APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday July 9, 2015
Number of the day:
23,300,000,000.
--The amount of dollars Israel will lose in exports if the European Union decides to boycott Israel, according to an expansive Israeli Finance Ministry study.
--The amount of dollars Israel will lose in exports if the European Union decides to boycott Israel, according to an expansive Israeli Finance Ministry study.
You Must Be Kidding:
"How is it possible that for more than ten months, the security system and the political system, leave a man to his fate in enemy territory and prevents any public discussion or updates the family with details?"
--Meretz MK Ilan Gilon is shocked that it took Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal to speak for Israel to lift the gag order.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Sharp rise in rate of demolitions of homes in Bedouin villages in Negev
- Deal between Netanyahu and Lieberman will give right-wing veto for judicial appointments
- Economy Ministry investigating Beitar Jerusalem soccer team for discrimination (against Arabs)
- Police considered acquiring controversial programs for spying on the Internet
- Protest among officers following Locker recommendations to change the conditions of pensions in IDF
- Welcome approach (by the IDF to ease siege on Gaza) // Haaretz Editorial
- Divide (the land) now // Ari Shavit
- Families of the (soldiers who died in Gaza on the) Armored Personnel Carrier: A year of pain and missing them
- Security affair allowed for publication this morning: Hamas’ card
- The next storm - Likud ministers’ dilemma: Yisrael Beiteinu’s bill to impose death sentence on terrorists…
- Close-Far // Sima Kadmon
- Embarrassment for Maccabi Tel-Aviv actors at Customs: Caught with (undeclared) liquor
- Mystery in the US: How did the stock market, airport and newspaper computers crash?
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The collapse and the scare – Technical glitch or cyber attack (in the US)?
- The anti-Semitic statement of Argentinean President Kirchner
- Chief of Staff: I won’t let them harm (pensions of) career soldiers
- Netanyahu and Lieberman go back to cooperating: They agreed to a deal for appointing judges
- Gluten trend: Enormous study found that there is no health advantage in the special products
Israel Hayom
- Chief of Staff on conclusions of Locker Committee: “I won’t allow harm to (pensions of) career soldiers”
- Veto for right-wing in to appoint judges
- Mystery (in US): Computer glitch – or cyber attack?
- Fear: Falls in stock markets in China will spread to other cities
- Jerusalem one of top 10 cities in world for tourists
- The critical day for nuclear negotiations between Iran and the powers: Still no agreement – but Teheran already began to count the money that will come from removing sanctions
News Summary:
The state’s gag-order is lifted on two Israeli citizens missing in Gaza, while reports circulate of negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in last summer’s Gaza war making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, the last deadline for nuclear talks is about to end and Haaretz+ got hold of a very revealing Finance Ministry study about possible boycott scenarios.
On January 4th, News Nosh quoted a Maan report that said that a new Israeli prisoner was being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to a Lebanese satellite channel. The Israeli man of Ethiopian origin was being held by Hamas after the tide swept him ashore, the report said. The Lebanese report also said that Israeli authorities had refused to acknowledge the incident, but were planning to invent a "story" with the individual's family claiming he was "mentally ill."
Today, ten months since his disappearance, Israel lifted the gag-order that prevented the Israeli media from reporting that Ethiopian-Israeli Avera (Avraham) Mengistu, 28, has been missing since September 8th, and that his fate is no longer known. His family says the state would have dealt differently with his disappearance had he been white. According to the Israeli report, he crossed the border fence on the beach from his own free will and was detained and interrogated by Hamas. A senior Israeli defense official said Hamas said it released Mengistu because he was not a soldier. A senior Palestinian official in the Gaza Strip confirmed that Hamas released him because he was not a soldier. According to the Palestinian source, Hamas announced that Mengistu had left Gaza through tunnels in Rafah and continued on to Egypt, and that he is no longer in Gaza. Ynet reported that Mengistu may be mentally ill. Ynet has fascinating details about the messages Hamas tried to pass to the Israeli media, as well. Maariv's Arik Bender interviewed Meretz MK Ilan Gilon, who said was shocked that MK Gilon: "How does a person remains in enemy territory and there is no public debate?"
