News Nosh 09.03.15

by APN 09/03/15
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday September 3, 2015 
 
Quote of the day:
"So as these little people walked this week into the first classroom of their lives, their starting point was extraordinary...There’s only one thing their parents have not given them: a state that functions, a government that governs, a legislature of stature and a national system that can unite the tribes of Israel and steer the State of Israel and guarantee the future of its 6-year-old future adult citizens."
--Haaretz+ commentator Ari Shavit writes that Israelis cannot continue to live well without ethical politics or a high-quality public sector.
You Must Be Kidding: 
The State of Israel wrote off $76 million in debts that Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights owed.

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
Israel Hayom
  • Israeli political source: “Most of the US agrees with us” – Obama achieved a ‘bloc’
  • Netanyahu could not have acted differently // Boaz Bismuth
  • The performance supports terror? The state won’t finance the theater
  • Two bullets in the living room
  • The budget was approved in the first reading; Shas demanding implementation of ‘0% VAT’ plan
  • Musical chairs in the Knesset: MKs Shai Piron and Sharon Gal resigned from politics
 
News Summary:
The US President is guaranteed backing for the Iran nuclear deal and a Syrian toddler washes up to shore making top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Also in the news, Israel strikes Hamas military targets in Gaza in retaliation for random bullets that hit inside a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip, the budget passes the first reading in Knesset, two MKs resign believing they can do more outside the legislative walls and Israel’s President flies to Rome for a meeting with the Pope.
 
The US pledged security guarantees to Israel after Obama won the support he needed from 34 Senators to uphold the Iran nuclear deal. Israeli officials kept up a positive face, despite the defeat, declaring that Israeli Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu did his duty by presenting Israel’s concerns and that the majority of Americans agree with him and oppose the deal. One high-ranking official told Ynet that the Israeli campaign against the deal was successful in delegitimizing it. But, a former US senator said that the
nuclear fight weakened AIPAC and that Netanyahu fabricated the claim that Iran's nuclear program has military objectives. Here is a full list of the US Senators and where they stand on the deal.

Also, following Netanyahu’s visit, President Reuven Rivlin lands today in Rome and will meet with the Pope. The visit comes in the wake of accusations that Israel is not doing enough to protect its Christian minority, Maariv reported.
 
