APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday December 20, 2016
Quote of the day:
“The outline that the Government of Israel invented is based on a crime. They are transferring the
people of Amona, who squatted on private property, to private property of other Palestinians."
--Adv. Michael Sfard of Yesh Din, legal rights organization.*
You Must Be Kidding:
59% of Jewish Israelis oppose having Arab parties as part of governing coalitions and 52.5% of Jewish Israelis believe that those who refuse to accept Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people should be stripped of their right to vote.**
--Adv. Michael Sfard of Yesh Din, legal rights organization.*
You Must Be Kidding:
59% of Jewish Israelis oppose having Arab parties as part of governing coalitions and 52.5% of Jewish Israelis believe that those who refuse to accept Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people should be stripped of their right to vote.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Turkish policeman assassinated the Russian ambassador and yelled: Don’t forget Aleppo
- The common interest // Zvi Bar’el
- The continuation of the war // Amos Harel
- Truck driver plows into crowd in Berlin and killed nine
- Netanyahu in closed discussions: We can make historic changes with the Trump Administration
- Pressure in the Joint List for the resignation of MK Ghattas; Odeh: The accusations that were reported are very serious
- New guideline in the Education Ministry weakens the professional (advisory committee)
- Homeless man detained because he slept inside a preschool during the cold and ate cookies
- The Lieberman procedure // Haaretz Editorial
- The undecided hand (of the Joint List on the issue of Syria) // Adi Shosberg-Medini
- (Mitzpeh Ramon, a) Development town, even after the development
- Beni Steinmetz was detained: Suspected of bribing senior officials in Africa with millions of dollars
Yedioth Ahronoth
- The moment of the assassination (of the Russian ambassador)
- Suspicion of terror in Berlin – 9 killed when truck hit people
- The MK Basel Ghattas affair: He smuggled the phones in his coat
- Study: Because of the sirens during Operation Protective Edge – more early births in the south
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Terror in Berlin
- Panic in the streets // Liran Givoli in Berlin
- Madness in Ankara
- The ambassador was murdered, the common interest remains // Yossi Melman
Israel Hayom
- The death truck in the heart of Berlin
- The assassination
- Severe attack, the reconciliation will continue // Boaz Bismuth
- Smuggling of the cellular phones to security prisoners: MK Ghattas will be interrogated today
- The billionaire Beni Steinmetz bribed former Guinean president in exchange for mining rights
News Summary:
The assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey and the suspicion of terror in the killing of twelve people by a truck that plowed into a crowd in Berlin made the two top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. (Maariv and Yedioth failed to mention that a gunman opened fire on Muslim worshippers inside a Zurich mosque, seriously injuring three, and Israel Hayom mentioned it in a paragraph at the end of a two-page article on the truck attack.) The other main stories were about the declarations of ownership by individual Palestinians over the land that was allotted to the Amona outpost settlers and the calls for and against the suspension from Knesset of MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List) and whether he did or didn’t answer the police phone calls yesterday.
*Two hours before the Amona settlers received the outline of the deal, by which they would get alternative land on the same hilltop and one million shekels per family, the Israeli legal rights organization, Yesh Din, announced it had found the Palestinian owner of plot #38, where 24 housing units are supposed to be built. It also found the eight Palestinian owners of plot #17, who live in Silwad village, and the owner of plot #6, who lives in Ein Yabrud, Maariv and Maan reported. In addition, 10% of plot #30, which is a very large, belongs to a Palestinian man. All this puts into question whether the state would be able to move the settlers to the new location. And in the meantime, Yedioth’s Elisha Ben-Kimon pointed out, the state has yet to submit a petition to postpone the eviction of the outpost in order to execute the deal with the settlers. Adv. Michael Sfard of Yesh Din told Maariv: “The outline that the Government of Israel invented is based on a crime. They are transferring the people of Amona, who squatted on private property, to private property of other Palestinians. We will do legally everything that is possible to prevent that.”
