• Israel to West: Military intervention needed to stop Assad
• Testimony in military court in Lebanon: Ron Arad was tortured and died in ’88, two years after he went captive
• British citizens will decide by national referendum in June whether to leave the European Union
• Decisive night for both parties in S. Carolina and Nevada
• After three months hunger-striking, sign of an agreement between the state and Al-Qiq
• Tel-Aviv Kadisha Burial Society supported with public funds, but offers aid only to ultra-Orthodox
• Rabbinical court calls to ostracize lecturer who refuses to give get (Jewish divorce)
• Yossi Graber, who portrayed hundreds of roles in theater and film, died
• Where are the people // Nir Hasson
• (Chief of Staff Eisenkot) Key figure // Amir Oren
• Where’s the package? Products from abroad might get stuck in Israel Post, even though the receivers were told that they were held by customs

• “Netanyahu abandoned the Chief of Staff” – Political establishment attacks PM for not giving support to Chief of Staff for his ‘Scissors Speech’
• Listen to Eisenkot // Nahum Barnea
• No one is left to tell about Treblinka – Author and artist Shmuel Willenberg, the last survivor of the death camp, died at age 93
• “As long as they still want me I’ll continue to act” – Actor Yossi Graber died at age 82
• Hilary Clinton won in Nevada
• Exclusive: The plan to lower food prices
• The Ron Arad mystery

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• “Attack on the Chief of Staff is an attack on the IDF” – said Yesh Atid Chairman, MK Yair Lapid, staving off criticism from the right-wing against Eisenkot following his remarks against shooting terrorists who don’t pose a danger
• Testimony in Lebanon: “Ron Arad was tortured and died in a shower in 1988”
• Bank Hapoalim affair: The General Controller in the Ministry of Finance opposes giving full exemption of responsibility to banks for their work with Palestinians
• “I didn’t kill my sister, I loved her”The “last witness of Treblinka” passed away
  Parting from an acting legend – Yossi Graber – 1933-2016

Israel Hayom

• “We never emptied magazines” – said Public Security Minister Erdan “Even the policeman who neutralized the girls who came with scissors acted as necessary”
• The report that compares between HMOs (kupot cholim)
• “True hero” – Funeral for Tuvia Yanai Weissman, (who was killed by two 14-year-old Palestinians in West Bank)
• “Ron Arad was beaten and tortured before he died in 1988”
• The twin and her boyfriend confessed to murder – and retracted
• Primaries in the US: Clinton won in Nevada; Waiting for South Carolina
• Last Treblinka survivor passed away
• Authors Umberto Eco and Harper Lee passed away

News Summary:
The storm over the IDF Chief of Staff’s ‘Scissors Speech,’ the testimony about the death of missing navigator Ron Arad, and the passing away of two legendary Israelis, an actor and the last survivor of Treblinka, made top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers along with the latest Palestinian-Israeli violence.

Opposition leader Zionist Camp chief, MK Isaac Herzog and Yesh Atid chairman, MK Yair Lapid, slammed Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyanhu for not giving IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot backing after members of the coalition slammed the Chief of Staff for supporting restraint and opposing shooting Palestinians if they don’t pose a danger.
 
Even the leader of the far right-wing Habayit Hayehudi party, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, spoke out in support, saying: “I support [Eisenkot’s] statement that soldiers need to strike those who endanger lives and not those who don’t endanger lives.” However, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who heads the police, was on the defense saying that “One thing that is lacking in the storm that broke out over the Chief of Staff’s remarks about not wanting a soldier to empty his magazine on a 13-year-old girl with a scissors: No one mentioned that this never happened.” Nevertheless, it is clear to most that the Chief of Staff was referring to the incident in November when a policeman, over whom Erdan’s Ministry is responsible, walked over and shot dead a 13-year-old Palestinian girl who was lying on the ground after being hit with a chair, shortly after she had stabbed someone with a scissors. He also shot the girl’s cousin who was also lying on the ground unmoving.  The incident was caught on video and the Attorney General ordered an investigation into the policeman’s actions. (Yedioth) [In a number of other cases, such as the killing of Fadi Alloun, the Police and the Border Police have appeared to be fast on the trigger or continued to shoot someone even after he or she no longer posed a danger.

