News Nosh 3.25.19

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday March 25, 2019
 
 
You Must Be Kidding: 
"More vigilance, more vigilance, and the next terrorist will probably no longer have a chance.”
--The conclusion of commentator Efraim Ganor, after first writing at length about a meeting in an Israeli jail he had with Palestinian security prisoners, who told him that as long as the occupation continues, the Palestinians will continue to resist.**


Breaking News:
IDF readies forces on Gaza border after rocket wrecks home in central Israel and wounds Israelis. Netanyahu cancels AIPAC speech, returns to Israel early
Hamas says rocket launched by accident (Maariv), Islamic Jihad warns it will respond strongly if Israel responds, Egyptian delegation travels to Gaza and warns local factions not to respond to Israeli response (Maariv), assessment is that Israeli response will be less intense because launch was an accident (Maariv).

Front Page:
Haaretz
  • Attorney General contradicts Netanyahu: “I was not exposed to the secret that allowed the sale of submarines to Egypt”
  • Who knew about the approval of the sale of German submarines to Egypt - According to Netanyahu “A small group of people knew about all the details of this sensitive issue including Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitt, former National Security Council head Yaakov Nagal and former National Security Council head Yaakov Amdiror.” Mendelblitt says he didn’t know about any secret issue, Negel says it happened before his period and he didn’t know about it, and Amidror says, “There was an interest to say to the Chancellor that we won’t prevent her from this move”
  • Netanyahu strengthened the suspicion against himself of conflict of interests // Amos Harel
  • Netanyahu’s stocks were acquired at a 95% discount
  • Netanyahu, the man fearful of his money, “doesn’t remember” investments?
  • The Prime Minister had good reasons to run to the TV studio // Ravit Hecht
  • Security approval for employees and intervention in content: IDF is working to establish a base at the university
  • The Special Investigator (Mueller) did not find evidence of cooperation of Trump campaign with Russia
  • Israel discharges treated water into rivers in the north - and causes harm to their rehabilitation
  • Prison Service: Two prison guards stabbed by Hamas prisoners at Ktziot Prison
  • (Israel national soccer team captain Eran) Zehavi scored 3 goals and led Israel to 4:2 win over Austria
  • Without us (the Arabs) you (Gantz and Lapid) will lose // Odeh Bisharat
  • Without proportion // Jeremy Hunt
  • The Egyptian paradox (on transgender) // Zvi Bar’el
  • Michael Jackson fans in Israel are not impressed by the film about him and are launching a campaign to clear his name
  • The quiet revolution: Patients can choose their surgeons at public hospitals - for free
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Today: Netanyahu and Trump summit
  • At the White House, starting on the right foot // Nahum Barnea’s ‘Elections Journey’ series
  • Gantz (phone) recordings: Netanyahu would want them to kill me
  • Attack at Ketziot prison: Prisons Service officer seriously wounded in protest over blocking of cellular phone reception at jail
  • King of Israel - Eran Zehavi led the Israel national soccer team to one of the best games in its history, beating Austria
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom

Elections 2019 News:
Today’s top story was that Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitt contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s claim that the latter informed Mendelblitt of the ‘state secret' behind sale of the advanced submarine to Egypt. Only Israel Hayom did not focus on that fact and reported that Mendelblitt said Netanyahu addressed the issue when questioned in Case 3000, that he cited sensitive matters and that no follow-up was needed. Netanyahu’s chief rival in the elections, Benny Gantz, said Netanyahu 'crossed all red lines' in the submarine sale affair.

(See Haaretz’s Editorial today - no paywall - for an excellent explainer of the possible connection of two separate cases, which now there are calls for examining if there is a connection: the purchase and then sale by Netanyahu of shares of a steel company, which the submarine-making Thyssenkrupp company later bought and the purchase of numerous submarines from Thyssenkrupp and the approval for one to be sold to Egypt.)

