APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday July 26, 2015
Quote of the day:
“I want to focus on how we lost among the young against a strong and organized right that bequeaths
values of ethnic superiority and contempt for human rights, a media that implants racist, nationalistic
messages, and an educational system that is controlled by a strong right-wing.”
--Meretz chief MK Zehava Gal-On said the left-wing camp must examine why it lost the elections - and even
suggests connecting with other parties.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Internal report of (Defense Ministry’s) Civil Administration (in West Bank): Susiya lands belong to the Palestinians
- Kerry: World will blame Israel if the agreement is rejected in Congress
- US: Pollard likely to be released on 21 November
- Erdogan’s new front against ISIS: Report from the border with Syria // Zvi Bar’el
- Gal-On: “We will stabilize the (left-wing) camp and then we will think about whether we need to connect with Ayman (Oudeh, chairman of Hadash party) or Shelly (Yachimovitch of the Labor party)
- Amidar Co. wouldn’t give housing to mentally disabled person because he was in a rehab hostel; High Court criticized the company
- Enormous fire near Beit Shemesh: 1,500 dunams burned
- 14 songs that the youth of Nahariya are not allowed to hear – municipality against sexist music
- Double-edged sword // Haaretz Editorial
- Response to doubts // Raviv Drucker
- On the way home – Jonathan Pollard’s release is closer than ever
- Consolation prize // Ronen Bergman
- Tisha B’Av: Thousands at the Wailing Wall
- The day that changed America – 14 years later, photos documenting what happened in the White House on September 11 were released. [PHOTO: Dick Cheney, with his feet up on his desk, looking at TV screen showing Twin Towers smoking]
- “They desecrated the grave of our son” –Parents of Lee Matt are furious that the words of protest against Netanyahu and Yaalon were removed from their son’s gravestone
- Policewoman who complained of sexual harassment: “I am undergoing a smear campaign”
- Tough house in 2018 World Cup qualifying games: Israel plays against Spain and Italy
- Parking revolution – Traveling to town in your car? Soon it will be much much harder to find parking
- Netanyahu effect – Urologists note: They are flooded with requests to receive the controversial treatment Netanyahu received
- Forget sick days (‘gimmelim’) – Soldiers, here are the tips that will help you stay healthy from draft till release from the army
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Fingers crossed - The report in the US on preparations ahead of the release in November of the Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard after 30 years in prison raises hope in Israel that this time it will happen
- Closer than ever // Yossi Melman
- Defense Ministry removed the words from the gravestone of a fallen soldier
- Remembering the destruction (of the Holy Temple), with a heavy security escort
- Obama’s roots tour in Kenya
Israel Hayom
- Pollard, because it’s about time
- Pollard’s release – it’s not a gesture, it’s an obligation // Haim Shine
- The biggest fire since the Carmel disaster
- Obama admits: The agreement will increase Iranian terror
- Tisha B’Av: Fast and (security) preparedness
- Discrimination of the new teachers: They served 3 years in the IDF, received only two years tenure
- Special: Decade since the disengagement (from Gaza)
- The police did not put the gat juice in refrigeration: the evidence was destroyed and the accusation of drugs evaporated
- Hardest possible: Italy and Spain in the Israeli house in World Cup preliminaries
News Summary:
The debate over the reasons for the likely release from a US prison of a Jewish-American-Israeli spy, the
latest over the Iran nuclear deal and the call by the leader of Israel's only Zionist left-wing party to create
a larger faction with other parties were top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers.
Members of Israel's coalition government and some opposition MKs rejected the Wall Street Journal report that quoted US officials who confirmed that the Obama administration will soon release spy Jonathan Pollard from jail in November in the hope the move will improve the tense ties with Israel over the nuclear agreement with Iran. But Israeli analysts thought otherwise (with the exception, of course, of the Netanyahu-mouthpiece, Israel Hayom – OH]. (See Commentary/Analysis below) MK Nahman Shai (Zionist Camp), who headed the Knesset lobby for Pollard's release: "The attempt to turn the release of Pollard into a political act and connect it to the Iran nuclear deal or with the release of Arab prisoners is ridiculous, embarrassing and humiliating." MK Tzachi Hanegbi: "The US needed to release Pollard years ago…I hope to be able to invite him over this coming Sukkot." MK Michael Oren (former Israeli ambassador to the US): "Of course there is no connection between the release of Pollard, which is a subject of compassion and justice, and the bad deal with Iran, which is an issue of security and compliance." (Maariv) Haaretz ran a profile of spy Jonathan Pollard.
