APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday April 12, 2015
Quote of the day:
“You will never hear me say, ‘The IDF is the most moral army in the world.’”
--IDF Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni, the man charged with probing the IDF’s actions during last summer’s Gaza war, says he refuses to adopt the mantra decreed by then-Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz during the Second Intifada [2000-2006].**
--IDF Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni, the man charged with probing the IDF’s actions during last summer’s Gaza war, says he refuses to adopt the mantra decreed by then-Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz during the Second Intifada [2000-2006].**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Netanyahu to cabinet: The danger is that Iran will fulfill the agreement
- Coalition negotiations to speed up: Likud waiting for Kahlon
- Netanyahu’s dilemma: Be a revolutionary or a conservative // Aluf Benn
- Contractor company financed National Union (part of Habayit Hayehudi party) mimuna celebrations, with participation of Housing and Construction Minister Uriel
- Obama and Castro officially met and ended 60 years of disconnect between the leaders of the countries
- Hilary Clinton to present her candidacy for 2016 US presidency today
- Suspect arrested in murder of young Israeli, Yossi Damari, in Berlin
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Unwind and get wet – Mimuna holiday this year was particularly wintry
- Clinton the candidate (for US President)
- Sea of tears (Brother and girlfriend of Border Policeman tried to save him from death in the Kinneret)
- Looking at the devil in the eyes – If only his camera had been a gun: the Jewish boy who photographed Hitler lighting a torch
- The perfect one – Ray Segev, a large-sizes model: “Weight says nothing about us”
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Iran: Without immediate end to sanctions – no agreement
- The devil is in the details // Shlomo Shamir in NY
- Historic moment: Obama and Castro shook hands at Panama conference
- Muflatot in the rain – Mimuna celebrations and hikes ruined by stormy weather yesterday
- “Shani’s body was found, the parents are traumatized” – The Bat-Mitzvah tragedy in Thailand
- Israel Chemicals Corp. management attacks government: You are forcing us to move our operations abroad
Israel Hayom
- Battle in Congress to stop agreement with Iran
- Poll: 68% of US public does not believe Iran will abide by conditions
- The tragedy in Thailand: Shani, 12, to be buried today
- Mimuna in wintry atmosphere
- World Health Organization: Prohibit unnecessary C-sections
- After 56 years: Historic official meeting between US and Cuban Presidents
- Today: Hilary Clinton declares her candidacy for US Presidency; Tomorrow: Declaration of Marco Rubio
- Ruling: Was recognized as Holocaust survivor even though she was in mother’s womb
News Summary:
Foreign news, local tragedies and the latest on the Iran deal were the top stories in main Hebrew newspapers after the end of the Passover holiday. Also in the news was the killing of a young Palestinian man in clashes that broke out after the funeral of another young Palestinian man who died after contracting pneumonia in an Israeli jail.
The Israeli government feels a sense of achievement from the declarations by Iranian leaders that, in opposition to the US stance, all sanctions must be ended immediately not gradually and that the military facilities cannot be under international observation, or the deal will not be made. A senior political source in Jerusalem told Maariv, “Now in the US they understand the Prime Minister’s claims against the agreement.” Ynet posted an article saying that Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said that the framework nuclear deal respects Iran's red lines but that “in regards to removing the sanctions, there are ambiguities which need to be made clear and we must realize that this very issue of how the sanctions will be removed can lead to a lack of agreement." In Jerusalem, the NBC poll, according to which 68% of Americans don’t believe Iran will abide by the agreement, was seen as proof that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s media blitz achieved its goals and that the Israel (government’s) doubts about the agreement is the general view of the US public opinion. Interestingly, Haaretz+ reported that Netanyahu told an emergency session of his cabinet that his biggest fear is that Iran will honor the nuclear deal to the very end, thereby lulling the world into complacency over the bomb threat afterward. One Israeli official told Haaretz+: “Netanyahu said at the meeting that it would be impossible to catch the Iranians cheating simply because they will not break the agreement.” Two senior official said that Netanyahu said during the meeting that he feared that the “Iranians will keep to every letter in the agreement if indeed one is signed at the end of June.” Meanwhile, “Netanyahu and most of the ministers at the meeting agreed that the only way to stop the agreement, even if it was unlikely to succeed, was through Congress. Thus, a good deal of Israeli efforts will focus on convincing members of Congress to vote for the Iran Nuclear Review Act, proposed by the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Corker, that could delay implementation of a deal if one is reached. The Corker bill goes for a vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday. It is four senators short being veto-proof. Interestingly, a Reuters poll found that 31% of Republicans support the Iran nuclear deal. Israel Hayom focused on the battle in Congress and noted that Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Presidential hopeful, wants the deal to include Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist.