The second Israeli citizen who went missing in Gaza is a Bedouin from the south who crossed at the Erez Crossing in April, was apparently taken into Hamas custody and is still being held. [NOTE: None of the reports asked how an Israeli-citizen was allowed to cross at the Israeli-controlled high security Erez Crossing. - OH]
The lifting of the gag order came after Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashal told reporters Wednesday that Israel had approached Hamas through a European mediator to discuss returning bodies of missing soldiers and the two Israeli civilians. (Note: The Israeli papers omitted writing in Wednesday's online report that there were two civilians Israel asked for as well, because the gag-order was still in place.) For their release, Hamas has demanded Israel releases some 70 Palestinians, who were released in the Gilad Shalit deal, but were re-arrested in sweeping arrests Israel made after the kidnapping of the three Jewish teens in the West Bank.
Following Mashaal’s remarks, discussion opened up again on the subject. The papers spoke with the families of Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin whose bodies Hamas holds since last summer’s Gaza war. (Maariv) Oron was killed when his APC was hit. Who killed Lt. Hadar Goldin is still unclear. On August 1st, during the war, Hamas militants surprised an Israeli unit that was searching for tunnels near Rafah and killed two soldiers and injured others, while one soldier, Goldin, went missing. His comrades called for the Hannibal Directive and chased after him down a tunnel. Parts of his body were later found revealing he must be dead. The question of whether Hannibal Directive includes killing the captured soldier in order to prevent him from being used as a negotiation card remains disputed. One of the soldiers who went in after Goldin told Maariv that he understood that they needed to kill him. Tel-Aviv University Ethics Prof. Assa Kasher suggested Israeli soldiers likely killed Goldin to prevent his abduction. Kasher, the hawkish chief author of the IDF’s code of ethics, said the Hannibal Directive is misunderstood and killing of a soldier as part of it is immoral, unethical and illegal. (Haaretz+)
**Now that the gag-order was lifted, Hamas hopes the Israeli people will pressure for the release of the Israelis it holds. In an elaborate sculpture at a rally it held last night, a massive copper fist extending out of a tank held up three enlarged identity badges. The dog tag for Oron Shaul was displayed alongside two others that had question marks on them. Moreover, Hamas announced at the rally that it had produced two new rockets. Indeed, Meretz MK Ilan Gilon, who after learning about the case and being chosen by Mengisto's relatives to intervene and act on their behalf, gave a long interview to Maariv expressing his shock and repulsion that the state could have kept an Israeli citizen's disappearance in enemy territory a secret.
At the same time, a senior military source said Israel must allow the “rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of workers into Israel.” Speaking to Maariv’s Noam Amir Wednesday the source emphasized that "Hamas is taking all the steps for restraint, it is looking for long-term quiet." Nevertheless, he said, referring to Hamas’ demand in exchange for quiet: "A floating seaport poses risks."
Factoids: Operation Protective Edge:
2,251 Palestinians, including at least 1,500 civilians and more than 500 children were killed and 73 Israelis were killed, including 67 soldiers in the 50-day conflict, which left more than 100,000 Gazans homeless in the impoverished enclave of 1.8 million people.
Friday is the new deadline for nuclear talks and Western diplomats are less optimistic than their Iranian counterparts. Iran says it made a new proposal, but Western officials say they haven't received it and there are many issues left to work out.
Two years ago, Israel’s Finance Ministry commissioned a study looking at four worst-case scenarios of boycotting by the European Union and the impact they would have on Israel. “The report compared Israel to South Africa, which suffered a global boycott in the 1980s against the country’s apartheid regime. It didn’t predict how or when that might happen, if at all – but it suggested that a breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks could be the reason, especially if the onus for the failure was placed on Israel,” wrote Haaretz+’s Moti Bassok, who got a copy of the report. A complete boycott of Israel by the EU would cost the country $23.3 billion in exports, cut $10.5 from gross domestic product and cost some 36,500 jobs.
The state’s gag-order is lifted on two Israeli citizens missing in Gaza, while reports circulate of negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in last summer’s Gaza war making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, the last deadline for nuclear talks is about to end and Haaretz+ got hold of a very revealing Finance Ministry study about possible boycott scenarios.
