APN's daily news review from Israel

Thursday March 5, 2015

Quote of the day:

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Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Senior US officials: Netanyahu caused the crisis, he needs to fix it
• Joe from Ohio couldn’t care less about Netanyahu // Ari Shavit
• The speech in the eye of the beholder // Chemi Shalev
• Battle over Tikrit reveals cracks in coalition against ISIS
• Senior legal officials: Olmert’s testimony against Barak on bribery – mostly rumors
• The excitement and adrenalin returned to Shas, but Deri is worried if he'll get sweep in the polls
• Contacts for new surplus votes agreement in center-left
• Female soldier who reported rape did not return to military base and was jailed 
• Exceptional administrative order issued against grandson of Rabbi Kahane
• ¼ page ad: No excuses – Come! – The great mass rally 7/3 Saturday night 19:30 at Rabin Square – Israel wants change

• The profit is not theirs – International Women’s Day 2015: Large salary gaps between men and women
• The truth behind Likud campaign video clips
• Horror on the cable car – Caught on fire and people hung from cable waiting for rescue
• Warm home – This is how the home that (deceased singer) Ofra Haza grew up in has turned into a museum in her name

• Netanyahu optimistic: “The message was received”
• Speech in dispute - In the American eye // Shmuel Rozner
• The speech effect: TV polls point to narrowing of gap between Likud and Zionist Camp
• 9,000 Internet surfers voted on Maariv website: Close race at the top
• Moments of terror on flight to Nepal – Plane skidded on runway
• Want to take a dip in the sea? Think again: 11 polluted beaches
• I am Purim

• 41%: Trust Netanyahu in face of Iran; 6%: Trust Herzog; Iranian Foreign Minister: “We are very close to a nuclear agreement”
• High Court in favor of freedom of press
• Democratic values? Benefit of the public? You made Tzipi laugh // Mati Tuchfeld
• 10 incidents in four months: Fear of outbreak of jaundice in center of country
• Respect: Tel-Aviv among 10 cities with best beaches in world according to National Geographic

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News Summary:
The reactions to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and the reactions to the reactions continued to be a top story in today’s Hebrew newspapers. What barely made the news were the statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the PLO Central Council meeting held Wednesday.

In response to US President Barack Obama, Netanyahu said he did present a practical alternative to a bad Iran deal. Unlike the US media and US pundits, the Hebrew newspapers did not refute the technical points that Netanyahu raised. (See Matt Duss in Slate or FB post by US expert on Iranian nukes Gary Sick.) He also said that both Democrats and Republicans better understand why the impending deal is so bad, despite the fact that Democrats tore into him calling it ‘an insult to the intelligence.’ (By the way, Ynet ran an article noting that in 1993, Netanyahu said Iran would have the bomb by 1999. The article points to numerous quotes where Netanyahu was wrong.) US Secretary of State Kerry responded to Netanyahu saying that simply demanding that Iran capitulate was not a plan.
 
Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ended three days of talks and will meet again in Geneva on March 15. Kerry said gaps remain and Zarif said that a nuclear deal could be close. Kerry hinted that the March 30 goal is no longer a 'framework agreement' with Iran but an 'understanding' on which to base future talks.

Kerry left to Saudi Arabia to ease concerns over an emerging deal. The Hebrew papers noted that Netanyahu’s speech was praised in Saudi Arabia. The papers also reported on the mixed reviews in the US media, noting that Jon Stewart’s slamming of Netanyahu for claiming to speak for the entire Jewish people was particularly popular. In New York, thousands of anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews protested the speech, agreeing with Stewart that Netanyahu did not represent them.

Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing their bill that would require an agreement to be reviewed by Congress - despite Obama's threat of a veto. Haaretz’s Barak Ravid reported that the White House has hinted that Netanyahu needs to get rid of Ambassador Ron Dermer if he wants to mend ties. Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer, wrote in Politico Magazine that “Dermer’s ability to function as the Israeli ambassador is now severely weakened, perhaps even fatally so.” 

Yedioth focused today more on the large salary gap between men and women and all the papers reported on Opposition leader and Zionist Camp Chairman Isaac Herzog’s visit to a southern Israeli hospital where he slammed Netanyahu for the healthcare crisis. Ynet noted that the cost of Netanyahu's Washington flight was $1.57 million, and that it wasn’t known how much his security entail and hotels cost.
 
Only Maariv and Ynet ran full articles on the statements by Palestinian President Abbas on the peace process. Speaking at the PLO Central Council meeting, the first to take place since April 2014, Abbas offered to return to negotiations with Israel on condition that Israel release the last round of prisoners and cease settlement construction. He said that "even in the United States they know that Netanyahu is causing a delay in the peace process.” Abbas called Israel a ‘bully” and accused it of “gangsterism” for withholding Palestinian tax revenues. And he said he rejected the Israeli offer to end the Palestinian bid for membership in the International Criminal Court at The Hague in exchange for transferring the Palestinian monies. Maan noted that Abbas asked all countries of the world to recognize the state of Palestine, "But we want to say to the Israeli side, these recognitions do not mean in any way that we do not want to negotiate, or that we're running away from negotiations." Maan also reported that for the third month in a row, the Palestinian Authority will pay its civil servants only 60% of their monthly wages, as a result of Israel withholding Palestinian tax revenues. Israel denied 10 members of the Council from leaving Gaza to travel to the West Bank to the meeting held in Ramallah. No reason was given, Maan reported. Another 20 others were allowed to travel.

