APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday March 17, 2015

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

• Moment before the elections, Livni gave up on rotation (with Herzog) – And Netanyahu said, “If I become Prime Minister, there will be no Palestinian state”
• Wanted: Ideology – Likud and Labor present unclear messages sending voters to fringe// Aluf Benn
• End of the rotation mutation // Yossi Verter
• Don’t say we didn’t know // Ari Shavit
• The forgotten and disappeared // Gidi Weitz
• Netanyahu broke down, Israel will pay – Top 10 last-minute observations // Chemi Shalev
• Even if he remains at official residence, the Netanyahu era is over // Barak Ravid
• The youth should rule // Amir Oren
• Security turned into an issue // Amos Harel
• The humble hope of the Israeli Spring // Zvi Bar’el
• Test for Arab leadership, and for Israel // Jacky Khoury
• Voting instead of the Palestinians // Amira Hass
• The lords are voting // Gideon Levy
• The transparent rebellion in the ultra-Orthodox leadership // Yair Ettinger
• He forgot life itself // Or Kashti
• Sophie’s Choice // Ravit Hecht
• Diplomacy before economy – peace first // Nehemia Shtrasler
• Internal polls prophecy contradicting results and parties having trouble trusting the information
• Iranian Foreign Minister: “In the end, we will reach an agreement”
• Assad answers Kerry: Waiting for actions, not words
• ¼ page ad: I decided on Meretzog – If you are debating between Meretz and Zionist Camp vote Meretz because without 4 mandates for Meretz, Herzog doesn’t have a government – We cannot lose Meretz

• Mr. Prime Minister (official-like photos of Netanyahu and Herzog side by side]
• Netanyahu yes or no // Nahum Barnea
• Who would have believed // Sima Kadmon
• Livni gave up the rotation: “For me the country comes before the chair”
• It’s your day // President Reuven Rivlin
• Brave move by Livni // Ben-Dror Yemini
• He is not a magician // Shimon Shiffer on Netanyahu
• The left-wing is kicking // Hanoch Daum
• By vote only // Raanan Shaked
• Your time is over // (Author) Eshkol Nevo
• Moment of victory // Eitan Haber
• A ballot for Israel // Ariela Ringel-Hoffman
• Enough of the hatred // (Author) Haim Guri
• A good place to live // Yoaz Hendel

• It’s in your hands [picture of Herzog and Netanyahu facing each other]
• Go vote // President Reuven Rivlin
• Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: “Experienced leadership is required”; Yitzhak Herzog: “Put an end to the circle of hopelessness”
• Livni gave up on rotation – Netanyahu: There will be no Palestinian state
• Last stop – Netanyahu family’s opportunity to eliminate Bennett and Shaked // Ben Caspit
• Stop the deterioration – why these elections are so important // Ron Miburg
• Focus on the essence // Kalman Libskind
• Changing the record // Udi Segal
• The left-wing has no solutions // Caroline Glick
• Every man to his tent // Ran Adelist
• Bibi missed the train // Yehuda Sharoni
• The big winner // Dana Somberg
• As good as he is in your eyes // Yitzhak Ben-Ner

Israel Hayom

• Go vote
• Livni and Herzog’s zigzag: No rotation
• Mega-zigzag, mega harm to trustworthiness // Mati Tuchfeld
• And that’s what they call “an appropriate concession” // Dror Eydar

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News Summary:
Polls opened this morning across the country giving 5,883,365 Israeli citizens the opportunity to choose the party they support at 10,119 locations across the country. Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog proclaimed he would be the next prime minister (something his opponent, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not dared say with his lagging polls). But the biggest story of the day in the Hebrew press was that Zionist Camp co-chair Tzipi Livni announced she was giving up the rotation for the premiership. This is actually shocking in light of the interview, posted on the Sheldon Adelson-owned NRG website yesterday, in which Netanyahu declared there will be no Palestinian state if he is re-elected. It was the farthest he went right  - it's hard to go any farther - since the election campaign began. Both Livni's and Netanyahu's statements were made to gain more mandates. Zionist Camp knew that some voters won’t choose the party because of Livni and Netanyahu wanted to steal votes from the more right-wing parties. 
 
Yet Netanyahu's declaration opposing a Palestinian state was all but absent from the Hebrew print newspapers. Neither Yedioth or Israel Hayom reported on it and Maariv only mentioned it in a short paragraph in the middle of the article about Livni giving up the rotation. Reporters Arik Bender and Dana Somberg wrote that it was “a declaration meant to draw right-wing voters.” Only Haaretz gave it some emphasis, making it a subtitle on the front page – under the announcement of conceding the rotation. But reporter Barak Ravid failed to discuss the implications of the declaration in his article.
 
