APN's daily news review from Israel

Wednesday November 22, 2017
 

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad then spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, more evidence and denial in the case of the ’Breaking the Silence’ Spokesman and a rejection of a call to fire his ambassador father, and conflicting reports about whether the Palestinian representative office in Washington was still operating and whether the Palestinian diplomats had suspended contact with the US making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Putin held a meeting with Assad Tuesday and a phone conversation with Netanyahu to discuss the political settlement in Syria ahead of his meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey today about the future of Syria. It was only the second time Assad left Syria during the seven-year civil war. Maariv reported that according to Western sources, Putin told Assad that the Allawite rule had to end and that he must make a constitution. Afterward, the Kremlin said Putin updated Netanyahu in a 30-minute phone call about the issues along Syria’s southern border. Netanyahu repeated Israeli concerns over Iran’s military presence near the border with Israel. Putin also updated US President Donald Trump about his meeting with Assad and said his meetings today with the Iranians and the Turks were to calms the situation in Syria and advance a political process in the country.

On a full page in Yedioth and front-page of Haaretz the papers reported that Channel 2 News found and interviewed the Palestinian young man from Hebron whom Dean Issacharoff, Spokesman of ‘Breaking the Silence,’ claimed he had beaten two years ago. Faisal al-Natche confirmed he was beaten by soldiers but said he wouldn’t be able to recognize by whom. As a result of the interview, a senior official in the State Prosecutor’s Office told Yedioth that it’s likely the police probe over whether Issacharoff had really assaulted a Palestinian in Hebron or not, would be re-opened. But Yedioth commentator Yoaz Hendel noted that the details between Issacharoff’s testimony and al-Natche’s interview did not exactly match up. Al-Natche said he was beaten by a number of masked soldiers, while Issacharoff said he had alone beaten Al-Natche till he was unconscious. A sergeant who commanded Issacharoff, called the whole thing a big lie. Haaretz’s Judy Maltz explained “How Israel Is Trying to Break Breaking the Silence – and How It Could Backfire.” After Israel Hayom reported yesterday that Issacharoff's father is the Israeli Ambassador to Germany and like other ambassadors he was instructed to take steps against Breaking the Silence, today it reported, (but didn't translate to English) that numerous people (right-wing) called for the ambassador's dismissal, but that the call was rejected. In a Twitter post, Amb. Jeremy Issacharoff called on Israeli ministers to stop inciting against his son, for which the neo-fascist right-wing group, Im Tirtzu, tried to get him fired. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely opposed such a move saying he an "excellent man of values" and a division needed to be made (by the public) between his diplomatic work and his son's "problematic" work.

After Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered Palestinians to stop contacts with US officials Tuesday, following the US threat that it would close the Palestinian mission in Washington, D.C. if the Palestinians didn’t drop their plan to sue Israel at The Hague Criminal Court, it wasn't clear who the Palestinians were talking with. Israel Hayom reported that only contacts with lower level Palestinian officials stopped and Haaretz+ reported that only contacts with lower level Palestinian officials continued. Top Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat said the US move was the result of “pressure by the Netanyahu government at a time when we are trying to cooperate to achieve ‘the ultimate deal.’” And Palestinian Ambassador to the US, Riyad al-Maliki, said that the Trump Administration is reconsidering its move to close the PLO Mission in D.C. Maan reported that after the PLO halted ties with the US two days ago, the Arab League stepped in to try to salvage the peace process and resume US-led peace negotiations.

