News Nosh 06.07.15

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday June 7, 2015
 
Quote of the day:
“In the interview, aired this past week, Obama posed hope against fear: Netanyahu is offering Israelis fear – fear of Iran, fear of concessions to the Palestinians, fear of change; Obama is offering Israelis hope. I once believed that Fear vs. Hope was the correct equation. The results of the recent election have caused me doubts.”
--Yedioth’s top political commentator Nahum Barnea writes that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is successfully uniting a very significant proportion of the Israeli public against Arabs. Hate vs. Hope.**


Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Special: 10 years to disengagement (from Gaza) – Back to Gush Katif – La Stampa correspondent reports from Gaza, this is how evicted Israeli communities look today
  • Shooting from Gaza did not stop: rocket exploded in Ashkelon area
  • The world Orange CEO’s apology campaign
  • Calculating a new path // Gideon Saar  
  • (Singer) Aviv Geffen posed as a 13-year-old girl on the Internet and caught a pedophile
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom

 
News Summary: 
Another rocket from Gaza and an apology from the CEO of Orange for his remarks on boycotting Israel made top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, the UN is debating whether to put Israel and Hamas on a blacklist of violators of children's rights.
 
The third rocket from Gaza since Operation Protective Edge falls in Israel, shot by a extremist Islamist group in Gaza that is sympathetic to ISIS. Last week the papers explained that the group is doing it on purpose to make trouble between Israel and Hamas. Yedioth’s military commentator Yossi Yehoshua writes that Israel “must not react from its gut.” Israel deployed an Iron Dome anti-missile battery in the south. A poll found that 82% of Israelis see another round of fighting with Hamas in Gaza as likely. Another 54% see a conflict with Hezbollah as likely, with 70% believing Israel will win it. Israel closed the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings and early this morning, Israeli jets hit Gaza ‘terror infrastructure’ in retaliation. Opposition chief Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog told Israeli radio 103FM that he does not rule out bringing about the collapse of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. (Maariv
 
So Orange Israel and its CEO have made a full-face turnaround. The newspapers wrote about his apology, or rather, 'his capitulation,' for his remarks on boycotting Israel, that it was a misunderstanding and that Orange will continue to work with Israel. Meanwhile, Israel is launching a diplomatic campaign to halt the EU directive to label settlement products through the use of its embassies, Haaretz+ reported.
   
The Opposition vehemently attacked Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the boycotts Israel is facing. Herzog told Channel 2 News, "This is a diplomatic intifada, Netanyahu failed in handling the crisis…"This circus government is unable to deal with the the boycott. Netanyahu runs away from reality and is unable to do anything. When Obama gives an interview to Channel 2 instead of talking to (Netanyahu) we have a problem…We are 48 years after the Six Day War and closer than ever one to a single (bi-national) state." (Maariv) Meretz party chief MK Zehava Gal-On slammed Netanyahu saying, “The boycotts are not because of anti-Semitism. Netanyahu brings them upon us.” Speaking at a ‘Shabbatarbut’ event, Gal-On said, "Netanyahu will have to decide whether for benefit of the settlements and the occupation he is in favor of sacrificing Israel's international legitimacy." (Maariv)

Meanwhile, Jewish American tycoon and supporter of Netanyahu, Sheldon Adelson, held an anti-Israel boycott event with some 50 organizations in Las Vegas to formulate a strategy on how to defeat the boycott campaign against Israel.  
 
There is no consensus among UN agencies on whether to include Israel on the blacklist, according to a confidential UN report that Reuters received. UN agencies in Israel and the Palestinian territories reported an alarming number of child victims in last year's war in the Gaza Strip. It appears the UN Secretary-General will have to decide. 
 
