APN’s daily news review from Israel - Tuesday January 26, 2021

 

Quote of the day:

"It's not this or that position paper that drives the right-wing nuts, but the fear of (Israeli civil society) organizations that insist on documenting, reporting and reminding the public of what is happening in its - and ostensibly for his security - in the Territories."
--—Mickey Gitzin, Director of the New Israel Fund in Israel, writes that B’Tselem’s declaration that Israel is an apartheid state is not what right-wingers fear, but informing Israelis about what Israel is doing in the Palestinian Territories does.* 

Front Page:

Haaretz

• Police preparing for continued clashes with ultra-Orthodox until the end of the lockdown: Demonstrators set bus on fireand damaged the light rail
• The rabbis are to blame// Anshel Pfeffer
• The police left the street, the firefighters didn’t answer calls - and Bnei Brak went up in flames: The demonstration that got out of control, hour by hour
• Health Ministry recommends extending the lockdown another week: Corona crisis director: More lockdowns are possible
• Netanyahu hoped to win (elections) due to the vaccines, but unexpected turns could harm him// Chaim Levinson
• Senior members of the Joint List: Chance thatthe four parties will run together (again) in elections is slight
• IDF demands additional budget money again of 3 billion shekels, some in the government oppose
• New strategy // Salman Masalcha on demand to make of Netanyahu, who is courting Arab public’s vote
• It lost its voice // Yossi Ozrad writes that Army Radio no longer offers courageous journalism
• Corona crisis may be the growth engine for periphery towns

Yedioth Ahronoth

• Warning sign on the way to renewing studies; Statistics on infection rate among children are cause for concern (Hebrew)
• Jerusalem is burning (Photo Border Police around fire set by ultra-Orthodox youth protesting in Jerusalem)
• City of pain // Shoshana Chen visits Bnei Brak after riots and a police officer shooting in the air (Hebrew)
• Anarchy // Chen Artzi-Srur
• On the way to crashing // Ben-Dror Yemini warns against making generalizations about ultra-Orthodox during this crisis (Hebrew)
• Hostages // Amichai Attali

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• “Calm the winds, the epidemic is dangerous to everyone”- Leading rabbis, public personas and citizens from the ultra-Orthodox community responded sharply to the severe civil disturbances of youth in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem
• “Civil vaccine”// Rabbi Yitzhak Grossman
• Don’t lose your head// Rabbi Yaakov Gloiberman
• (Ben-Gurion Airport:) No flight zone
• Looking for an exit (from the third lockdown)

Israel Hayom

• “Extend the lockdown” - Senior official in Health Ministry: Infection rate at record high, delusional to ease restrictions now
• Left-wing bloc: Unite or crash
• Main Photos: Border Police arresting young ultra-Orthodox demonstrator; Empty check-in hall at Ben-Gurion Airport
• I follow all the guidelines - and yet I’m marked [as an ultra-Orthodox person who violates the restrictions]
• Exclusive: Artificial intelligence checked matriculation exams- and was outstanding
• Russian star from Ein Karem (neighborhood of Jerusalem) - He isn’t known locally, but Alexander Ilichovsky recently won Russia’s prestigious literature award
• The statistics reveal: Spike in domestic violence
• Harish town model: The municipality presents secular - ultra-Orthodox co-existence

Top News Summary:
Ultra-Orthdox rage and violence was expected to continue over the enforcement of the third corona lockdown [and some ultra-Orthodox lawmakers warned against turning the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak into “a battlefield,” while some commentators said the clashes with police could lead to a ‘civil war’ and Yedioth’s Amihai Attali called it an “ultra-Orthodox intifada,” although the police reaction to it is nothing like it has been to the Palestinians’ intifadas - OH], despite calls by some leading rabbis to stop. Meanwhile, there is no entering or exiting Israel as Ben-Gurion Airport has been completely shut down for six days - even to Israelis - and the public health chief said the airport should stay shutfor a month, while the corona crisis director said there could be more lockdowns in the future. These were today's top stories, along with the ultimatum that the new Labor party chief, Merav Michaeli, gave to the two Labor party ministers, Amir Peretz and Itsik Shmuli to leave their positions or leave the party. '"The Labor Party is leaving the corrupt Netanyahu-Gantz government," she declared. Shmuli intends to leave the party and serve as minister on behalf of Benny Gantz's Kahol-Lavan party, Yedioth Hebrew reported.