Only Ynet’s Elior Levy reported that the IDF acknowledged that it used live fire in the clashes that led to the killing of a Palestinian resident Ziyyad Awad, 27, Friday in Beit Ummar village near Hebron. Haaretz+, Israel Hayom and Maariv all reported only on the initial IDF claim that it had not used live fire. The clashes broke out after the funeral of another young Palestinian man, Jafar Awad, 22, a cousin of Ziyyad, who died from medical complications from very severe pneumonia he contracted in Israeli prison. Thousands attended his funeral and blamed Israel for his death, saying he became ill in prison due to neglect. The IDF released Jaffar due to his terminal illness. The IDF denies it was responsible for Jafar’s death and said it was looking into the killing of Ziyad. Following Ziyyad’s death, clashes broke out in more places in the West Bank.
Foreign news, local tragedies and the latest on the Iran deal were the top stories in main Hebrew newspapers after the end of the Passover holiday. Also in the news was the killing of a young Palestinian man in clashes that broke out after the funeral of another young Palestinian man who died after contracting pneumonia in an Israeli jail.
The Israeli government feels a sense of achievement from the declarations by Iranian leaders that, in opposition to the US stance, all sanctions must be ended immediately not gradually and that the military facilities cannot be under international observation, or the deal will not be made. A senior political source in Jerusalem told Maariv, “Now in the US they understand the Prime Minister’s claims against the agreement.” Ynet posted an article saying that Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said that the framework nuclear deal respects Iran's red lines but that “in regards to removing the sanctions, there are ambiguities which need to be made clear and we must realize that this very issue of how the sanctions will be removed can lead to a lack of agreement." In Jerusalem, the NBC poll, according to which 68% of Americans don’t believe Iran will abide by the agreement, was seen as proof that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s media blitz achieved its goals and that the Israel (government’s) doubts about the agreement is the general view of the US public opinion. Interestingly, Haaretz+ reported that Netanyahu told an emergency session of his cabinet that his biggest fear is that Iran will honor the nuclear deal to the very end, thereby lulling the world into complacency over the bomb threat afterward. One Israeli official told Haaretz+: “Netanyahu said at the meeting that it would be impossible to catch the Iranians cheating simply because they will not break the agreement.” Two senior official said that Netanyahu said during the meeting that he feared that the “Iranians will keep to every letter in the agreement if indeed one is signed at the end of June.” Meanwhile, “Netanyahu and most of the ministers at the meeting agreed that the only way to stop the agreement, even if it was unlikely to succeed, was through Congress. Thus, a good deal of Israeli efforts will focus on convincing members of Congress to vote for the Iran Nuclear Review Act, proposed by the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Corker, that could delay implementation of a deal if one is reached. The Corker bill goes for a vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday. It is four senators short being veto-proof. Interestingly, a Reuters poll found that 31% of Republicans support the Iran nuclear deal. Israel Hayom focused on the battle in Congress and noted that Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Presidential hopeful, wants the deal to include Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist.