 
Quick Hits:
  • IDF soldier suspended after beating Palestinian detainee - Palestinian from Al-Arroub refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, required medical attention after being beaten by IDF soldier from Kfir battalion. (Haaretz+)
  • Jewish graves vandalized on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives - Firefighters also skirmish with youths after putting out a fire in the Issawiya neighborhood. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Israel confiscates 'part of Islamic cemetery' next to Aqsa Mosque - Israeli nature authority inspectors and Israeli soldiers stormed Bab al-Rahma cemetery and set up a barbed wire fence around a large area of the cemetery's land. Bab al-Rahma, meaning Door of Compassion, runs along the eastern wall of Jerusalem's Old City and has been in use for more than 1,000 years. (Maan)
  • Palestinians remove Israeli fence around cemetery near Aqsa mosque - The youths, from the nearby Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, refused to allow Israel's Nature Authority to confiscate the land in Bab al-Rahma cemetery. (Maan)
  • Sweeping Anti-terror Bill Passes First Reading in Knesset - The controversial proposal would repeal archaic pre-state laws, but adds what critics call ‘totalitarian’ provisions in their wake. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israeli government erases $76m in debts owed by settlements - State writes off the majority of debts owed by dozens of Jewish settlements, but released figures this week only after Haaretz filed suit to obtain the information. (Haaretz+) 
  • UN: Gaza could be 'uninhabitable' by 2020 - UNCTAD says 'social, health and security-related ramifications of the high population density and overcrowding,' as well as dire economic situation in the blockaded enclave could render it unlivable in just five more years. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • In Bedouin town, right-wing minister defends displacement of locals - Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel says all will be welcome in a new community expected to be largely Jewish. (Haaretz+) 
  • Netanyahu: IDF must show zero tolerance for stone-throwing and terror - Meeting on security situation in Jerusalem and Highway 443, prime minister decides to beef up forces in the capital and consider installing cameras on the highway. (Haaretz+ and Maariv)
  • Israel issues stop-work order for school in south Hebron hills - The school -- which consists of several caravans -- was due to open this semester, but construction can no longer take place. The school was to serve the Masafer Yatta area, a collection of hamlets home to some 4,000 Palestinians located in Area C. (Maan)
  • Israeli settlers vandalize electricity tower in Kafr Qaddum - Israeli settlers on Wednesday vandalized the main transmission tower providing electricity to the northern West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum, causing a power outage across the village for several hours. (Maan) 
  • 84% of IDF reservists feel 'service is a duty' - Vast majority of reservists believe in IDF, survey by military's Behavioral Science Department finds. 86% of reservists willing to report for duty unhesitatingly, 80% have faith in commanders, 83% say IDF can secure decisive victory in future conflict. (Israel Hayom)
  • Hamas, ISIS and Iran's response to attempts to harm IDF gas rigs - Navy recently completed drill against a takeover of gas rigs by terrorists. The ‘Barak 8’ system, which will become operable, is likely to provide a solution to the new threats. (Maariv)
  • IDF probes friendly fire incident during botched Jenin raid - Wanted Hamas terrorist who was raid's target still at large, military says. (Israel Hayom)
  • Witnesses: Israeli forces detain 9 after crossing the Gaza border - Witnesses said a young man, two women, and six children were detained after sneaking into Israel from al-Faraheen village in the southern Gaza Strip. Earlier in the day Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man near the Gazan border after he crossed into Israel via the sea, according to an Israeli spokesperson. (Maan)
  • Hamas: PNC session 'tearing apart' national unity - The Hamas movement said Wednesday that plans for an emergency session of the Palestinian National Council were "tearing apart" national unity and amounted to an annulment of all national consensus agreements. (Maan)
  • 2015-2016 budget passes first reading - 57 vote in favor and 53 against new state budget; budget will now have to pass second and third readings before it can officially be approved. (Ynet)
  • Man acquitted after 10-year trial to get $76K in compensation - Salam Abdelkader was indicted, imprisoned and then kept on house arrest for 5.5 years over allegations that he molested a female patient in a psychiatric institution where he worked as an instructor. In 2013 Supreme Court Justice decided on a retrial and criticized lower court judges, saying their refusal to show Abdelkader the patient’s medical file made it impossible for him to defend himself properly. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israel educators flunk general knowledge test on key issues In Israel Hayom survey asking 15 questions on basic Israeli concepts, teachers get only five right on average. Many teachers unable to date Rabin killing, say what Green Line is, or write out national anthem. Older teachers less able than younger ones. (Israel Hayom) 
  • Christians protest 'discriminatory' Israeli gov’t school funding - Hundreds of Christian Palestinians protested in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth Tuesday against what they said was state discrimination in funding their schools, which prompted them to declare an open-ended strike, an AFP reporter said. (Maan)
  • In Turnaround, Jewish National Fund Agrees to Transfer Funds to the State - The JNF will invest $254 million to fund projects to encourage housing construction. (Haaretz+)
  • Israeli commander charged with sexual harassment of female soldier - Number of complaints filed within army on the rise with 667 soldiers reporting they were sexually assaulted or harassed in 2014. (Haaretz+)
  • IDF's mixed-sex combat battalion lures new immigrants, challenge-seekers - IDF’s Caracal Battalion attracts women who say they want their army service to be ‘meaningful and challenging.’ (Haaretz+)
  • Druze reservists want to give back Protective Edge commendations - Soldiers are protesting the government's treatment of their home towns by seeking to return their honors, received after their service in last year's war in Gaza. (Ynet)
  • (Palestinian) Prisoner's society: Israel keeping hunger striker alive 'unethically' - Qadura Fares told Ma'an that doctors at Barzilai Medical Center in southern Israel had decided to prolong the hunger striker's life "on his behalf," although he said that he did not believe it amounted to force-feeding. Mohammad Allan, who has been on hunger strike 62 days, slipped into a coma on Friday. (Maan)
  • Israeli forces raid section of Nafha jail - Earlier in the month, some 120 detainees launched a six-day hunger strike, which was suspended after Israel's Prison Service agreed to stop cell raids and the arbitrary transfer of prisoners to different sections of the jail. (Maan)
  • Israel Navy preparing to combat terror against gas drilling rigs - A recent exercise by naval commandos practiced reestablishing control over a rig that had been taken over by armed militants. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israel's Christian schools still on strike over budget - A strike over budgets is keeping 33,000 pupils at home. (Haaretz+) 
  • Convicted nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu tells of London honey-trap - Vanunu spent 18 years in prison for revealing Israel's nuclear secrets. He tells his story in his first-ever Israeli TV interview on Channel 2. (Haaretz) 
  • Charges of beating Arabs dropped for PM security guards - Six men, who served as guards for PM Olmert in 2008, were accused of using excessive force against two Arab gardeners; One has been convicted, while the others were disciplined internally. (Ynet)
  • New hiking trail on Mt. Hermon set to open, with help from soldiers - The hope is that the markings will keep hikers, as well as the area’s rare plant and animal species, safe. (Haaretz+)
  • SodaStream CEO accuses boycotters of anti-Semitism, hurting Palestinian workers - SodaStream is relocating its West Bank factory to Israel's south in the face of international boycott calls. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Dead Sea Cosmetics Maker Ahava Reportedly Being Sold - Buyer isn't named, but China’s Fosun International is said to be interested. (Agencies, Haaretz+) 
  • Egyptian power line providing power to Gaza damaged - Talks are ongoing with the Egyptian company providing the electricity to fix the line, with no details provided about the cause of the damage. (Maan)
  • Egypt says Zohr gas find will not undermine talks on imports from Israel - Minister: Deals with Israel not endangered, Zohr gas will flow to domestic market, after Israeli energy stocks fell earlier in the week. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Anti-Semitic insults lead to brawl in Berlin soccer match - Fans of TuS Makkabi scuffle with BFC Meteor, insults exchanged forcing the referee to cancel the match. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • France drops investigation into Yasser Arafat's death - Investigation into Palestinian leader's 2005 death was opened in 2012, at the request of his widow Suha. (Haaretz)
  • US NGO to send 75 bionic arms to Syrian children - Limbitless, founded by American graduate students, uses 3-D printers to make the limbs more cheaply; many Syrian children have lost limbs due to Syrian army's use of barrel bombs. (Ynet)
  • Iran: No alternative to Assad in Syria solution - Tehran and Moscow step up diplomatic efforts over Syria as Assad's forces lose ground. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • New, secret U.S. program targets ISIS heads with drones - British militant thought to be an architect of the terrorist group’s social media efforts said to be a victim of program. (Haaretz)

