News Nosh 12.24.20

by APN 12/24/20
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APN's daily news review from Israel - Thursday December 24, 2020

Quote of the day:

“Everyone is liberal in his/her own eyes. "
-Dr. Gali Sambira, director at Living Together organization, said following the results of a poll that found that among secular Israelis, 53% are willing to live alongside ultra-Orthodox, but 69% said they would prefer Arab neighbors over them. Among religious Israelis, 96% said they would have no problem living alongside ultra-Orthodox neighbors, and only 32% would not object to living next to Arabs. Among ultra-Orthodox Israelis, only 12% reported that they would have no objections to living alongside Arabs.*


Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

  • Entering the third lockdown
  • “Netanyahu, you ruined the Likud” - Minister Ze’ev Elkin announced he was joining the party of Gideon Sa’ar
  • Bibi and the wolf [in Hebrew, wolf is 'Ze'ev' - name of rebel minister] // Ben Caspit

Israel Hayom


Top News Summary:
Israel decided to ‘close shop’ (and everything else) for the third time and for at least two weeks starting Sunday and one of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s closest allies, Minister Ze’ev Elkin, abandoned the Likud party to join Netanyahu’s rival, Gideon Sa’ar, and on the way gave a jaw-dropping speech - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Higher Education Minister and long-time close Netanyahu ally Elkin not only broke ranks with his leader, not only went AWOL on him leaving the Likud party to join rival Gideon Sa’ar’s new party, but gave an explosive speech, which Haaretz+ analyst Chemi Shalev called “brutal” and for which Maariv’s top political analyst, Ben Caspit, called Elkin “a game changer.” Elkin accused Netanyahu of destroying the party and placing his personal interests above those of the nation and perverting the government's responsibilities so as to escape the criminal charges he faces for alleged corruption. Political affairs correspondent Yuval Karni wrote in Yedioth called it "a public indictment of Netanyahu [that] delivered a crushing blow to the prime minister.” Karni, wrote that “There was never such an attack by a minister within the Likud like this one.” Even political analyst Mati Tuchfeld of the Netanyahu-supporting ‘Israel Hayom’ newspaper wrote that “the fact that Elkin bolted Likud deals the ruling party a serious blow, as it augments the perception that Likud is falling apart ahead of a crucial general election.” Haaretz's Shalev agreed, writing that the “defection signals that dissatisfaction with the prime minister runs far deeper inside Israel’s ruling party than anyone had previously thought.” (See Commentary/Analysis below.)

Elections 2021 Quickees:

  • Lapid's Estranged Right-hand Man Quits Yesh Atid, Forms New Party Ahead of Election - About two months ago, Ofer Shelah declared that he had asked Lapid to hold primaries for the party leadership, and stated that he intended to run in them. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
  • Amir Peretz stepping down as Labor leader ahead of elections - With party not expected to win enough votes to enter next Knesset, economy minister says it is time for new leadership; MK Merav Michaeli demands members choose his replacement, saying Peretz 'has no right to "bequeath" it to anyone.’ (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
  • Elections to cost Israel $30 million - The Central Election Committee said Wednesday that holding elections in 2021 will cost about 100 million shekels (about $30 million), as ballots will have to be revamped to accommodate social distancing directives amid the coronavirus crisis. (Israel Hayom)
  • New study shows Israel leads all democracies in most elections held since 1996 - Israel Democracy Institute advocates reforms to adopted to help stabilize Israel's shaky political system as country heads to fourth election cycles in two years. (Ynet)


Corona Quickees:

  • Two-week lockdown will not suffice, coronavirus czar says - Prof. Nachman Ash believes that extending of national closure 'will definitely need to happen'; shops and entertainment venues will be shuttered and movement from home will be restricted; schools will remain partially open for some grades. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Scuffles break out as Israelis clamor for vaccine in Tel Aviv - Other facilities around Israel also report long and crowded lines, with those with appointment unable to get vaccinated due to scores arriving without booking slot ahead of time, believing they will be allowed inoculation anyway. (Ynet)
  • Israel world leader in vaccines administered per 100 people - As of Wednesday, 1,5% of Israel's population has received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. According to Our World in Data research institute, 2.4 million people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus worldwide, one million of them in China. In the US, 614,000 have received the vaccine, in Russia, 200,000, and in Canada, 26,000. (Israel Hayom)
  • Health Minister: Mutated coronavirus strain already in Israel - Pfizer says vaccine likely effective against new mutation and can be tweaked if necessary; IDF task force warns against gatherings over Christmas season, saying it could lead to disease spreading between different sectors of population. (Ynet)
  • How much will the third nationwide lockdown cost Israel? - With all trade shuttered for at least two weeks, unemployment benefits are expected to increase as 100,000 people are furloughed; many will have no jobs to go back to when restrictions are lifted, causing families to earn and spend less. (Ynet)
     