Today Haaretz posted another such example of shooting on a person who no longer poses a danger from a Friday attack: a video shows numerous Israeli Border Police shooting from a distance for an extended period of time at a young Palestinian laying on the ground, who moments earlier had tried to stab one of them at Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. Later on Friday, a Palestinian young man driving a car reportedly attempted to run over IDF soldiers and was shot and killed. The Ynet photo shows his car slammed into an armored vehicle. He wrote a Facebook message to his parents. And another Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the West Bank. However, in another attempted stabbing at Damascus Gate on Saturday the Border Police appear to be more restrained. Instead of firing on a young Palestinian who had drawn a knife at them they restrained him, with the aid of a police dog, ending with no casualties on either side. (Also Maariv)

Quick Hits:

• Palestinians, Israelis in advanced talks over ending detainee's hunger strike - As part of the impending deal, Mohammed al-Qiq, a 33-year-old Palestinian journalist, is to be transferred from northern Israel to East Jerusalem; he has been on a hunger strike for nearly three months in protest against his detention without trial. (Haaretz) 
• U.S. condemns West Bank stabbing attack that killed U.S. citizen - Tuvya Wiesman, an off-duty IDF soldier, was stabbed was stabbed to death in a Rami Levy supermarket in the Sha’ar Binyamin industrial zone. (Haaretz)
• Hamas leader: Cameras, sensors found in tunnel collapse probe - Following weeks in which terror group's attack tunnels saw an unusual amount of collapses, Ismail Haniyeh says it has located devices designed to discover the tunnels. (Ynet) 
• Pro-Hezbollah hackers: We penetrated Israeli sites, security feeds - Lebanese hackers supported by Hezbollah claim to have penetrated more than 5,000 Israeli targets last year, including sensitive data and security cameras. (Ynet, Times of Israel and Maariv) 
• Israeli right-wing activist convicted of sedition for writing manual for Jewish terrorists - The authorities believe that Moshe Orbach belonged to a group that aims to stoke violence in the West Bank and bring down the Israeli government. (Haaretz+) 
• Israel Dramatically Ramping Up Demolitions of Palestinian Homes in West Bank - Israel has razed over 200 EU-funded buildings in the West Bank in the past two years. This year alone around 480 people, including 220 children, have been left homeless. (Haaretz+) 
• Syrian refugee's website thanks Israel - Aboud Dandachi tells Ynet about his decision to dedicate a site to stories of Israelis who help Syrian refugees and his steadfast belief that there is no reason for Israelis and Syrians to be enemies. (Ynet)
• Knesset panel mulls dropping 'incitement to racism' clause from bill on MKs’ behavior - Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky views chances of ‘suspension bill’ dropping incitement to racism clause as slim. (Haaretz+) 
• 'They won't silence me, even through slander' - New Likud MK and terrorism expert Dr. Anat Berko underwent a baptism by fire when a Knesset colleague tweeted incorrectly that she had denied the existence of a Palestinian people. Berko: Palestinian identity created as an antithesis to Zionism. (Israel Hayom)
• Will Israel soon teach different civics to Jews and Arabs? - In latest development in civics controversy, new textbook goes to print before Arab evaluator submits his comments; in protest, Israeli Arab highest representative body says it will develop its own civics materials. (Haaretz+ and Maariv)
• Following Ma'ariv survey: Calls for the Labor Party to return to the center of the political map - The poll found a drop from 24 seats to 15 in the current Knesset, causing an uproar in the party. MK Herzog: "If I were to live according to the polls, I would have been concluded one year as prime minister.” (Maariv) 
• Israel harnesses skills of soldiers on the autism spectrum - The IDF has shown an unusual attitude towards people with autistic tendencies in recent years, choosing to nurture and make use of their abilities rather than exclude them from service. (Agencies, Ynet)
• After 25 years of Kafkaesque limbo, East Jerusalem Palestinian gets recognized by Israel - With his new ID card, Amir Saleima can now sign up with health maintenance organizations, educational facilities, get a driver’s license, open a bank account, get a job and actually live some kind of life. (Haaretz+) 
• Ammunition Hill made over as adventure destination - Memorial site hopes to draw younger people with its extreme activities, intended to help understand the bravery of Israeli soldiers nearly 50 years ago. (Ynet)
• Olmert's wife, Aliza, visited him in jail - Four days after he entered prison serving a prison term of 19 months, former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s first visit in prison was from his wife. (Maariv) 
• Activists push for refugees' safe zone near Syria-Israel border  - "We like to be a good neighbor, we would like to increase humanitarian supply," says American-Israeli founder of Amaliah charity Moti Kahana. Activists work to rally Israeli, U.N. and EU support to set up safe haven for Syrian refugees fleeing war zone. (Israel Hayom) 
• Two Israelis arrested for alleged knife attacks against Eritreans - Mohammed and Zakaria Elabeid reportedly targeted dark-skinned people in revenge after a club brawl. (Haaretz+) 
• Boy, 17, indicted for stabbing 12-year-old in apparent hate crime in Ramle - Youth had allegedly been motivated after watching television footage that showed two teenage Arab-Israeli girls committing a stabbing attack on a security guard in Ramle earlier this month. (Haaretz+)
• Nature Authority asks Defense Minister Ya'alon to act on West Bank sewage - Contaminated sewage leaks from Palestinian towns and Jewish settlements into streams and aquifers. (Haaretz+) 
• Israeli Winner at Berlin Film Festival Calls Israeli Government 'Fascist' at Movie Screening - Director Udi Aloni, whose Arabic-language film, “Junction 48,” features mostly Palestinian actors, says that while Netanyahu spreads hate, his film spreads love and coexistence and called on Germany not to supply Israel with submarines because of its fascist government. (Haaretz and Maariv)
• Israel prepares to fight boycott activists online - Gov't allots $26 million to fight BDS movement; Israel is using its world-leading expertise in cyber security to take on the growing threat of the global pro-Palestinian boycott movement. (Agencies, Ynet) 
• 13-year old Mohammed from Gaza gets a new lease on life - Thanks to voluntary work of Israeli-based organization Save a Child's Heart, doctors at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon implant pulmonary valve that would improve Mohammed Abu Jazer's quality of life and help him avoid open-heart surgeries. (Ynet)  
• Long-running Church of the Holy Sepulchre Dispute Finally Resolved - A cellar beneath a Palestinian grocery in Jerusalem’s Old City was the focus of a bitter 20-year legal spat between the storeowners and the church. One abduction and diplomatic crisis later, the sides have now been ordered to build a dividing wall. (Haaretz+) 
• Clinton e-mails reveal thoughts on Israel - New batch of communications sent on Hillary Clinton's private server give a behind-the-scenes look at the then-secretary of state's views on Israel, and particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu. (Yedioth/Ynet)