Only Ynet’s Elior Levy reported that the IDF acknowledged that it used live fire in the clashes that led to the killing of a Palestinian resident Ziyyad Awad, 27, Friday in Beit Ummar village near Hebron. Haaretz+, Israel Hayom and Maariv all reported only on the initial IDF claim that it had not used live fire. The clashes broke out after the funeral of another young Palestinian man, Jafar Awad, 22, a cousin of Ziyyad, who died from medical complications from very severe pneumonia he contracted in Israeli prison. Thousands attended his funeral and blamed Israel for his death, saying he became ill in prison due to neglect. The IDF released Jaffar due to his terminal illness. The IDF denies it was responsible for Jafar’s death and said it was looking into the killing of Ziyad. Following Ziyyad’s death, clashes broke out in more places in the West Bank.
Quick Hits:
- U.K. Labour Party leader Ed Miliband backs Palestine recognition - Ed Miliband was asked by a reporter if Britain would recognize Palestine in the first year or two of his premiership, if Labour wins national elections on May 7. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Settler in IDF intel unit to be indicted for leaks - Ultra-Orthodox Yaakov Sela, 25, accused of passing info to friends in radical Bat Ayin settlement. Sela is suspected of using the army’s computers to search for information involving him, as well as information about members of the Shin Bet security service unit that investigates Jewish suspects, regarding a probe into the throwing of an incendiary device near Bat Ayin in which a Palestinian family was injured in August 2012, and into an arson attack on a mosque in the village of Jab’a, near Bat Ayin, in February. (Haaretz+)
- Putin to meet with Palestinian leader Abbas Monday' - The two leaders will hold talks concerning key aspects of Russian-Palestinian relations and their future, with particular attention on the trade, economy and humanitarian sectors,' the Kremlin said in a statement. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Is the White House poking fun at Netanyahu on Twitter? - Do you remember that cartoon bomb Netanyahu used to drive his point home during a 2012 UN speech? The White House certainly does. (Haaretz)
- Israeli settlers, soldiers raid park near Hebron - Dozens of Israeli settlers raided the Al-Karmel park in Yatta south of Hebron on Tuesday, accompanied by Israeli forces who forced Palestinians spending the day in the park to leave at gunpoint. (Maan)
- Israeli, Palestinian artists demand in-depth probe of Mer-Khamis murder - Founder of Freedom Theater in Jenin refugee camp was shot four years ago, yet neither Israel nor PA has seriously searched for killer, say petitioners. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli hackers leak PA population registry in response to anti-Israel cyberattacks - Israeli Elite Force also hacked websites of Israeli Arab citizens. Legal expert says leaks are an invasion of privacy, and that the information could be used by criminals. (Haaretz+)
- Hamas releases video of 2008 attack at Kerem Shalom - According to the footage, the attack included mortar fire and three bomb-laden cars smuggled past the checkpoint at the Israel-Gaza border crossing, used primarily to transfer goods. Video also shows wounded soldiers receiving treatment at the scene. (Israel Hayom)
- Gaza police seize Banksy painting after complaint - Original owner said he was swindled into selling it cheap. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- A thousand runners participate in first International Bible Marathon - Under tight security, runners race from Rosh Ha’ayin to ancient site of Tel Shiloh (in West Bank) to recreate Biblical tale. Rights groups criticize road closures for disrupting Palestinians' movement. (Israel Hayom and Times of Israel)
- Palestinian factions fighting ISIS in Yarmouk camp - Fighting rages on Friday as leader of Palestinian factions claim they have made significant gains against Islamic State militia in Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- PLO says no to military action in Syria's embattled Yarmouk - Palestinians will not join Syrian troops in driving Islamic State militants from refugee camp, a PLO statement said Thursday, contradicting earlier comments by envoy. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Palestinian envoy: 'Military' option agreed for Syrian camp - Palestinian Labor Minister Ahmad Majdalani told the Voice of Palestine Radio “that we have agreed with the Syrian government on ways to force the terrorist group IS out of the Yarmouk refugee camp,” as Red Cross demands access. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Islamists arrested in Spain eyed attacks on Jewish targets - Terror cell was trying to obtain explosives to bomb Jewish bookshop in Barcelona, target synagogues and public buildings in Catalonia region. