“Incremental tyranny [is a process] which means you live in a democracy and suddenly you understand it is not a democracy any more. This is what we are seeing in Israel. The tragedy of this process is that you only know it when it is too late.”
--Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon told a small group of journalists ahead of an event he attended in support of Breaking the Silence.*

Don’t Get Involved in Syria (Haaretz Editorial) Israel shouldn't be discussing buffer zones with Syria when the international community doesn't even recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory 
Not just America First: Trump's change of policy is not good for Netanyahu (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) For Israel, the bombing is also a warning signal to Iran and Hezbollah. But in the long run it does not bode well. If the world is first, then the Palestinian problem is part of the world.
Will Israel Be a Casualty of U.S.-Russian Tension After Trump’s Missile Attack? (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz) Putin might want to prove that an attack on Russia’s ally has implications for America’s ally. But Israel needs coordination with Russia over Syria’s skies 
Each one of us can help a wounded Syrian child (Dr. Salman Zarka, Yedioth/Ynet) If every Syrian child, woman and man, who return to their homeland after their life was saved in Israel, treasure in their hearts the human encounter with people they used to consider enemies, we may be able to dream of a better future for our children and for theirs.
The Main Reason for the Next Gaza War (Ofri Ilany, Haaretz) For elite military men there’s apparently no greater blow than the cancellation of a mission they’re primed to carry out. This adolescent frustration, whether of a current or former officer, can determine the fate of millions 
Syria is a complete failure of the West’s non-intervention policy (Nadav Eyal, Yedioth/Ynet) Assad and Putin are demonstrating to the world the power of unrestrained, brutal and goal-fixated force. The international bodies, which were supposed to block and disrupt the use of such force, are paralyzed because of a basic structure which gives Russia the power to veto and because of American indetermination.
The Right Is So Strong Because the Left Is So Weak (Zeev Sternhell, Haaretz+) The opposition in Israel is a pathetic and ineffectual group that believes imitating the right is the only way of returning to power 
The US administration gave Assad a red line: The US will not allow the use of chemical weapons (Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer (Cheney) Marom, Maariv) The latest developments are certainly positive for Israel and weaken the Shi'ite axis headed by Iran, but Israel must do all it can to avoid military involvement in the Syrian quagmire. 
Show Us the Dying Children (Iris Leal, Haaretz+) The only thing that could evoke a wave of emotions that might lead the world’s citizens to demand that their leaders take action in Syria is being kept out of sight 
Why I Forced Myself to Look at Uncensored Photos of Kids Gassed in Syria (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) Each camp levelled charges against the other. In the TV studios, commentators debated what needed to be done. But I kept hoping it's a ruse – that the Syrian children weren’t really dead
Why Israel must not intervene in Syria just yet (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) With all the grief over the loss of lives, especially of innocent children, Israel should weigh its options carefully and responsibly and ask itself whether its strategic and tactical situation has changed in light of Tuesday’s suspected chemical attack, and whether it requires a ground invasion or ‘noisy’ Air Force strikes against Assad’s army. 
Why Did Israel Do Nothing About Syria? (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) There is no comparison between the Holocaust and the Syrian war, but history will ask the same questions about our lack of action 
Blacklists: When Our Fellow Israel Defenders Go Too Far (Kenneth Waltzer and Mark G. Yudof, Haaretz) We're deeply opposed to BDS. But we're also concerned when defenders of Israel, like AMCHA, embrace the very strategy – of blacklisting and boycotting – they lament and oppose