APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday March 31, 2020

 

Quote of the day:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Top News Summary:
The Israeli government rolls out a massive economic rescue plan, imposes new movement restrictions on citizens and still debates about putting ultra-Orthodox hotspots under lockdown, while Likud and Kahol-Lavan negotiating teams continue to wrangle over who will be Justice Minister, who will be Knesset Speaker and whether Israel will annex land in the West Bank - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s 80 billion shekel ($22.3 billion) economic stimulus plan equals 6% of the GDP and is meant to rescue the economy from collapse after unemployment reached 23%. Moreover, the new movement and work restrictions will reduce economic activity to 15%, down from 30%. The new restrictions bar gatherings of over two people and bar praying in public (synagogues were already banned.)

“Israeli society won't be the same,” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced in his address. Without naming names, Netanyahu also said there are communities in the country that “disrespect the government guidelines.” But everyone knew he was talking about. The ultra-Orthodox communities lead in the number of infected and the rate of infection as many ignore the social distancing guidelines and refuse to quarantine. Haaretz’s Amos Harel wrote that out of political considerations the lockdown on the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, where one-third of those tested have been found positive, has been delayed. However, in an exclusive interview with Yedioth, ultra-Orthodox Health Minister Yaakov Litzman proposed putting Bnei Brak on lockdown, despite the backlash he faces from his community. The media reported that the ultra-Orthodox community is slowly implementing the health guidelines, but some members of an ultra-Orthodox sect in Jerusalem rejected the restrictions and clashed with police when the latter tried to close down open synagogues.

Israel Hayom reported that the government cabinet ordered the IDF to assist police in enforcing the lockdown, but did not specify where. Some 700 soldiers will be deployed, but without weapons, except in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is in self-quarantine after one of his aides tested positive. The test took he took Monday came out negative, but he will remain in quarantine until another test is taken.


Elections 2020 / Netanyahu Indictment News:
So Netanyahu and Gantz plan to swear in a government by Monday, just before Passover begins, but first they need to decide on three Kahol-Lavan demands 1.) Kahol-Lavan MK Avi Nissenkorn be appointed Justice Minister, 2.) Likud MK Yuli Edelstein will not return to his job as Knesset Speaker and 3.) Israel will not annex land or declare sovereignty over land in the West Bank. Haaretz+ reported that MK Gabi Ashkenazi was offered to be Foreign Minister, but turned down the role. Ashkenazi is reportedly looking for a different portfolio, such as health. Previously, it was reported that the former chief of staff would become the Defense Minister.

Also, Israel Hayom reported that, according to the Likud's proposal, in order to ensure that Netanyahu hands over the premiership in October 2021 to Gantz, both leaders will be sworn in together next week so that Gantz will be able to enter office seamlessly and automatically without having to be sworn in a second time. Thus, if Netanyahu decides to disperse the Knesset before the stipulated date for the transition of power, Gantz would serve as prime minister of the transition government.

Meanwhile, the far-right-wing Yamina party is suggesting it will go to the opposition if it doesn’t get a significant ministry. Yamina leader Naftali Bennett said his faction could leave the "left-wing government" Netanyahu is forming. Political affairs reporter Anna Barsky writes in Maariv that the unity government is not the kind of right-wing government that the right-wing is accustomed to. (See Commentary/Analysis below.)

Two of the three Labor party members of Knesset, chairman MK Amir Peretz and MK Itsik Shmuli will also join the government and the negotiations are being held through Gantz, sources in the Labor party told Maariv. The ministries that each is supposed to head will be part of the Kahol-Lavan quota and Labor is expected to split from Meretz, which will stay in the opposition.