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Albanian arrested over killing of Israeli in Berlin - German police apprehend suspect in Czech Republic, seeking killer of Israeli found dead; victim had reportedly sought help. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Gov. Scott Walker says he expects to meet with Netanyahu in Israel - Likely Republican presidential candidate says it is his 'hope and expectation' to meet prime minister when visiting Israel to gain understanding of Middle Eastern issues. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Egypt sentences Muslim Brotherhood leader, others to death - Court gives death penalty to Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie for inciting chaos and violence, life term to US-Egyptian citizen for ties to the group. (Agencies, Ynet)
Features:
A meeting with the Jews of Iran
The members of the Jewish community of Isfahan won't discuss Netanyahu's speech to Congress and are adamant in their loyalty to the state. 'We don't talk politics,' they say. (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet)
IDF expanding vital satellite program
The IDF's satellite systems sprang into action when it was feared that Niv Asraf had been kidnapped, highlighting the expansion of this capability after unprecedented use in Operation Protective Edge. (Yoav Zitun, Ynet)
Training Israel's best and brightest
Twenty pre-army students participating in the Tavor mechina were educated upon values of Israeli, Jewish and Zionist legacy for several months – the results – 14 were accepted into elite IDF units. (Israel Moskowitz, Ynet)
The Muslims who fought with the Nazis
Rare footage uncovered of Arab units in service of the Third Reich; researcher Stefan Petke tells Ynet the Free Arab Legion was a 'complete failure' in the battlefield and was not used in the extermination of Jews. (Refaella Goichman, Attila Somfalvi, Ynet)
Commentary/Analysis:
The members of the Jewish community of Isfahan won't discuss Netanyahu's speech to Congress and are adamant in their loyalty to the state. 'We don't talk politics,' they say. (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet)
IDF expanding vital satellite program
The IDF's satellite systems sprang into action when it was feared that Niv Asraf had been kidnapped, highlighting the expansion of this capability after unprecedented use in Operation Protective Edge. (Yoav Zitun, Ynet)
Training Israel's best and brightest
Twenty pre-army students participating in the Tavor mechina were educated upon values of Israeli, Jewish and Zionist legacy for several months – the results – 14 were accepted into elite IDF units. (Israel Moskowitz, Ynet)
The Muslims who fought with the Nazis
Rare footage uncovered of Arab units in service of the Third Reich; researcher Stefan Petke tells Ynet the Free Arab Legion was a 'complete failure' in the battlefield and was not used in the extermination of Jews. (Refaella Goichman, Attila Somfalvi, Ynet)
Commentary/Analysis:
The Israeli TV reporter descending into anarchy (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) Amit Segal’s sensitive position as at Channel 2 as a political correspondent
shows that his father, who was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and membership in a terrorist
organization, is also mainstream. That is, Jewish terror is mainstream and not a crime. The symbolic
significance is huge. A tweet he wrote about the selling of leavened products during Passover told us more
about his personal politics than he perhaps intended.
End of an era: Obama failed in the marketing of the agreement with Iran (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) Even experts find it difficult to understand the advantages in the details of the deal. And yet it was the eloquent president who isn’t succeeding in explaining why this is a “historic accomplishment.”
Latest leak exposes Israeli Military Intelligence's Achilles' heel (Amos Harel and Gili Cohen, Haaretz+) Civilians, new draftees, reserve soldiers – every year more and more people are added to the circle of those exposed to Military Intelligence's secrets.
The two Irans: Radicals vs. reformists (Yakub Halabi, i24 News/Ynet) Supreme leader and President Rouhani share almost no common ground on how to define Iran’s national security - and nuclear deal only highlights this.
Iran deal robs Israel of its main enemy. So what now? (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Israel may be forced to freeze its plans for a preemptive strike, allowing the Israeli military to return to its proper dimensions. There may even be room for a strategic move of the diplomatic kind.