Yedioth and Israel Hayom accepted the police accusations that MK Basel Ghattas was deliberately avoiding police phone calls, while Haaretz and Maariv reported that the police reached him and that a meeting was arrange for him to be questioned today over allegations that he smuggled cellular phones to Palestinian security prisoners. Ghattas’ lawyer said they were in contact with the police since the morning. Haaretz+ reported that Ghattas was under pressure from within his party, Balad, and the Joint List to resign or suspend himself. Meanwhile, a dispute between Yesh Atid Chairman MK Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu erupted after MKs lead by Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) sought to invoke the newly passed and yet-to-be-implemented controversial Suspension Law to have Ghattas removed from the Knesset. Lapid and Zionist Camp chief MK Isaac Herzog prevented the vote from passing saying that first the legal process must be exhausted. Netanyahu called Lapid, “a left-winger, who heads a left-wing party.” For its part, Yesh Atid responded calling Netanyahu’s remarks a ‘used trick.’ “First you called Bennett a left-winger, and then Lieberman, and then Bugi (Moshe) Yaalon – and then the Chief of Staff Eisenkot. Now also Lapid is ‘left-wing’? Maybe you’ll stop with that trick. Everytime the Prime Minister and his ministers are unable to deal with the reality they turn to that shabby trick.” (Maariv)
The assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey and the suspicion of terror in the killing of twelve people by a truck that plowed into a crowd in Berlin made the two top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. (Maariv and Yedioth failed to mention that a gunman opened fire on Muslim worshippers inside a Zurich mosque, seriously injuring three, and Israel Hayom mentioned it in a paragraph at the end of a two-page article on the truck attack.) The other main stories were about the declarations of ownership by individual Palestinians over the land that was allotted to the Amona outpost settlers and the calls for and against the suspension from Knesset of MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List) and whether he did or didn’t answer the police phone calls yesterday.
*Two hours before the Amona settlers received the outline of the deal, by which they would get alternative land on the same hilltop and one million shekels per family, the Israeli legal rights organization, Yesh Din, announced it had found the Palestinian owner of plot #38, where 24 housing units are supposed to be built. It also found the eight Palestinian owners of plot #17, who live in Silwad village, and the owner of plot #6, who lives in Ein Yabrud, Maariv and Maan reported. In addition, 10% of plot #30, which is a very large, belongs to a Palestinian man. All this puts into question whether the state would be able to move the settlers to the new location. And in the meantime, Yedioth’s Elisha Ben-Kimon pointed out, the state has yet to submit a petition to postpone the eviction of the outpost in order to execute the deal with the settlers. Adv. Michael Sfard of Yesh Din told Maariv: “The outline that the Government of Israel invented is based on a crime. They are transferring the people of Amona, who squatted on private property, to private property of other Palestinians. We will do legally everything that is possible to prevent that.”
Yedioth and Israel Hayom accepted the police accusations that MK Basel Ghattas was deliberately avoiding police phone calls, while Haaretz and Maariv reported that the police reached him and that a meeting was arrange for him to be questioned today over allegations that he smuggled cellular phones to Palestinian security prisoners. Ghattas’ lawyer said they were in contact with the police since the morning. Haaretz+ reported that Ghattas was under pressure from within his party, Balad, and the Joint List to resign or suspend himself. Meanwhile, a dispute between Yesh Atid Chairman MK Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu erupted after MKs lead by Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) sought to invoke the newly passed and yet-to-be-implemented controversial Suspension Law to have Ghattas removed from the Knesset. Lapid and Zionist Camp chief MK Isaac Herzog prevented the vote from passing saying that first the legal process must be exhausted. Netanyahu called Lapid, “a left-winger, who heads a left-wing party.” For its part, Yesh Atid responded calling Netanyahu’s remarks a ‘used trick.’ “First you called Bennett a left-winger, and then Lieberman, and then Bugi (Moshe) Yaalon – and then the Chief of Staff Eisenkot. Now also Lapid is ‘left-wing’? Maybe you’ll stop with that trick. Everytime the Prime Minister and his ministers are unable to deal with the reality they turn to that shabby trick.” (Maariv)
Quick Hits:
- **Most Israeli Jews would deny vote to those rejecting Israel as Jewish nation-state, report says - Israel Democracy Institute survey shows growing trend to marginalize Arab citizens, with ultra-Orthodox Jews having deepest prejudices. Poll also showed Israelis increasingly losing faith in government. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Compensation to Arab pensioners who were prevented from entering Azrieli shopping mall in Tel-Aviv - A group of 40 pensioners from the Arab-Druze village of Shfaram (northern Israel) won a law suit against the mall’s security guard company, T&M Saar Security, for not letting them into the mall when they visited on a group trip in June 2013.(Yedioth, Mamun economic supplement, p. 6)
- New state budget faces obstacles only 12 days before year's end: settlers and ultra-Orthodox the main beneficiaries - With adoption of NIS 1.2 billion cuts in state budget, the public will receive fewer health care, education and welfare services; West Bank residents and Haredim to be the main beneficiaries. (Ynet)
- Israeli lightly wounded in West Bank shooting attack - Forces searching for suspects after gunman fires at vehicle overnight near the Palestinian village of Aboud and the settlement of Ofarim, military says. (Haaretz, Ynet and Israel Hayom)
- Israel mulls increasing number of work permits for Palestinians - Ministers could increase numbers by as much as 40% in order to fill manpower shortages in construction and other industries. (Haaretz+)
- Calm Descends on Amona, but Big Challenges Still Remain to Evacuate Settlement - Residents returned to normal routine Monday after voting to accept deal for voluntary evacuation, projecting air of optimism despite legal obstacles ahead (Haaretz+)
- Palestinian hunger striker moved to intensive care ahead of court decision Tuesday over force feeding - Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Anas Shadid transferred to intensive care of Israeli hospital following severe deterioration of his health Monday, a day before Israeli High Court rules whether or not to force feed Shadid and fellow hunger striker Ahmad Abu Farah. (Maan)
- Israeli prison authorities move hunger striker to Eshel prison - Ammar Ibrahim Hamour has gone 28 days without food in protest of his administrative detention -- Israel's widely condemned policy of internment without trial or charge under undisclosed evidence. Arbitrary prison transfers is one of the tactics Israel uses to pressure hunger strikers to end their strikes. (Maan)
- Israel hands Palestinian girl 18-month prison sentence over alleged stab attempt - 15-year-old Natalie Shukha was convicted of attempting to stab an Israeli soldier at a military checkpoint. She was shot in the back on the scene and she made the news in October when a letter she wrote from prison about her daily life was widely shared on the internet. (Maan
- Israel orders demolition of slain Palestinian shooter's home in Jerusalem - Israeli High Court ordered on Monday the partial demolition of the home of Misbah Abu Sbeih, who was killed by Israeli forces in October after carrying out a deadly shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem, despite the fact that Abu Sbeih’s widow and five children are still living in the house. (Maan)
- Israeli army raids 'largest arms workshop' in West Bank - Raid in underground Hebron factory exposes what army says is unprecedented arms making operation, that includes automatic rifles. Workshop's owner and son were detained. (Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Maan+PHOTOS)
- Israel bans burials in parts of East Jerusalem Muslim cemetery - The Israel Nature and Parks Authority crew installed around 10 signs in different areas in the cemetery in both Arabic and Hebrew reading “National Park around Jerusalem wall,” “open public area,” and “no burials allowed.” The areas are privately owned by two large families. (Maan)
- National Security Council recommended to continuously update Security Cabinet ministers - Following Operation Protective Edge, Bayit Yehudi Leader Naftali Bennett demanded that a military secretary be appointed to the Security Cabinet for regular updates; a committee set up to look into the matter has sided with Bennett, recommending that a new body be founded within the National Security Council for this purpose. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Arts Academy Under Attack: Police Questionings, Censorship and a Blow to Academic Freedom - 'There were threats and curses that came to the department offices and to my personal email, in writing and orally,' says Eli Petel, head of Bezalel's Fine Arts Department. (Haaretz+)
- Gaza electricity company accuses Israel of stalling power line repairs - The Gaza Strip’s electricity company accused Israel on Sunday of pushing off repairs on the “Baghdad” power line which has been damaged for four days, worsening the already dire electricity situation in the besieged Palestinian territory. (Maan)
- UN makes $547 million appeal for humanitarian aid for Palestine - Almost 70 percent of the $547 million in funds would be directed toward projects in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Palestinians “are facing their tenth year under a blockade that precludes any vestige of ‘normal life,’” the UN said. (Maan)
