APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday September 9, 2019

 

You Must Be Kidding #1: 

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Breaking News:
Iranian militias in Syria launch failed missile strike against Israel after 18 people were killed in an aerial attack by an unidentified aircraft on Iranian targets in Syria near the Iraq border. (Israel Hayom and Ynet)

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Top News Summary:
Today’s big story was all about the Camera Law pushed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party to place cameras in polling stations and which the government cabinet approved yesterday for fast-track legislation. Netanyahu told the cabinet that the law will permit monitors to use cellphone cameras to record outside the voting booths themselves. After the cabinet gave initial approval to the law, a Likud minister suspended the rules and arranged for it to go for a reading today, instead of after 45 days. Netanyahu has made voter fraud a key issue in his campaign and has suggested that the Arab voters will vote fraudulently and could ‘steal the election’ from him in this close race. Haaretz+ reported that the law would let Israeli parties retain footage of voters filmed for their own database and to record their conversations both inside and outside the polls. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sharply criticized the government after the initial approval of the law and defended the top  legal officials, who have faced attacks from the right-wing for their opposition. “I support the members of the Central Elections Committee led by Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Hanan Melcer and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in the face of baseless and irresponsible political attacks they are experiencing,” Rivlin tweeted. “I reject with disgust the attempts to erode public trust in these bodies and institutions.” The Knesset legal advisor also joined the legal opposition to the law, stating that it "gives a significant advantage to one party over the other and creates fear that it will deter voters.” he declared it unconstitutional at this time. (Ynet Hebrew and Israel Hayom Hebrew) Nevertheless, the vote in the Knesset went forward today. Former Likud minister Dan Meridor attacked his party for seeking to hastily pass the camera bill a week before elections. “Today’s Likud is the exact opposite of what it always was: It was a stately party that maintained the rule of law, and today it is doing the opposite,” he told 103FM. He said the party was ‘losing its way and its integrity.’ (Also Maariv) Yamina party leader and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked dismissed the Camera bill as a Likud campaigning effort. However, Chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman, switched sides Sunday and said his party will now support the Cameras bill. He also accused the Likud of being in “complete coordination with the Joint List.” (Maariv)

MONDAY UPDATE: Lieberman changed his mind again and said he oppose the camera bill and the Camera bill did not pass the first reading today in the Knesset - signifying a great failure for the Likud party. (Also Maariv)

Elections 2019 Quickees:

Quick Hits:

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Features:

The manager will expropriate lands, the Palestinians will appeal to the High Court
Will the Tunnel Road Project be stopped? Palestinians will appeal to the High Court after the Civil Administration has issued land expropriation orders in favor of upgrading and widening the road leading from Jerusalem to communities [i.e. settlements - OH] in Gush Etzion (West Bank). The confiscation orders were issued for 11 dunams belonging to the Palestinians, residents of nearby villages including al-Khader and Beit Jala. The orders will take effect within 60 days when the opposition to confiscation can be filed, and immediately after this date the works can be implemented. "These are our lands and they are simply stealing them," the landowners raged. According to the Palestinians, the expropriation is meant to (facilitate the) annexation of the settlement areas in Gush Etzion to Jerusalem. "These areas have our water, our livelihood. We will fight this decision as much as we can." The landowners will be offered financial compensation, but nonetheless the Palestinians intend to file objections because they claim it is a large agricultural area used for their livelihoods and living. The appeal to the High Court will significantly delay the project. (Elisha Ben-Kimon, Yedioth Hebrew)
Ancient Tablets May Reveal What Destroyed Minoan Civilization
The Minoans and their capital Knossos weren’t incinerated by volcanic blast from Thera or flattened by quake as thought, but tellingly: their writing system changed. (Philippe Bohstrom, Haaretz+)
From Syria to Iraq: Fighting to try ISIS terrorists like Nazi war criminals
Hundreds of Europeans who joined ISIS are currently being detained in Iraqi and Syrian prisons, their homelands seemingly reluctant to bring them back. However, there is no shortage of ideas on where and how to bring them to justice
Wilson Fache and Stéphane Kenech, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:
Violence and lies of police operation in East Jerusalem (Eyal Hareuveni, Yedioth/Ynet) It is the officers from the Border Police and Special Patrol Unit who instigate the violence in Issawiyah, going there in the evening and at night, looking for opportunities to practice the repertoire of occupation and oppression warfare
Greenblatt's resignation has proven that the chances that the Deal of the Century will be accepted are zero (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The resignation of the envoy of the White House to the Middle East was interpreted by UN ambassadors in New York as confirmation of common assessment among them regarding the chances of the US program being successful.
New Dershowitz memoir a must-read for Israel advocates (James Sinkinson, Israel Hayom) From the aliyah of Soviet Jewry to the new anti-Semitism, Alan Dershowitz’s “Defending Israel: The Story of My Relationship with My Most Challenging Client” is almost a history of Zionism.
Presenting the new series: "Our Good Boys" (Dror Raphael, Maariv)  The series "Our Boys" was produced by Keshet productions for HBO and is based on the summer events of 2014. It opens with the murder of the three Jewish youth (in the first episode), but chooses to focus on the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir by Jews (in the rest of the episodes). With the broadcast of the series on Israeli cable and satellite networks, the right-wingers criticized it and its creators, calling it a “Hasabara terror attack" (Yair Netanyahu), a "strategic attack" (Galit Distell), "a psychological sham” (Noam Fathi) and more. The prime minister called the series "anti-Semitic" and recommended boycotting Keshet. In the face of the protest over the film series “Our Boys" and in order that we may return to being one people - there is no escape from balancing the series with an alternative truth. [Writer then describes in satire the murder of Abu Khdeir as if the boy drank gasoline voluntarily on his own and caught on fire when trying to smoke a cigarette and as if the two Jewish guys were in the forest, and didn’t set him on fire as really happened, but just happened upon a fire and decided to call the firefighters. - OH]

