APN's daily news review from Israel

Wednesday April 13, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

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Front Page:

Haaretz

• MKs in Zionist Camp call on Herzog to suspend himself
• Joking with his executioners // Yossi Verter
• Radical right-wing leader of Austria – hosted by the Likud 
• Nuclear reactor chief reveals: Foreign agencies cooperate with the Dimona nuclear reactor in dozens of studies
• Wave of refugees to Europe: At least 100,000 children without adult escorts are exposed to exploitation on the continent
• Police Commissioner: The request to join the police are at a record; Police Brig-Gen.: There a thousand positions available and no one comes
• Rabbinical court recognized Judaism of a family after it was rejected, but did not revoke the cancellation of conversions where the convert did not fulfill mitzvas
• Antitrust Authority did not approve the merger between Golan and Cellcom
• In the public interest (not to approve the merger) // Haaretz Editorial
• A crawling enforcement (of ruling on exceptional salaries in Israel Electricity Corp.) // Avi Bar-Eli
• Why I won’t listen to (right-wing journalist) Arel Segal on Army Radio // Yermi Amir

Yedioth Ahronoth

• The debts of her brother, the money of her customers – New discoveries: The account of personal expenses of Inbal Or
• Health Minister against the Big Mac – the battle over the junk food
• Deri affair: Associate of the Interior Minister questioned under warning yesterday
• Modern Times supplement: Aviv (spring) Holiday – Meet the [left-wing singer Aviv] Geffen family in its new composition

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• Herzog: I am completely calm (about the probe)
• Who is lowering housing prices? The Palestinians
• Buchris affair: Battle of words between lawyers
• Health Minister attacks McDonald’s
• After 54 years: Close to locating (corpse of crashed pilot) Lt. Yakir Naveh
• Defense Minister confirmed: Israel agreed to the transfer of the islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia

Israel Hayom

• 59% of youth: right-wing - Poll of Jewish 11th and 12th graders
• We have someone to rely on // Boaz Bismuth
• Brig. Gen. Buchris affair: Was there a kiss, and if so, who kissed whom?
• Close associate of (Interior Minister) Deri questioned under warning
• Increasing pressure on Herzog to suspend himself from leadership of Labor party
• Defense Minister Yaalon: Since Operation Protective Edge Hamas did not shoot – but it gets stronger and continues to smuggle weapons

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News Summary:
Today’s papers were unusual in that there was really no ‘big’ breaking story, only follow ups to continuing alleged corruption and sexual harassment affairs. The biggest among them was about the increasing pressure on opposition leader and head of the Zionist Camp, MK Isaac Herzog, to suspend himself in light of the the potential criminal investigation he may face over possible campaign financing violations. Herzog said he’s going nowhere.
 
Also in the news, Israel Hayom held an interesting poll, which found that 59% of Jewish Israeli high-school students are right-wing and only 13% identify with the Left. Moreover, 60% said the ‘Shooting Soldier from Hebron,’ who shot a subdued Palestinian assailant in Hebron last month, should not be tried. More from the poll here.
 
**Surprising support for the Arab MK of the Zionist Camp, whose party members slammed him for saying that Palestinians who attack Israeli security forces are not ‘terrorists’ continues, came from the far right-wing, Maariv reported. Former (far right-wing) Knesset member for Likud, Moshe Feiglin, who is known for his vehement opposition to a Palestinian state, posted on Facebook that he supported Arab MK Zuheir Bahloul's statements. "Why is Bahloul wrong?” he wrote. “Why is an attack on soldiers terrorism? The Left-wing has no answer. The right-wing, at best, claims, that unlike the British Mandate soldiers, IDF soldiers operate in their country and therefore the terrorist is just a plain old murderer and not a freedom fighter, like the fighters of the (pre-state) Underground were. Of course, I agree that this (the West Bank) is our country, but as long as the sovereign (in the West Bank) is an Israeli general, it is difficult to say that it is not occupied land. As long as the occupation continues, Bahlul is not wrong. So end the occupation.” Feiglin called to apply Israeli law to “all the lands of Israel” and to help the residents of the area [i.e. Palestinians] emigrate. Those that want can stay as ‘residents’ or go through a long process to receive Israeli citizenship, he wrote. Earlier this week, Meretz party Chairwoman MK Zehava Gal-On accused the Zionist Camp of "throwing Bahloul to the dogs because he is an Arab," Maariv reported. "A party that consistently tries to become Likud 2. They would prefer to replace Zuheir with (far right-wing MK) Smotrich,” she said. (Maariv) 
 
