APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday May 19, 2015 

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

• Government expected today to cancel initiative that put thousands of ultra-Orthodox into labor force
• 80,000 ultra-Orthodox demonstrated in Ashdod against opening businesses on Sabbath
• ISIS advancing in Iraq, but the important turning point is happening in Syria // Amos Harel
• Police arrested dozens of suspects in expansive operation against crime organizations
• State Comptroller: Lieberman flew to Vienna for secret meetings and did not inform Prime Minister in advance
• Silvan Shalom appointed to be responsible for diplomatic negotiations
• Eve of math matriculation exam, Education Ministry retracted – students won’t have to wait 45 minutes in classes (to prevent cheating)
• Wave of fires broke out across country due to heavy heat wave
• President of Chechnya forced 17-year-old to marry senior police commander

• The ‘512 Affair’ - Mob leaders arrested
• Director (of Communications Ministry) was fired (by Netanyahu), the public will pay (for expensive internet)
• “(Former district prosecutor) Ruthie (David) told me: Collapse during the interrogation and finish this off” – State witness reveals details in Ronal Fisher affair
• Israeli record: 65-year-old gave birth to a boy
• Heat wave also today – but ease in afternoon
• Child benefits for the strong – Does Social Security shortchange the lower class population, or is bureaucracy screwing the weak?

• Likely: State witnesses incriminate mob leaders
• Crime doesn’t pay // Amir Zohar
• Erdan: I will promote bill to dismantle Bezeq
• The dimensions of the chaos (in Netanyahu’s new government) // Ben Caspit
• Burning and choking – extreme heat wave sparked fires across country
• End the racism – More than 1000 Ethiopian-Israelis and social activists demonstrated in central Tel-Aviv, blocked roads, but avoided violence with police
• Education Ministry caved in: Instead of ‘siege’ on classrooms, students will turn in cellular phones before exams

• Blow to organized crime – ‘512 Affair’ exposed; Police Commissioner: “One of the biggest investigations ever”
• Burning hot – Heat sparked fires
• After 41 years: Druze battalion to disband
• Late birth: A first son for 65-year-old woman
• Shavuot holiday ahead: Large increase in sales of milk products
• Hundreds of Ethiopian-Israelis demonstrated again in Tel-Aviv
• Storm over leaked matriculation exams: Education Ministry again changed the guidelines
• Washington is signed on failure in face of ISIS in Iraq // Boaz Bismuth

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News Summary:
The police operation that hooked over 50 mobsters and the heat that sparked fires across the country were today’s top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, future Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations are not looking hopeful.
 
Some of the papers noted that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded to Netanyahu’s declaration that Jerusalem would only be the capital for Israel by saying that without E. Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital there will be no peace. But all the papers noted that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appointed Silvan Shalom, who opposed a Palestinian state, as the person responsible for talks with the Palestinians. Haaretz+ gathered Shalom’s statements from the last six years about a Palestinian state. Shalom recently revealed in closed circles that he and Netanyahu agreed that he would serve as acting Foreign Minister, Yedioth’s Itamar Eichner reported. Netanyahu has not appointed a Foreign Minister, ostensibly because he’s holding the post for Opposition leader Isaac Herzog, who has said he has no intention of taking it. Moreover, Likud officials confirmed that in addition to responsibility for the (non-existent) peace talks, Shalom will be responsible for strategic dialogue with the US and for coordinating the talks with the international community for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip (following the IDF’s devastating war on Gaza last summer.) [Oddly,] Shalom reportedly said that his appointment as point man for the Palestinians is a sign that Netanyahu is interested in renewing the talks. This will create a problem for Netanyahu with Deputy Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who said that Netanyahu told her she would be the acting Foreign Minister. Meanwhile, ahead of her first trip to Israel and Palestine as EU foreign policy chief tomorrow, Frederica Mogherini said that Europe wants a central role in the Middle East peace process. 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Treating the still-open wound of contested Arab homes in Jaffa
Urban planner Tovi Fenster's discovery that her childhood home now belongs to Arabs living nearby underlies a study on transforming houses in conflict areas into 'contact zones.' (Esther Zandberg, Haaretz+)
Rare photos of divided Jerusalem resurface after 60 years
IN PICTURES: Seen here for the first time since their original publication in 1955, a treasure trove of pictures show a city still recuperating from war. (Roi Yanovsky, Ynet)
Settlers accuse Peres of taking funding from evangelicals, forgetting one small detail
Samaria Settlers’ Committee has asked the attorney general to investigate the former president’s activity as chairman of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, overlooking where some of their own backing comes from. (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) 
Israel remembers its most daring spy
50 years ago, Eli Cohen, aka Kamal Amin Ta'abet, was hanged in a public square in Damascus, after a five-month trial and harsh interrogation and torture; efforts to bring his remains back to Israel have been in vain. (Rotem Elizera, Ynet)
A series of unfortunate events of a confrontational administration (Yoel Esteron, Calcalist/Ynet) Unqualified ministers are hardly news in Israel's history of government, but never before have we seen such a confrontational administration which suffers a severe autoimmune syndrome, like Netanyahu's fourth administration. The current government is less likely to attack Iran than it is to turn on itself and its own citizens. 
Meet Israel’s 1st gender-equality minister: Gila Gamliel
She's a political hardliner and not a dyed-in-the wool feminist, but Gamliel is progressive when it comes to women's and gay rights, gender segregation and related issues. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)

Commentary/Analysis: 