And, in a recording hacked from Gantz’s cell phone and broadcast on Israeli television news, Gantz was heard saying: “If Netanyahu had a way for me to get hurt, for me to get killed, he would do it.” He also said that Netanyahu might have been behind the hack of his cellphone, if it wasn't the Iranians.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu meets today with US President Donald Trump, who is expected to declare that the US recognizes Israel's sovereignty over the Golan.

Election Quickees:
  • Israel Election: Polls Show Gantz Maintaining Edge Over Netanyahu - New polls from Channels 12 and 13 show Moshe Feiglin continuing to rise, Kahlon's Kulanu missing the electoral threshold and the right-wing bloc gaining ground. (Haaretz+)
  • Gantz to blame for abduction of Israeli soldier in 2014 Gaza war, right-wing leader Bennett says - According to the Naftali Bennett, Benny Gantz's strict open-fire rules of engagement hen he was chief of staff enabled Hamas to abduct IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body is still held by militants in the Strip. (Haaretz+ and Times of Israel)
  • Feiglin, Potential Kingmaker in Israel's Election, Offers a Package of Thatcherism Plus Third Temple - Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin and his candidate for finance minister discuss their eclectic platform with TheMarker. (Haaretz)
  • Feiglin says his party ‘similar’ to extremist Otzma Yehudit on Palestinian issue - Zehut head asserts faction concerned chiefly with economic and education issues, but admits that supporters of far-right slate would welcome his plan to transfer Palestinians. (Times of Israel)
  • (Far right leader Moshe) Feiglin: Palestinians in Gaza had more rights under Israel - On this week's i24NEWS-Israel Hayom election program, Zehut chief Moshe Feiglin says he may join a Gantz-led government if it accepts his ideas. ”The place I feel I can guard Jerusalem and protect the land...that's where I will sit," he says. (Israel Hayom)
  • Far-right leader Feiglin says won't join next Israeli government unless it agrees to legalize marijuana - Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin also tells English-speaking audience in Tel Aviv that ‘the minute you use the word Palestinian, you stop saying the truth.’ (Haaretz+)
  • 57% of Israelis say they will definitely vote on April 9 - Only 37% say they are certain they will vote for their preferred parties • Yisrael Beytenu has the largest number of committed supporters, with 79% saying they will definitely be voting • 28.5% of voters are still deliberating between two parties. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israeli Election Panel Rejects Changes to Extreme Right-wing Party’s Slate - Otzma Yehudit loses No. 5 slot on joint ticket as result of its No. 1's disqualification. (Haaretz+)

Other Top News Summary:
Two Hamas prisoners stabbed two Israeli prison guards, seriously injuring one, making a top story in the Hebrew newspapers. The Hebrew newspapers wrote that 12 prisoners were also injured in the incident, two of them seriously, but the Palestinian news agency, Maan, reported that Israeli guards assaulted and injured hundreds of Palestinian prisoners after the stabbing. While the Hebrew newspapers assumed the stabbing was over the blocking of cellphone reception, prisoners told Maan that Israeli guards assaulted prisoners while they were being transferred between sections, provoking prisoners who then attacked and stabbed two Israeli guards.

And yesterday in Gaza, Israel shelled Hamas military posts after explosives tied to balloons were thrown over the border fence as part of the activities of Hamas’ 'nighttime confusion unit.’

And at the annual AIPAC conference, leaders of Romania and Honduras announced that their countries will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and transfer their embassies there. However, a few hours later, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis rejected Prime Minister Viorica Dancila's announcement and said it showed "total ignorance in foreign policy and in terms of making important decisions of the Romanian state" and that the embassy won’t be moved because only he can approve that and he doesn’t. Romania's Prime Minister Dancila has announced this in the past, and President Iohannis rejected the move then, too. (Maariv)
 
