News Nosh 05.04.16

by APN 05/04/16
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday May 04, 2016
 
Quote of the day:
“Nice doesn’t cut it anymore.”
--Millionaire venture capitalist-turned-politician Erel Margalit, who is positioning himself to challenge the leadership of, and to try and take the helm of, Israel’s Labor Party, says the party needs to take a more assertive approach - and he demonstrates that with his YouTube clip.*

You Must Be Kidding: 
“Before the whole mess, we made a clip together from a love song he wrote and he hosted us in his refugee camp with open arms. This case has shaken up my life.”
-- Jenia Borkatovsky, a fellow participant in the Jewish-Arab ‘Just Singing’ group of musicians, is one of many Jewish friends supporting Sami Araj by attending his court hearings. Araj was detained after being falsely identified as a terrorist in Beersheva but then kept in detention and accused of throwing stones in E. Jerusalem.**

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • We won – The survivors and their soldier grandchildren – Tonight at 20:00 events for Holocaust Remembrance Day begin
  • A disappearing generation: 194,468 survivors live today in Israel; about 40 die every day
  • The terrorist charged at the soldiersTrump surprises: “Israel need to continue to build settlements”
  • Striking at high school, studying at the beach

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Hebrew papers told stories of some of the 190,000 survivors living in Israel and how a quarter of them are poor, of how a suspected car-ramming attack yesterday injured four soldiers in the West Bank (but Palestinian media reported it was likely an accident), how a Hamas tunnel discovered in Israel last month turned out to be old (also Maariv) and that Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed support for settlements and for the Israeli Prime Minister.
 
Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, when a 36-year-old Palestinian father hit them with his car in what most of the Hebrew papers declared was an intentional car-ramming attack, but which Palestinian witnesses said was an accident. Soldiers shot the man dead. The forces were conducting unannounced checks at the entrance of Ein el-Arik village, Ynet reported. The driver was driving quickly and hit the three soldiers when they were crossing the street, Palestinian witnesses told Maan. The driver fled the scene "fearing for his life," witnesses said. Israeli forces chased him and a separate unit erected a barrier further down the road, where they fired several rounds at him, then pulled him out of the truck and fired at him again, and later prevented him from receiving first aid, leaving him bleeding until he died, witnesses said.
  
The IDF was surprised by the incident noting that things have been relatively quiet, partly thanks to the Palestinian Security Services, which the army said made 40% of the arrests of suspected attackers. As a result, the Israeli army has been entering Palestinian territories (A) less. Nevertheless, the PLO's Saeb Erekat said that talks between Israel and the PA have ground to a halt due to Israel's rejection of Palestinian requests to resume full security duties in West Bank cities, which are in Area A, the part of the West Bank that, under the Oslo Accords, is supposed to be under full Palestinian control.

In diplomacy, Israel celebrated the approval to open an office at NATO headquarters. The okay is a result of the Turkish decision to lift its veto to Israel’s office. Jerusalem interpreted the Turkish decision as another sign that Ankara desires to normalize relations with Israel. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said it was "further testament to Israel's standing and the desire of many to cooperate with us in the field of security." 
 
But no such success was achieved on the US-Israel military aid deal negotiations, which are stalled over the size and scope of the package that the US will give to Israel. The arms deal, when it pans out, will be the largest in its history, the problem is that Washington wants all the money to be spent inside the US, while Israel wants to spend it on Israeli-made weapons and Jerusalem wants a 400% increase in anti-missile defense funding.
 