Now's the time for a unity government (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) With a narrow right-wing government, Israel's battle over the Iranian nuclear agreement is doomed to failure.
The beginning of the American Spring (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) At a conference Friday about the Israel lobby in Washington, remarks the likes of which are rarely heard in the United States were made.
Obama's Iranian attraction, Netanyahu's repulsion (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Why is US president so enchanted with Persia, and will prime minister negotiate with the US on terms of agreement, or go all out to scupper it?
U.S., Israel need to put aside mutual suspicions over Iran deal (Abraham Foxman, Haaretz+) Neither trusts the other party's intent at the moment, despite similar interests. Cooperation is necessary to make the Iran package the best it can be.
Which way will Netanyahu jump? (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) Will prime minister veer right, and finally sign a coalition agreement with his 'natural partners', or is he planning a secret deal with Herzog - so secret that even Zionist Union leader is unaware?
Obama continues to ignore reality (Prof. Ron Breiman, Israel Hayom) Iran needs to be prevented from making nuclear weapons forever, not just for two years.
Why are anti-war Democrats silent on Iran deal? (Peter Beinart, Haaretz) Liberal doves often decry AIPAC's outsized influence on U.S. foreign policy, but the bigger question is: Why can’t they compete?
End of an era: Obama failed in the marketing of the agreement with Iran (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) Even experts find it difficult to understand the advantages in the details of the deal. And yet it was the eloquent president who isn’t succeeding in explaining why this is a “historic accomplishment.”
Latest leak exposes Israeli Military Intelligence's Achilles' heel (Amos Harel and Gili Cohen, Haaretz+) Civilians, new draftees, reserve soldiers – every year more and more people are added to the circle of those exposed to Military Intelligence's secrets.
The two Irans: Radicals vs. reformists (Yakub Halabi, i24 News/Ynet) Supreme leader and President Rouhani share almost no common ground on how to define Iran’s national security - and nuclear deal only highlights this.
Iran deal robs Israel of its main enemy. So what now? (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Israel may be forced to freeze its plans for a preemptive strike, allowing the Israeli military to return to its proper dimensions. There may even be room for a strategic move of the diplomatic kind.
Now's the time for a unity government (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) With a narrow right-wing government, Israel's battle over the Iranian nuclear agreement is doomed to failure.
The beginning of the American Spring (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) At a conference Friday about the Israel lobby in Washington, remarks the likes of which are rarely heard in the United States were made.
Obama's Iranian attraction, Netanyahu's repulsion (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Why is US president so enchanted with Persia, and will prime minister negotiate with the US on terms of agreement, or go all out to scupper it?
U.S., Israel need to put aside mutual suspicions over Iran deal (Abraham Foxman, Haaretz+) Neither trusts the other party's intent at the moment, despite similar interests. Cooperation is necessary to make the Iran package the best it can be.
Which way will Netanyahu jump? (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) Will prime minister veer right, and finally sign a coalition agreement with his 'natural partners', or is he planning a secret deal with Herzog - so secret that even Zionist Union leader is unaware?
Obama continues to ignore reality (Prof. Ron Breiman, Israel Hayom) Iran needs to be prevented from making nuclear weapons forever, not just for two years.
Why are anti-war Democrats silent on Iran deal? (Peter Beinart, Haaretz) Liberal doves often decry AIPAC's outsized influence on U.S. foreign policy, but the bigger question is: Why can’t they compete?
Interviews:
**Top IDF attorney: I will never call IDF the most moral army in the world
Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni, the man charged with probing the IDF’s actions during last summer’s Gaza war, says he is determined to uncover potential wrongdoing, regardless of external pressures. (Interviewed by Amos Harel and Gili Cohen in Haaretz (no paywall!))
Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni, the man charged with probing the IDF’s actions during last summer’s Gaza war, says he is determined to uncover potential wrongdoing, regardless of external pressures. (Interviewed by Amos Harel and Gili Cohen in Haaretz (no paywall!))
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.