Elections 2019 Commentary/Analysis:
Nine Days to Elections: Netanyahu Deploys Trump’s 'Election Fraud' Canard, to Devastating Effect (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The prime minister’s stink bomb has upended the election campaign, but it could ultimately demolish Israeli democracy itself.
Thoughts about the coming elections and questions about Israel's security (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he will not allow the elections to be stolen. My suggestion is to add the following to the bill: The parties competing in the elections declare that they will accept the results whatever they may be…And anyone who receives the mandate from the President to form a coalition must return it if he fails after 28 days...Netanyahu and anyone hoping to replace him should be concerned that while Iranian forces are present in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon the United States may restrict Israeli Air Force's ability to operate freely in the region.
His wife and son to his right and his left: Netanyahu is galloping toward the abyss in full gas (Ben Caspit, Maariv) If Netanyahu does not reach 61 seats, he will argue that the elections were faked and won’t recognize the results. He has no fear. Not from the law, not from history, not from the results of his actions.
Palestinian Citizens of Israel, Please Go Out and Vote the Joint List (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Voting in the election does not mean recognition of a state that was forced on you, but just the opposite. The importance and value of the Joint List at the present political-historical junction are far greater than the sum of its flaws and weaknesses. This is a plea to my Palestinian friends, natives of the country, Israeli citizens against their will, who are planning once again not to vote in the coming election: Please vote, and vote for the Joint List. It’s the only party whose very existence, despite its internal contradictions, conflicts and weaknesses, is standing up against the delusions of the final expulsion, that are being cooked up in this disturbed and dangerous  Israeli-Jewish society.
Smile for the camera, Ayman Odeh! (Yoseph Haddad, Israel Hayom) Despite the spin by Arab lawmakers, the Arab sector will benefit more than anyone else from cameras at polling stations. If there is widespread fraud, it's time to end it. If not, we will be proven innocent.
Vote, Get Photographed and Oust Bibi (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) People well-versed in anti-democratic processes point out that the natural continuation of delegitimizing the other – in our case, the Arabs – is the delegitimization of any sign of democracy in this country. Therefore, what’s happening today is no longer unbridled incitement against Arabs, which our conditional democrats could ignore and let slide. We’re already halfway down the slippery slope that began with the Arabs and is continuing to sink the entire Israeli political system. There are people on “our side” – the Jewish and Arab democrats – who treat everything as if it doesn’t affect them. But if what’s at stake is “the destruction of Basra,” the first neighborhood to be destroyed will be our own, the neighborhood of the Jewish and Arab democrats. In light of this danger, it’s vital to join hands with our former rivals in order to save the future.
**Follow proper procedure (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth Hebrew) For several years now, the public fight against corruption bears Binyamin Netanyahu's image. The public battle did not require legal evidence. Because the corruption attributed to Netanyahu is not just a criminal matter, reserved for legal hearing. It is also public corruption, which justifies the protest. On the legal level, the testimonies presented in recent weeks by state witnesses raise great discomfort. They reinforce the feeling that rules of law and justice have gone awry and the purity of the law has been trampled over and over again. Last Friday, journalist Eli Senor revealed in Yedioth Ahronoth the ways in which the same evidence is obtained. "Our methods of operation besides the suspect's rights, are very very similar to the Shin Bet's," Nir Chafetz was told by Lahav 433 Fraud Unit investigators. "Your children will not want to be with you...your family unit is in danger." The testimonies published by Channel 12 News regarding Shaul Elovtich [suspect in Case 4000 - OH] are equally serious. Elovitch, it turns out, was recorded when he met with his son in a room designated for meetings with lawyers. The investigators insisted on making him a state witness. He insisted on the truth. When it comes to the suspects who are in custody, who don't see their family, who are under psychological pressure that is suitable for use by the Shin Bet investigations - we are in trouble. This is how evidence is obtained? Is that the way? Do the revealed methods add to the credibility or do they raise the old concern about trying to get a conviction at all costs? Exercises, deceptions, trickery are required to obtain evidence. The point is that the rule of law also includes the basic principle of due process. And the ways of inquiry revealed pose questions about the appropriateness of that process. In US law, the rule that rules out the "poisoned tree" rule: evidence obtained in violation of the law or defendant's rights is disqualified by the court, even if there is no dispute that this is established evidence. What is the point of giving testimony while deceiving and undergoing psychological stress? Attorney Avi Amiram, a criminal justice expert, estimates that the greater the pressure to obtain testimony - the smaller its weight will be, and it will not be able to establish a conviction, without additional supporting evidence. The matter is not just Netanyahu. The issue is  those suspects who do not have the capacity and status of Netanyahu. The basic principle of the due process is already grounded in the Bible: "Justice shall pursue." What is meant is that justice must be achieved in a fair way. And most importantly - we are speaking of law enforcement authorities. We want justice. But evidence obtained by fraud or pressure leads to distortion and deception rather than justice. What was revealed over the weekend does not make Netanyahu righteous. But one thing must also be clear to those of us who are convinced that Netanyahu is corrupt and needs to go: Not all means are fit for the goal.
Will the election results be good for the hand of Israel supporters worldwide or for its critics? (Meir Uziel, Maariv) It is good that alongside the attacks of left-wing groups and Palestinian artists against Israel, there is also a growing trend of global sympathy for Israel.
'In This No-issue Election, Don't Believe a Word Anyone Says.' (Haaretz Editor Aluf Benn, Haaretz free podcast) Before Israelis head to the polls - again - Haaretz's editor says that Netanyhau is the only issue and that the status quo is here to stay.
An election diversion par excellence (Yossi Beilin, Israel Hayom) Why do we get the feeling that the prime minister's true motive behind the camera saga isn't exactly upholding electoral integrity, rather a different agenda altogether?
Netanyahu Sees All Means as Kosher to Stay in Power (Mordechai Kremnitzer, Haaretz+) What gives democracy its special flavor is that people in power generally show restraint in using their power, but this time the Knesset is being asked not merely to abandon restraint, but to exceed its authority.
 

 

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