Elections 2021: 

• Senior Officials: Chances Are Joint List Alliance of Arab Parties Won't Run Together- A meeting between party leaders only deepens the schism after the United Arab List demanded to preserve its right to vote independently from the party, which could mean recommending Netanyahu as prime minister. The RAAM faction of Mansour Abbas presented two requests: first, to refrain from voting that harms the religious and conservative identity of Arab society. The second is to respect the decision of the RAAM to be an influential factor and to allow it freedom of vote in the Knesset. The other factions in the Joint List demand to stick to the old political platform and that decisions in common will be made by a majority. (Haaretz+ and Maariv)
• Israel's Central Bank Opposes Netanyahu's COVID Grant Plan- 'Indiscriminate universal distribution – like a grant for every child regardless of income – isn’t efficient,' officials say. (Haaretz+)
• Ron Huldai: "Netanyahu's economic plan is an attempt to save himself from prison"- The chairman of the 'Israelis' party spoke with 103FM and claimed that the measures presented by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance are a cover for a political problem. He also stuck to his position to seek to head the center-left camp. (Maariv/103FM)
• "Election card": Netanyahu is working to get the King of Morocco to visit Israel - Sources on behalf of the Prime Minister are in contact with the palace of Muhammad VI, who may condition the visit on a meeting with Abu Mazen. (Yedioth Hebrew)

Corona Quickees:

• Israel Plans 2,000 Additional Hospital Beds for Jerusalem, None for Palestinian Neighborhoods- Master plan envisions a new hospital in Haredi town of Beit Shemesh, hundreds more beds in western Jerusalem – and leaves 30 percent of Jerusalem's residents dependent on overcrowded facilities. (Haaretz+)
• Facebook Blocks Netanyahu Chatbot Asking for Details of Israelis Unwilling to Vaccinate- 'We do not allow content that asks for people's medical information,' said a Facebook spokeswoman, following a post seeking phone numbers to call and convince people to get COVID-19 vaccinations. (Agencies, Haaretz, Ynetand Israel Hayom)
• What medical data is Israel sharing with Pfizer - and is it protected?- Israel is considered a world leader in medical data, which is partly why it has received priority access to the COVID-19 vaccines. Experts agree that the Pfizer deal offers reasonable protection of citizens’ personal data - but some parts of the deal prompt questions that need answering. (Haaretz+)
• Egypt begins COVID-19 vaccination drive- Egypt began vaccinating frontline medical staff against COVID-19 on Sunday using the jab developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). (Israel Hayom)

Quick Hits:

• Israeli forces demolish house, injure dozens northwest of Bethlehem- Israeli forces escorted a bulldozer to northwestern part of Wallajeh village, on the south-eastern edge of Jerusalem, which tore down a two-story house under construction. During ensuing confrontations, the soldiers opened fire towards local youths who protested the demolition, injuring a number. (WAFA)
• Israeli military demolish expansions to Nablus-district village- Israeli forces cordoned off Al-Khan area of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village in the morning hours as a bulldozer proceeded to demolish the expansions and improvements, including the gates and windows, for the second time in a row, and damaged the barbed wire surrounding the area. (WAFA)
• Israel to demolish residential buildings in Nablus-district town- Israeli forces raided Asira ash-Shamaliya village and handed Mohammad al-Sholi a notice to demolish his seven-story residential building, as well as the homes of Nabil and Bader Hamadneh. (WAFA)
• Clinic, dwellings in community south of Hebron notified by the Israeli military of demolition- Israeli military government informed 12 families in Zanouta village that their tents and shelters where they live, along with the village clinic and council building, will be demolished. (WAFA)
• Palestinian human rights groups call on UN to protect Palestinian homes from demolition during pandemic- The groups submitted a joint urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Procedures to stop Israel’s continued demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied territories amidst a global pandemic and calling for protecting the Palestinian population. (WAFAand IMEMC)
• Israeli Authorities Uproot Thousands of Olive Trees in northern West Bank Despite Palestinians' Appeal- Israel claims the trees were planted on government-owned West Bank land, but the Palestinians in Deir Balut appealed an eviction order prior to the removal of the trees, claiming that they own the land. (Haaretz+)
• Israeli settlers uproot dozens of olive saplings in southern West Bank- Settlers from Kiryat Arba, with Israeli military protection, broke into over 25 dunams of Palestinian-owned land in the area considered the “food basked” of Hebron, and uprooted dozens of the olive saplings planted there. (WAFA)
• Israeli settlers assault shepherds, injure one, kill sheep near Bethlehem- Settlers from Ibei Hanahal (outpost) hurled rocks toward a number of shepherds, injuring one, in Kisan village, south of Tekoa settlement, and released dogs towards the sheep, devouring the heads of several sheep. (WAFAand IMEMC)
• Israeli forces demolish horse ranch near Jerusalem- A large Israeli military force raided Anata town and demolished the 200-square meter ranch, which belongs to al-Natsheh family. (WAFA)
• 'Suffocation and Isolation', a new report examines impact of 15 years of Israeli blockade on life in Gaza- The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) called for putting an end to the 15-year-old tragedy of the Gaza blockade; stressing that the current arrangements for holding general Palestinian elections require serious international guarantees that the blockade will end without conditions related to the election results. (WAFA)
• Parkour brings Gaza youngsters a taste of freedom with Decathlon’s help- With help from sporting goods giant Decathlon, youths in blockaded coastal enclave can now train in sport that involves navigating urban obstacles using fast-paced mix of jumping, running and rolling, 'in a safe way, far from dangers of street.’ (Agencies, Ynet)
• IAI to sell advance drones to central Asian country- Israel Aerospace Industries announces sale of Heron MKII unmanned aerial vehicle systems to an undisclosed central Asian country. Deal reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars. (Israel Hayom)
• Court Orders Israel Police to Draft Standards for IDing People Following Petition on Racial Profiling- The court ruling follows petitions filed with the backing of the Israel Bar Association by civil rights organizations, alleging improper ethnic profiling. (Haaretz+)
• Israel Extradites Accused Pedophile Malka Leifer to Australia- Extradition of Leifer, who is accused of 74 counts of rape and sexual abuse in Australia, brings a years long legal battle to a close. (Haaretz+, Israel Hayomand Ynet)
• US consults with European partners on return to Iran nuclear agreement- Ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, President Biden and new US Secretary of State in Anthony Blinken are consulting European countries before deciding to return to the nuclear deal. Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday and German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said Monday that his country is pleased that President Biden is seeking to bring his country back to the international arena as a reliable partner for peace talks and it intends to discuss with the US the nuclear deal between Iran and the superpowers. (Maariv)
• Government ratifies upgrading ties with Morocco- Israel, Morocco enjoyed bilateral benefits under Trump administration; in Rabat's case, Western Sahara sovereignty. (Israel Hayom)
• Ugandan Jews Not Eligible to Immigrate to Israel, State Informs High Court- Decision overrules Jewish Agency, which had formally recognized the 2,000-strong Abayudaya community several years ago. A ruling in favor of the state could have serious repercussions for 'emerging Jewish communities’ around the world. (Haaretz+)
• Post-accelerator for Arab-led startups kicks off with help from the British Embassy in Israel- A group of 10 to 12 entrepreneurs will participate in an intensive two-month program designed to include 12 virtual group sessions led by local and UK experts, and also be connected to potential investors in Israel and the UK. (Israel Hayom)
• Israel Picks Its 2021 Eurovision Entry: Eden Alene’s ‘Set Me Free’- Eden Alene, who was meant to compete in the 2020 Eurovision that was cancelled to the coronavirus, will represent Israel in this year's contest, planned for May 18 in the Netherlands. (Haaretz+VIDEO)
• Italian Jewish Community Rejects Apology by Fascist-era King's Heir for Race Laws- The last heir of the disgraced House of Savoy, whose family had until now refused to apologize, attempts to atone for his ancestor's role in Mussolini's racial policies. (Agenices, Haaretz)
• 'Jews want to conquer the Temple Mount,' Turkish app claims- Zionist watchdog group Im Tirzu looks into new Turkish smartphone app titled "The Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque" and concludes that Israel should take stringent steps to curb "Turkish involvement in Jerusalem." (Israel Hayom)
• Turkey, Greece Resume Talks on Maritime Disputes After Five Years- Both sides have voiced optimism about the talks, but 60 attempts to sort out issues between the two NATO members have already collapsed since 2002. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Saudi Arabia expects 'excellent relations' with Biden administration- Biden pledged on the election campaign trail to reassess ties with Saudi Arabia, a state he described as a "pariah" in 2019. Biden has said he will take a firmer stand on Saudi's human rights record and the devastating Yemen war. (Agencies, Haaretz)
• Tunisian President Rejects Reshuffle, Escalating Political Crisis- The political paralysis comes as the COVID-19 crisis weakens an already battered economy, as both foreign lenders and Tunisia's powerful union urge fast reforms. (Agencies, Haaretz)