Quick Hits:

  • From Now, Exports to U.S. From Settlements Will Be Labeled 'Product of Israel' - The new guidelines were drawn up after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decision during a visit to the region last month ■ Goods from Area A and Area B to be labeled 'made in West Bank.’ (Haaretz+)
  • Palestinian Foreign Ministry says US' labelling settlement goods as made in Israel a "war crime" - Palestinian Foreign Ministry affirmed in a statement that the US decision was an attempt to legitimize settlement-manufactured goods and the theft of Palestinian land and products, and that this could encourage more Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people. (WAFA)
  • Shin Bet Arrests Thursday Palestinian Suspect in Israeli Woman's Murder in West Bank - Esther Horgen, a resident of the settlement of Tal Menashe, was found lifeless in a forest in the northern West Bank on Sunday ■ Police suspect murder was terror attack. (Haaretz+, Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Settlers uproot and steal olive trees near Hebron - Israeli settlers stole 35 of olive trees Thursday belonging to the al-Arini family in the locality of At-Tuwani, south of Hebron, according to sources. (WAFA)
  • Settlers raze large tracts of Palestinian land south of Nablus - Israeli settlers razed large tracts of Palestinian land in al-Khirbeh area of Awarta town Wednesday in order to expand the nearby colonial settlement of Itamar. (WAFA)
  • Israeli settlers set up tent as nucleus of settlement outpost near Ramallah - the settlers, under military protection, set up a tent and a water tank on the plot of land and began digging work in the area. The villagers attempted to confront the settlers, but were pushed back by Israeli soldiers. Locals said settlers have been targeting the area for years and letting their animals graze on the villagers’ farms, causing great losses. (WAFA)
  • Israeli Forces Tear Down 2 Palestinian Homes, a Third Demolished by its Owner - She added that the occupation municipality rejected any further delays, so she began the demolition process in order to avoid fees which would be imposed by the Israeli municipality if they carried out the demolition. (IMEMC and VIDEO)
  • Palestinian injured by Israeli gunfire near Hebron - Israeli forces opened fire towards a Palestinian vehicle in al-Jalajel area Wednesday at dawn, moderately injuring the driver before they detained him and seized his car. (WAFA)
  • Israeli forces seal off archeological site near Nablus - Mayor of Sebastia Mohammad Azem told WAFA that a large unit of Israeli soldiers raided the town and proceeded to close the archaeological site, preventing Palestinians from accessing it in order to make room for settlers to storm it. (WAFA)
  • Jordan condemns Israeli excavations at Shuhada’ cemetery in Jerusalem - Jordan's rejected and condemned excavations and leveling works carried out in E. Jerusalem by the Israeli authorities on the Yusufia cemetery fence and stairs, and called on Israel to immediately stop the excavations. (WAFA)
  • Bethlehem scales down Christmas celebrations amid Covid-19 pandemic - Just a handful of Palestinians today gathered at the Manger Square in Bethlehem to mark the start of Christmas Eve, unlike previous years when thousands of local faithful and tourists would gather outside the Church of the Nativity. (WAFA)
  • Leaked Hamas Christmas memo causes Christian dismay in Gaza - Palestinian Religious Affairs Ministry, which is tasked with running Gaza's mosques and looking after Muslim and Christian affairs, quickly releases statement saying Christians 'have the right to hold their religious celebrations.’ (Agencies, Ynet)
  • AG to go after corporations in Netanyahu cases - State Attorney's Office says that pending hearing, Avichai Mendelblit will indict Bezeq, Walla News, Eurocom companies, and Yedioth Ahronoth Group on charges related to Cases 2,000 and 4,000. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israel Secretly Keeps Database on Drivers - and Fails to Delete Facial Photos - There is little to no oversight on all the databases containing Israelis’ information. Now it turns out photos and data about drivers were also being transferred to the police unbeknownst to citizens. (Haaretz+)
  • Coalition of human rights groups join suit against Israeli firm NSO - The amicus or 'friend of the court' brief, filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, adds weight to the legal battle between Facebook and NSO, which began in October 2019. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Jerusalem to Repair Defaced Billboards of Women’s Faces - Following Haaretz expose, city hall to reprint the exhibit of female soccer players. (Haaretz+)
  • *Poll: Half of secular Israelis unwilling to have Haredi neighbors - The ultra-Orthodox community has been severely criticized for its conduct during the coronavirus pandemic. So much so that 69% of secular Israelis reported that they would rather have Arab neighbors than Haredi ones. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israeli Air Force appoints its first Druze colonel - Awad Suleiman raised to the rank of colonel in the Aerial Maintenance Unit, and IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin also names him head of the IAF's Drone Warfare Unit. (Israel Hayom)
  • More than 250 new immigrants from 'lost tribe' arrive in Israel - Hailing from Northeast India, the Bnei Menashe community is said to be descended from the biblical Lost Tribes of Israel. (Israel Hayom)
  • Eight workers were injured in a roof collapse during work at a school in the Lower Galilee - The men, in their 30’s, were installing solar panels. One of the injured has sustained serious wounds and was evacuated by helicopter to hospital. (7News English and Maariv and VIDEO)
  • US to Israel: China poses significant security threat to tech industry - "We would like to see Israel doing more to monitor Chinese investments, mainly in high-tech," says US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Schenker. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israel open to German efforts to expand Iran nuclear deal - Rework, dubbed 'nuclear agreement plus' by Germany's FM Maas, will bar Tehran's development of nuclear weapons as well as place restrictions on its ballistic rocket program and interference in countries around the region. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • New footage shows arch-terrorist Soleimani's final moments - Soleimani, who was the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force that was responsible for exporting the Iranian ideology and aggression worldwide, was assassinated in January 2020. (Israel Hayom)
  • Zarif dismisses Trump tweet that Iran was behind attack on US Embassy in Baghdad - "Trump will bear full responsibility for any adventurism on his way out," Zarif tweets. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Mexico’s Social Security Agency Sues Israel’s Teva for Allegedly Bribing Doctors - Israeli pharmaceutical giant accused of earning $18.6 million through bribes to doctors at hospitals owned by Mexican Social Security Institute. (Haaretz+)
  • US imposes new sanctions on Syria in push to force Assad to end war - "The United States will continue to seek accountability for those prolonging this conflict," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Erdogan: Turkey Hopes to 'Turn New Page' With U.S., EU in 2021 - Earlier in December, Washington sanctioned Ankara over acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defenses ■ Speaking to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party, Erdogan said 'artificial agendas' tested Turkey's ties with the EU and United States in 2020. (Agencies, Haaretz)