On the security front, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon had good and bad news. Hamas hasn’t shot a rocket at Israel since Operation Protective Edge almost two years ago, but it is getting stronger and building up its combat abilities. Passover will be crucial to gauge whether the wave of Palestinian violence is ebbing, said Yaalon yesterday. The security establishment is concerned that something might cause a flare-up at the Temple Mount during Passover, which is ‘considered one of the year’s most sensitive times for Israeli-Palestinian relations,’ according to Ynet, and various attempts are being made to prevent that. Yedioth reported that the Prime Minister’s Officer intervened to stop a home demolition in E. Jerusalem, not far from the Temple Mount, due to concerns that it may lead to increased tensions with the Palestinian population. And, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is hosting today religious leaders from all the religions in the country an effort to stop a flare up at Temple Mount during Pasover. This comes following warnings and fears from the security establishment that radical elements intend to cause a flare-up at the site, Maariv reported.

However, not everyone is trying to avoid a flare-up at the Temple Mount. the Jewish ‘Temple Institute,’ which desires to change the status quo at the Temple Mount and build a Third Holy Temple, claimed it held a secret Jewish wedding on Temple Mount last week, Yediot/Ynet reported today. One of the wedding's witnesses distracted Israeli police and Muslim Waqf officials in order to allow the couple to take its vows. Ynet noted that ‘the unusual event could reignite violence at the sensitive holy site and elsewhere. Not mentioned in the print article was the fact that “The status quo on the Temple Mount upholds a rule that has effectively existed since 1187, when Muslim warrior Saladin defeated the Christian crusaders and held on to Jerusalem: non-Muslims may enter the sacred compound, but only Muslims can pray.” Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned Israelis traveling abroad for Passover that there are potential threats against Israeli targets mainly in the Middle East and Africa, but also in Turkey.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:
Partition Plan
At Shaaret Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem they deny that they separate between Jews and Arabs in the maternity ward, but a testimony from inside reveals: “It’s an intentional policy, we separate between the mothers from the start, even if they don’t ask.” Yedioth received drawings of the room arrangements that prove: there are separate rooms for Arabs. The Hospital: “We don’t discriminate.” (Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover)
True extent of Israeli public spending on religious services, revealed
First-of-its-kind study shows religious allocations in 2016 amount to $2.3 billion - or 2.3% of total state budget - spread across several ministries. (Tomer Avital, Haaretz) 
 