Features:

Cogs in the Israel Settlement Defense Forces
A pillowcase. That’s what soldiers put over the head of Ayman Abu Alia from the village of Mughayir during his arrest, 40 days after other soldiers (or who knows, maybe it was the same ones) killed his 15-year-old son Ali. I choked up at this particular detail, which Nihad, the bereaved mother, remembered as if it were an afterthought. A pillowcase. What is more domestic than that? An item from the bedroom, which soldiers entered with the nonchalance of victors, and brimming with self-indulgent suzerainty, put the pillowcase over the head of a man in cuffs to disorient and humiliate him. The bereaved father, flooded with pain over his dead son, was led before dawn through the dark streets. Perhaps the white pillowcase was the only thing the other villagers could see when they peeked out of their windows. Twenty-four residents of Mughayir and Kafr Malik were arrested on that early morning of January 14. Ten were released a few hours later, including Abu Alia. The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service said outright that the purpose of the arrests was to deter the residents from protesting against the old and new settler outposts that terrorize the entire area with impunity. Two years ago, Israelis who came down from the ever-expanding outpost of Adei Ad opened fire on farmers from Mughayir. Nine people were injured; a tenth, Hamdi Na’asan, died of his wounds. The murder never made it to court…(Amira Hass, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis:
How an Israeli smear campaign is ripping away funds from Palestinian farmers (Alex Kane and Mariam Barghouti, 972mag) Israel lobby groups are targeting the funding sources of a major Palestinian agricultural union — by dubiously claiming it has ties to 'terrorists.' Other Palestinian organizations are facing the same attacks.
*Education Minister Yoav Galant is afraid you will know (Mickey Gitzin, Yedioth Hebrew) After eight months in office, Education Minister Yoav Galant has finally found an opportunity to make headlines on the backs of civil society organizations. Distancing them from schools has been a popular sport among education ministers for the past decade and Galant is no exception. The timing this time was a lecture by B'Tselem's CEO planned at the Haifa Reali School, which Galant tried - and failed - to prevent. The pretext was a position paper distributed by B'Tselem that states that Israel systematically discriminates between Jews and Arabs in all areas under its control. Galant, in response, demanded a ban on the entry into schools of an "organization that calls the State of Israel an 'apartheid state.'" This is, of course, an excuse. Long before the publication of the paper in question, B'Tselem, like other civil society organizations, was considered undesirable by right-wing education ministers, and illegitimate in the eyes of the right-wing in general. In the previous round, it was ‘Breaking the Silence,’ which during the time of Naftali Bennett (as minister of) the Ministry of Education, a special law was passed in its name - just to prevent it and its ilk from accessing classrooms. The law did not prevent the organization from continuing its activities and its sole purpose was to give ‘Breaking the Silence’ a negative image.  It was not B'Tselem's position paper that drives the right-wing nuts, but the fear of organizations that insist on documenting, reporting and reminding the public of what is happening in his name - and ostensibly for his security - in the Territories. True, most of the public is not particularly interested in what is being done in the Territories - in its name and ostensibly for its security - but most of the time it is because it simply does not know what is going on there. Whoever saw with his own eyes what a physical separation between Jews and Palestinians looks like in places like Shuhada Street in Hebron or how entire communities living in the south Hebron Hills under the relentless abuse of extremist settlers, especially these days, can not help but be shocked.” So, Galant, like other right-wingers, does everything to make the public know as little as possible and to be as interested as little as possible. The right has no interest in holding a political debate on Israeli control of the Territories and its moral, political and social consequences. Although the public is indifferent to what is happening there, it also does not enthusiastically support government policy and right-wing positions on this issue: Israelis do not move to settlements and do not reach these areas unnecessarily. The annexation, which