Quick Hits:
  • Haaretz Poll: 42% of Israelis Back West Bank Annexation, Including Two-state Supporters - Thirty-four percent support a two-state solution ■ Twenty percent of non-Jews support entire West Bank annexation ■ Only three Israeli parties openly support two-state solution. (Haaretz+)
  • Palestinian succumbs to wounds in northern Gaza - Habib al-Masri, 24, succumbed to his wounds that he sustained after Israeli forces shot him in the chest with live fire during Saturday’s night protests, also known as “Night Confusion.” (Maan)
  • WHO delivers medical supplies to enhance trauma care in Gaza - The supplies will be used to provide life- and limb- saving care to those injured during demonstrations and protests and to enhance the ability of the 10 trauma stabilization points across the Gaza Strip. (Maan)
  • Palestinian teens indicted for throwing firebombs at Temple Mount police post - Suspects, aged 15 and 17, said to be motivated by anger over policeman who refused to take off shoes inside (Bab al-Rahma) mosque and walked on prayer rugs (and that they youth identified him when they threw the firebombs). (Haaretz+)
  • 2 Palestinian (Israeli citizens) prisoners enter 34th year of Israeli imprisonment - Rashdi Hamdan Abu Mokh and Ibrahim Nayef Abu Mokh, both from Baqa al-Gharbiyye in northern Israel, were detained in 1968 and sentenced to life in prison. They are among 14 Palestinian prisoners from inside Israel still held in prison for over three decades. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces detain Palestinian doctor in center of Hebron - Local sources confirmed that Israeli forces held Palestinian medical doctor, Suzan al-Sulaima, for over an hour near an Israeli military checkpoint in Hebron’s Old City and detained her afterwards. (Maan)
  • Israeli Army Seeks to Open Bases in Universities - Army’s demands for campus security surrounding elite training program ‘undermine the academic fabric and the privacy of students and faculty,’ say university officials. (Haaretz)
  • Family of Barkan terrorist rebuilds home three months after Israel razed it - The family of Ashraf Walid Saliman Na’alwa, who shot and killed two Israelis last year, collected funds from the public and the Tul Karm municipality. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Legendary spy Rafi Eitan laid to rest - Politicians, public figures and cultural icons accompanied the former minister and senior intelligence operative on his final journey; ‘His life was a mission for the security of Israel.’ (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Turkey's Erdogan vows to take Golan Heights recognition to the UN - In an interview, the Turkish president said that Donald Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights was a pre-election 'gift' to Netanyahu. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • The Syrian army began to train with the Russians on operating the S-300 missiles - According to Israeli assessments, Syrian air defense personnel sit shoulder to shoulder with Russian officers and undergo training. The decision regarding its use still lies with Russia. (Maariv)
  • 40 years on, rare, intimate photos of Begin and Sadat signing peace agreement - National Library of Israel releases rare photos as the world marks 40 years to the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement. (Haaretz)
  • Yair Netanyahu to speak at AIPAC youth reception in Washington - Netanyahu's son was temporarily banned by Facebook for racist post, shared meme praised by neo-Nazi leader and said after Charlottesville that leftist 'thugs' were more dangerous than white supremacists. (Haaretz+)
  • 5th annual French Culinary Week sets off in Palestine - Institut Francais de Jerusalem issued a press release saying that the purpose of the culinary week is to strengthen French-Palestinian cooperation in this field. (Maan)
  • Israel's environment ministry calls to halt oil production: Shale oil and fracking too dangerous - Planned projects will lead to more pollution and earthquakes – and defeat plans to end the use of fossil fuels by 2013, says environmental watchdog. (Haaretz+)
  • With Less Than Eight Weeks to Go, Israel Has Left Eurovision 2019 to Fend for Itself - Government ministries are passing the buck from one to the other, while key issues like security arrangements and transportation have yet to be resolved. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel Prize Awarded to Two Scholars Who Also Advanced Standing of Mizrahi Jews, Women - Prof. Aharon Maman, a linguist, and Prof. Adi Kimchi, a microbiologist, win country’s highest award. (Haaretz+)
  • Pro-Israeli protesters rally outside event where Ilhan Omar speaks - A smaller counter-protest was also staged in support of the Muslim congresswoman who in the past said American supporters of Israel are pushing people to have 'allegiance to a foreign country.’ (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Turkey's Kurds rally ahead of local elections that will test Erdogan - Pro-Kurdish party tries to deliver its votes to Turkey's main secular opposition so it can challenge Erdogan. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Trump declares ISIS defeated, but what happened to its shadowy leader al-Baghdadi? - With a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is among the few senior ISIS commanders still at large. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • GOP chief alleges NBC media bias on ISIS defeat, but news crew was hit by explosive - The explosion happened in a house used as a command post by the SDF and a media center for reporters. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Syrian state media says rebels shell village with gas, injuring 21 - On Friday and Saturday, airstrikes on rebel-held areas in the northwest killed 15 people including four children and injured 25 others the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Egyptian singer banned after claiming lack of free speech - A video clip circulated online shows Sherine Abdel-Wahab, during a performance in Bahrain, saying: 'Here I can say whatever I want. In Egypt, anyone who talks gets imprisoned.’ (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • When is it terror? For many Muslims, New Zealand attack highlights double standard - Following the Christchurch massacre, researcher points finger at 'transnational rising threat of white supremacist violence' fueled by anti-Muslim rhetoric. (AP, Haaretz)
  • German family to give $11M after hearing extent of Nazi past - Reimann family owns JAB Holdings, which include Krispy Kreme and Panera Bread, and are worth some 33 billion Euro; They now want to atone for their use of forced labor under the Nazis. (Agencies, Ynet)