Features:

Ditch the Peace Envoy: Mideast Experts Call on Biden to Rethink U.S. Approach to Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The authors of a new report examining America’s peace strategy tell Haaretz where previous administrations went wrong, and why it would be dangerous to simply ignore the problem. (Ben Samuels, Haaretz+)
All-female IDF battalion has myths about women's combat service in its sights
The officers at the Nachshol Field Intelligence Unit, tasked with monitoring the Israel-Egypt border, firmly believe that there is no reason why female soldiers shouldn't be capable of performing missions as well as any other soldier. (Hanan Greenwood, Israel Hayom)

Commentary/Analysis:
Ally’s Brutal Betrayal on Live TV Shocks Israel and Mauls Netanyahu (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Former loyalist Elkin’s scorching condemnation of the prime minister provided political melodrama of Shakespearian proportions.
Netanyahu is facing his first tough election in years (Yuval Karni, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister can no longer rely on automatic backing of the ultra-Orthodox parties that were part of his parliamentary right-wing and religious bloc and has lost a former ally with intimate knowledge of all his lies and deceptions.
Netanyahu Loyalist Indicts PM as Effectively as He Used to Defend Him (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+)  The seepage from Netanyahu's Likud to Gideon Sa’ar’s party is starting to look a lot like a split. For now, Bennett is pushed to the sidelines.
Elkin is a game changer - not because he won the game, but because he proved there was one (Ben Caspit, Maariv) The surprise departure of the head of the Likud bureau, Ze'ev Elkin, is a political earthquake, but not one that will collapse the fortress. The cracks have opened up, the fortifications have been undermined, but it still stands.
Don't sell Elkin short (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) The fact that a key Likud figure like Ze'ev Elkin bolted Likud deals it a serious blow, as it augments the perception that the ruling party is disintegrating ahead of a crucial general election.
The Existential Question of No Importance: Bibi or Gidi (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The next prime minister of Israel will be a full-blown total man of the right, uncompromising and pitiless. On March 23, the big primaries of the right will be held, an event which for some reason is still called a general election for the 24th Knesset. Perhaps an election, but not a general one. It’s a home game played exclusively by a right-wing that has obliterated the left. A game which obviously excludes Arab citizens and the disenfranchised Palestinians in the territories. Its conclusion will determine whether the next government is led by Benjamin Netanyahu or Gideon Sa’ar. This will culminate a process which began years ago, an unchecked and reckless slide to increasingly right-wing positions, with a legitimization of the extremist fringe which used to be out of bounds, along with a delegitimization of the Zionist left, which used to be legitimate but which became impoverished of ideas and devoid of values, losing its sense of direction. These trends have matured and are producing their bitter fruit: the choice is between two ultra-nationalists, Netanyahu or Sa’ar: Bibi or Gidi. There probably will be no other viable candidate…
Political shakeup does not bode well for national-religious base (Ido Liberman, Israel Hayom) A new survey by the Miskar Research and Polling Institute finds national-religious voters intend to abandon the very parties purporting to serve their interests for larger, right-wing parties with national-religious elements in the next election.
Israel's Left Was a Silent Accomplice to the Right, and Now It Is a Minority (Yossi Klein, Haaretz+) A reminder before the election: Around here, the right does not signify capitalism or Jabotinsky, nor only “King Bibi.” Our right is about oppression expulsion, occupation, nationalism and racism. Lest anyone deceive themselves: Right means Netanyahu, Sa’ar, Bennett and all the rest. And if you think the polls are lying – they are not. The right is in the majority.