only a year ago was the flagship program of the right, passed from the world with a weak response, accompanied by the silent indifference of the Israeli street. The only way for the right to take the public out of its indifference is to arouse patriotic sentiment against those who are marked as traitors. Therefore, whenever organizations like B'Tselem seek to shed light on what Israelis refuse to know, the right tries to silence them and mark them as traitors. Galant prefers to talk about provocation rather than the essence. On the subject of the message and not on the message. From the Vietnam War to the Lebanon War, whenever there is opposition to official policy, to an inexhaustible reality, opponents are immediately denounced as traitors. But in the test of history, it is often the "traitors" who come out on top and turn out to be the greatest patriots. The unnecessary stay in Lebanon ended when the Israeli public became convinced that it was not contributing to its security, and the Americans withdrew their forces from Vietnam under similar circumstances. A glimpse into the reality of life in the Territories is enough for the Israelis to understand that what is presented to us and justified as security needs hides enormous amounts of unnecessary suffering caused in our name, and there is no drop of security in that. And this is exactly what scares those who are trying to silence.
Bribery Suspect Netanyahu Is Trying to Buy Off the Public (Haaretz Editorial) …On Sunday, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yisrael Katz unveiled an economic plan in the same vein. It’s a collection of steps that sound good, like reducing regulation and helping businesses, but are actually nothing but window dressing for the centerpiece – election bribery. One of the measures it includes is paying 750 shekels ($230) to every adult in the seven lowest deciles, regardless of whether he or she has been hurt by the crisis or not, as well as 500 shekels per child for all 10 deciles. The deciles that will get the 750 shekels contain most of the people who vote for Netanyahu’s Likud party and its ultra-Orthodox allies, and its goal is transparent – to put cash in their pockets so that they’ll put the right ballot into the ballot box.
Not everything is election economics (Eran Bar-Tal, Israel Hayom) The media has branded the prime minister's new stimulus plan an election ploy without even trying to understand the benefits it offers.
Is Netanyahu’s COVID Grant Plan a Criminal Offense? (Ido Baum, Haaretz+) The initiative for the grandiose plan was reportedly conceived to the exclusion of professional levels, without any justification for such exclusion.
Israel is rudderless amid an ultra-Orthodox intifada (Amihai Attali, Yedioth/Ynet) Before he condemned the mob, Netanyahu spent hours making sure none of his friends were linked to the beasts attacking police, people and property in Bnei Brak on Sunday night; we Israelis have no leaders, no pillar of fire to save us.
Welcome to the Worst Job in Israeli Politics, Merav Michaeli (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Now that so many previous leaders have fallen sway to joining right-wing and center-right coalitions, can Labor’s new leader Merav Michaeli reverse course before Israel’s founding party goes under?
I was in the Knesset for a decade and I know: it needs to be saved (Dr. Nachman Shai, Yedioth Hebrew) No candidate wants to be "just" an MK, the status has eroded, legislation is impossible, the committees are neutered, the opposition has dissipated and quality people are fleeing. Here are three excellent people - Prof. Avishai Braverman, Prof. Manuel Trajtenerg and high-tech man Dr. Erel Margalit - my colleagues in the Labor Party, got up and left. The Knesset did not offer them a challenge and the opposition wore them down. They are not the only ones. Ministers refrain from attending committee meetings and send low-ranking officials. Even the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee - in the past a prestigious forum to which information and supervision of Israel's most sensitive systems was brought - was emptied of content and most of the discussions went to subcommittees, where they are protected from leaks but along the way discourse from a variety of MKs representing the general public is prevented. No more heads of state come to the Knesset to speak to the public and respect this house. Some interjections and interruptions to guests deterred the Speaker of the Knesset and they stopped coming. Fellow members of foreign parliaments do come, but who does not come? Members of the US Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Even