And the spin over the nuclear deal continues in full force.On its front page, Israel Hayom wrote that Obama 'admitted that the nuclear agreement will increase Iranian terror.' But as the other papers wrote, Obama actually said that Iran will fund Hezbollah with or without sanctions: “Iran has shown itself to be willing, even in the midst of real hardship, to fund what they consider to be strategy priorities. The challenge is us making sure that we’ve got the interdiction capacity, the intelligence, that we are building a much stronger defense against some of these proxy wars and asymmetric efforts. And we’ve sent a clear message to the Iranians. We are settling the Iran deal, but we still have a big account that we’re going to have to work. Hopefully some of it diplomatically, if necessary some of it militarily.” For its part, Iran told the US to stop threatening it, Maariv reported. Israel Hayom also wrote that the pro-peace Israel lobby J Street had made a 'fictitious reality' in which Israelis support the Iran deal and noted that the lobby quoted former Israeli security chiefs. However, those chiefs did indeed express support for the deal. US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that the world would blame Israel if Congress rejected the Iran deal. On Friday, Kerry had an 'intense exchange' with Jewish leaders over the nuclear deal. Opposition leader and Zionist Camp chairman MK Isaac Herzog accused Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of using 'Tisha B'Av syndrome' to scare Israelis: using a permanent threat of annihilation to influence public opinion. "Israel needs someone to lead it, not someone to scare it," Herzog said.
**At the annual Peace Now conference in Tel-Aviv, Meretz party chief Zehava Gal-On made some interesting statements about the left and about Meretz's future. At the conference, titled 'Israel Now – Building an Alternative,' Gal-On discussed the mistakes that led to the left-wing losing the March elections to Likud and even discussed the possibility of linking-up with the more right-wing Zionist Camp. “I’m not relinquishing Meretz’s unique voice, but I think it’s time to drop purism, self-righteousness and narrow constraints and consider how we can work as a bloc, not as a party,” Galon said. She said she regarded Zionist Union's Shelly Yacimovich and Joint List's Ayman Odeh as partners in whatever the political configuration. Yachimovich was not excited about the idea. “I see Meretz as our beloved little sister — I don’t think uniting would increase our strength. It’s healthy that Meretz remains on the left.” And Odeh said the Zionist left-wing must engage Israeli Arabs more.
Members of Israel's coalition government and some opposition MKs rejected the Wall Street Journal report that quoted US officials who confirmed that the Obama administration will soon release spy Jonathan Pollard from jail in November in the hope the move will improve the tense ties with Israel over the nuclear agreement with Iran. But Israeli analysts thought otherwise (with the exception, of course, of the Netanyahu-mouthpiece, Israel Hayom – OH]. (See Commentary/Analysis below) MK Nahman Shai (Zionist Camp), who headed the Knesset lobby for Pollard's release: "The attempt to turn the release of Pollard into a political act and connect it to the Iran nuclear deal or with the release of Arab prisoners is ridiculous, embarrassing and humiliating." MK Tzachi Hanegbi: "The US needed to release Pollard years ago…I hope to be able to invite him over this coming Sukkot." MK Michael Oren (former Israeli ambassador to the US): "Of course there is no connection between the release of Pollard, which is a subject of compassion and justice, and the bad deal with Iran, which is an issue of security and compliance." (Maariv) Haaretz ran a profile of spy Jonathan Pollard.
And the spin over the nuclear deal continues in full force.On its front page, Israel Hayom wrote that Obama 'admitted that the nuclear agreement will increase Iranian terror.' But as the other papers wrote, Obama actually said that Iran will fund Hezbollah with or without sanctions: “Iran has shown itself to be willing, even in the midst of real hardship, to fund what they consider to be strategy priorities. The challenge is us making sure that we’ve got the interdiction capacity, the intelligence, that we are building a much stronger defense against some of these proxy wars and asymmetric efforts. And we’ve sent a clear message to the Iranians. We are settling the Iran deal, but we still have a big account that we’re going to have to work. Hopefully some of it diplomatically, if necessary some of it militarily.” For its part, Iran told the US to stop threatening it, Maariv reported. Israel Hayom also wrote that the pro-peace Israel lobby J Street had made a 'fictitious reality' in which Israelis support the Iran deal and noted that the lobby quoted former Israeli security chiefs. However, those chiefs did indeed express support for the deal. US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that the world would blame Israel if Congress rejected the Iran deal. On Friday, Kerry had an 'intense exchange' with Jewish leaders over the nuclear deal. Opposition leader and Zionist Camp chairman MK Isaac Herzog accused Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of using 'Tisha B'Av syndrome' to scare Israelis: using a permanent threat of annihilation to influence public opinion. "Israel needs someone to lead it, not someone to scare it," Herzog said.