- Israeli tank fires at Hamas positions in Gaza after cross-border shooting - Israeli army targets Hamas position after forces sustain gun fire along border with Gaza Strip. (Haaretz and Maan)
- Netanyahu Sees Opportunity for 'Historic Changes' With Trump Administration - Netanyahu made remarks at several closed meetings since Mossad chief met Trump adviser Gen. Flynn. In their meeting, Flynn told Israeli spymaster that president-elect was serious about moving U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. (Haaretz+)
- Female MKs in letter to State Prosecutor: "Appeal the decision to release Katsav early" - Six female MKs published a letter in which they said that the early release of former president and convicted rapist would be a "wrong message, according to which sexual offenses are forgiven. We women have the right to security in the workplace.” The MKs come from the parties of Kulanu, Yesh Atid, Zionist Camp, Joint List and all three female MKs of the Meretz party. (Maariv)
- Battling for the religious women: "The women who were sexually harassed are sure it was their fault" - Among those in the Zionist-religious community who are battling over sexual harassment is also the Women's Forum of Habayit Hayehudi party. The members [who are religious and right-wing – OH] say they are struggling with countless obstacles: "Our sector of society is complex." (Maariv)
- (Religious settler) David Pearl resigns after tremendous pressure on him - The Gush Etzion Council head, who is suspected of paying 200,000 shekels in hush money to a girl who claimed he sexually harassed her, announced that he will no longer serve in the role, and now there will be an election to replace him. (Maariv)
- Tunisia FM: more evidence of foreign involvement in murder of Hamas terrorist - During a press conference, journalists told that Tunisian nationals were enlisted into the plot via an internet site under the guise of a communications company; 'The sovereignty of Tunisia is a red line,' says foreign minister. (Ynet)
- Israeli Tycoon Beny Steinmetz Arrested on Suspicion of Guinea Bribery in Global Corruption Case - Beny Steinmetz, a billionaire who owns a mining firm, is suspected of paying off officials in Guinea; court confiscates both his passports, sends him to house arrest and sets bail at $25M. (Haaretz)
- Tel Aviv Mayor Calls for Social Policy Legislation to Fight Poverty - Ron Huldai makes remarks at welfare conference backed by National Insurance Institute chief who urges Israel to set inequality goals and spend more on welfare. (Haaretz)
- Petition to High Court: Make Sara Netanyahu pay compensation for "damage to public coffers" - Movement for Quality Government demands charging the wife of the Prime Minister to pay herself for the state compensation to former manager of the Prime Minister’s Residence Meni Naftali. An earlier court case obliged the state to pay Naftali for Mrs. Netanyahu’s maltreatment of him. (Maariv)
- Amir Peretz announces bid for Israeli Labor Party leadership - Peretz, a former defense minister, says only he can bring new constituents to the center-left party. (Haaretz)
- Azerbaijan to Israel: We won’t back down over Israeli blogger arrested in Belarus - 'The Azeris want to make an example of Lapshin,' a senior official tells Haaretz, saying Baku will not give up on bid to extradite blogger from Belarus. (Haaretz+)
- We all scream for ice cream (especially BDS) - BDS activists in Britain turned their attention to Israeli ice cream, demanding that popular UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's change the label on Hatov ice cream from 'Israeli product made in Jerusalem,' to 'Product of the West Bank (Israeli settlement).' (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Israel's National Library welcomes first trove of Kafka papers - Letters and works by the noted 20th-century author, part of the estate of his friend, Max Brod, are being transferred after years of court battles. (Haaretz+)
- 2,000-year-old Maccabean-era coin found in Jerusalem - Bronze prutah bears image of King Antiochus IV, who declared death sentence on Jews • Tower of David Museum Director Eilat Lieber: It's exciting to find Antiochus himself thrown down here between the stones and tell him: We're still celebrating Hanukkah. (Israel Hayom)
- Israeli Energy Shares Drop Amid Concerns About Egyptian Gas Exports - Business in Brief | Private equity firm Permira looking to sell drip-irrigation company Netafim and insurers lead gains for Tel Aviv shares. (Haaretz)
- Leading Jewish Scholar Prosecuted in France for Alleged anti-Muslim Remarks - Georges Bensoussan's statements were 'dangerous and in line with far-right rhetoric' targeting Muslims, according to the Collective Against Islamophobia. (JTA, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
In Israel, Settlers of Amona Come Before Fighting Poverty (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) Even if we fixed the data, poverty and social gaps in Israel would still be
too high. The problem is that the government doesn’t really care.