Features:
'It’s hard to raise funds from young U.S. Jews. They're indifferent to Israel'Arrivals / Departures: A U.S. rabbi visiting Israel says that separation of religion and state is what makes America work; a couple of Israelis returning from Greece share a 'When Harry Met Sally' moment. (Liat Elkayam, Haaretz+)
From American Idol to the IDF band
Six years after he took the stage on one of America's most popular TV shows, Brett Loewenstern is making aliyah to sing in an IDF band. 'I was happier passing the IDF band audition than I was during American Idol.' (Ynet) 
 
Commentary/Analysis:
What Do You Think Your Children Do in the IDF? (Kobi Niv, Haaretz+) For the last 50 years the IDF has been investing most of its resources, time, effort and soldiers in almost only one project – oppression of the Palestinian people. 
The chief of staff is very wrong (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) The Talmudic rule "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first" should be emphasized, not diminished.
Woe to Israel, Led by Those Who Would Attack the Chief of Staff for His Professionalism (Haaretz Editorial) Lt. Gen. Eisenkot said he doesn't want soldiers 'emptying magazines into scissor-wielding girls.' Instead of praising him, some politicians from the ruling parties vied with each other to pillory him so as to win cheers from right-wing voters.
Gadi Eisenkot: a leading moral figure (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot is only a quarter of the way through his tenure, yet is making his mark as a moral and professional leader of the IDF.
IDF chief is right, but misleading (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot's call for restraint was meant to cement existing norms and ethics rather than set new standards.
In our very own Weimar Republic, Israeli academics stay resoundingly silent (Moshe Shoked, Haaretz+) Why in Israel since 2000 hasn’t a movement arisen of academics openly fighting for public opinion against the political, cultural and moral decline of society? 
Eizenkot's shameful implications (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) This is not the first time that the IDF chief of staff has revealed his true political colors.
Don't be so fast to praise the good IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Despite Eisenkot's stance on a West Bank siege, Palestinian work permits and populist statements on terror attacks, he is responsible for the army's sinking to one of the most horrific moral nadirs. 
The IDF has programs that can change the atmosphere (among the Palestinians), but no one will listen to it (Alon Ben-David, Maariv) There is no solution to this conflict, but there are alternatives series such as a local arrangement with the Palestinians, that could change the atmosphere and quell the violence. The IDF and its chief have pointed the political leadership to several such options: At the top is Gaza, which is desperate for an agreement with Israel, and the army believes it can accommodate such an arrangement in terms of security. Even northern Samaria and Jericho, which have no permanent presence of Israelis, can serve as a pilot for such interim agreements. But it is doubtful that the leadership, which is based on intimidation and not on giving hope, is listening to these offers coming from the IDF. It seems that anxiety is the lifeblood of Israeli society today. It almost gleefully wallows in the role of victim and terror imposed by every knife and every rocket. Even the neighbors recognize this mindset and are riding on it.  
Why Israel’s Jews do not know Arabic (Yuval Evri, Haaretz+) Though native-born Jews in the early 20th century sought a Hebrew-Arabic cultural connection, European immigrants sought a separation - and over time the latter 'vision' won. 
Troubles in headlines: Our coverage in the media has reached an unprecedented level of looney-land (Lilach Sigan, Maariv) The biased coverage in our region does not promote human rights or peace, but rather causes a sense of persecution among the Israeli public and removes any possible future diplomatic arrangement. 
On the way to North Korea: Israel was once the only democracy in the Middle East (Uri Savir, Maariv) It isn’t the Iranian bomb that is an existential threat to Israel, but rather the threat of the loss of democracy here, which is what is happening before our very eyes.
Keeping an eye on Gaza while preparing for the next Lebanon war (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Israeli air and ground forces are synchronizing their operations as a way to defeat wily Hezbollah in a short war. But the ground forces had better improve.
The Knesset speaker's curious flip-flop on the MK suspension law (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Edelstein first expressed staunch opposition to the legislation but had to walk back his comments after an angry call from Netanyahu. He has his future to consider ● Netanyahu doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to tap a new national security adviser ● Likud is mired in intra-party conflicts.