Commentary/Analysis:
Refusing to Give Birth to Racism: No to Arab-Jewish Segregation in Israel's Maternity Wards (Anat Rosenberg, Haaretz+) It's shameful that an Israeli lawmaker brought the ugliness of racism, all the talk of 'us' and 'them', back into the one place meant to be the safest space, a space of solidarity, for all. 
One Thing Which Could Change Everything: Give the Palestinians the Vote (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Let's say the terrible reality of occupation is all we can expect for the foreseeable future: One State, indivisible, under a Jewish God, with relative liberty for Jews, and injustice for all others. What happens to the dream, the goal, the value, of democracy in Israel? 
No to separation - Not every Arab is an enemy (Eliyakim Haetzni, Yedioth) Even in the days of violence and blood, we didn’t see the routine of life of Jews and Arabs, one next to the other, interrupted. The inciters did not even dare to publicly call to cut off this symbiotic contact. They know they have no chance. Does this co-existence that stands the test, despite the poisoned atmosphere, strengthen or weaken the state of the Jews? Those that demand the separation (of Jews and Arabs) in the hospitals will think again whether they are playing in to the hands of the enemies of Israel, and therefore the discussion over the maternity wards has nothing to do with the dispute between the left-wing and right-wing…We have Arab enemies, but not every Arab is an enemy. This “small difference” is equally a moral and national order.
What Do Israel and Sweden Have in Common? (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) Almost nothing, except that of late we’ve become a normal country without any existential crises to cope with. 
The end of history at Israel's state archives? (Haggai Mattar, +972mag) As part of a digitization process, the Israel State Archives will soon revoke access to original paper documents, and the documents it puts online will be subject to military censorship. Moreover, it is only putting online a mere 2.5 percent of the 400 million documents in the archive. The rest will be closed to the public. But academics and civil liberties groups are fighting back.
Kosovo seeks closeness with Israel (Lital Shemesh, Israel Hayom) Kosovars look to Israel with admiration. 
As Expected, Zionist Union Acted Quickly to Curb Israeli Arab Lawmaker's Linguistic Larceny (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) MK Zouheir Bahloul's attempt to distinguish between a terrorist and a freedom fighter constitutes an existential threat to Zionism. 
Netanyahu's message to Assad and Putin (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) While observing a paratrooper drill in the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits to striking Hezbollah weapons shipments in Syria: is this simply a war of words, or the start of something larger? 
Would pre-state Zionist militias be terrorists by today's standards? (Tomer Persico, +972mag) A Zionist Union MK gets heat for saying not all Palestinians who use violence against Israeli soldiers are terrorists. Can attacks against uniformed soldiers be considered terrorism? 
How Netanyahu's Letting the Far-right Redefine Israel’s Character (Brian Reeves, Haaretz+) Netanyahu is stuffing ministries and diplomatic jobs with right-wing provocateurs to punish all those who have ever opposed his political agenda for Israel.
A depressed Left attacks Netanyahu (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) The Israeli Left is frustrated, dispirited and desperate.
Israeli Politicians Are Jumping on the Bernie-bashing Bandwagon (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Bernie Sanders' admission of error wasn’t good enough for Israeli politicians hungry for an opportunity to hit the international headlines. 
The State of Israel, the State of Judea and the Israeli Democratic Party (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) From Likud's Yaalon to Meretz's Galon: The State of Israel has just one weapon left in its struggle against the State of Judea – establishing a new movement based on the American Democratic Party model. 
The Land of Shaked: The Justice Minister is endangering Israeli democracy (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) The staunch Ideology of the Minister of Justice and her attempts to shrink the powers of the court and impose a conservative legal practice are another step on the way to the darkening of Israel. 
Is the American Jewish pro-Israel Consensus Dying? (Raphael Magarik, Haaretz+) Professor Dov Waxman argues that American Jewish disagreement about Israel 'reflects broader shifts in the American Jewish community' in his new book, 'Trouble in the Tribe.' 
Optimism between the straits (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Saudi Arabia has no interest in sabotaging the Israeli-Egyptian peace accord.
How and Why Radical Right-winger Bentzi Gopstein Was Acquitted (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The judge’s faith in Gopstein is interwoven in a process of acceptance, separation and differentiation. 
Will Egypt-Saudi island agreement affect Israel? (Smadar Perry and Itamar Eichner, Yedioth/Ynet) The Egyptian agreement to hand sovereignty of strategic islands in Straits of Tiran to Saudi arouses Israeli concerns; Saudi Arabia signaled that Israeli freedom of navigation will not be impeded, and they will respect Israel-Egypt peace treaty.
Saudi King Plays Peacemaker, Patron and Policeman in Sweep Through Mideast (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz) King Salman began his political tour last week in Cairo, where the return of the Tiran Straits aroused a political storm in Egypt. Meanwhile, Hamas watches Salman's Turkey visit with bated breath.
 
 

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