*Times of Israel and Maariv’s Knesset reporter, Arik Bender, reported on an 'unusual' clash that took place in the Knesset plenum Monday between Gantz and MKs from his former bloc. The session opened with one-minute speeches. MK Yoav Segalovich took the opportunity to express to Gantz his protest and frustration about Gantz’s political move, accusing him of betraying voters, surrendering to Netanyahu and harming the camp. Turning to Gantz, who was chairing his first full Knesset session as Speaker, Segalovitz asked, “Benny, how did you get there? On Wednesday you sent us, my colleagues and I, to the High Court. You said ‘We can’t accept this link between the Knesset speakership and coalition negotiations. It will not stand. I’m halting negotiations immediately. I’m a man of principle.’…What are you doing over there, Benny?”
MK Orna Barbivai, who served with Gantz in the military, expressed similar sentiments, said: “I never saw you lie… I don’t understand what happened to you. I don’t understand how you turned to such an extreme, on everything you said.”
Meretz Chairman MK Nitzan Horowitz said: "We recommended you to the Prime Minister, we did not recommend you to be the Speaker of the Knesset…You had and we had a majority in the Knesset to act in the Knesset. We set up the committees to elect a permanent chairman, continue the process, pass legislation and formulate the bloc to be a basis for the government. Unfortunately, you have chosen a different path and thus not only harmed the trust of your voters, but actually hurt the prospect of the entire bloc and the prospect of the entire camp maybe for many years to come.”
However, MK Alon Schuster of Kahol-Lavan came to Gantz’s side: "Four weeks ago, something happened in Israel, and very clear numbers showed that the results of the election made it clear that after various attempts, there is paralysis, there is no choice: either a broad government or another election. After more than a year of paralysis, of division and damage to the values of democracy, your decision, Benny, and ours, to join our hands with those to whom we have a lot to say about their conduct, is like firefighters who violate certain values, like breaking into a home, for higher values like saving lives. We are going to join hands, pass a budget, give hope to the State of Israel, then afterward we’ll have plenty of time for a fight.”
MK Yaakov Margi on behalf of Shas praised Gantz and said: "Mr. Speaker, I wanted to say thank you, you and your friends who gave backing to the move. Thank you for saving the state of Israel with your courageous efforts at this difficult time. Don't get upset about all those who preached to you today, those who wanted to lead the State of Israel into a fourth election campaign, a costly and unnecessary election campaign, with schism, division and boycotts. On a personal note, in my book, you have passed the leadership test."


Corona Quickees:

 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Palestinians transform factories in Gaza and West Bank into mask manufacturing plants as virus spreads
Gaza businessman says his company plans to make 25,000 masks every day by the end of March; PA official says firms in West Bank meeting local market’s demand. (Adam Rasgon, Times of Israel)
Top Israeli TV Shows and Films to Binge-watch During the Coronavirus Lockdown
From classics like ‘Fauda’ and ‘Shtisel’ to little-known gems like ‘Off White Lies’ and ‘Dancing in Jaffa,’ here are over 20 Israeli works to keep you entertained. (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+)
Through the lens: Israel's lonely and desolate roads
Photographer Eitan Asraf provides us a rare glimpse into an Israel [and Golan Heights and West Bank - OH] that seems to have been abandoned by its inhabitants under the specter of coronavirus. (Ofir Hausman, Ynet)