On January 4th, News Nosh quoted a Maan report that said that a new Israeli prisoner was being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to a Lebanese satellite channel. The Israeli man of Ethiopian origin was being held by Hamas after the tide swept him ashore, the report said. The Lebanese report also said that Israeli authorities had refused to acknowledge the incident, but were planning to invent a "story" with the individual's family claiming he was "mentally ill."
Today, ten months since his disappearance, Israel lifted the gag-order that prevented the Israeli media from reporting that Ethiopian-Israeli Avera (Avraham) Mengistu, 28, has been missing since September 8th, and that his fate is no longer known. His family says the state would have dealt differently with his disappearance had he been white. According to the Israeli report, he crossed the border fence on the beach from his own free will and was detained and interrogated by Hamas. A senior Israeli defense official said Hamas said it released Mengistu because he was not a soldier. A senior Palestinian official in the Gaza Strip confirmed that Hamas released him because he was not a soldier. According to the Palestinian source, Hamas announced that Mengistu had left Gaza through tunnels in Rafah and continued on to Egypt, and that he is no longer in Gaza. Ynet reported that Mengistu may be mentally ill. Ynet has fascinating details about the messages Hamas tried to pass to the Israeli media, as well. Maariv's Arik Bender interviewed Meretz MK Ilan Gilon, who said was shocked that MK Gilon: "How does a person remains in enemy territory and there is no public debate?"
The second Israeli citizen who went missing in Gaza is a Bedouin from the south who crossed at the Erez Crossing in April, was apparently taken into Hamas custody and is still being held. [NOTE: None of the reports asked how an Israeli-citizen was allowed to cross at the Israeli-controlled high security Erez Crossing. - OH]
The lifting of the gag order came after Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashal told reporters Wednesday that Israel had approached Hamas through a European mediator to discuss returning bodies of missing soldiers and the two Israeli civilians. (Note: The Israeli papers omitted writing in Wednesday's online report that there were two civilians Israel asked for as well, because the gag-order was still in place.) For their release, Hamas has demanded Israel releases some 70 Palestinians, who were released in the Gilad Shalit deal, but were re-arrested in sweeping arrests Israel made after the kidnapping of the three Jewish teens in the West Bank.
Following Mashaal’s remarks, discussion opened up again on the subject. The papers spoke with the families of Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin whose bodies Hamas holds since last summer’s Gaza war. (Maariv) Oron was killed when his APC was hit. Who killed Lt. Hadar Goldin is still unclear. On August 1st, during the war, Hamas militants surprised an Israeli unit that was searching for tunnels near Rafah and killed two soldiers and injured others, while one soldier, Goldin, went missing. His comrades called for the Hannibal Directive and chased after him down a tunnel. Parts of his body were later found revealing he must be dead. The question of whether Hannibal Directive includes killing the captured soldier in order to prevent him from being used as a negotiation card remains disputed. One of the soldiers who went in after Goldin told Maariv that he understood that they needed to kill him. Tel-Aviv University Ethics Prof. Assa Kasher suggested Israeli soldiers likely killed Goldin to prevent his abduction. Kasher, the hawkish chief author of the IDF’s code of ethics, said the Hannibal Directive is misunderstood and killing of a soldier as part of it is immoral, unethical and illegal. (Haaretz+)
**Now that the gag-order was lifted, Hamas hopes the Israeli people will pressure for the release of the Israelis it holds. In an elaborate sculpture at a rally it held last night, a massive copper fist extending out of a tank held up three enlarged identity badges. The dog tag for Oron Shaul was displayed alongside two others that had question marks on them. Moreover, Hamas announced at the rally that it had produced two new rockets. Indeed, Meretz MK Ilan Gilon, who after learning about the case and being chosen by Mengisto's relatives to intervene and act on their behalf, gave a long interview to Maariv expressing his shock and repulsion that the state could have kept an Israeli citizen's disappearance in enemy territory a secret.
At the same time, a senior military source said Israel must allow the “rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of workers into Israel.” Speaking to Maariv’s Noam Amir Wednesday the source emphasized that "Hamas is taking all the steps for restraint, it is looking for long-term quiet." Nevertheless, he said, referring to Hamas’ demand in exchange for quiet: "A floating seaport poses risks."
Factoids: Operation Protective Edge:
2,251 Palestinians, including at least 1,500 civilians and more than 500 children were killed and 73 Israelis were killed, including 67 soldiers in the 50-day conflict, which left more than 100,000 Gazans homeless in the impoverished enclave of 1.8 million people.
