APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday July 23, 2019

 

Quote of the day:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Top News Summary:
Yedioth and Maariv focused on the strike of the nurses  today and the death of a baby forgotten in a sweltering car, while Israel Hayom focused on Israeli politicians’ campaigning and strategizing, particularly regarding the likelihood that the three far right-wing parties will unite under the leadership of Ayelet Shaked. Interesting, was how Israel and the Hebrew newspapers dealt differently with both the demolition of Palestinian homes and 3 different rape cases.

SUR BAHER HOUSE DEMOLITIONS:
*Only Haaretz led with two unrelated and yet very related items: the Peace Now report that 16 Israeli settler outposts have been established in the West Bank since 2017 and the Israeli demolition of 70 Palestinian homes in an E. Jerusalem neighborhood under Palestinian control. No reporters from major Israelis newspapers, with the exception of Haaretz, interviewed the families whose homes were demolished yesterday in an unprecedented move by Israel. According to the Palestinians and Haaretz and the world powers, the 70 homes Israel demolished in the villae of Sur Baher are located in Area A - Palestinian civilian controlled area, for which Israel does not have a right to demolish homes. Israel said the buildings were too close to the Separation barrier it is building. The Palestinians long said that the wall was a means for Israel to make a ‘land grab.’ The other papers reported the enormous demolition as a technical and political story, publishing quotes from Israeli and Palestinian officials. Ynet called it a ‘mostly abandoned village,’ even though buildings there were under construction. MaarivOnline posted a video of an Israeli soldier and an Israeli policemen who filmed themselves watching and celebrating the demolition of a residential building and the sound of other Israeli security forces clapping and celebrating can be heard in the background. The report said that video has become viral and has stirred up a storm in Palestinian social media networks. Maariv reported that Israel demolished “13 illegal structures in Sur Baher” neighborhood in E. Jerusalem. It wrote that “This is an area between Area B and Area A.” [NOTE: There is no such thing. - OH] The demolition came after the High Court of Justice confirmed that there was no legal impediment, even though these structures were built many years ago, wrote MaarivOnline, adding that the “Palestinians fear that the demolition of homes and structures near the fence will set a precedent for other cities along the route of the barrier, which runs for hundreds of kilometers throughout and through the occupied West Bank.” A Jewish-Israeli activist journalist named A. Daniel Roth had spent the night with the Palestinian families and wrote about what happened when the security forces banged on the door. “Our whole lives are here. Where can we go?” asked one father. The European Union, the United Nations, and France condemned the demolition saying it was a violation of international law that undermines the two-state solution. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said it amounts to “ethnic cleansing" and “massacre.”

On the day that Israel destroyed those Palestinian homes, a Peace Now report revealed that at least 16 new Jewish settler outposts have been established in the West Bank since 2017 and a total of 31 outposts have been established from 2012 to 2019. Haaretz visited all of them over the past few weeks and reported that "Israeli authorities are turning a blind eye to the establishment of outposts that were built on state land” and at times even helping to retroactively legalize them. Shabtay Bendet, who heads the settlement monitoring team of Peace Now, said: “The two-faced conduct of the government of Israel with regard to illegal settlements continues at full pace…with the clear intention of thwarting a future agreement, and the aspiration to force on the Israeli public a messianic vision that most of the public opposes.”(Also Ynet and Israel Hayom)