Elections 2020/Netanyahu Indictment Commentary/Analysis:
On Their Knees to Netanyahu (Haaretz Editorial) The coronavirus and the state of emergency cannot explain the deception of masses of voters. Until Monday, the anti-Netanyahu camp was mourning its abandonment by the man who stood at its head, Kahol Lavan chairman Benny Gantz, who thus dismantled the only possible governing alternative. Then Labor voters, who were still trying to recover from the bolting of Gesher chairwoman Orli Levi-Abekasis, had to digest the total turnabout performed by the leader of the left, and absorb the news that Amir Peretz, who shaved off his mustache on live TV as an oath that he wouldn’t join up with Netanyahu, plans to attach himself to this individual…Experience teaches that it’s only a matter of time before Gantz, Gabi Ashkenazi, Peretz, Shmuli and their colleagues learn who Netanyahu is and what toxic stuff he’s made of. Then, when they return to the movement and seek its confidence, they will find no one left who will believe them or be prepared to follow them.
Despite Gantz giving in: The right-wing needs to come to terms with the fact that this is not a normal right-wing government (Anna Barsky, Maariv) Even before the rise of the long-awaited government, which raised hopes in the right-wing that its establishment marked a de facto political victory, they must remember that this is not the right-wing government “like the good ol’ days.” That is, the Minister of Justice will not be "one of us,” not Amir Ohana nor Ayelet Shaked. Gantz will have the right to veto the application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, Naftali Bennett will not sit in the IDF Kirya Headquarters, and more. It will no be another unity government led by Netanyahu. This is a fact, and the right must accept it. The other option is to fight it and risk the return of the entire state to chaos, from which we began to emerge thanks to the same Gantz, who violated his promises to part of the public and thus saved the entire public.
A Good Leader Betrays His Voters (Orian Morris, Haaretz+) Did Kahol Lavan Chairman Benny Gantz “betray” his voters? I think not. From the outset, Gantz spoke about unity and partnership, not only about destroying Bibi-ism. The latter wasn’t his main promise to his voters. He incontrovertibly said he would not serve in a government led by a criminal defendant, and he kept that promise through two elections and two postelection efforts to form an alternative ruling coalition. But once he discovered that no such alternative was possible, what should he have done? He seems to have done the most responsible realpolitik thing he could have – becoming part of the government during the waning days of Bibi-ism and then inheriting the leadership from within.
Israeli sovereignty and Gantz's bad faith (Caroline B. Glick, Israel Hayom) Blue and White leader Benny Gantz opposes applying Israeli law to the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, despite giving US President Trump his word that would support the move. Politicians may survive by lying to voters, but they don't get very far by lying to US presidents.
In Israeli Politics, the Watchword Is: The Jewish Race Before All Else (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) If the MKs of the “bloc of 62” (Kahol Lavan, Yisrael Beiteinu, Labor-Gesher-Meretz and the Joint List) had all been of pure Jewish origin, Benny Gantz would be busy now dividing up the ministerial portfolios. But it was Gantz’s bad luck that nearly a quarter of his bloc were Arabs; the other bloc may have gotten 58 seats, four seats fewer, but the members of that bloc are all kosher Jews. why is this ugliness only now being discovered? It’s because for as long as all those outside the racial pale were on the margins, one could tolerate their presence, or even enjoy it. But when their power started to increase in all areas of life, the right raised its head – and when they began to exercise their democratic power in Jewish society, all the fuses blew. What? Arabs will decide who will be prime minister? In the United States, African-Americans didn’t only determine who would be president, one of them became president, and there was no earthquake there.
Netanyahu Won, but Israel's Right Wing Lost (Nave Dromi, Haaretz+) The right’s failure is huge. Chili Tropper, who is slated to be justice minister, certainly won’t fight for a fair, professional judicial system the way Amir Ohana did. Gabi Ashkenazi, who built a “tolerant” army, won’t fight left-wing anarchists nor will he build a Jewish neighborhood in Hebron like Naftali Bennett was planning. And if it were up to Miki Haimovich, she would have left the natural gas – and the billions of dollars – buried in the ground. That doesn’t mean the portfolios on offer to the other partners – education, culture, health, agriculture and transportation – are not important or politically advantageous. Bezalel Smotrich as transportation minister managed to invest in the Judea and Samaria communities by paving roads and strengthening infrastructure while bolstering his public image.
Political Concerns Delay Necessary Closure of Israel's Coronavirus Hot Spots (Amos Harel, Haaretz+)  It’s hard to avoid thinking that changes in the coronavirus battle relate to the volatility of Netanyahu’s political position.

Other Commentary/Analysis:
Israel Should Fight the Coronavirus With a Scalpel, Not a Sledgehammer (Meirav Arlosoroff, Haaretz+) An experiment with continual monitoring at Israel Aerospace shows the way. But Health Ministry isn’t interested.
Don't break quarantine in the name of Judaism (Yossi Marcus, Israel Hayom) There is no basis in Judaism for saying: "I trust in God and therefore I can ignore medical advice." To the contrary, the same God who tells us to fast on Yom Kippur or go to synagogue tells us that to protect our health, we are required to eat on Yom Kippur or stay away from the synagogue.
(Ultra-Orthodox Health Minister) Litzman failed us and has to go (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Though recent numbers show positive trajectory against coronavirus in number and classification of patients, the laundry list of faults, poor decision-making and lack of equipment can all be placed at the feet of one man.

 

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