The personal and diplomatic significance of this statement seemed to be lost on the Israeli press: that Netanyahu lied in his speech at Bar-Ilan University in 2009, in the numerous interviews he has since given on wanting a peace but accusing the Palestinians of being the problem and in holding negotiations with the Palestinians in which he said he supported a two-state solution. The question about how this may affect his relations with the international community if he is re-elected prime minister were also not asked. Haaretz’s Chemi Shalev only noted that it would make it hard for Herzog to be his partner in a possible unity government.
 
Maybe it’s because the Israeli media has already written Netanyahu off. Indeed, there’s a sense, when reading Maariv and Yedioth, that the commentators believe that the Netanyahu era is over. They write not only with their usual criticism, but with a clear disdain that verges on disrespect for an elected leader. Such tones were not apparent in the elections two years ago. Only Ynet’s Moran Azulay quoted Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi saying: "From the beginning, he was attempting to carry out a grand deception by pretending to be in favor of the two-state solution. But what he was actually doing on the ground is destroying the chances of peace."

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Podcast: The A-Z guide to the Israeli elections
If tomorrow's Israeli elections were a museum, this 3-part podcast would be your free audio-tour. TLV1 Radio presents: a comprehensive walkthrough of what's about to go down. (Haaretz) 
The Herzogs: Three generations of Israeli leadership
Head of Zionist Union Isaac Herzog's grandfather was the state of Israel's first Ashkenazi chief rabbi, his father was Israel's sixth president after serving as a general in the IDF and Israel's ambassador to the UN. (Yaron Druckman, Ynet) 
The hidden 'hippie' of Israeli politics
Sally Oren, wife of former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren, now 4th on the Kulanu list, hung out with the likes of Jerry Garcia, Jim Morrison and Janice Joplin during the 60s' in San Francisco and even had two songs written about her by Jefferson Airplane. (Noam (Dabul) Dvir, Ynet)
Escaping al-Qaeda's clutches to serve in the IDF
Private Y. had a good life as a Jew living in Yemen, but 5 years ago al-Qaeda took over and his life changed completely; he removed his kippa and cut his payot, but after growing tired of hiding, he decided to make aliyah and join the IDF. (Ynet)
 
Commentary/Analysis:

Israeli occupiers, go to the polls (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) There is no other country in which millions of its subjects are denied the right to vote. And Israel calls itself a democracy?
The party leaders' last appeal (Party leaders, Yedioth/Ynet) On the eve of the elections, we asked the heads of the major to give a final pitch to Israel's voters. (Only Netanyahu refused, Moshe Ayalon wrote in his stead.) 
Top 10 last-minute observations as Israelis start heading for the polls (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Netanyahu and Herzog are cannibalizing their own political bloc’s parties because despite the denials, size does matter. In real news terms, Netanyahu’s surprisingly emphatic statement that if he is reelected there won’t be a Palestinian state is far more significant than Livni’s last-minute acquiescence to relinquish her rotation .
Special to Maariv: Netanyahu and Herzog in personal columns on Election Day (Herzog and Netanyahu, Maariv) Prime Minister: "I knew I stand firmly against any initiative of concessions, withdrawals and the division of Jerusalem.” Chairman of the Zionist Camp: "We will advance a regional move to demilitarize the Gaza Strip.”
Even if Likud forms government, Netanyahu era is over (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) Netanyahu’s physical departure from the political arena would only be postponed for a year or two, and the result of the next election would only be a tougher, more profound loss.
When military ranks become political rancor (Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, Israel Hayom) IDF veterans hurt themselves and society by politicizing their military experience.
A black hole at core of Israeli electoral politics (Aluf Benn, Haaretz+) As long as Likud and Labor present unclear messages, they will go on sending ideological voters into the arms of fringe parties and swing voters to centrist ones.
Vote instead of me for my father (Tayeb Oudeh - son of Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Oudeh, Yedioth) My name is Tayeb Oudeh, I am six years old and I want to ask all of you to go out and vote. When I was little, I thought my father was construction laborer because he always opposed house demolitions. Afterward, I understood that he was a lawyer who protects the poor. Only a year ago I understood that he is a politicians that wants peace and equality among all people. When my father has free time, he takes me to walk in nature in order to know and love my homeland. I love my homeland very much. Daddy also teaches me that you need to help all people, especially the poor. I am very sad that I'm not in 12th grade and I can't vote. I would appreciate it if you would vote instead of me and instead of all the children in my class and put the Joint List ballot in the ballot box.
A minor but critical correction: Why are the upcoming elections so important (Ron Miburg, Maariv) The Israeli citizen arriving today at the polls has seen in recent decades a disappointing and dangerous disengagement from the ideological, social and moral platform formulated in the Declaration of Independence.
Anybody but Yair Lapid (By Avirama Golan, Haaretz+) Anybody who wants this election to stand for change and correction must recognize that a vote for Yair Lapid is a vote to ensure another term for Benjamin Netanyahu. 
Life According to Netanyahu: Is he really worth giving another chance? (Yehuda Sharoni, Maariv) On the real agenda of the current elections are the citizen and his troubles - and not the Iranian nuclear (project). People have one chance to make a first impression and Bibi missed it. 
Israeli Arabs' only hope at the polls (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) Joint List head Ayman Odeh is the only one that has succeeded to instill in me the hope that there's still a chance of ending the occupation.
The four-billion dollar question of Israel's elections (Roei Eisenberg, Ynet) With less than 24 hours until Israelis begin casting their votes – and a series of state-owned enterprises on the line – we have a right to know how the faction chiefs intend to spend the funds from selling off the country’s historic assets. 
A last-minute bid to block Netanyahu’s ‘rescue me’ campaign (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Livni's announcement that she is willing to forfeit a power-sharing deal with Herzog is a maneuver aimed at blocking Netanyahu's maneuver.
A few thoughts on the elections (Eli Sahar, Israel Hayom) The parties trying to win over center-right voters have hidden their leftist icons.
What Israel's politicians have (not) learned about Jerusalem (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)Even compared with the shallow election campaign, the discussion about Jerusalem is even more superficial.
The Netanyahu family's opportunity to eliminate (Habayit Hayehudi leaders) Bennett and Shaked (Ben Caspit, Maariv) It is not just a political struggle over the ideological right-wingers. It is also the personal struggle of Benjamin and Sarah in against Naftali and Ayelet - which is based on the short memory of the voters.
Go and vote out Netanyahu (Haaretz Editorial) During Netanyahu’s tenure 'peace' became an empty word. 
Peres' bear hug (Dr. Haim Misgav, Israel Hayom) Any land the Left hands over would be immediately turned by the Arabs into a den of terror.
The winners and losers of Israel's election campaign (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Even before the polls open, there are clear winners and losers in this political season.
The loss is all his (Nurit Kanti, Maariv) Insensitive video clips, detachment from the citizens, arrogance of candidates and slips of the tongue, which no election campaign is complete without. The big loser at the polls: the public.
From a national leader to a nationalistic leader (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) When Netanyahu had Lapid and Livni by his side, he was perceived as a restrained and moderate leader; the moment he decided to call elections, he shifted to the right and lost the public's support. 
Israel's grand Arab experiment is now on trial (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+) In public, Joint List candidates lavish praise on each other, affirmed their unity. But that could disappear the day after the election if slate fails to win more than 12 Knesset seats.
Beyond charisma: The public demands answers (Michal Aharoni, Maariv) The assumption that the prime minister cannot look straight at (us) and say, "It will be okay, I'm here" and that everything will be fine has passed from the world.
The 2015 race is a species of its own (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) The Arab turnout, the new election rules and the infighting on both sides could complicate predictions. 
Mr. Normal: Isaac Herzog is the complete opposite of Netanyahu (Uri Savir, Maariv) Nine years as Prime Minister made Benjamin Netanyahu almost eternal. Almost, because Isaac Herzog emerges opposite him as an anti-hero: A responsible sober person without delusions of grandeur.
Netanyahu is but a bystander in the battle over Iran between Obama and Congress (Seth Lipsky, Haaretz+) The Republicans' letter to Iran smoked out the mullahs' real game plan for trapping the United States – as well as Obama's true intentions regarding sanctions. 
Herzog and Livni, unfit to lead (Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) The Zionist Union is not capable of leading our country at such a volatile time in the region. 
Enough of the hatred (Haim Guri, Yedioth) It's not reasonable that the terrible gap between the rich and poor continues, that the prices of housing rising without stop will prevent some from having a roof over their heads, that the rule over another nation will continue, that we will be among the backward in educational achievements.
Victory of hatred (Dana Somberg, Maariv) We will all pay the price of the incitement by politicians in the election campaign. At a time when they will be on their way to their next goat, the government and the chair, we will try to stop the bleeding among the people.
Hamas' revamped naval commandos could pose a problem for Israel (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Although all unit members were killed during last summer's infiltration attempt at Zikkim, Hamas viewed this as a massive achievement and subsequently trained a new force whose role will be to carry out mass attacks on the Israeli home front. 
High cost of living a political bluff (Hezi Sternlicht, Israel Hayom) Negative consumer prices prove that while housing prices may be high, government initiatives have made sure Israelis have more disposable income.
Peace first, the economy can wait (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) The best economic program for Israel is the renewal of the peace process.
Strategic choice: talk of poverty will disappear after the election, Iran won’t (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) Reports of two million "poor" and a million children "starving" will disappear in an instant after the election, no matter who forms the next government. The Iranian problem will remain, but it will be much more threatening. 

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