RAPES:
The 12 Israeli youth being held and interrogated in Cyprus for the gang rape of a British tourist continues to be reported on, but not in the front pages. Interestingly, Yedioth Hebrew reported at length about the unprecedented court ruling yesterday that a Palestinian who raped a high-school girl in 2012 will have to pay her $1 million in compensation. The rapist is already serving his 25-year prison sentence. (See details below.) Alongside that article was a report that a court sentenced four Eritreans who gang raped an Israeli woman in 2015 to between 6-17 years in jail. But only five pages later, on page 12, is the latest report on the suspected gang rape of a British tourist by Israeli youths in Cyprus. Yedioth Hebrew reported that one of the suspects admitted erasing the video of the crime that was filmed on his phone and Cypriot investigators are trying to restore it. Yedioth also reported that the Israelis’ defense lawyers intend to hire private eyes to find information that sullies the young woman’s name in order to harm her version of the event. (Also Maariv) A previous claim that she had made a similar rape claim in the past to get money was disproven. The big news was that the Cypriot police are also planning on charging the suspects of conspiracy to commit a crime, which means that even if no DNA is found to connect some of the suspects to the act of the rape they are still in trouble for being there. Maariv quoted  the attorney for the two main suspects in the affair, Nir Yusslevitch, who said: "We conducted an investigation in order to confirm the versions of the suspects who continue to claim that they are innocent. I must note that the investigation is conducted professionally and thoroughly with the sincere intention of the investigators to arrive at the truth.”

“Making justice” (Yedioth Hebrew)
This was one of the most horrendous crimes in the history of the State of Israel. In 2012, at knifepoint, a Palestinian young man, Ahmed Bani Jaber, attacked a female high school student and her boyfriend in the bathroom in the underground parking at the Gan Ha'ir mall in Tel Aviv for almost two hours. ”The monstrous acts committed by the accused against the complainants are exceptional in every dimension and by any measure,” wrote the judges at the time. Jaber appealed to the High Court, and in 2014 it was decided to reduce his sentence from 30 to 25 years in prison. In May 2015, Maayan was recognized as a victim of hostilities who would receive raid from the National Insurance Institute. This recognition stemmed from Jaber's security background, the seriousness of the act and its irregularity, and based on various statements made by the rapist after the act, which implied that he had a nationalist motive for his actions. After the criminal verdict was handed down, Maayan decided to file a civil suit against the owners of the Gan Ha'ir parking lot, the security administrators of the parking lot, the State of Israel and against the rapist, Jaber. The prosecution against the parking lot owners, the security company and the state ended in a mediation process that included a monetary compensation that remained confidential. But a legal proceeding was conducted against Jaber, who did not even file a statement of defense. Now, seven years after the trauma that tore her world apart, the court accepted the rape victim's civil law suit and decided to rule in her favor for an unprecedented compensation of 3.7 million shekels. The horrors I suffered accompany me every day," she said yesterday. Maayan’s lawyer: ”We have strong evidence that the terrorist was brainwashed in the schools he studied at and through the Palestinian media, and we intend to file for 20 million shekels from the Palestinian Authority, which bears full responsibility for the anti-Semitic messages it spreads in the education system.”

