APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday August 4, 2015 
 

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

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News Summary:
The funeral for the teenage girl whose stabbing at the gay pride parade could have been prevented, a firebomb attack on an Israeli car in E. Jerusalem and the arrest of a the grandson of Meir Kahane, suspected of being behind a ‘radical underground group’ making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, the latest in the battle for Israeli public opinion on the Iran nuclear deal.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said there was no doubt that Shira Banki’s murder could have been prevented. [Indeed, photos in the papers show two security officers just two meters their arms outstretched towards the killer who was running with his knife in the air. People here question why they did not shoot him, as they would have had he been Arab. – OH]
 
President Reuven Rivlin eulogized Banki even as some Jews continued to write statements of incitement and post photos of Rivlin wearing a Nazi uniform on the Internet. Ynet and Maariv interviewed, ‘Osheriko,’ the young Israeli man living in New York who posted the photos. He complained that “There hasn't been such a fuss when the Fogel family was slaughtered. Some Muslim was burned, probably a future terrorist, so there's a big fuss, and our president accuses the entire Jewish nation of the crime. It doesn't make sense. Where is the president when Jews are murdered every other day?" He said he opposes the “anti-Semitic regime in Israel.” (Maariv) Also arrested (again) for incitement was Gilad Kleiner for writing on WhatsApp that he “happily received the news about the death of one of the wounded from the stabbing at the abomination parade last Thursday.” Kleiner is the son of religious former Likud MK Michael Kleiner. The younger Kleiner had already been arrested and then released last week after posting on Facebook that it was a pity that Shlissel didn’t succeed in killing any of the participants in the Jerusalem ‘abomination parade.’ His father said his words were “terrible and unacceptable” and felt particularly bad because he also knows the family, “especially the mother, who is a wonderful and special woman.” [For some unknown reason, Maariv wrote about the arrest without naming the Kleiners. Interesting to note that at least eight Palestinians were sent to prison for posting incitement statements on Facebook - OH]
 
In the shadow of the threats, Opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog said he supports Rivlin, who is “an example of Israeli leadership,” Maariv reported. Ynet noted that incitement on the Internet by Israeli Jews continues unabated.
 
Haaretz wrote a fascinating article quoting settlers from Kochav Shachar and the two nearby outposts who argued with each other about whether to evacuate the Baladim outpost of extremist hilltop youth following the attack on the Palestinian family and on the participants at the gay pride parade.
  
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said he would allow harsher methods of investigation against Jews, including ‘shaking’ suspects, [a method that some call torture - OH, which has only been used on Palestinians. (Maariv) In a poll by Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, asking whether the Shin Bet should use be given the same authorities to act against Jewish terror as it can against Palestinian terror, 88% of respondents said ‘YES’ and 12% said ‘NO.’ The supplement noted that “ten years ago today, the country was shocked in the face of Jewish, exactly like today.” IDF soldier Natan Zada, 19, opened fire on a public bus in a Druze and Arab village killing four people and injuring nine. Six of the citizens involved in killing him at the scene were sent to jail for up to two years for causing death or aggravated assault.

Meanwhile, the Shin Bet said it didn’t have grounds to outlaw one of the most infamous organized far-right racist groups, the Lehava organization, which follows a Kahanist ideology. That said, the Shin Bet arrested (again) its most wanted Jewish terror suspect, Meir Ettinger, a grandson of Meir Kahane, suspected of heading an underground group that burns churches and mosques and attacks Palestinians in order to spark the end of the state of Israel and hasten the end of days. Ynet notes that in a blog he runs, Ettinger wrote on Thursday, a day before the terror attack in Duma, that "the truth must be told - there is no terror organization, but there are a whole lot of Jews, a lot more than people think, whose value-system is completely different than that of the High Court or the Shin Bet, and who are not bound by the laws of the state, but by much more eternal laws, true laws."
 
