Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
A 7.3 earthquake struck in Iraq shaking buildings in Israel, Israeli superstar Gal Gadot refused to act in the Wonder Woman sequel if producer Brett Ratner, accused of sexually harassing six women, were involved and a war of threats between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that broke out after Israel blew up a tunnel killing seven PIJ men, escalated when PIJ accused Israel of 'making a declaration of war' - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Also, Israel was not thrilled by the international agreement that laid out principles for post-war Syria, because it would allow Iranian forces closer than Israel would like to the Golan border, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu shared with Likud ministers a letter from US President Donald Trump thanking him for supporting Trump's UN speech on Iran, and the New York Times reported that the Trump Administration was preparing to announce its Israel-Palestinian peace plan, expected early next year.
 

Quick Hits:

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Commentary/Analysis:
A War of No Choice on Behalf of the Saudis (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) The pride that senior Israeli figures take in our relations with corrupt Saudi Arabia is nauseating; at a time when the Palestinians are being criticized, sometimes justifiably, for undemocratic actions, the Israelis are embracing the mother of all injustice.
Rabin's legacy: The two-state solution will come, with obstacles and sacrifices (Uri Savir, Maariv) What Yitzhak Rabin began, will continue on one day. There is no control over a people that has survived history. It is precisely the heads of the former and current defense establishment who understand this.
On the Margins of the Murder (Amira Hass, Haaretz) Mohammed Musa would not have been shot while giving his sister a ride if it weren’t for the soldiers sent to guard an illegal outpost.
Stop the Evictions (Haaretz Editorial) New eviction orders for Palestinians in Jordan Valley 'only' affect 'unauthorized buildings,' but what are the shepherds in the designated area supposed to do?
The affair of the employee and Sara Netanyahu: In a proper country, the prime minister would have resigned (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The lawsuit against the prime minister's wife raises questions about the norms required of influential people, and in this case too, public pressure must do its thing.
Saudi Arabia Has No Lebanon Endgame in Sight - and It’s Bound to Backfire (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The dish that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is preparing in Lebanon with the Hariri brothers may wind up overcooked.
Why is Saudi Arabia so determined to destroy Hezbollah? (Dr. Yaron Friedman, Yedioth/Ynet) The strongest Arab country today is leading the Sunni battle against an Iranian takeover of the Middle East. Once the ‘black monster’ ISIS disappears from the region, the ‘yellow monster’ Hezbollah will become the largest and most dangerous Islamic terror organization in the world, receiving orders from Tehran—and this is something the Saudis are unwilling to accept.
Hariri the pawn (Oded Granot, Israel Hayom) Recently resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri may be a senior Sunni official in Lebanon, but he is just a minor figure in the bitter war between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. 
Saudi Arabia's Leader Playing a High-stakes and Are Going Almost All In (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz) Wave of arrests meant to show country is taking on corruption, but make investors wary
Why Saudi Arabia turned Hariri into its hostage (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) The unconvincing wording of the Lebanese prime minister’s resignation motives was intended for the American president’s ears. The Saudi crown prince, who believes Trump is his ally, is sending his mouthpieces to vilify Iran, smear Hezbollah and strengthen the dialogue with the US and with Israel.
Calculated or reckless? The Crown Prince is preparing the groundwork for his coronation as king (Yasir Ukbi, Maariv) Behind the wave of purges carried out by Muhammad bin Salman are his upcoming appointment and his desire to prevent a collective family revolt. But how is the chain of events likely to affect the kingdom?
The quiet between the storms (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran will continue to deepen because the Saudis view the Iranian threat as an existential matter. These tensions, however, will not necessarily translate into open war.
Despite Israeli Demands, Syria Cease-fire Deal Allows Iranian Forces Near Northern Border (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israeli defense figures are troubled by the fact that Russia and the U.S. seem unwilling to take genuine measures to kick Iran out of southern Syria.
Shaping the northern front (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Israel's goal is to influence the struggles in Syria and Lebanon without being sucked in. As things stand, however, this seems to be an increasingly difficult task.
The Most Important Thing Is Replacing Netanyahu's Government (Tzvia Greenfield, Haaretz+) Despite it all, Arabs should vote with the left or even center, and not just with the Joint Arab List.
An Israeli minister's call to boycott Princeton's Jewish students is totally wrong – and nonsensical (Daniel Kurtzer, Haaretz+) Princeton's Center for Jewish Life was wrong to cancel an Israeli minister's visit. They apologized. When Israel works so hard against BDS, Michael Oren's call for Israeli officials to boycott them in retaliation makes no sense. He hasn't apologized.
From Pre-state Israel to Myanmar: What Ethnic Cleansing? (Daniel Blatman, Haaretz+) Israel denies the tragedy in Myanmar because it is incapable of acknowledging ethnic cleansing that recalls its own actions from 1948.
Do American Jews and Israel Really Need Each Other? (Rabbi Leon A. Morris, Haaretz) The Federations' General Assembly will debate the growing gulf between U.S. and Israeli Jews. But each offers the other an important corrective: Israelis' growing parochialism needs restraining, and U.S. Jews need reminding America isn't their Zion.
 

"The basic foundations of our shared humanity are being challenged...We cannot allow the bombing of civilians or attacks on hospitals to become acceptable, to become the new normal."
--President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, said following results of an ICRC online war game that teaches youth across the world the rules of warfare. Results showed that Israelis knew the least about the prohibitions against targeting civilians and their homes. [NOTE: This comes as no surprise in light of the Israeli military methods, such as the bombing of residential buildings in the Gaza War to target a single person and the demolition of houses of relatives of attackers with the hope it will dissuade potential future attackers. - OH]

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"As soon as it is determined that equality is not a value, discrimination won’t remain in one area only. It will infiltrate everywhere—against those who the majority doesn’t wish to honor. The hostile and discriminating attitude towards Arabs is just the beginning."
--Yedioth columnist Aviad Kleinberg comments on a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute that showed racist feelings among Jewish Israelis toward Arab citizens.*

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