In Adelson's paper, Bibi's man says Pope helping Palestinians crucify the Jews (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Top Israel Hayom columnist implicates the Palestinian people, and, by extension, the Pope and his Church, in a mirror-image version of one of history's more ancient libels.
The foul odor of Netanyahu's new iron grip on Israeli media (Haaretz Editorial) Coalition parties that had championed concern for the rule of law must renounce Netanyahu’s recent moves to consolidate his control over the communications market.
A girl named Jerusalem (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) It is not enough just to have the territory, we must also understand that Jerusalem is one of the basic defining elements of our identity.
When the state shuts up its teachers (Yarden Skop, Haaretz+) Why is freedom of expression usually granted only to teachers and educators who concur with the Ministry of Education?
Wikipedia founder takes on censorship: Free information is key to functioning democracy (Jimmy Wales and Orit Kopel, Haaretz+) Wikipedia founder, in Israel to receive Dan David prize, warns that we must not leave behind the people who are still subject to oppressive regimes. 
Absolutely a war of choice: the Second Lebanon War was a failure and the end result is not important (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) Raviv Drucker's series about the Second Lebanon War did not reveal anything new. The testimonies of the trio of leaders are questionable, at best, gossip for the masses. I will discuss two main questions: the opening of the war and the end result.  Regarding the opening, the question is whether the war was ‘unavoidable’ or a war of choice. All the wars in Lebanon were wars of choice, particularly the Second Lebanon War. The people of Israel went to war for more than a month, sacrificed 164 people (including 119 soldiers), left the north of the country devastated and bruised, and that is because two soldiers were kidnapped and in the attempt to rescue them, seven soldiers were killed. (The war) was an unprecedented move, which in my view was very surreal, when the leadership of the people entered into it without any thought, without realizing what was in store, whether the IDF was ready and whether the northern home front was ready, without considering whether there were alternatives, without defining in advance what was the purpose of our strategic moves, except for the statement declared that the goal is "to bring back the hostages." This brings me to the second point, the outcome of the war. Here (in Israel) there is a perspective that claims the following: nine years have passed since the war, and our northern border against Hezbollah is so quiet. In other words, the war succeeded, we deterred Hezbollah. Therefore, we need to crown the trio of leaders and stop blaming them for bad management of the war. The important thing is the outcome. I believe this is a false and misleading approach, and I’ll explain why. First, with the perspective of a decade, the border is quiet, which is excellent. But we must understand that the main reason for this is Iran - far more than the deterring State of Israel or the deterred Hezbollah. Iran did not want to begin any war between Hezbollah and Israel, except at a time that will serve its interests best. This was the case in the last decade… Secondly, keep in mind that since the IDF withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000, the northern border was quiet as a rule, there was no firing of rockets and Hezbollah's main activity was at Mount Dov. Third, Hezbollah itself emerged strengthened from the war, both in Lebanon and in the Arab world. The IDF, in contrast, was perceived as a beaten army, like one that needs to undergo a jolt. And it is good that it did and good that it proved its ability and its courage in the face of the Syrian (nuclear) reactor in the summer of 2007, according to foreign reports.
Israel: Vital to the US and Arabs (Mudar Zahran, Israel Hayom) We Arabs, along with some Americans, can demonize Israel all we want, but deep down we know we are lucky to have Israel around.
Will ex-con Dery be the government's most influential minister? (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) The Shas leader could prove a moderate voice in the right-wing coalition and Israel’s liaison with the Obama administration.
Israel and Iran's mutual friend (Billie Frenkel, Ynet) Azerbaijan insists that it is neutral when it comes to its warring allies, maintaining firm ties in Moscow and Washington, Jerusalem and Tehran.
In defense of classic espionage (Prof. Shlomo Shpiro, Israel Hayom) Eli Cohen's activities in Syria 50 years ago demonstrated the importance of having eyes and ears on the ground, to complement technology.
Only by force: the Ethiopian must use all possible tools in the war on racism (Avi Yallao, Maariv) Many ask what are our demands. In general, the answer is civil equality. The racism and discrimination against Israelis of Ethiopian origin is present in all areas of life – immigrant absorption, housing, education, employment, religion, and military.
For ISIS, it’s still a very long way to Baghdad (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) The Americans are faced with tough decisions, and so are the Iranians.
Narrow coalition may prove a blessing in disguise (Gideon Allon, Israel Hayom) Israel's political history has proven that even narrow coalitions can be surprisingly effective, and promote benchmark legislation and major reforms. Key to success lies with coalition discipline and a joint sense of responsibility, former MKs say. 
Can Eisenkot remake the IDF in his own image? (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) The new IDF chief has been introduced to the difficulties and intricacies of leading Israel's military, now he is learning from the past. 
It is the duty of the public to know: It turns out that even with the binoculars closed – Amir Peretz saw and understood well in the Second Lebanon War (Avi Benayahu, Maariv) During the Second Lebanon War Amir Peretz revealed himself as a leader asking the right questions and making the right decisions, even if contrary to the IDF Chief of Staff and the IDF itself.
On glory and disgrace (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) Why is the Right keeping mum on the Left's racist, sexist, condescending attitude toward its elected officials?
Forget Ramadi, the real battle is in Syria (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) President Bashar Assad is facing growing pressure from rebels in Damascus and the Alawite enclave.

'No alternative' to Saudi peace plan, says expert
Former military general in Jordan calls on Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept Saudi plan, which involves dividing Jerusalem and agreeing to right of return. (Interviewed by Smadar Perry in Yedioth/Ynet)
 
Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely tells world: Don't be afraid of me
Tzipi Hotovely says her hawkish views will not get in the way of her work as Israel's most senior diplomat; she is sure relations with the US are 'excellent' and opposes the concession of any land to the Palestinians. (Interviewied by Itamar Eichner in Yedioth/Ynet)
 

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