The papers did report that Abbas wished the Joint Arab List success, and he also said that the Palestinians do not interfere in Israeli elections and will work with whoever is elected.

Quick Hits:

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Features:

They say Ayman 
The Arab and Jewish undecided guests who arrived at the home of Joint Arab List Chairman Ayman Oudeh sat in a sort of bi-national shyness that caused the owner of the home to stand up and urge them to take from the full breakfast he laid out for them. But a few days after the televised political debate, they only see Oudeh as a TV star and feel even shyer. One of the voters, Matan, 33, voted Hadash in the last elections and expressed the thoughts of some of those present. "The things you say really move me, but now that you are united with the other Arab parties I am in a dilemma. I don't see (MK Ahmed) Tibi and (MK Jamal) Zahalka as representing me or the Arabs." (Merav Betito, Yedioth, p. 8)
Meet the new tourists to Israel (who don't care for hummus)
The good news: They’re not scared off by terror attacks or war. (Haaretz+) 

Commentary/Analysis:

Let’s keep Israel safe for the political fringes (Haaretz Editorial) Right-wingers’ assault on Knesset members at a panel discussion this week was an act worthy of fascists. 
Netanyahu's top priority is elections, not Iran (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Instead of garnering the Democratic members' support in order to torpedo the Iranian nuclear deal, the prime minister's Congress speech only served to alienate them.
Sorry, Bibi: Iran is bad, but it is no Amalek, Haman or even Nazi Germany (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) Jewish history offers no parallels for the situation Israel finds itself in today – American history does. 
Netanyahu’s speech leaves rivals at a loss (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) PM commandeers campaign agenda with little time left to change it.  
The sad truth in Bennett's claim about rampant crime in Arab towns (Don Futterman, Israel Hayom) The 'rule of law' does indeed seem absent from many Arab enclaves in Israel. But the problem lies beyond a lack of law enforcement. 
How did Israelis get away with smuggling for Hamas? (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Dozens of Israelis helped Hamas' rocket industry - the group's military wing even had warehouses inside Israel; and if the defense establishment suspected, why didn't it act?
Netanyahu's survival speech (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The Congress address proved what we all already know, that when it comes to speaking, Netanyahu has no competition. His only problem is his return to Israel, where he will be greeted by all the annoying issues he tried to push aside.
Two good reasons for all Israelis to vote for the Joint List of Arab parties (Shlomo Sand, Haaretz+) A vote for this party could be a decisive event in Israel’s short history. 
Ambassador Power as Queen Esther: An unlikely advocate for the Jewish people (Rabbi Dan Dorsch, Haaretz) Power called out apathy toward anti-Semitism before such condemnation was mainstream.
Netanyahu talks the talk, but that's it (Amnon Abramovich, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister didn't want Israel to become an apartheid state, but on his watch it is becoming entrenched as such; he didn't want a nuclear Iran, but on his watch it is becoming just that. 
US must come to its senses (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) A nuclear Iran poses a serious threat to the Sunni Arab world, and its leaders, much like Netanyahu, are hoping Obama sobers up to reality.
When the ends don't justify the means: Israeli army's use of dogs is cruel (Emanuel Gross, Haaretz+) A society without respect for human dignity, that is willing to use animals against human beings, is an unfit society.
Zero in social skills: Netanyahu's speech is all he has (Lilach Sigan, Maariv) Likud officials resigned because of him, most Israelis do not want him, former security officials spoke out against him, and now - the Democrats. Give Netanyahu a chance, and he'll waste it.
Despite everything, a historic speech by Netanyahu (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) Due to the world reactions to Netanyahu's address, I have the feeling – or maybe it’s a wish – that the agreement with Iran, in its current, execrable form, will not be signed. 
Iran, then and now: Netanyahu puts himself in the role of savior (Avrahim Tirosh, Maariv) The Prime Minister had made himself out to be Ben-Gurion, Eshkol and Begin and even Churchill. In the spirit of the Purim holiday, it is not surprising that he did not disguised himself as Mordechai the Jew. 
The book of Esther: More relevant than ever (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) I was present at the historic moment when the prime minister told the U.S. and the free world that the Jewish people would fight to protect themselves.
Netanyahu spoke truth. Few heard. (Ari Shavit, Haaretz+) Netanyahu isn’t generating much interest in the U.S. because he frames the Iranian nuclear threat in Jewish and Israeli terms instead of as a universal concern directly affecting Americans.
 

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