Features:
A visit to a sick relative in Israel? Not so easy if you're Palestinian
Two Palestinian brothers were turned away from a Haifa hospital, which claims they refused to undergo a special physical inspection - required only of Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the PA. The brothers say they were never asked to be searched. (Amira Hass, Haaretz+)
Explained: Two states, one and other solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Two decades after Oslo, Haaretz maps the different approaches to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
The most mysterious gate in Jerusalem's Old City is still puzzling researchers
Why was the Golden Gate sealed, and who built it? (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
 
Elections 2019 Commentary/Analysis:
Israel's Own Con Man (Avigdor Feldman, Haaretz+) Bibi is playing the victim, and we're consoling him for robbing us.
This is the last opportunity to enjoy Netanyahu's abilities. In the next elections, he won’t run (Meir Uziel, Maariv) In the eyes of many voters, the prime minister brings such significant achievements to the state even when one hand is tied behind his back, that they apparently wants to take advantage of his skills for a few more years.
This will be done to the man (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth Hebrew) Washington. Pollard, Jonathan Pollard - this is the election gift that remains on the shelf. If Netanyahu gets it today, in his meeting with President Trump, this is in addition to the statement in front of the cameras, not just a Tweet, which recognizes Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights, then he can return to Israel as a winner. The Pollard affair is re-emerging the week Rafi Eitan, the man responsible for Pollard's espionage career, died. Eitan despised Pollard. He said more than once that instead of breaking into the Israeli embassy building in Washington, Pollard should have shot a bullet in his own head. But Pollard chose life, and a series of Israeli politicians, from the right and from the left, tricked him and gained from him. The Israeli street is now convinced that he is a hero, someone of the calibur of Eli Cohen, our man in Damascus, if not more than that. Bringing him to Israel will make a living for the Likud election campaign until 9 April. Afterward, he will become a nuisance, a bone stuck in the throat, but who cares now what happens later…There are all kinds of ways to examine the relationship between Jerusalem and Washington in the Trump era. It can be seen as a tremendous revolution, breaking convention. For 70 years, American administrations have refused to officially recognize de Jure Jerusalem as the capital. Trump came and did something. For 38 years, since Begin's Golan Law, US administrations have refused to recognize Israel's rights in the Golan Heights. The truth is that Israeli prime ministers, including Netanyahu, did not recognize Israel's rights in the Golan Heights. They saw it as a bargaining chip, a deposit, on the way to an agreement with the Syrians…Beyond the criminal aspect, Special Investigator Mueller's findings teach something about Trump's manner of business. Trump did not fall in love with Putin - he saw Putin as an investment, a source of profit. First a financial gain and then a political gain, against Hillary Clinton. Money is not an investor - he doesn’t have any. Instead he invests flattery. He is ready to go very far in his cooperation with Putin: in a world he knows, the real estate world and the casinos, there are no bad partners. This is also true of Trump's investment in Netanyahu. He does