APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday February 23, 2015
Numbers of the day:
90%: 60%
--The percentage of Israeli Arabs vs. the percentage of Israeli Jews who believe there is a possibility for co-existence in Israel, according to a new poll.
--The percentage of Israeli Arabs vs. the percentage of Israeli Jews who believe there is a possibility for co-existence in Israel, according to a new poll.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- The plan to make the IDF younger: Earlier retirement age for most officers
- Resignation gift: Aharonovich flies in the world at the expense of the public under the sponsorship of Lieberman
- Young man stabbed in Jerusalem; (Mayor) Barkat and his bodyguard neutralized the terrorist
- (Police Commissioner) Danino: Naftali’s testimony may be (enough to open) probe (in Netanyahu’s residence expenses)
- Publication of Cost of Housing Report: A necessary change of stance by the State Comptroller // Amir Oren
- Shas’ spiritual leader: (Israel’s national anthem) ‘Hatikva’ is a stupid song, I did not stand during the anthem
- (Israeli) passengers attacked a flight steward during a flight because he would not sell them chocolate
Yedioth Ahronoth
- (Jerusalem) mayor and his bodyguard jumped on the terrorist – Terror again in Jerusalem
- A disgrace on the flight: Watch and feel ashamed – Israelis attacked a steward with obscenities and were punished with condemnations on the Internet
- Bitter flavor // Raanan Shaked
- The MK is on the right-wing and her mother is left-wing
- Expose: In the service of the state: In the past, we prohibited Seidoff (PM’s deputy director general for assets and operations at the PMO) from dealing with monies
- Stopped growth – The rate of growth of economy in 2014 – lowest in nine years
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The battle over the home – State Comptroller’s report on the crisis in housing is expected to be released this week and the political establishment is in a storm
- Harakiri // Ben Caspit on how the Comptroller report on PM’s residence costs is stressing the Netanyahu couple
- There is no smoking gun on who is responsible for the high cost of housing // Yehuda Sharoni
- Meni Naftali to Prime Minister and his associates: “Apologize or I’ll sue”
- (Mayor) Barkat neutralized the terrorist – stabbing attack in Jerusalem
- Bitter chocolate – An Israeli family attacked the steward Nir Levov with screaming during a flight and demanded he sell them chocolate without VAT
Israel Hayom
- Barkat: In the face of a terrorist – you cannot hesitate – Terror attack in Jerusalem: Mayor and his bodyguard neutralized terrorist
- “Impose on Livni the personal responsibility for Kadima party’s debt – 19 million shekels”
- “The agreement with Iran is closer than ever” – said a US source to the French ‘Le Figaro’ newspaper
- ‘The chocolate flight’: Gall reaching the heavens
- Shas’ spiritual leader: “’Hatikva’ – a stupid song”
News Summary:
Jerusalem’s mayor neutralizes a Palestinian young man who stabbed and wounded an ultra-Orthodox man and Israeli passengers verbally attack an airline steward making headlines in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
Both the Likud and Zionist Camp tried to use the attack by the 18-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank [oddly, no details were released about him, not even his name – OH] to their party’s benefit, Haaretz+ reported. And ultra-nationalist Baruch Marzel, the Kahanist, running on Eli Yishai’s Yachad party ticket, also made an attempt to make headlines from the attack, Maariv reported. Marzel arrived on the scene just as the police were taking away the young Palestinian. Marzel asked the police to hand him over so he could "take care of him.” Maariv called it a ‘provocation.’ (VIDEO)
What continues to barely tickle the interest of the Hebrew newspapers is the economic fragility of the Palestinian Authority or the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Just as US Secretary of State John Kerry warned over the weekend, yesterday, the Palestinian Authority threatened to end security ties with Israel because Israel continues to withhold Palestinian tax revenue month after month. “We have told the international community that the PA will not be able to continue security coordination with Israel and may not continue functioning if Israel continues stealing our money,” a top PLO official said.