Features:
The Palestinian family that fought a soldier to save their son (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) When Mohammad’s mother, sister and aunt saw an Israeli soldier choking the 12-year-old boy, they grabbed him on all sides. Then the child’s father alerted an officer to come rescue the soldier. 
If I forget you Jerusalem
"I performed in front of people who waved Palestinian flags for the sake of all the Israeli artists who are demanded to be ashamed of their identity...I saw from the stage people with Palestinian flags, giving me the finger and cursing me. It only increased my Jewish identity." Two weeks after he beat the boycott movement and sang in front of their face the hit, 'Jerusalem,' rapper Mattisyahu performs at the Jerusalem Festival for Sacred Music. (Dana Spector, Yedioth's '24 Hours' supplement, cover)
IDF's mixed-sex combat battalion lures new immigrants, challenge-seekers
IDF’s Caracal Battalion attracts women who say they want their army service to be ‘meaningful and challenging.’ (Judy Maltz, Haaretz)

Commentary/Analysis:
Netanyahu understands nothing about U.S. in 2015 (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) In his headlong crash into the wall vis-à-vis the Iran deal, Netanyahu took with him many innocent victims; one might have hoped that this would cause him to reevaluate his policies, but this is not likely to happen. 
It is indeed very late to fashion Israel anew - but it’s not too late (Ari Shavit, Haaretz+) Those who bring children into the world have an obligation. We must begin the job of repairing Israel. Not next week, not tomorrow, but today. 
Abbas' political stunts (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Palestinian president is once again threatening to resign. While it doesn't seem like he's quite done yet, Israel is preparing for the day after he retires, and someone else takes over.
Armed robbery: The Israeli army's policy in the West Bank (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The much publicized video of an Israeli soldier choking a 12-year-old boy show just one way in which the army terrorizes residents of Palestinian villages in order to steal their land.
Transparency and respect (Smadar Bat Adam, Israel Hayom) Students have a right to know what their teachers' beliefs are.
Let's trust Israel's students (Prof. Esther Herzog, Israel Hayom) Caution must be used when expressing political views in the classroom.
Israel's 'Eric Garner moment' entrenches its habit of victim-blaming (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) Even when arresting children, Israel insists it has the moral upper hand: In the Nabi Saleh incident, Israel's 'Eric Garner moment' cast the soldier, not the kids, as the innocent victim.
The problem with appeasement (Clifford D. May, Israel Hayom) When has a despot ever been permanently conciliated? 
How Obama defeated AIPAC on Iran (Peter Beinart, Haaretz+) After Iraq, Democrats didn't want to vote for war.


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

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