And, as the Israeli security forces feared would happen, a Palestinian acted to take revenge for the murder of the infant Ali Dawabsheh in last week’s arson in Duma. An Israeli woman was moderately hurt from a firebomb thrown at her car in the E. Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa. A passerby [likely Arab, but not mentioned – OH], who tried to help, suffered from smoke inhalation. Another driver was wounded when the two cars crashed. [It will be interesting to see how quickly Israeli Police found the Palestinian attackers compared to finding the Jewish attackers in Duma. – OH] What the Israeli papers did not mention was that Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian taxi with passengers on the road between Ramallah and Nablus, Maan reported. A number of similar incidents were reported in the same area, with no injuries reported.

Meanwhile, even US Jewish groups have called on Israel to rein in its Jewish extremists. The attacks “must be met with determined action to prevent violence, apprehend perpetrators, and hold to account those who engage in incitement,” Stephen Greenberg, chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman and CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said in a statement, which also expressed their "profound sorrow" to the Dawabsheh family on the death of their son, Ali Saad Dawabsheh. (Maariv)
 
A group of Israeli former Israeli security chiefs and ex-general urged Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to accept the Iran nuclear deal, calling it a “fait accompli” and pushing to “restore trust with the American administration.” The also said in the letter that Israel must 'initiate a political move' in support of a two-state solution.
 
In the US, a visiting delegation of Israeli diplomatic correspondents met with US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who told them that if he were Israeli he would take the Iran deal because it "takes the existential threat" of a nuclear Iran "off the table." (Also Maariv) Yedioth’s Itamar Eichner quoted an anonymous “senior American official” who said that "If Iran attacked Israel, the US would protect Israel.” Haaretz ran an article noting that US Jewish polls on American Jews views on the Iran deal all produced significantly differing results.
 

Quick Hits: 

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Features:

Susya, the Next Outrage Waiting in the Wings
It’s the old Israeli-Palestinian dance of build-and-destroy – but how did this tiny Palestinian village facing demolition become a household name in European capitals and in Washington? (Ilene Prusher, Haaretz+) 
The Smart British Way to Look at Anti Semitism
A new Community Security Trust survey on incidents involving U.K. Jews offers a sober and balanced perspective of the phenomenon, and bursts a few myths. (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) 
Rebuilding destroyed Palestinian homes: Resistance one house at a time
In the northeastern corner of the Palestinian village of Anata, between the separation wall and Israel's illegal settlement of Pisgat Ze'ev, a group of twenty foreign activists claps and sings about rebuilding and resistance. At the end of the song, a key is handed to a Palestinian man, Hajaj Fhadad. Soon after, Fhadad's extended family of 11 children and two other adults start carrying their furniture into a house that did not exist two weeks ago. (Anna Kokko, Maan) 
This Day in Jewish History: Amos Kenan, Iconoclast, Peacenik, and Would Be Assassin Dies
He was also drawn to the 'Canaanite' concept of a secular state with a pre-Judaic 'Hebrew' identity rather than a religious 'Jewish' one. (David B. Green, Haaretz)

Commentary/Analysis:

Are murderous Jewish extremists really (just) a gang of kids? (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) The Shin Bet security service’s claim that a ‘pacifier-and-diaper’ underground is behind recent Jewish terror attacks strains credibility. 
Thou Shalt Not Kill (Shlomo Nokdemon, Maariv) The history of the Jewish people in Israel is saturated with executions, some of whose perpetrators were not broughtt to justice till today. We must not let the murderers of the Palestinian toddler escape the same way. Shin Be, Israel Police - where are you? 
Hatred is killing the foundation of Israel's existence (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) Freedom of expression is a noble value, the air democracy breathes; but the court has failed to equip democracy with tools to defend itself against those who are using freedom of expression to recruit hate criminals.
Time for the left to be more inclusive (Steven Klein, Haaretz+) Excluding potential allies like Naftali Bennett is a cardinal error in the struggle for LGBT rights in Israel.
We're no better than our enemies (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) Jewish terrorists are just the messengers; there is a well-oiled system of incitement behind them which starts with the person who says the High Court should be razed with bulldozers, with those who stand on balconies and encourage lawbreakers and with those who reward violence. 
I will not apologize (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) Media mouthpieces of the socialist Left will not force me to beg for forgiveness for murders committed by serial offenders and wicked individuals. 
Will the Israeli Right Finally Come to Its Senses? (David Grossman, Haaretz+) The terrifying burning of the baby in Duma is a symptom of a much deeper illness: It signals to us Israelis how very serious our situation is, and indicates – in letters writ in fire – that the path to a better future is closing before us.
Netanyahu Israel's Great Gulliverian Leader (Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz+) As the governance vacuum gets larger he expands, filling our lives with video clips complete with flags and holy books about our rights and thwarting terror. 
To read, to cry, to scream: Two different Jerusalems (Rabbi Benny Lau, Maariv) Now it is possible to say the name: Shira, daughter of Uri and Mika Banki. For three days we whispered this name in prayers. We prayed she would overcome and win. But the hand that held the knife was better at harming. And so, a young Jerusalemite girl who came to make her friends happy in the streets of the city that she so loved – is gone. There is a Jerusalem of (the gay pride parade stabber) Shlisel and a Jerusalem of (victim Shira) Banki. Where is God's house located? In Banki’s home or Shlissel’s home? In Shlissel’s Jerusalem, since the time of the Second Temple, there have been zealots walking around full of hatred who use the name of G-d to put fear in the streets. They are certain that G-d gave them the keys to the city and in murderous terror they try to put fear in the streets. This atmosphere led to the abandonment of the city 2000 years ago by Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai, who (did not) give in to terror and chose to establish an alternative with a book that wandered without a state. In Jerusalem of Banki, there is a family who leaves early every Friday morning, and goes to Mahaneh Yehuda outdoor market in order to fill the house with the good of Jerusalem and to meet the stall sellers with the light and happiness. A Jerusalem family that enjoys to climb mountains on holidays, to be crowded with four children in an average apartment and be happy with what they have. If the Prophet Zachariah saw this family he would cry with happiness – this is how redemption looks…What does the word "secular" mean in relation to the values they embody? Purity, honesty, diligence, alertness. These are the "secular" and the killer Shlissel is "religious"?... 
Time to quash those who preach a Torah of terror (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) There are rabbinic voices who have sent the message that the messiah may choose to appear by stepping over the body of a murdered child. 
Testing the social elite (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) Dear rightists, when we are viciously attacked by the Left during its various rallies, our response should be loving kindness. Let them vent.
Darkness unto the nations (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) A modern cult of zealots is leading Israel on the same path of rebelling against the nations of the world, toward a war of Gog and Magog – and the end of the Third Temple. 
Can Jewish refugees claim billions from Arab states? (Dr. Adam Reuter, Ynet) More than 700,000 Jews fled from Arab countries by the mid 1960s, most of them immigrating to Israel. The property they left behind is estimated at billions of dollars, but the disintegration process most of these countries are going through doesn’t leave Mizrahi Jews much hope for compensation.
Let the hunters become the hunted (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Those involved in Jewish terrorism seek to undermine the rule of law, and it is time to allow law enforcement agencies to target them as they target others.
Is the Nusra Front trying to gain legitimacy in Obama's eyes? (Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz+) A new, English-language magazine put out by the Syrian-based militant group may hint at a willingness to break with Al-Qaida.

Roger Waters Sets the Record Straight: I Hate Apartheid, Not Israel
Gideon Levy spent 24 hours with the former Pink Floyd singer, who has become one of the leading lights in the BDS movement. A conversation on political views, tragic family history – and when the rock star-turned-activist will be happy to play in Israel again. (Interviewed by Gideon Levy in Haaretz+)

 

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