Jerusalem’s mayor neutralizes a Palestinian young man who stabbed and wounded an ultra-Orthodox man and Israeli passengers verbally attack an airline steward making headlines in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
Both the Likud and Zionist Camp tried to use the attack by the 18-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank [oddly, no details were released about him, not even his name – OH] to their party’s benefit, Haaretz+ reported. And ultra-nationalist Baruch Marzel, the Kahanist, running on Eli Yishai’s Yachad party ticket, also made an attempt to make headlines from the attack, Maariv reported. Marzel arrived on the scene just as the police were taking away the young Palestinian. Marzel asked the police to hand him over so he could "take care of him.” Maariv called it a ‘provocation.’ (VIDEO)
What continues to barely tickle the interest of the Hebrew newspapers is the economic fragility of the Palestinian Authority or the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Just as US Secretary of State John Kerry warned over the weekend, yesterday, the Palestinian Authority threatened to end security ties with Israel because Israel continues to withhold Palestinian tax revenue month after month. “We have told the international community that the PA will not be able to continue security coordination with Israel and may not continue functioning if Israel continues stealing our money,” a top PLO official said.
Quick Hits:
- **86% of Israeli Arabs oppose Islamic State (85% of Jews think that 1/3 of Israeli Arabs support IS) - Poll by Achva Academic College examining Jewish-Arab relations in Israel finds 54% of Jews are afraid to enter Arab villages, while 36% of all Jews and 85% of religious Jews do not want their child to share a classroom with an Arab student. 90% of Arabs and 66% of Jews believe there is possibility for co-existence. 66% of Jews believe there is no need to put an Arab minister in gov’t, while 88% of Arabs thought it was necessary. (Ynet and Maariv)
- 7 injured by live bullets in clashes in Bethlehem - Israeli forces, with police dogs, raided Aida Refugee camp late Sunday, firing tear gas, stun grenades and live bullets, injuring seven youths in their lower extremities. The forces detained a large number of young men from and searched several houses. (Maan)
- Israeli demolitions leave 4 Bedouin families homeless in Negev - Bulldozers appeared in the village of Sawah east of Hurah on Sunday morning accompanied by a large number of police officers, who proceeded to demolish the homes soon after arrival. (Maan)
- Two explosive devices thrown at a military prep school in (West Bank) – and did not explode - Improvised pipe bombs were thrown at the gate of the pre-military school in Tsofit, near the settlement of Halamish. (Maariv)
- Hundreds of Palestinians flee as Israel opens dams into Gaza Valley - Palestinian Civil Defense Services evacuated more than 80 families from the Gaza Valley (Wadi Gaza) when their homes flooded with water levels reaching more than three meters, after Israel opened a number of dams near the border. (Maan)
- Israeli troops open fire at Gaza farmers - Several Israeli military vehicles were seen firing at farmers in their fields in the eastern outskirts of Rafah. No injuries reported. (Maan)
- Israeli intel cooperated with U.S. and Britain to surveil Iran leaders, new Snowden leak reveals - The document also discusses U.S.-British cyber successes against Tehran’s nuclear program. (Haaretz+)
- Israel to purchase 14 more F-35 fighter jet amid tensions with US - With political tensions between the US and Israel at record high, Israel announces it will buy cutting-edge fighter jets, set to arrive in Israel in late 2016. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Arab parties angry that election slip printer is in settlement - Chosen printer for election slips raises outrage with the Joint List, want printer inside Green Line. (JPost and Maariv)
- Israeli singer calls on fans to fight 'leftist Satan' with love - Amir Benayoun is no stranger to controversy; a planned concert for President Rivlin was cancelled last year after he described an Arab as 'ungrateful scum.' (Haaretz)
- Shas spiritual leader calls Israeli national anthem 'stupid' - No one can teach the rabbi, who grew up in Jerusalem, what Zionism is, says party. (Haaretz)
- Kerry meets Iran's Zarif for two-hour sesson in nuclear talks - Zarif tells Iranian state media that mid-level bilateral talks had produced 'good discussions but no agreements.' (Agencies, Haaretz)
- PM slams ongoing Iran nuclear talks after damning IAEA report - UN report says Tehran was continuing to withhold full cooperation regarding allegations of explosives tests and other activity that could be used to develop nuclear bombs. (Ynet)
- Likud video: Ben-Gurion was right to defy the Americans - Video shows Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, in 1948, faced with the decision to declare statehood despite U.S. State Department opposition, then prompts, "Would we be here today if Ben-Gurion had not done the right thing?" (Israel Hayom)
- Middle East Updates / Moscow offers Iran new air defense missile system - Egypt's retrial of two Al-Jazeera English journalists to begin. (Haaretz)
- Egyptian president calls for unified Arab force to combat Islamists - Al-Sissi addresses the nation a week after Egyptian warplanes struck ISIS positions in Libya; 'Need for unified Arab force growing,' he says. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Turkish troops invade Syria to rescue remains of 12th-century patriarch - The body of Suleyman Shah will later be returned to an area in Syria under Turkish control. (Haaretz+)
Features:
Haaretz study: Media focusing on Netanyahu, not Israel’s problems
One-third of political reporting is on the prime minister, compared with only 10 percent for main challenger Isaac Herzog. And negative coverage doesn’t seem to be hurting. (Nati Tucker, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
One-third of political reporting is on the prime minister, compared with only 10 percent for main challenger Isaac Herzog. And negative coverage doesn’t seem to be hurting. (Nati Tucker, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
A protest camp as a test of Palestinian solidarity (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Is the new camp Al-Quds Gates for real or just a photo-op for Fatah and PA
officials to cover up their adjustment to Israel’s creeping annexation?