**Meanwhile, at a special Knesset session dedicated to the anniversary of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's historic visit to Israel in 1979, which almost no Knesset members attended, Netanyahu said he lamented not finding a ‘Palestinian Sadat' on 40-year anniversary of Egyptian leader's visit: "I say with sincere regret, I have not yet come across the Palestinian Sadat who will declare his desire to end the conflict, who will recognize the State of Israel inside borders, whatever they may be, and support our right to live in peace and security.” The statement is odd in light of Abbas’ numerous declarations of hope for a two-state solution, most recently at the UN General Assembly in September. Indeed, Abbas has even asked the Trump Administration for clarification that it supports a two-state solution.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:
‘West Bank lands mean liberation’: Post-Six Day War cabinet minutes released
Transcripts of cabinet meetings held immediately after Israel’s great military victory in 1967 focus on the country’s changed borders. Jordan claimed Western Wall belonged to Waqf, Foreign Minister Abba Eban voiced his concern for Jews living in Arab states, and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan offered a correct forecast for 1973 Yom Kippur War, saying ‘I don’t believe the Arabs will accept the current ceasefire lines.’ (Itamar Eichner, Amihai Attali and Goel Beno in Yedioth/Ynet)
Former Israeli Parliamentarian Says Homegrown Companies Can Help Build Saudi Future City Neom
Over the last decade, intelligence and commercial ties between Israel and the Gulf countries have been on the rise, a result of a perceived mutual interest in limiting Iran's influence. Israeli former parliament member Erel Margalit participated in a regional conference in Qatar last week. (Orr Hirschauge, Calcalist/Yedioth)

Commentary/Analysis:
To Whitewash Occupation, Netanyahu Crew Casts Breaking the Silence Whistle-blower as Bogeyman (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Right-wing sadists harass Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff to act against his own son.
Under the auspices of Trump's peace plan, the government threatens to return us to Lebanon (Ran Adelist, Maariv) We will return to the Lebanese mud to provide the Saudis with a picture of victory after they failed in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. The hope is that the army will not be dragged into the politicians' trap.
Israeli left should note history: When you try to appease the right, you lose (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) Israel already has more than enough political parties who have set themselves the goal of scorning humanistic values, debasing democracy and abusing minorities with pseudo-patriotic justifications – which is nothing but pure and disgusting racism.
This Is Netanyahu's Dying Israel. Where the Doctor Is the Disease (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) The rabid incitement against president Rivlin was the worst since the eve of the Rabin murder. But the meaning of Netanyahu's grin was clear: This is not hate speech, it's simply evidence of a healthy democracy.
Netanyahu, who has become a heavy burden on the nationalist camp, has to go (Nadav Haetzni, Maariv) Even in a glorious political career you have to know when to say enough. From the desperate steps that the Prime Minister may take to try to save his skin are dangers that require him to leave the stage.
Israel Wants a Führer, Not a President (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) This country needs a Robert Mugabe, a Rodrigo Duterte, not a president like Reuven Rivlin who prattles about democracy and dares refuse to pardon a convicted killer in uniform.
Why Trump’s Mideast peace plan is doomed (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The truth must be told: Regardless of the new initiative's parameters, it won’t lead to an agreement. On the contrary, it will hinder the chances for an arrangement, because no matter what the US president offers the Palestinians, their answer is predetermined. They will say no.
Israeli Academia’s Real Problem (Vardit Gilor, Haaretz+) There’s no shortage of women with advanced degrees, but the number of Israeli Arab women with doctorates is far below their representation in the population, and that hurts the whole country.
The Problem With Zionism: Israel Was Born in the Holy Land, Not Uganda (Kobi Niv, Haaretz+) The adoption of Judaism by secular politicians is neither cheap election pandering nor spiritual embrace of religion. It's the result of Zionism's inherent flaw.
The cancellation of the huge deal with India would seriously damage the relations between the two countries (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Although the announcement that Rafael Company would supply anti-tank missiles to the Indian army caused quite a few eyebrows to raise, the announcement of the cancellation surprised the Israelis. But there seems to be no smoke without fire.
Labor Party's Support of Deportation, Imprisonment of Asylum Seekers Cheapens the Israeli Opposition (Haaretz Editorial) Avi Gabbay's odious attempts to include non-traditional Labor voters alienate him from the values that justify a legitimate opposition in the first place.
Palestinians in Gaza Suffer Enough Without Being Defamed as Sexual Deviants and Mentally Ill (Brian K. Barber, Haaretz) ‘Rampant sexual abuse, drugs and despair’, as a recent Haaretz article claimed? Not in the Gaza we know. Gazans have outlived all predictions that they would break as individuals and as a society.
 
 

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