Friday is the new deadline for nuclear talks and Western diplomats are less optimistic than their Iranian counterparts. Iran says it made a new proposal, but Western officials say they haven't received it and there are many issues left to work out.
Two years ago, Israel’s Finance Ministry commissioned a study looking at four worst-case scenarios of boycotting by the European Union and the impact they would have on Israel. “The report compared Israel to South Africa, which suffered a global boycott in the 1980s against the country’s apartheid regime. It didn’t predict how or when that might happen, if at all – but it suggested that a breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks could be the reason, especially if the onus for the failure was placed on Israel,” wrote Haaretz+’s Moti Bassok, who got a copy of the report. A complete boycott of Israel by the EU would cost the country $23.3 billion in exports, cut $10.5 from gross domestic product and cost some 36,500 jobs.
Quick Hits:
- Demolitions in Israeli Bedouin sector increase by 54% - State says inhabited homes not torn down before housing solution found for residents. (Haaretz+)
- Amnesty launches online tool documenting Israeli strikes on Gaza - The interactive map records attacks by the Israel Defense Forces during last summer’s war. (Haaretz)
- France denies dropping UN bid to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks - French Foreign Ministry says it will continue pushing for Security Council resolution if it gains a consensus; 'we haven't given up.' (Haaretz+)
- Jewish National Fund, in historic unveiling of finances, holds $2 billion in land - But the JNF admits it suffers from a surfeit of top managers and heavy salary costs. (Haaretz+)
- Lebanese report: Leaked documents show Israel tried to give weapons to Syrian rebels - Hackers reportedly broke into Israeli defense officials' computers, obtained documents exposing contacts with Syrian rebels, attempted recruitment of agents. (Haaretz+)
- Army seeks trial for AWOL conscientious objector suffering depression - The military says it has done nothing wrong in handling a soldier who twice has not reported for duty. The soldier says he was abused in prison. (Haaretz+)
- Israel Police, Defense Ministry mulled buying spyware, Hacking Team leak reveals - Documents revealed after Italian cyber-surveillance firm was hacked show correspondence with Israeli officials, but it's unclear whether programs were purchased or used. (Haaretz+)
- State asks Beitar Jerusalem soccer club to explain its lack of Arab players - Soccer team operates in gray area – it doesn’t have to hire Arabs if it doesn’t want to. (Haaretz+)
- Secret Lieberman, Likud deal to grant right-wing veto power over judicial appointments - Balanced gender representation produces Knesset snafu. (Haaretz+ and Times of Israel)
- Yisrael Beiteinu’s bill to impose death sentence on terrorists causes embarrassment in Likud: Should they support the bill like right-wingers or oppose in order to prevent the opposition from making an achievement - Habayit Hayehudi backs bill. Party leader Bennett says bill to executing murderers convicted on terror charges is ‘moral and right.' (Yedioth, p. 1, Times of Israel and Maariv)
- In first defeat for Israeli government, opposition passes first bill at Knesset - In planned political maneuver, opposition MKs rush into plenum at last minute and pass bill designed to limit debt collection powers. (Haaretz)
- Knesset speaker urges Zuckerberg to remove incitement from Facebook - Speaker Yuli Edelstein says there are limits to free speech: pages that include 'Death to Arabs' and 'Death to Jews' in their titles have no place on social media. (Haaretz)
- Committee examining defense budget angers career officers, afraid of losing retirement terms - Soldiers’ wives launch campaign against expected Locker recommendations. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- IDF official: Cutting service time will harm combat readiness - Plan will be announced in the coming days that may reduce service time, including months of training, while creating two new mixed battalions, increasing combat simulations. (Ynet)
- Threats prompt cancellation of first Irish dance competition in Israel - Event's organizers say pro-Palestinian activists attacked feis' Facebook page and protest took place outside dance studio. (Haaretz)
- Gal Gadot: IDF service prepared me for Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman 'is the ultimate symbol of strength,' Israeli actress tells Fashion magazine. 'Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd play someone who influenced as many women as she has.' (Ynet)