**At the annual Peace Now conference in Tel-Aviv, Meretz party chief Zehava Gal-On made some interesting statements about the left and about Meretz's future. At the conference, titled 'Israel Now – Building an Alternative,' Gal-On discussed the mistakes that led to the left-wing losing the March elections to Likud and even discussed the possibility of linking-up with the more right-wing Zionist Camp. “I’m not relinquishing Meretz’s unique voice, but I think it’s time to drop purism, self-righteousness and narrow constraints and consider how we can work as a bloc, not as a party,” Galon said. She said she regarded Zionist Union's Shelly Yacimovich and Joint List's Ayman Odeh as partners in whatever the political configuration. Yachimovich was not excited about the idea. “I see Meretz as our beloved little sister — I don’t think uniting would increase our strength. It’s healthy that Meretz remains on the left.” And Odeh said the Zionist left-wing must engage Israeli Arabs more.
Quick Hits:
- Study: World Jewry increasingly critical of Israel - Study by Jewish People Policy Institute claims Diaspora Jews doubt Israel truly wishes to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians. (Haaretz)
- Defense Ministry internal report: Land at village slated for demolition privately owned by Palestinians - Civil Administration report obtained by Haaretz cites Ottoman deed, may halt planned demolitions in West Bank village of Sussia. (Haaretz+)
- Lapid slams Kibbutz Movement for inviting Breaking the Silence to address youth - Kibbutz Movement says speakers at event in questions also included IDF officers, group that seeks to promote image of soldiers abroad. It responded to Lapid's attack on its Facebook page: "sorry to see how a politician in Israel is making cynical use of partial, inexact information that has been taken out of context without verifying it." (Haaretz+)
- Former IDF intel chief briefly held up at London airport, report says - Amos Yadlin, head of the Institute for National Security Studies, was held up for ten minutes on Tuesday, Channel 2 reports. (Haaretz)
- Man spent 3 months in jail after policemen allegedly planted drugs in his car - Two officers from Southern District arrested on suspicion of putting 50 grams of heroin in man’s vehicle in December 2014. (Haaretz+)
- Defense Ministry removes memorial plaque critical of Netanyahu and Ya’alon - Staff Sgt. Li Mat died a year ago during Operation Protective Edge. His family placed a plaque saying he was 'killed on the watch' of the prime minister and defense minister. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Israeli army proposes barring Israeli Arabs from visiting Gaza - With two Israelis missing in the Strip over the past year, COGAT proposes more stringent limits on Arab citizens' visits to the coastal enclave. Israeli Arabs are allowed to enter Gaza only to visit first-degree relatives, and only with prior approval. (Haaretz)
- El Al excluding Arab citizens from new at-home check-in service, NGO charges - Airline doesn’t deny charge about arrangement, which includes security inspection. (Haaretz+)
- Jordan complains to international aviation body over new Israeli airport - Jordan concerned with location and name of new Timna airport north of Eilat; International Civil Aviation Organization is reportedly investigating the complaint. (Haaretz)
- Defense Minister chides legislator for ‘inciting hatred’ against Israeli Arabs - Yisrael Beiteinu's Robert Ilatov questioned the loyalty of judges who declined to sing the national anthem. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli army takes heat for causing widespread brush fires - Israel Nature and Parks Authority says IDF negligence endangers wildlife in south-central Lachish region. (Haaretz+)
- IDF branches linking up in era of networked warfare - IDF's Communications Corps is constantly improving its systems to fight a networked war, including home front warning systems, saving hundreds of millions from the budget. (Ynet)
- Israel's biggest presidential expenses in 2014: ceremonies and roofing - Report reveals spending for current and former presidents; residence must pay office and security costs for former President Shimon Peres. (Haaretz+)
- State-of-the-art warning system to address Gaza-area mortar threat - After mortar shells claimed both soldiers and civilian casualties, new radar system will increase warning time from 3-5 seconds to 15 seconds. (Ynet)
- Bedouin woman dies of wounds sustained in brawl between families - The fight in Rahat also claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy last week.(Haaretz)
- Hamas 'summer camp' trains 25,000 Gazans as fighters - Hamas aims to train 25,000 'new generation liberators' in its new summer camp program, which takes in ordinary Gazans and teaches them shooting, first aid, and tunnel warfare. (Ynet)
- The mysterious, new Likud lawmaker with ties to Sara Netanyahu - Nava Boker has submitted 22 bills in three months, including ones to legitimize pirate radio stations and gray-market lenders. Where do her loyalties lie? (Haaretz+)
- Israeli hotels suffer 25% decrease in tourist business - Sharp decreases in tourism across country attributed to 2014 Gaza op, side-operations like Airbnb as hotels remain at 59% capacity. (Ynet)
