APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday May 8, 2017
 

Quote of the Day #1:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
**The relief in Israel that Emmanuel Macron beat Marine Le Penn for the French presidency, the storm after the Ministerial Committee passed the ‘Jewish nation-state’ bill that revoked Arabic as an official language and the ridicule of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who was caught on camera secretly eating during the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger-strike after prison officials set him up (his wife insists the recordings are fake), were the top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
 
Barely making news was that 16-year-old Fatima Hjeiji was shot dead when she allegedly tried to stab Border Police officers at Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. A death letter she wrote was found at the scene.
 
Also in the news, German President Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he came to Israel to prevent further deterioration in relations between the two countries after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu snubbed the German Foreign Minister, who met with Israeli human rights organizations. Steinmeier said it would be ‘irresponsible” to leave the recent diplomatic spat unresolved and risk souring German-Israel relations.
 
Today, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, lands in Israel to meet his Israeli counterpart, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to discuss a plethora of topics, including Russia, Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal and the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah.
 
Maariv’s Ben Caspit gave a very interesting report about the different attempts to help and hinder Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of his meeting with Trump. According to Caspit, Netanyahu’s associates in the Prime Minister’s Office were furious because they believed that Netanyahu’s former associate, Jewish-American tycoon and head of the World Jewish Congress, Ron Lauder, prepped Abbas ahead of his meeting with Trump. Lauder wants Israel to have peace with the Arab world and knows that will only happen if there’s peace with Palestine. Caspit reported that, according to US sources, Lauder has recently been suffering from incitement from extremist Jewish elements, who call him a ‘fifth column.’ Lauder invited Abbas to his home before his arrival at the White House. Interestingly, Lauder's office ordered a delivery of a sumptuous meal from one of the city’s fine restaurants for the two to eat at his home, “but an invisible hand led to the cancellation of the delivery without Lauder's knowledge.” Caspit also wrote that Abbas was “very pleased with his meeting with Trump. According to American officials who are not government officials, Netanyahu's people tried to torpedo the meeting between Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and Trump with all their might, but failed. Abu Mazen’s people did careful homework, learned Trump and "plowed" some of his closest associates to equip Abu Mazen with all the right advice. Between the American president and the Palestinian president, a kind of chemistry was created. Abu Mazen invited Trump to visit Bethlehem during his trip to the Middle East on May 22. After visiting Israel (from which he will arrive from Saudi Arabia), Trump will make a trip to Bethlehem, where he will meet again with Abu Mazen.” So it was no surprise that Netanyahu had harsh words for Abbas. Yesterday, he said that Israel wants peace, but Abbas pays terrorists. Netanyahu also posted a video of himself disdainfully throwing Hamas’ new, more moderate, policy paper into his waste bin. Trump gave Israel Hayom an ‘exclusive’ paragraph to put on its front page, saying he was “honored” to accept Netanyahu’s invitation and he looks forward to "wonderful, productive visit" and the two will discuss a "range of regional issues of mutual concern."
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

How za'atar became a victim of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
For both cultures, the wild hyssop plant symbolizes redemption and a connection to the land, but the law protecting the species clashes with Palestinian traditions. (Ronit Vered, Haaretz+)
How do you deal with the road accident epidemic in the Arab sector?
The sharp increase in the rate of road accident victims within Arab society led to the launching of a new program that was given a NIS 16 million budget and will also include clerics: "We are taking the sector out of its denial.” (Ilana Stutland, Maariv)
How Trump Can Get the Most Out of His Israel Visit
Senior officials in the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations explain the lessons they learned from their visits to the Holy Land. (Amir Tibon, Haaretz+)
  