 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

“We train the snipers to hit the ankles”: A tour of the School for Counter-Terrorism
At the School for Counter-Terrorism in the Adam facility (in the West Bank), the professional authority to train the special units, they train the snipers to wound the rioters who are on the (Separation) fence, not to kill them. (Tal Lev-Ram, Maariv)
From the Israeli YAMAM (SWAT team), with love
The soldiers and commanders of the elite unit took a break from training to give cancer-stricken youths, aged 8-25,some fun. At a secret base, the youth were exposed to the operational capabilities of the YAMAM and held a joint shooting exercise with the soldiers. David Ben, 25, who immigrated from Honduras: "When you see all these things with your own eyes - you feel like going and training with them.” (Meir  Turgeman, Yedioth Hebrew)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
How Netanyahu set up Trump's 'but I love Israel' defense for racism – and anti-Semitism (Ivan Kalmar, Haaretz+) Claiming anti-Semitism is the worst form of hatred, and any criticism of Israel is irredeemably anti-Semitic, is a crucial deflection for racist nationalists like Trump. Netanyahu taught them well.
Settler Leaders in West Bank Want Israeli Law Applied to Them — Until They See the Bill (Ido Baum, Haaretz+) A recent lawsuit over fees collected on land development points to the contradictions and self-interest behind the movement for quasi-sovereignty.
Israeli Jews must not alienate their non-Orthodox American brethren (Attila Somfalvi, Ynet)  No matter how many times it has been said before, it certainly bears repeating - Israeli Jews have to embrace our American counterparts; we have to hold them tightly, for to exclude them because of who they marry is ultimately self-defeating.
We’re Just Lucky There Wasn’t an Arab With Us (Ilana Hammerman, Haaretz+) It’s true that recently I was detained briefly at a checkpoint, the tunnel checkpoint, which also impersonates a border crossing. I was returning from a visit to one of the Palestinian villages. I was surprised: Such a thing had never happened to me, an elderly Jewish Israeli criminal like me. And in truth, I still don’t know why the soldier signaled me to stop and why she allowed me to continue. “How are you, Ilana?” she asked me. “Walla!” I replied in astonishment, “how do you know my name is Ilana?”— “We know everything about you here,” she replied, almost fondly. So what, do they know everything or don’t they, members of the defense establishment in the airport in Berlin and at the checkpoints throughout the West Bank? What’s certain is that they unfortunately refuse to know the most important thing, like most Israelis today. They refuse to know that they are spending their days and nights in foolish and pointless investigations, because the violent and belligerent policy of the State of Israel is endangering everyone here, both Jews and Arabs.
Talk to the enemy (Arieh Gronik, Yedioth Hebrew) In April 1959, after taking power in Cuba, Fidel Castro traveled to the United States in an attempt to win the sympathy of the American administration. The young Castro had repeatedly shaken off communism, but President Eisenhower had not accepted it. After returning to Cuba he joined forces with the Soviet Union. What would have happened if Eisenhower had accepted Castro during his visit to Washington? Could the United States have avoided more than 50 years of resentment with Cuba if the president had only accepted the young revolutionary? Probably not. It seems that the two men were too much in need of each other as enemies to understand what political benefit would produce a possible rapprochement. Eisenhower was then required to demonstrate firmness against the new Cuban government, while Castro's legitimacy was based in many ways on his anti-Americanism. It was a classic moment when talking to a dubious enemy would not promote both sides anywhere. Today, too, we are experiencing a similar moment, this time in relations between the United States and Iran. It can be argued that, as in 1959, it would be naive on the part of President Trump to think that there is any point in talking directly to Iran about a new nuclear agreement, because both sides actually need each other as enemies, but is that so? Except for the meeting that did not take place between Eisenhower and Castro, American presidents tend to make final statements about their opponents, but to end their duties after exhausting all means of dialogue. Barely two years after Castro's visit to Washington, the United States and the Soviet Union were on the verge of a nuclear confrontation over the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy, met Khrushchev in Vienna in 1961 and later successfully negotiated the crisis resolution in Berlin and Cuba. At the height of the Vietnam War, President Johnson turned to indirect routes to North Vietnam through intermediaries such as Poland and Canada. Nixon's administration was conducting secret diplomacy with China. Vice President Carter's foreign minister conducted secret negotiations with the Khomeini people to secure the release of the American hostages from Tehran in 1980. Reagan's foreign minister secretly met the Cuban vice president in 1981, while Clinton reached an agreement with North Korea. And these are just a few examples. Even George W. Bush, who was perhaps the greatest proponent of "not talking to enemies", acknowledged the existence of gray areas: after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, Syria replaced Iraq on the ‘Axis of Evil,’ but later on, the Bush administration spoke, at least to some degree, with all the members of the axis, including North Korea and Iran…If Trump decides to embark on a diplomatic move with Iran, he will continue with a diplomatic tradition in which most, if not all, US presidents have negotiated with their enemies.
Between 'Ending Iran' and 'No More Endless Wars': The Unraveling of Trump's Incoherent Iran Strategy (Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) On Iran, Trump is boxed in between 'Bomber' Bolton and his own anti-war base. He has the power to wage war - but it may be political suicide to use it.
Iran's waiting game in the Gulf (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Tehran's strategy to promote fear of a world recession in the event of a war has so far backfired and their hopes of returning to nuclear negotiations from a position of strength has also been suspended, but some gains for the Islamic Republic could pose dangers down the line for the West.
Writing Not to Them, and Not-writing to Them (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) When I don’t write, I’m thinking about those who don’t read in order not to know, because they know that knowledge is the path to awareness, and awareness is the key to essential action. When I skip over another detail, and another one and another 30, in the story of our foreign, hostile rule over the Palestinians, and don’t report them, it’s not only because there are so many details, and there is need for a large staff of reporters to process all of them into orderly news stories. It’s not only because there aren’t enough editors to edit the stories and enough pages in the newspaper to contain them, or enough slots allocated to news from Mars on the home page of the website.
These Children Are Israeli (Haaretz Editorial) The shameful operation to deport Filipina workers and their children who were born and educated in Israel has begun. At 5 A.M. on Sunday, Interior Ministry immigration inspectors arrested a woman and her 12-year-old son who were in their beds. The two have since been held in the Population and Immigration Authority’s detention facility at Ben-Gurion International Airport, awaiting a decision by the Tel Aviv Appeals Court, which is hearing their appeal. The court has blocked their deportation until it rules.
Liberal fraud (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth Hebrew) Ilhan Omar, a member of the US House of Representatives, is a clear supporter of BDS. Recently, Omar proposed a bill that supports boycotts, all boycotts, justified by freedom of expression. Sounds wonderful. Most Democrats did not buy her naive trick. But do not worry. J Street stood by her to support it. We do not support BDS, the organization said, reiterating its old position on behalf of two states, but we are also in favor of freedom of expression. How kind of them. If we thought that Omar was breaking records of feigning innocence, because freedom of expression interests her like last year’s snow and hatred of Israel is what motivates her, so J Street managed to overpass her.
Erdogan Faces Growing Threat From Within His Own Party (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Dozens of senior members of the president's AKP party may join disgruntled politicians and set up a new party. And he is already on the attack.
70 years since the end of the War of Independence, and it seems that the historical truth behind it has been forgotten (Lt. Col. Yonatan (John) Raz, Maariv) The narrative of the Arab countries became rooted in the hearts of some of the Israelis and obscured the historical truth. We have always been committed to doing everything to live in peace with our neighbors, and so we must continue.