- WATCH: Gas framework hearings devolve into shouting match between Netanyahu point man and activist - Energy Ministry stops webcast amid shouting. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli bikers ride through Auschwitz on way to Berlin Games - 11 bikers passing through 9 countries on their way to the first Maccabiah games. (Ynet)
- Israel's envoy engages US lawmakers in bid to stop Iran deal - Over the last two years, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer has met with more than 350 members of the House of Representatives and more than 85 senators. Efforts are now focused on 18 Jewish Democratic members of Congress. (Israel Hayom)
- Germany to establish its first professorship dedicated to Holocaust study - Frankfurt's Goethe University to inaugurate chair in 2017 focused on studying Nazi murder of six million Jews; announcement comes 70 years after fall of Third Reich. (Haaretz)
- Bahrain recalls its ambassador to Iran, citing 'hostile statements' - Bahrain said repeated Iranian statements are evidence of 'a strategy built on interference in the affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.' (Agencies, Haaretz)
- ISIS suicide bombers target Syrian villages near Turkey border - Militants targeted Kurdish YPG checkpoints with explosive-laden trucks, activists say. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Tunisia parliament approves death sentence for terrorists after ISIS attacks - Thirty-nine tourists were killed last month by the Islamic State group in Tunisian beach city; MPs pass new 'anti-terror' law by margin of 174-0.(Agencies, Haaretz)
- Syria's Assad announces amnesty for army deserters, state tv reports - There are thousands of army deserters in and outside Syria, many of whom have gone on to fight with rebels seeking to topple Assad. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Turkish jets strike ISIS targets in Syria, Kurds in Iraq - PKK Kurdish militants says 2013 truce with Turkey has no meaning in wake of strike. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
The human cost of the IDF's 'nonlethal' ammunition
Security forces entered a refugee camp to make arrests and fired a sponge bullet at short range at Nafez Demiri, who is deaf and mute, blinding him in one eye. (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+)
'Everyone falls, the question is how you get back up'
Now adults, evacuated Gush Katif residents gather for an emotional and cathartic look back at their former lives and homes, guided by the lessons they learned as high school students in that fateful summer of 2005, as they ahead look to a better future. (Yehuda Shlezinger, Israel Hayom)
Security forces entered a refugee camp to make arrests and fired a sponge bullet at short range at Nafez Demiri, who is deaf and mute, blinding him in one eye. (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+)
'Everyone falls, the question is how you get back up'
Now adults, evacuated Gush Katif residents gather for an emotional and cathartic look back at their former lives and homes, guided by the lessons they learned as high school students in that fateful summer of 2005, as they ahead look to a better future. (Yehuda Shlezinger, Israel Hayom)
Commentary/Analysis:
The Israeli army's newest bitter battle (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The proposals in the Locker report have provoked an ugly power struggle,
with the IDF fighting attempts to force it to be under civilian oversight.
A year on, Gazans have no more tears to cry (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Death has simply become part of ‘normal’ daily calculations in the Gaza Strip, where the traumatic effect of last summer’s war is impossible to escape.
The Iranian threat (Ran Adelist, Maariv) This is how the symbiosis between media, the security establishment and the political system to make the entire public, some even well read people, were fooled by a campaign of intimidation of the worst kind.
The path to the mount: How is it possible to allow for Jews to pray on the Temple Mount? (Karni Eldad, Maariv) When they divided the Cave of the Patriarchs into parts [one side for Jews the other for Muslims – OH], there was an outcry by Muslims, but they have calmed down. Let us apply this model to the Temple Mount to Jews be allowed to pray at the holy site.
Labor, Meretz, and the politics of compromise (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Opposition leader Herzog inched closer to the center this week, while Meretz's Zehava Galon decided to come to terms with breaking an age-old taboo.
Disengagement, 10 years later: how little things change (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza may have been flawed, but at least it showed a leader who took Israel’s destiny seriously.
Palestinians are not exempt from blame over failure of peace talks (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Woe on us if we are doomed with a binational state. The need to separate from the Palestinians remains, and while the disengagement from Gaza was the right idea, it was horribly executed. We need to give the PA more authorities, but keep security control over Judea and Samaria.
