crowd, and Jews in Israel and the U.S. look away from his assault on American freedoms. 
Trump's team is on point (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Oilman Rex Tillerson, like U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is an outsider. But he comes to the State Department as a deal-closer, and as someone who realizes that Iran is a danger, not an opportunity.
Why I Refuse to Call Steve Bannon an anti-Semite (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) The problem isn't that Bannon hates Jews. It's that he threatens the liberal democratic ideals most of us hold dear. 
A Stain on the Palestinian Authority's Legal System (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) It’s not the conviction of Mohammed Dahlan that is disturbing, as much as the process behind it.