Commentary/Analysis:
What would Herzl say about Nationality Bill? (Nasreen Hadad Haj-Yahy, Yedioth/Ynet) Israel’s leadership appears to have diverted from Theodor Herzl’s path. Instead of striving to create equality and a common ground, it is doing everything in its power to incite and divide for the sake of a few more votes.
No Reconciliation in Sight: Abbas’ Team Is Unenthused by Hamas’ New Leadership (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) The new lineup strengthens the hawks in Hamas, especially the military wing. Ismail Haniyeh will have to prove he's a leader of the Palestinians, not a militia chief 
Trump should just stay home (Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) Expecting an unstable person like the US president to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is like expecting a compulsive gambler to serve as a guide for level-headed behavior. 
It is known that North Korea is crazy, but now there is a madman in the White House as well (Lior Dayan, Maariv) From my experience in the psychiatric ward, every mini-argument between madmen can, in a moment, turn into an explosion that will end when they both created chaos or everything will calm down and we see them sitting in an occupational therapy room preparing arts and crafts together.
To the Parents of the Israeli Officer With the Mole (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The proud Jewish soldier didn’t expect the Arab to disobey, so he had to act fast, and then concoct the story that he was attacked. 
Alternative Memorial Day ceremony a moral confusion (Yoaz Hendel, Yedioth/Ynet) A healthy society mourns its dead and its soldiers, not the other side, regardless of the lightness or severity of the actions committed by the other side's dead. Nevertheless, alternative Memorial Day ceremonies cause no harm to anyone. 
*Trump could be the one that will force us to deal with our fear of peace (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) …. In its early days, Zionism was an impetus for the expression of spiritual, social and cultural uniqueness. The history of the Jewish people, and especially the rise of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, added to its survival and warring elements. Elements that continued to develop during Israel's wars of no choice. But the messianism of the Six Day War completely changed the components of Israeli nationalism. The survival components became aggressive. The desire for moral uniqueness was replaced by a belief in spiritual superiority. One that defines itself by means of a zero-sum game between us and the Palestinians. Against this backdrop, it was easy to adopt the security conceptions and the so-called realistic perceptions that there is no partner. These concepts helped to justify the continued possession of the Territories. From left to right, the leadership was swept away with the messianic spirit. Peace became the property of the weak. A word parallel to submission, to groveling, to frivolity. The leaders of the state, who over the years feared losing their prestige, increasingly refrained from bringing the word to their lips. The reason for this lies in the essence of peace, which places us in front of our neighbors as equals, without walls, naked from any rhetoric to cover our weaknesses, committed to the redefinition of our unique identity. After years of hiding behind force, it’s possible to understand the threat inherent in it. On the occasion of Trump's arrival, and in order not to deviate from the equation, the chairman of Habayit Hayehudi, Minister Naftali Bennett, is already getting ready with force. In an interview with Rina Matzliah on Saturday night, he scoffed at the government's weakness. "Habayit Hayehudi," he declared, "is the backbone of the government. We preserve its power. We instill in it the power to rule." His party, in other words, stands ready and alert, in order to prevent the government from descending into the abyss of peace. Trump, who has just finished hugging Abu Mazen, is now turning to hug a bear, some will say, Netanyahu. It is quite possible that it is precisely this guttural, impatient leader, who lacks the knowledge and the ability to analyze history, who will be the one who will force us to deal with (our) fear. Without any glory and fanfare, there is not a bad chance that he will be the one who will help us find the courage not to be weak.
A Cornerstone of Apartheid (Haaretz Editorial) Israel's 'nation-state' law must be stopped - the only way to preserve a democratic Israel is to enshrine equality among all its citizens in law. 
Haniyeh's election brings Hamas military wing closer to decision making (Elior Levy, Ynet) Haniyeh's presence in the Gaza Strip and his close relationship with the leaders of the Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades brings the armed wing of the terror organization closer than before to the decision making process. 
Moderate and charismatic: Haniyeh will have to give up the 100 days of grace (Yasir Ukbi, Maariv) The impossible conditions in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority's attack on his administration will make life difficult for the man elected to head the Hamas political bureau. Haniyeh is known as a pragmatist and more moderate than his colleagues. Sources within the organization emphasize that he is charismatic and has a strong personality, and he has principles that he insists on. However, others say that Haniyeh, who is considered to be the man behind most of Hamas' decisions, is in fact an extremist, whose moves are impossible to predict. In October 2014, Haniyeh's daughter was admitted to a hospital in Israel following a Caesarean section in Gaza that went awry. In addition, Haniyeh's two sisters live with their families in Tel Sheva in the Negev. According to reports from the Turkish agency "Andolo,” he is supposed to run the organization from outside the Gaza Strip, probably from Qatar, as Mashaal did. "Staying in Gaza is dangerous because the new leader may be a direct target of Israel," said a senior Hamas source. "And also the job demands require him to move from place to place and travel." Due to his pragmatism, Haniyeh may also stay in Turkey. Given the complexity of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority's assault on the de facto Hamas administration, Haniyeh will probably have to give up his 100 days of grace. 
No Reconciliation in Sight: Abbas’ Team Is Unenthused by Hamas’ New Leadership (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) The new lineup strengthens the hawks in Hamas, especially the military wing. Ismail Haniyeh will have to prove he's a leader of the Palestinians, not a militia chief. 
Louis Farrakhan Just Got an Invite to the White House, So Where’s the Outrage? (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) White House staffer Omarosa Manigault reached out to the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader, but most Jewish groups have been deafeningly silent in response. It's a startling double standard compared to their treatment of Keith Ellison 
The talk of the city: The Arabs were never - and will never be - peace seekers (Haim Misgav, Maariv) There have been a lot of declarations in recent days about the future of Jerusalem, but I do not believe in the speeches of the well-dressed and not of the Arabs who try to improve their positions vis-a-vis the world. 
Who Are B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence Serving? (Gadi Taub, Haaretz+) Many members of the BDS movement, who are trying to eliminate Israel, feel the materials from B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence advance their goals 
Macron's win may usher in improved France-Israel relations (Itamar Eichner, Yedioth/Ynet) Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French presidential elections could signal a shift in relations between the republic and Israel, which reached a particularly low ebb during the era of François Hollande; Macron has shown himself to be an opponent of BDS, and unlike his predecessor, against unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. 
French Jews Just Helped Vote Down Le Pen. Now They Have Another Fear Under Macron (Shirli Sitbon, Haaretz+) Why Jewish voters in France say Macron's victory is a lot like 'choosing between the plague and cholera' 
New Hamas policy document is just a small facelift (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) While the Islamist organization has finally erased the call to destroy Israel, it is vowing to never give up the armed struggle against the occupation, ‘in all ways and means.’ In other words, we are not rid of suicide bombers, stabbings, explosive devices, tunnels, rockets and abductions. 
Ambassador in dispute: Since taking the loaded position, Nikki Haley has not stopped making headlines (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The US ambassador to the United Nations is in a controversy over some unforgettable remarks. Washington is not satisfied with the high profile of the rising star and has even demanded that she forward her speeches in advance to be checked.
 

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