- Canadians cleaning Israel's infamous Kishon riverbed: Authorities expelled us from site - EnGlobe Corp., which won int’l tender to clean polluted Kishon River, denounces treatment from Israeli authorities, who deny claims. (Haaretz+)
- UNESCO ignores IS atrocities but criticizes Jerusalem light rail - U.N. cultural body criticizes Israeli development projects for harming the "visual integrity and authentic character" of the Old City walls • Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold slams UNESCO criticism as "misplaced and hypocritical." (Israel Hayom)
- Roman legion camp from 2nd century C.E. found at Megiddo - Camp includes streets, water pipes and part of the commander’s house. (Haaretz+)
- IDF now catering to vegans - Growing number of vegan soldiers prompts military to offer new, vegan-friendly menus in bases nationwide. "The idea is to offer vegan soldiers better options and improve their service conditions," head of IDF's Food Department says. (Israel Hayom)
- Prosecution lets Olmert stay out of jail while awaiting appeal - Former prime minister faces eight months for cash-envelopes, six years for Holyland scandal. (Haaretz+)
- Argentina’s Jews riled by President Kirchner’s ‘Merchant of Venice’ comments - The president has made some uncomfortable tweets about Shylock and aggressive investment funds. (Haaretz+)
- Financial crisis is just the latest blow for Greece's dwindling Jewish community - Needy families have only gotten part of their cash assistance for July, while the elderly are unable to access their pensions or Holocaust restitution payments. (JTA, Haaretz)
- Assad signs $1 billion credit line from Iran - Financial aid from Iran has been pivotal to the Syrian government and economy, which has been drained by four years of war. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Egypt: Nearly 250 ISIS terrorists killed in Sinai, over 60 arrested - Fighting still ongoing between Egyptian army and Islamic State militants in Sinai, with Cairo presenting high numbers of enemy casualties to reporters, in attempt to win propaganda battle. (Ynet)
- Are shock troops who fight to death ISIS' secret weapon in Syria and Iraq? - The 'Inghemasiyoun,' Arabic for 'those who immerse themselves,' are a sort of special forces unit that is credited with many of ISIS' stunning battlefield successes. (AP, Haaretz)
Features:
Jewish genetics: 75% of Jews are lactose intolerant and 11 other facts
Almost half of Ashkenazim carry at least one of 38 genetic diseases, and our closest genetic relatives are Druze, Bedouin, Palestinians - and Italians. (Josie Glausiusz, Haaretz+)
The commanders who fought with no command experience:
Lt. Guy Cohen found himself leading troops into battle two weeks after completing officers' course, while Deputy Ron Numa had no time to get to know the fighters of the unit that he received a week before the start of Operation Protective Edge. (Eyal Levy, Maariv)
The Jewish Brigade returns - in comic books
The exploits of Jewish volunteers from the Yishuv who fought for the British in World War II, are the subject of a new series of comic books in Belgium. (Shlomo Papirblat, Haaretz+)
Living wall: a tour of the Israeli communities around Gaza that are still licking their wounds
Men go to sleep with a Magnum pistol, Arnon is trying to bring together the worried residents, and Moses Etzion, who lost his son Zeevik on the last day of fighting, insists that despite everything, you don’t leave your home. (Eyal Levy, Maariv and PHOTOS)
Commentary/Analysis:
Almost half of Ashkenazim carry at least one of 38 genetic diseases, and our closest genetic relatives are Druze, Bedouin, Palestinians - and Italians. (Josie Glausiusz, Haaretz+)
The commanders who fought with no command experience:
Lt. Guy Cohen found himself leading troops into battle two weeks after completing officers' course, while Deputy Ron Numa had no time to get to know the fighters of the unit that he received a week before the start of Operation Protective Edge. (Eyal Levy, Maariv)
The Jewish Brigade returns - in comic books
The exploits of Jewish volunteers from the Yishuv who fought for the British in World War II, are the subject of a new series of comic books in Belgium. (Shlomo Papirblat, Haaretz+)
Living wall: a tour of the Israeli communities around Gaza that are still licking their wounds
Men go to sleep with a Magnum pistol, Arnon is trying to bring together the worried residents, and Moses Etzion, who lost his son Zeevik on the last day of fighting, insists that despite everything, you don’t leave your home. (Eyal Levy, Maariv and PHOTOS)
Commentary/Analysis:
Israel learned the wrong lessons from the Shalit affair (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) 10-month blanket gag order into Israeli-Ethiopian's disappearance is a
manifestation of a very problematic policy.