More and more land, less of a state (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The settlement in the territories is the most significant, influential enterprise established in Israel in the past 50 years. On the way, it crushes the foundations of statehood laid by the founding generation.
Welcome to Amona Inc., the Latest Settlements Boondoggle (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) Allocating $35 million to relocate 200 people from Amona is a rare case when the true cost of the settlements enterprise is exposed.
Not a private fight over land (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The battle over Amona is not a question of who owns this particular plot of land, but what the Jewish people will embrace as their destiny as they return to their ancestral homeland.
The weak and the weaker: Israel has become a place where what counts is money and status (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) Between Amona and homeless people, between (early release of convicted rapist and former president) Mosh Katsav and (the rejection of a pardon request for the Ethiopian-Israeli who murdered the man who raped him) Yonatan Hielo, between (Brig. Gen. convicted only of inappropriate behavior towards the women serving under him) Ofek Buchris and his victims who were sexually attacked and raped by him, it seems that the country has become a place where good contacts and money dictate the rulings, not justice.
Trump's Pick for Envoy to Israel: For Greater Israel or the Greater Good? (Sara Hirschhorn, Haaretz+) For David Friedman and America's modern Orthodox community, deep connections to Israel's West Bank settlements have become increasingly institutionalized and routine | Opinion
Welcome, David Friedman (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) As ambassador to Israel, David Friedman would accurately implement President-elect Donald Trump's policy, which is in Israel's interest. Many are waiting for a change.
Turkey: Don't Expect a Diplomatic Meltdown Over Russian Envoy's Murder (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Normally, yes, but these are not normal times: The Syrian crisis means Russia and Turkey will avoid a rift over the assassination of Ambassador Andrey Karlov in Ankara.
After Aleppo Victory, Assad Could Try to Make Gains Near Israel Border (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Assad's successes may motivate him to take on rebels now in control of Golan Heights, leading to potential complications for Israel.
The unusual incident in Ankara: The Ambassador was murdered, the interest remains (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The assassination in front of the cameras in Turkey raises many questions, but it won’t succeed in influencing the strategic moves in Syria and the improving relations between Russia and Turkey. Such an incident cannot divert the course of the strategy of the countries involved. Today, talks will open as scheduled in Moscow between the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran, to discuss a political outline in Syria, after Aleppo fell in the hands of Assad's regime.
The Holocausts That Connect Syrians and Israelis (Syrian journalist Mansour Omari, Haaretz+) The threat of 'Israel' and 'the Jews' have anchored Assad's regime, but Syrians are starting to question it. That offers an opening for Israel to act against the massacre of civilians by the regime and its allies, Iran and Hezbollah.
Fear-inspiring: My five People of the Year (Uri Savir, Maariv) The people I chose despise democracy and cast fear on the world: Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Bashar Assad, Kim Jong-un and Binyamin Netanyahu. Unfortunately, it seems the right-wing wave that reached its peak this year will not stop also in 2017.
Definition of anti-Semitism Is a Threat to No One but anti-Semites (Dina Porat, Haaretz+) How did the definition, that few (if any) were familiar with, turn into a hotly controversial, international issue?
Arab MKs and questions of loyalty (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Only a country that has gone completely mad and is incapable of drawing a clear line between freedom of expression and democracy, and incitement and terror, allows enemies of the state to continue serving in its legislative branch.