not invest in Israel - he invests in Netanyahu. What impresses me with these relations is the control that Netanyahu and Ron Dermer, his ambassador in Washington, have in the White House decision-making process. When Netanyahu gets hit in the polls because of the revelations about his business with his cousin, Trump trumpets recognition of the Golan Heights. When Benny Gantz is asked to appear at a conference of AIPAC, his speech was set for the hour when Netanyahu would meet with Trump at the White House. If Gantz had persuaded AIPAC to change the hour, the meeting time in the White House would have changed: Dermer controls both fronts. The obvious question is what Trump wants in return: there is no free love. The answer, meanwhile, is not much. Trump had received tens of millions of dollars from the casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson: an elections gift in exchange for an election gift. He received the support of the Evangelicals, which is an important factor in the Republican Party. The Evangelicals are not willing to hear about Trump's peace plan that entails an Israeli withdrawal. To them, any withdrawal would distance the day when Jesus Christ would return, all the Jews would convert, and salvation would come into the world.
Trump Just Boosted Netanyahu – but Handed Putin an Even More Priceless Gift (Evan Gottesman and Abe Silberstein, Haaretz+) Bolsters Putin's claim to Crimea. Empowers Israel's West Bank annexationists. Discomforts Arab allies. Inflames the Druze: Why Trump's Golan move is so risky, transparent and foolish.
In Trumpland, there is no such thing as a free lunch - not even for Netanyahu (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) While the US president has handed the Israeli prime minister Jerusalem and the Golan and walked away from the Iran deal, the day is approaching when the bill for such goodwill has to be paid - and Trump is determined to push through his 'deal of the century' in the Mideast.
Cleared of Collusion With Russia, Trump Can Now Collude Shamelessly With Netanyahu (Jonathan S. Tobin, Haaretz+) Netanyahu is breathing a sigh of relief: Now Trump is free to campaign for him, joining a long line of U.S. presidents who've interfered in Israel's elections. The only downside is what Trump will expect in return.
If, in Gantz's view, the submarine affair is a critical blow to security - why did he remain silent in real time? (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) A submarine costs half a billion euros. You can not buy six or nine, without the chief of staff knowing, and without the defense minister and the cabinet approving it, why did they remain silent and accept the terrible decree?
Netanyahu's Surprise Interview Merely Underscored His Poor Judgement (Haaretz Editorial) The attorney general must order an immediate probe into the premier's contradicting stories and his decision-making concerning military procurement.
5 fast facts on the submarine affair (Ariel Kahana, Israel Hayom) The Blue and White party is accusing Netanyahu of treason. Do they not see that one day this filth will be thrown right back at them?
In Netanyahu's Surprise Interview, Israel's Arab Citizens Slipped Through the Cracks (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, without the Arab parties you are powerless. Salvation will come only if you join forces with us.
The figures belie claims of a racist government (Doron Matza, Israel Hayom) While claims of racism have taken over political discourse, this past decade has seen unprecedented efforts by the Israeli government to help the Arab minority integrate economically and socially.