'Black Friday': The day Israel officially adopted its 'anything goes' morality (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Israel remembers only the three soldiers who died on Black Friday and erases from its consciousness the dozens of innocent Palestinians who also died that day.
Now even the Israeli army agrees: Siege on Gaza must be eased (Haaretz Editorial) Achievements of Operation Protective Edge could dissipate if they are not leveraged for the long-term by giving the residents of Gaza an economic horizon.
The man who interrogated Rabin’s murderer: Heal the rifts - Netanyahu's opportunity to apologize for his behavior before the Rabin assassination (Dvir Kariv, Maariv) The Shin Bet man who interrogated Yigal Amir and headed the investigation into the murder writes the Prime Minister saying he has the ability to open the events marking the 20th anniversary to Rabin's murder with a positive message that will lead to a new path. It's time to apologize for the past and change the present and future.
Battered but dangerous (Dr. Ronen Yitzhak, Israel Hayom) While it is unclear when the next war with Hamas will break out, the political situation in the Middle East indicates it could happen sooner than many think.
How Hamas holds on to power (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The Israeli siege makes suppression by Hamas even more effective, because there’s nowhere to escape to.
Desperately seeking diplomatic defeat (Clifford D. May, Israel Hayom) Hard as they try, U.S. negotiators can't seem to appease Iran's rulers.
Netanyahu needs to pay for his minister's damage (Josh Weinberg, Haaretz+) MK David Azoulay has a history of disparaging Reform Jews, so his latest comments are no surprise. The real question is why he and his ilk are being given positions of power, in an Israel that purports to be the home of all Jews.
We mustn't be fooled by prosperity – Israel is quietly committing suicide (Ari Shavit, Haaretz+) If Israel doesn’t deal urgently with the occupation and returns to forgotten proposal of dividing the country, our heady present will destroy the future.
How the boycott hurts Palestinians (Brett Kline, Haaretz+) In this small West Bank town, business with Jewish settler neighbors is crucial for economic survival. Calling for a boycott may be fashionable, but these everyday Palestinians are the people who will get hurt.
'Black Friday': The day Israel officially adopted its 'anything goes' morality (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Israel remembers only the three soldiers who died on Black Friday and erases from its consciousness the dozens of innocent Palestinians who also died that day.
Now even the Israeli army agrees: Siege on Gaza must be eased (Haaretz Editorial) Achievements of Operation Protective Edge could dissipate if they are not leveraged for the long-term by giving the residents of Gaza an economic horizon.
The man who interrogated Rabin’s murderer: Heal the rifts - Netanyahu's opportunity to apologize for his behavior before the Rabin assassination (Dvir Kariv, Maariv) The Shin Bet man who interrogated Yigal Amir and headed the investigation into the murder writes the Prime Minister saying he has the ability to open the events marking the 20th anniversary to Rabin's murder with a positive message that will lead to a new path. It's time to apologize for the past and change the present and future.
Battered but dangerous (Dr. Ronen Yitzhak, Israel Hayom) While it is unclear when the next war with Hamas will break out, the political situation in the Middle East indicates it could happen sooner than many think.
How Hamas holds on to power (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The Israeli siege makes suppression by Hamas even more effective, because there’s nowhere to escape to.
Desperately seeking diplomatic defeat (Clifford D. May, Israel Hayom) Hard as they try, U.S. negotiators can't seem to appease Iran's rulers.
Netanyahu needs to pay for his minister's damage (Josh Weinberg, Haaretz+) MK David Azoulay has a history of disparaging Reform Jews, so his latest comments are no surprise. The real question is why he and his ilk are being given positions of power, in an Israel that purports to be the home of all Jews.
We mustn't be fooled by prosperity – Israel is quietly committing suicide (Ari Shavit, Haaretz+) If Israel doesn’t deal urgently with the occupation and returns to forgotten proposal of dividing the country, our heady present will destroy the future.
How the boycott hurts Palestinians (Brett Kline, Haaretz+) In this small West Bank town, business with Jewish settler neighbors is crucial for economic survival. Calling for a boycott may be fashionable, but these everyday Palestinians are the people who will get hurt.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.