the government does not invite its guests from the US to the Israeli legislature. This is how they give up visiting the Knesset and the dialogue with their colleagues. Parliamentary diplomacy is an essential tool in relations between states and legislatures. I fear that the loss is entirely ours. The Knesset needs high-quality personalities, with knowledge and experience, specifically as Knesset members, as committee chairs or "just" as MKs. They will raise the quality of the house, challenge the government, add weight and content to the debates and give the legislature the prestige and status it has lost. Yes, precisely from the back rows in the plenum, those that even TV cameras do not look at. From there one has to conduct the real parliamentary struggle. In this way, the Knesset will be able to face the government and block the efforts to the Knesset into a tool, which will increase in the next term…
The separation between the authorities in Israel has been damaged, and this is a danger to the rule of law (Zalman Shoval, Maariv) No way has yet been found to vaccinate people, including judges, from political tendencies, and therefore in "reformed countries" Chinese walls" have been established between the authorities. But in Israel the walls seem to have been breached, and that is dangerous for democracy…The trial against Netanyahu is problematic and unreasonable in my view because of its very existence and because of the incidents that accompany it, such as the leaks from the interrogation rooms, the cases of state witnesses, the faults in the indictments, the puzzling connection between the prosecution and the police. All these remove additional bricks from the protective wall of the purity of justice.
Israel's Dubai joy flights were state-sponsored mass infection (Einav Schiff, Yedioth/Ynet) The government chose to allow flights to the UAE resort city out of diplomatic considerations and ignored the frantic warnings of health experts who likened them to a ticking time bomb, and now the people are paying the price.
Biden has to clean up Trump's mess in the Middle East. There's plenty of it(Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) From Iran to Israel, Damascus to Dubai, from exiting nuclear deals and withdrawing troops to brokering normalization and assassinations, Trump's four years have left deep scars. How will Biden engage with the region, and with Trump's legacy?
As far as Hezbollah is concerned, the account over the [Israeli] assassination of the organization's activist in Syria last July has not yet been closed (Tal Lev Ram, Maariv) Despite the drop in tensions on the northern border, the security establishment is still fearful of further attempts by Hezbollah to carry out a revenge attack on soldiers. At the same time, the organization continues to vigorously promote its precision missile project.
The Beginning of the End of the Nuclear Age (Eitan Barak, Haaretz+) January 22, 2021 was an important date in international relations in general and in the realm of disarmament and arms control in particular: On that date, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into force. In addition to prohibiting the development, testing, manufacture, distribution, acquisition and stockpiling of nuclear weapons, the treaty requires its signatories to destroy any nuclear weapons in their possession and it strives for a world that’s free of nuclear weapons….Israel, along with 35 states that include the permanent members of the Security Council (excluding China), opposed the General Assembly resolution of December 2016 to begin discussions on the treaty, and did not take part in the conference in 2017. Israel sent its ambassador to the Nobel awards ceremony to avoid, as it said in an announcement, the appearance of engaging in a “political act.” Israel is a supporting player in the epic battle between civil society and the nuclear powers. But it is worthwhile to follow developments that increase the importance of Israel’s integration into the region and the promotion of sustainable peace agreements with its neighbors. Not only will this nearly eliminate the possibility of the doomsday scenario that constitutes the background for developing the nuclear option (a scenario that senior researchers in any event doubted would come about), but it would also complement Israel’s “long corridor” policy – according to which its willingness to forgo the nuclear option as part of the disarmament of the Middle East is conditioned first and foremost on enduring peace accords with the countries of the region…

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