Denmark's problem with Israel (Yossi Shain, Yedioth/Ynet) Why is a country which is experiencing an internal Islamist threat diverting the discussion towards 'Israeli occupation'?
Jon Stewart: The Iranians accused me of being a Mossad agent. But how can a Mossad agent hate Israel? (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Stewart once again poked fun at those who criticize him on Israel in his first interview since announcing that he was stepping down as host of The Daily Show.
Don't waste your time on automatic voters (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) Election campaigns should focus on convincing the young Israeli citizens and new immigrants who were not raised on hostility and a sense of persecution and discrimination.
Another tragedy of Israel's immoral African refugee policy (Haaretz Editorial) Israel is the least moral country in the world when it comes to awarding asylum to those who deserve it, UN numbers show. The High Court of Justice must hurry up and close the Holot detention facility.
The unlikely man who can bring the left to power (Iris Leal, Haaretz+) If Moshe Kahlon can bring in disillusioned voters from the center-right, he has a good chance of ending the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu can run (to Congress) but he can't hide (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Netanyahu’s journey westward will be reminiscent of one in the other direction, that of Richard Nixon to the Middle East in 1974, a few weeks before he resigned in shame.
Noni Mozes' false picture (Omer Dostri, Israel Hayom) Tycoon bullies are misrepresenting the situation in Israel, hoping to replace the Right with a government of left-wing lapdogs.
The anti-Semitic Jews just went public (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) The extreme right has shifted gears in its war against the left. 'We are fighting the new anti-Semitism' is the battle cry of Ronen Shoval of Habayit Hayehudi, who founded the Im Tirtzu movement for that purpose.
Yair Lapid, Israel's new propaganda minister (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The Yesh Atid leader naively portrays Israel as the eternal victim and all Palestinians as warmongers.
Denmark's problem with Israel (Yossi Shain, Yedioth/Ynet) Why is a country which is experiencing an internal Islamist threat diverting the discussion towards 'Israeli occupation'?
Jon Stewart: The Iranians accused me of being a Mossad agent. But how can a Mossad agent hate Israel? (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Stewart once again poked fun at those who criticize him on Israel in his first interview since announcing that he was stepping down as host of The Daily Show.
Don't waste your time on automatic voters (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) Election campaigns should focus on convincing the young Israeli citizens and new immigrants who were not raised on hostility and a sense of persecution and discrimination.
Another tragedy of Israel's immoral African refugee policy (Haaretz Editorial) Israel is the least moral country in the world when it comes to awarding asylum to those who deserve it, UN numbers show. The High Court of Justice must hurry up and close the Holot detention facility.
The unlikely man who can bring the left to power (Iris Leal, Haaretz+) If Moshe Kahlon can bring in disillusioned voters from the center-right, he has a good chance of ending the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu can run (to Congress) but he can't hide (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Netanyahu’s journey westward will be reminiscent of one in the other direction, that of Richard Nixon to the Middle East in 1974, a few weeks before he resigned in shame.
Noni Mozes' false picture (Omer Dostri, Israel Hayom) Tycoon bullies are misrepresenting the situation in Israel, hoping to replace the Right with a government of left-wing lapdogs.
The anti-Semitic Jews just went public (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) The extreme right has shifted gears in its war against the left. 'We are fighting the new anti-Semitism' is the battle cry of Ronen Shoval of Habayit Hayehudi, who founded the Im Tirtzu movement for that purpose.
Yair Lapid, Israel's new propaganda minister (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The Yesh Atid leader naively portrays Israel as the eternal victim and all Palestinians as warmongers.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.