Elections 2019 Commentary/Analysis:
On eve of existential election, Israel’s center-left is on the verge of implosion (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Peretz's merger with center-rightist Levi-Abekasis has enraged Labor’s base and could consign it to the dustbin of history, much to Netanyahu’s delight.
Political reality will soon take the bloom off Shaked's return (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The former justice minister and her New Right partner really belong in the Likud, but are forced to stay away because of the hatred of the Netanyahus; their attempts at unity with the nationalist-ultra-Orthodox crowd and its rabbis wasn't successful, nor was their solo attempt at Likud 2.0, and this is not likely to change.
Logic is not everything: the next stage in turning Shaked into the leader of the right (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) Mathematics is simple, but common sense and political rationale are not the only ones to play a role in this equation. Netanyahu was supposed to urge Rabbi Rafi Peretz to give up [the No. 1 slot on the united far-right-wing list -OH], but it appears he seems to be planning to do the opposite.
Amir Peretz's walk towards the social welfare flag could end in crushing the left (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) Amir Peretz's engagement with Orly Levi-Abekasis is an example of how a worthy idea is sometimes the surest way to the underworld. It’s still not too late for Peretz to retract.
To defeat Netanyahu, last-minute unity must be foisted on surly center-left leaders (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Only outside intervention can still compel them to discard petty arrogance for the sake of the Israel that they vowed to protect, as in the proposed list below.
It is worth recalling to Ehud Barak what the "Netanyahu state" he so despises is (Yossi Ahimeir, Maariv) This is not the state of one person. This is the state of the entire nation, with all its factions, which for the past 13 years in the aggregate has chosen to place Netanyahu at its head. And that says it all.

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