The lies and truths behind recent reports on Ron Arad (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet) Lebanese media claims the missing Israeli navigator died of torture in 1988 – a story already established as fabrication by the Israeli government; meanwhile, reports Imad Mughniyah searched for Arad's whereabouts are partly true, and not at all new.
Facing Assad's Battleground Advances, Israel Is Changing Its Approach to Syria War (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Russian intervention has tilted the scales, and Jerusalem is concerned of a regime victory, which would be victory for Iran as well. To prevent that, Israeli officials believe West must intervene in favor of moderate rebels. 
Embracing it all (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) Navigating dual commitments to military service and religious leadership is not easy.
Talking about the zombie two-state solution: It's something to do (Asher Schechter, Haaretz) Few still believe in independent Israel and Palestine. But a whole industry is invested in it, and the alternative is so very difficult. 
Preemptive medicine (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The High Court of Justice should tame itself, and not resort to activism in its upcoming ruling on the gas plan. And are we seeing the emergence of a new kind of right-wing in Israeli politics? 
Israeli 'conflict management' is a hit in Germany (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) Even Angela Merkel has finally been convinced that there’s no partner, i.e. she bought Israel’s perfect bluff. 
It's not the tunnels, Mr. Netanyahu (Haim Ramon, Yedioth/Ynet) Prime Minister Netanyahu has had several opportunities to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza. He could easily garner support for that cause from a number of world powers. But alas, the PM seems to be more comfortable with the terrorists of Hamas in power, since their non-diplomatic stance serves him well.
The pitfalls of assumption (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) The assumption that the Arab-Israeli conflict was triggered by the Palestinian issue have led to erroneous policies.
The end of Israeli democracy is a clear and present danger (Avraham Burg, Haaretz+) We must return to the ABCs of democracy to shape a shared space where activists and intellectuals from all parts of society can gather to explore and resist the spirit of the times. Call it the 'Ministry for Democratic Security.' 
Our grief, their death cult (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Following controversial comments by a popular radio host comparing the grief felt by families of Israeli terror victims to that of the terrorists' families, experts weigh in on the different perceptions of death in each culture.
Cold War II declared in Munich (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet) The general atmosphere at the 2016 Munich Security Conference was one of despair, confusion and belligerence. The Russians bickered with NATO on every topic, with Russian PM declaring the situation has deteriorated ‘to the level of a cold war’; meanwhile, no one talked about the Palestinians, and Iranian FM Zarif failed to draw the same crowds he did in the past.
ISIS-style Religiosity Surfaces on Israel's Morning Radio (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) The affliction of spreading religiosity in Israeli society reaches deep and wide. 
New British Anti-boycott Regulations May Not Do Israel Any Favors (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) The scandal over Oxford's Labour Club and the new guidelines show exactly how toxic the Israel issue has become in British politics. 
In Clinton’s Nevada Win, The Establishment Strikes Back! (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Sanders failure with African American voters could cripple him in the upcoming South Carolina and Super Tuesday Democratic primaries.
Germany Isn't Helping Israel by Ignoring the Occupation (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Chancellor Angela Merkel is fearless on many issues, but has proved a coward when it comes to confronting Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. 
An Israeli Arab dad struggles with parenting American kids (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) They say parents and kids don't speak the same language. In Sayed Kashua's case, it's literally true.

Interviews:
'Call me a terrorist, but I'm no different from Israeli troops defending their homeland'
Some thoughts on the true source of incitement against and hatred of Israelis from Najah Mohammed Muqbel, a Palestinian who spent 23 years in jail for killing one. (Interviewed by Gideon Levy in Haaretz+) 

 

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