Quick Hits:
  • Israelis, Palestinians march for West Bank town set for demolition - Hundreds gather on 'Naska Day' to avert destruction of Susya. Israel's High Court ruled in May that Susya's 340 residents could be relocated and its structures demolished, which Human Rights Watch derided as "a grave breach" of Israeli obligations. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Israeli court: Charge Jordanian-Canadian businessman or release him - For one month, Shin Bet has held Ibrahim Siyam in jail, a man of Palestinian origin, who was invited by Palestinian President Abbas to attend a business conference. Siyam, 58, owns various companies around the world, including in China, Qatar and Croatia. Shin Bet arrested him on May 5 as he was leaving with a group of other Jordanian businessmen the West Bank to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge. Accusation: he donated money to Hamas in the devastated Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. Siyam's Israeli lawyer: "How could he know which family received his money and whom they support?" (Haaretz)
  • PM not invited to presidential unity event honoring slain teens - Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Decision not to invite him "insensitive and disrespectful" to him and to families of murdered boys. President's Office: President had nothing to do with content of event or who was invited. (Israel Hayom
  • Family appeals decision not to charge police officers in death of Israeli Arab - New video, says attorney, contradicts officers' statements, shows that Khayr al-Din al-Hamdan was shot not according to regulations. (Haaretz+)
  • Druze, Circassian to hold protest rally in Jerusalem - Community leaders say government funds promised to them for education were not transferred. “We are not fourth class citizens.” [Note: Protest cancelled. - OH] (Ynet and Maariv
  • Who will be the next Mossad chief? Race to head the Mossad is in full swing after current chief Tamir Pardo said in closed discussions that he plans to end his term in January 2016. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Bereaved families demand memorial ceremony for Protective Edge fallen - Families say they have yet to hear from Defense Ministry about plans to commemorate their sons, despite the fact first anniversary is only a month away. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • China demands workers sent to Israel not be placed in West Bank settlement - Beijing’s condition is holding up the signing of a bilateral labor agreement with Israel. (Haaretz)
  • Hesder yeshivas to IDF chief rabbi: Continue to instill Jewish values in soldiers - In reply to chief of staff’s intention to limit military rabbinate’s authority, yeshivas say they intend to ‘reinforce and strengthen military rabbinate’s status.' (Haaretz+)
  • Israel identifies assailant in Shavuot stabbing attack in Jerusalem - The alleged attacker, John Kakish, 19, a Christian resident of Jerusalem's Old City, had been previously arrested on suspicion of stabbing Jews. (Haaretz
  • Nasrallah threatens to displace ‘millions’ of Israelis in future war - Hezbollah chief responds to senior IDF officer’s warning of consequences for south Lebanon of attack on Israel. (Times of Israel
  • Adelson, Saban: ‘Anti-Semitic tsunami’ on the way - At anti-BDS donor summit in Las Vegas, casino billionaire and Hollywood mogul stress need for U.S. Jewish groups to unite to defeat growing boycott Israel movement. (Haaretz)
  • Egyptian court cancels ruling to put Hamas on terrorist list - Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, was classified as a terrorist organization by Egypt in January. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Turkey goes to the polls in watershed election for Erdogan's rule With all eyes on the Kurds, Turkey's 53,741,838 voters will decide whether their president will expand his powers or see his 12-year single party rule end. (Haaretz)
  • Erdogan, Kurdish leader in war of words after bombing - Two people were killed in Friday explosions at Kurdish election rally; Sunday’s election in Turkey seen as critical. (Agencies, Haaretz
  • Second Lebanese man arrested in connection with Cyrpus bomb plot - Cyprus detains second Lebanese man over the discovery of five tons of chemical fertilizer capable of making explosives; Israel: Hezbollah is behind the plot. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Tariq Aziz, top aide to Saddam Hussein, dies in hospital - The international face of Saddam's regime, Tariq Aziz, died Friday after being taken to hospital from his prison cell following heart attack. Aziz was sentenced to death in 2010 for his involvement in former regime's bloody persecution of Shiites. (Israel Hayom)


Features:
In West Bank industrial zone, everything is Israeli – except the harsh labor laws
Set up at the start of the Oslo process, Nitzanei Shalom employs hundreds of Palestinians and is run according to Israeli standards, with one glaring exception – Palestinian workers are subject to draconian Jordanian labor law. (Tali Heruti-Sover, Haaretz+)  
Rajoub in deep with Arab nations after FIFA move
Formerly heroic symbol of resistance, Rajoub is now trapped in Ramallah, unable to travel in Jordan, Israel and Dubai. (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet)
Snapshot: Images of Israeli and Palestinian consciousness
American photographer Wendy Ewald gave cameras to Israelis and Palestinians of different ages. From the 50,000 photos they produced, she selected a few. (Tal Niv, Haaretz+) 