Lieberman Has His Own Laws (Haaretz Editorial) The prime minister of any functioning country would have put Lieberman in his place facing his relentless cronyism. But not Netanyahu.
Deter Hezbollah or Preempt It? (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) Israel can't put 8 million people underground if Hezbollah utilizes its rocket arsenal. But both deterrence and preemptive strikes as strategies pose highly difficult problems | Opinion
More and more land, less of a state (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The settlement in the territories is the most significant, influential enterprise established in Israel in the past 50 years. On the way, it crushes the foundations of statehood laid by the founding generation.
Welcome to Amona Inc., the Latest Settlements Boondoggle (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) Allocating $35 million to relocate 200 people from Amona is a rare case when the true cost of the settlements enterprise is exposed.
Not a private fight over land (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The battle over Amona is not a question of who owns this particular plot of land, but what the Jewish people will embrace as their destiny as they return to their ancestral homeland.
The weak and the weaker: Israel has become a place where what counts is money and status (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) Between Amona and homeless people, between (early release of convicted rapist and former president) Mosh Katsav and (the rejection of a pardon request for the Ethiopian-Israeli who murdered the man who raped him) Yonatan Hielo, between (Brig. Gen. convicted only of inappropriate behavior towards the women serving under him) Ofek Buchris and his victims who were sexually attacked and raped by him, it seems that the country has become a place where good contacts and money dictate the rulings, not justice.
Trump's Pick for Envoy to Israel: For Greater Israel or the Greater Good? (Sara Hirschhorn, Haaretz+) For David Friedman and America's modern Orthodox community, deep connections to Israel's West Bank settlements have become increasingly institutionalized and routine | Opinion
Welcome, David Friedman (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) As ambassador to Israel, David Friedman would accurately implement President-elect Donald Trump's policy, which is in Israel's interest. Many are waiting for a change.
Turkey: Don't Expect a Diplomatic Meltdown Over Russian Envoy's Murder (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Normally, yes, but these are not normal times: The Syrian crisis means Russia and Turkey will avoid a rift over the assassination of Ambassador Andrey Karlov in Ankara.
After Aleppo Victory, Assad Could Try to Make Gains Near Israel Border (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Assad's successes may motivate him to take on rebels now in control of Golan Heights, leading to potential complications for Israel.
The unusual incident in Ankara: The Ambassador was murdered, the interest remains (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The assassination in front of the cameras in Turkey raises many questions, but it won’t succeed in influencing the strategic moves in Syria and the improving relations between Russia and Turkey. Such an incident cannot divert the course of the strategy of the countries involved. Today, talks will open as scheduled in Moscow between the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran, to discuss a political outline in Syria, after Aleppo fell in the hands of Assad's regime.
The Holocausts That Connect Syrians and Israelis (Syrian journalist Mansour Omari, Haaretz+) The threat of 'Israel' and 'the Jews' have anchored Assad's regime, but Syrians are starting to question it. That offers an opening for Israel to act against the massacre of civilians by the regime and its allies, Iran and Hezbollah.
Fear-inspiring: My five People of the Year (Uri Savir, Maariv) The people I chose despise democracy and cast fear on the world: Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Bashar Assad, Kim Jong-un and Binyamin Netanyahu. Unfortunately, it seems the right-wing wave that reached its peak this year will not stop also in 2017.
Definition of anti-Semitism Is a Threat to No One but anti-Semites (Dina Porat, Haaretz+) How did the definition, that few (if any) were familiar with, turn into a hotly controversial, international issue?
Arab MKs and questions of loyalty (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Only a country that has gone completely mad and is incapable of drawing a clear line between freedom of expression and democracy, and incitement and terror, allows enemies of the state to continue serving in its legislative branch.
Lieberman Has His Own Laws (Haaretz Editorial) The prime minister of any functioning country would have put Lieberman in his place facing his relentless cronyism. But not Netanyahu.
Deter Hezbollah or Preempt It? (Moshe Arens, Haaretz+) Israel can't put 8 million people underground if Hezbollah utilizes its rocket arsenal. But both deterrence and preemptive strikes as strategies pose highly difficult problems | Opinion
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.