Other Commentary/Analysis:
Unanticipated Gaza rocket leaves Israel with tough choices (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) A long-range rocket attack covering some 120km caught Israel by surprise; the rocket, apparently launched by Islamic Jihad, hit an area not believed to be protected by the Iron Dome missile defense system; now Israel must deliver a harsh response in a bid to restore some of its shattered deterrence without setting the West Bank alight too.
On a clear day in the West Bank, you can see the Israel you lost forever (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) A visit to a settlement leader whose vision of Israel’s future borders includes parts of Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon and even Iran.
**Warning: The few terrorists may yet become a wave of terror (Efraim Ganor, Maariv) …In the early 1990s, when the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades were at their peak, following the abduction and murder of IDF soldiers Ilan Saadon and Avi Sasportas, I interviewed Hamas prisoners in Megiddo Prison. After the terror attack in Ariel, I heard the words of those terrorists whose hands were stained with Israeli blood: "You think you can uproot the resistance, but there will be no peace here as long as we live under occupation. We have news for you: The great IDF can not cope with the spirit of resistance. We know your army no less than it knows itself. We encountered reservists who could barely move, who looked like a joke. We made a joke of them." Their words irritated me and made me react. "So how do you sit here, behind fences, away from your families, when the IDF soldiers whom you disparage are guarding you?” I asked. They explained: “It's no secret, you also have elite units and good soldiers, but those who succeeded in subduing us are few and will diminish even more with time, as the occupation continues. Look at the pages of history and see what happened to the empires that ruled half the world, how they fell because of occupation. Occupation corrupts, occupation weakens. If it continues, you will start to bring in foreign workers who will protect you, and on the other hand, we will strengthen, become stronger. The next generation of resistance to the occupation will intensify the struggle. In the end we will win, because we grow up in our spirit, boldly, and at the same time you are weakening.” I left the prison visit with this sharp, piercing message that left me a lot of food for thought. Now we are already in 2019. You don’t have to be a graduate of an elite unit or a general in order to understand the performance of the (army) force during the attack at the Ariel junction. A lone young man with no background in fighting manages to stab a soldier, grab his weapon, shoot him to death - and escape. There is no attempt to make contact, no assault. The terrorist had disappeared, and it was a good thing he was killed shortly there after. This incident joins other incidents in which terrorists managed to attack Israelis in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and then to flee. We’re talking about [a low level of - OH] functioning that requires a thorough examination by the army. It is important to prevent similar incidents, since the success of the terrorists is fuel for other Palestinians who want to harm us. They see the terrorist act as a heroic act, which is praised. Young Palestinians dream of imitating that terrorist, who will probably become a national hero. We should be very concerned about this phenomenon. We need to respond quickly and sharply to prevent it, otherwise we will be exposed to a large wave that will charge at us on the main roads, hitchhiking spots and even in the streets. Have we forgotten to be soldiers? Of course not. More vigilance, more vigilance, and the next terrorist will probably no longer have a chance.”
'Traitor!' Why it's so dangerous to be an Israeli army whistleblower (Daniel Beaudoin, Haaretz+) IDF veterans who testify about potential war crimes don't attract celebrity status, like in America: for most Israelis, they've betrayed the 'nation-at-arms' where security always trumps civil liberties and democracy.
Two-state solution: U.S. Jews won't budge. Will it cost them their relationship with Israel? (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Supporting two states was not always a given for American Jews. But once it became the preferred solution, while Israelis grew increasingly skeptical, it drove the two biggest Jewish communities in the world apart.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the undertaker of the two-state solution (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) The prime minister has deftly used the status quo of the Oslo Accords to prevent the forming of a Palestinian state.
You have the power to stop apartheid: An open letter to AIPAC (Marzuq al-Halabi, +972mag) American Jews, who play such a central role in what happens in Israel, can put an end to the oppression of Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line. But only if they tell Israelis that enough is enough.
AIPAC is more demonized and divisive than ever. Here’s how to fix it (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) The pro-Israel lobby must abandon some long-entrenched habits if it hopes to prosper in these hyperpartisan times. For starters, it needs to stop being so secretive.
Talk of Golan annexation leaves out those expelled from it (Tom Pessah, +972mag) President Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights has been widely celebrated by Israelis. But do those same Israelis know of the hundreds of thousands of people expelled from the territory during the 1967 war?
Kurds: Golan 'must remain Israeli' (Rachel Avraham, Israel Hayom) U.S. President Trump is not alone in viewing Israel's presence on the Golan positively. A Kurdish delegation that recently visited Israel said they too support Israel's permanent control of the territory.
'I Just Don’t Want to Be Hurt' Egypt Locking Up Transgender Women in Men's Prisons (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Egypt takes pride in an actor winning the Oscar for playing a queer icon, but makes life difficult for LGBTQ citizens – especially transgender ones.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.