In Israeli politics, every turn is a right turn (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) This relay race aimed at turning the entire country into one big Likud party is being led by the two heads of the so-called opposition, Isaac Herzog and Yair Lapid.
The opening shot of the battle for the defense budget (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) In the battle over early retirement in the IDF, both sides are pulling no punches; the IDF says the Locker report will discriminate against female officers and scare off intelligence and cyber officers, while members of the committee return fire: 'They hid information from us’.
To know Netanyahu is not to love him (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) According to my colleague Benny Ziffer, the only way to assess a public figure is to yank him out of the public sphere. What nonsense.
Closer and more likely than ever: Will Jonathan Pollard be released soon? (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Obama can imply that this move will improve relations with Israel due to the tensions over the nuclear deal and the poor relations with Netanyahu.
A Tisha B’Av Zionist elegy (Don Futterman, Haaretz+) When personal devastation overlaps with ancient Jewish devastation, the author finds himself mediating about loss.
French government's moves creating anti-Semitism (Guy Bechor, Yedioth/Ynet) Op-ed: France's leaders are responsible for local Jews' grim situation due to government's clear pro-Muslim and pro-Palestinian policy, as well as its traditional hostility towards Israel.
Jonathan Pollard: A war of spins and a history of failures (Itamar Eichner
and YItzhak Benhorin, Yedioth/Ynet) Why have all the attempts to release the Israeli spy from US
prison failed, when did Israeli leaders come close to convincing the Americans to free him,
and is there any chance that he will be received at Ben-Gurion Airport as a national hero?
Israel's far right finds a new level of absurdity (Haaretz Editorial) Not all Jews are Israelis and not all Israelis are Jews. It
suffices that officials who express respect for the state's symbols perform their duties while being true
to their
Wanted: A diplomatic lifeline for Israel (Daniel Friedmann, Yedioth/Ynet) In addition to security-related compensation following the Iran deal,
we should try to get US President Obama to issue a firm and unequivocal declaration that Israel is subject to
selective and unjustified enforcement on the international level.
conscience.
A year on, Gazans have no more tears to cry (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Death has simply become part of ‘normal’ daily calculations in the Gaza Strip, where the traumatic effect of last summer’s war is impossible to escape.
The Iranian threat (Ran Adelist, Maariv) This is how the symbiosis between media, the security establishment and the political system to make the entire public, some even well read people, were fooled by a campaign of intimidation of the worst kind.
The path to the mount: How is it possible to allow for Jews to pray on the Temple Mount? (Karni Eldad, Maariv) When they divided the Cave of the Patriarchs into parts [one side for Jews the other for Muslims – OH], there was an outcry by Muslims, but they have calmed down. Let us apply this model to the Temple Mount to Jews be allowed to pray at the holy site.
Labor, Meretz, and the politics of compromise (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Opposition leader Herzog inched closer to the center this week, while Meretz's Zehava Galon decided to come to terms with breaking an age-old taboo.
Disengagement, 10 years later: how little things change (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza may have been flawed, but at least it showed a leader who took Israel’s destiny seriously.
Palestinians are not exempt from blame over failure of peace talks (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Woe on us if we are doomed with a binational state. The need to separate from the Palestinians remains, and while the disengagement from Gaza was the right idea, it was horribly executed. We need to give the PA more authorities, but keep security control over Judea and Samaria.
In Israeli politics, every turn is a right turn (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) This relay race aimed at turning the entire country into one big Likud party is being led by the two heads of the so-called opposition, Isaac Herzog and Yair Lapid.
The opening shot of the battle for the defense budget (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) In the battle over early retirement in the IDF, both sides are pulling no punches; the IDF says the Locker report will discriminate against female officers and scare off intelligence and cyber officers, while members of the committee return fire: 'They hid information from us’.
To know Netanyahu is not to love him (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) According to my colleague Benny Ziffer, the only way to assess a public figure is to yank him out of the public sphere. What nonsense.
Closer and more likely than ever: Will Jonathan Pollard be released soon? (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Obama can imply that this move will improve relations with Israel due to the tensions over the nuclear deal and the poor relations with Netanyahu.
A Tisha B’Av Zionist elegy (Don Futterman, Haaretz+) When personal devastation overlaps with ancient Jewish devastation, the author finds himself mediating about loss.
French government's moves creating anti-Semitism (Guy Bechor, Yedioth/Ynet) Op-ed: France's leaders are responsible for local Jews' grim situation due to government's clear pro-Muslim and pro-Palestinian policy, as well as its traditional hostility towards Israel.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.