With his own hands, Netanyahu created the split in the right-wing (Limor Livnat, Yedioth Hebrew) The majority of the public is right-wing, but "right-wing” does not necessarily mean the Likud. After (Avigdor) Lieberman, (Gideon) Sa’ar and his associates joined the ‘just-not-Bibi’ camp. And that should keep the prime minister, who has lost the reins, from sleeping.
The Joint List Is More Disjointed Than Ever, and the Timing Couldn’t Be Worse (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) Facing another election, the coalition of four parties is being torn apart over differing strategies as their constituents struggle with crime and coronavirus.
As the system of balances and brakes weakens, the High Court has no choice but to be active (Orit Lavie-Nashiel, Maariv) Only a few hundred meters separate the two symbols of government, and there seems to be an abyss between them in the face of the power of the executive and the laxity of the legislature that fails to stabilize 
95 Murder Victims Recorded This Year in Israel (Haaretz Editorial) The Knesset dissolved on Tuesday without advancing the government’s plan for combating the rampant violence in Arab society. Foot-dragging in approving this plan got the upper hand and Arab citizens were the losers yet again. All of this, despite the fact that 2020 was the most lethal year in the last 20, with 95 murder victims. It appears that as far as the government and Knesset are concerned, the Arab public has to make do with empty promises.
We were pushed to Jewish cities. We have no other choice (Attorney Amal Urabi, Ynet Hebrew) As if the expropriation of [our] land was not enough, in its 72 years, the state has not established a single new Arab community and has taken care to limit the existing ones. I and young people like me will continue to look for a city until one of our own is built.
Don’t Look to Biden to Solve Israel’s China Dilemma (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The U.S. is Israel’s friend but Beijing is becoming more aggressive pursuing its economic policy goals, leaving Israeli companies in a quandary.
These Are the Candidates for Next Head of Shin Bet (Yossi Melman, Haaretz+) The chatter about the race for the top position is making security top brass nauseous: Some things should stay secret, they feel.
Understanding the Morocco-Israel deal (Salem al-Ketbi, Israel Hayom) In international relations and in the world of politics in general, the language of interests should not be absent, and emotions and feelings should not dominate.
How Trump Transformed ‘Quid Pro Quo’ From Democratic Slur to Diplomatic Triumph (Jonathan S. Tobin, Haaretz+) The U.S.-brokered Morocco-Israel normalization deal is yet more proof that Trump’s much-derided transactional foreign policy actually works. The quid pro quo is good for America, and for its allies.
 

Interviews:
'We were the most pro-Israel administration I can think of'
In an interview with Israel Hayom, senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner, US Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz hail Abraham Accords. "By putting out a fair plan that Israel was willing to negotiate on, a lot of leaders in the Arab world saw that it's not Israel that is unwilling to compromise for peace," Kushner says. On Iran, Kushner says US president-elect should not "rush in towards a bad deal.” (Interviewed by  Ariel Kahana in Israel Hayom)

The Lawmaker Trolling Netanyahu From the Right
He’s a loudmouth who practices Vipassana, voiciferously attacks Netanyahu at every pass, rails against the trampling of democracy and seeks rapprochement with Israeli Arabs – but this MK belongs to Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party. (Interviewed by Hilo Glazer in Haaretz+)
 

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

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