Commentary/Analysis:
The Israeli army's new target: itself (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) With the Syrian army reportedly in disarray, Hamas still licking its wounds and Iran’s nuclear ambitions possibly on hold, this is the ideal opportunity for the IDF’s chief of staff to lead a deep structural reform.
**The myth of the beautiful Israel (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) From Orange to Obama, the actions of Israel in the settlements have a fundamental role in the world's perception of the Jewish state, and no amount of rhetoric by Netanyahu and his associates will change that.
The new anti-Semitism (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) The new anti-Semitism seeks to financially tighten the noose around Israel's neck. The Jewish people -- not only Israel -- must respond forcefully. 
Netanyahu's government is hard-pressed to weather the mounting storm of international isolation (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Meanwhile, Isaac Herzog and Yair Lapid can't even agree on who will lead the opposition. 
Exposing the lies of BDS (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Many a good person has fallen for the persuasive arguments of the boycott campaign, which appears to be driven by respect for human rights. But the truth is far more nefarious.
For the sins of occupation, boycotts are a light punishment (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Orange or SodaStream, academic or artistic boycott, the penalties will grow worse the longer Israel persists in settling, exploiting and stealing Palestinian land. 
Tragedy can tear us apart, but it can also bring us together (Emily Amrousi, Israel Hayom) The 2005 uprooting from Gaza and the 2014 abduction and murder of three Israeli teens were both tragedies. But the former was divisive and the latter magnificently unifying.
Open Gaza's crossings (Haaretz Editorial) Keeping Gazans locked in the crowded Strip is immoral and strategically unwise.
Fight BDS through attack, not defense (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) The international leftist organizations working against us are a model for exactly how we should engage the nations that fund them.
Since when is oppressing the stranger a Jewish value? (Ilene Prusher, Haaretz+) A new campaign aims to make Israelis care about the plight of African asylum seekers. 
The silent exclusion of Israeli academics (Ze'ev Zahor, Yedioth/Ynet) Under the protection of secrecy and lack of transparency, a barrier stronger than any boycott is slowly being built in the world of academic journals.
Obama clearly offered Israel a kid-glove ultimatum (Yoel Marcus, Haaretz+) Every Israeli should take to heart and internalize: The issue is not what America wants but what Israel must do for its own good.
Our injured Muslim pride (Rashid Khan, Ynet) The honor of Islam is not served by violence, but by the greater jihad of self-improvement and self-responsibility. If we learn to balance a deep Islamic faith with sincere respect and love for all of Allah’s children, Islam will be restored to its place of dignity and respect among religions.
Secrets of the 'world's most moral army' (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz+) 'They begged, they cried, and it wasn’t pleasant. Who carried out the killing? The officers. Just the officers. The regular soldiers were sent on ahead.' 
After Iran gets a nuclear deal (John-Michael Kibrick, Yedioth/Ynet) Obama’s comments to Israeli media reveal an unspoken truth: No strategy exists to rein in an economically prosperous Iran. 
Fight boycotts, abandon delusions (Dr. Limor Samimian-Darash, Israel Hayom) In the absence of shameless, proactive talk about Jewish rights, the BDS discourse focuses on a final solution for the Jewish state.
Going by Ayelet Shaked's logic, Israel should boycott Obama (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) If Israel's justice minister is serious about boycotting the boycotters, she should start with the U.S. president. After all, what has he done for Israel recently? 
Who needs a security cabinet anyway? (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) With a professionally weak cabinet suffering from an inflation of titles and honors, Israel's security issues will once again be managed and supervised by the prime minister, the defense minister and the IDF chief of staff, just like in the Second Lebanon War.  
The 'Jewish horse' that could win the Triple Crown (Seth Lipsky, Haaretz+) American Pharoah is owned by Ahmed Zayat, a Cairo-born American Jew. If the celebrated steed wins, it will be no small thing.
US Jews live in a different reality to Israelis (Emmanuel Navon, Ynet) American Jews don't face the same daily threats as their European co-religionists, nor do they live in a country that is anything but pro-Israel.
Forget BDS, Sheldon, these are the real threats facing Israel (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) If Sheldon Adelson and his friends think they’re about to save Israel from the boycott threat, they’re even more out of touch than we suspected.
Israel should join NPT in return for Mideast nuclear free zone (Yakud Halabi, i24News, Ynet) Iran would be more receptive to curtailing its nuclear program under a regional agreement to end nuclear arms than the current deal being formulated by world powers.
When Obama quotes American rabbis, Netanyahu assumes he’s up to no good (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The motherlode of all the dangerously delusional leftist gobbledygook about Israel, the PM once wrote, was born in the U.S.A.
  
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.