 
Quick Hits:
  • 7 decades after Holocaust, Israel's Jews exceed 6,000,000 - Central Bureau of Statistics new report: Israeli Jews make up almost 75% of population living in Israel. Some 400,000 Israeli residents fall under no religious category. Arabs comprise more than 20% of the population. (Israel Hayom)
  • Abu Khdeir murderer sentenced to life imprisonment plus 20 years - Yosef Chaim Ben-David, along with two underage accomplices, kidnapped 16-year-old Palestinian from near his home, drove him to the Jerusalem Forest and burned him alive in 2014. In addition to the 45 years, Ben-David was also ordered to pay 150,000 shekels in compensation to the Abu Khdeir family, and 20,000 shekels to the family of Moussa Zaloum, whom he tried to kidnap the night before. Abu Khdeir’s family were disappointed. “We demanded he remain all his life in jail and die there,” said the father, Hussein. "The court should have given him at least 10 life sentences," he said painfully. "Only Nazis do such things. Since the murder of my son, our blood has burned. There is no love in my heart. We don’t go out... We aren’t able to enjoy anything." He said the family intends to appeal tomorrow to the Interior Ministry and the Public Security Ministry, demanding to demolish Ben-David’s home and revoke his citizenship, similar to steps taken by the state against terrorists of Arab origin. (Haaretz, Haaretz Hebrew, Maariv, Yedioth, p. 19 and Ynet)
  • Israel razes home of assailant in Henkin murders - Palestinian cell member was charged with checking the route on which the attack took place and stored one of their weapons in his house. (Haaretz+) 
  • (Muslim female) teacher attacked by Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans: "They were shouting ‘There are Arabs here,’ and then began rioting" - A (Muslim) teacher from Abu Ghosh (who wears a headscarf) from the bilingual school in Neve Shalom was attacked by fans of Beitar Jerusalem, near the Malha shopping mall, when they identified her Arab appearance and decided to vent their anger [after losing to an Arab soccer team.] "Forty or fifty fans jumped on the car and kicked it. I had nowhere to escape," she said afterward. (MYnet Hebrew)
  • "The Shadow" was invited to perform at Independence Day celebrations in a Jerusalem suburb - and provoked a storm - A flyer inviting residents of the Gilo neighborhood in the capital [over the Green Line – OH] to come to a performance of ‘The Shadow,’ far right-wing rapper Yoav Eliasi, at Independence Day celebrations has caused a storm in the city. The municipality was quick to remove its logo from the flyer. Eliasi regularly posts radical right-wing messages on his Facebook profile and in some calls on his fans to go to left-wing events and ‘break them up.’ (Yedioth, p. 12 and Mako Hebrew)
  • Israeli forces attack Palestinian journalists at World Press Freedom demo - Three Palestinian journalists sustained minor injuries on Tuesday after Israeli forces attempted to suppress a sit-in with stun grenades and tear gas outside Israel’s Ofer detention center on World Press Freedom Day. (Maan)
  • East Jerusalem Social Activist Murdered by Unknown Assailant - Baha Nababta headed local activist group that helped improve refugee camp residents’ lives where the Jerusalem Municipality and Israeli emergency services failed to provide services. On Monday, a man on a motorcycle shot him with ten bullets. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israel's Justice Ministry Drawing Up Law Against Torture - Attorney general and justice minister must approve legislation, but is already clear that there will be opposition to bill having been presented before the UN Convention Against Torture. (Haaretz+) 
  • Opposition Lawmakers Doubt Herzog Will Join Netanyahu’s Coalition - Herzog hasn't explicitly ruled out joining coalition, and is keeping talks on the matter from his colleagues. Herzog 'knows full well that there is a hard core of MKs in the party who will not allow this maneuver,' Zionist Union lawmaker says. (Haaretz+) 
  • Israeli authorities find four tons of rocket-arming material in salt bags headed to Gaza - Shin Bet apparently tracked the package after wondering at an enormous quantity of salt ordered by a Gaza importer with Hamas ties. (Haaretz+ and Ynet) 
  • Gaza sewage poisons coastline, threatens Israel - Gaza doesn't have enough electricity to run its water treatment plants, so it's dumping its sewage into the sea, threatening the Israeli coastline. Repairing the water infrastructure would likely require Israel to ease restrictions on the import of building materials -- which it fears the territory's Hamas rulers could divert for military purposes. Palestinian political infighting is (also) a factor keeping the electricity (limited). (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Israeli Retired General Suggests Giving the Palestinians a Dock at Ashdod Port - Yom Tov Samia, who once oversaw the Strip as a former head of Southern Command, reveals in a radio interview how he's been secretly involved in drawing up such a plan for months. (Haaretz) 
  • Trump: Israeli Settlement Construction in West Bank Should 'Keep Going'; Calls Netanyahu a 'very good guy' - In an interview with Britain's Daily Mail, Trump positions himself more firmly than ever as a Netanyahu political ally, adding that ‘I think I’d have a very good relationship with him.’ (Haaretz, Yedioth/Ynet, Israel Hayom)
  • Hillary Clinton knocked her head in wall due to frustration at Netanyahu and pressed for an Israeli National Unity government in 2009, new book claims - 'Alter Egos' by N.Y. Times' Mark Landler contains never-before published details about U.S.-Israel ties during Clinton's tenure as secretary of state. (Haaretz+)
  • Bill limiting PM's tenure garners some Likud support - The Zionist Union-proposed bill would limit the prime minister's tenure to 2 terms; MK Oren Hazan (Likud): Given the reality in Israel, there needs to be a reinvigoration. (Ynet and Israel Hayom) 
  • Students and janitors switch roles at Haifa University - Israeli history students came up with the idea as a modern observance of the First of May, a long forgotten workers' holiday. (Haaretz) 
  • Controversy Rages Over Orthodox Edict Against Female Singers at Memorial Ceremonies - Women increasingly told they cannot sing at public events in order not to insult religious sensibilities. (Haaretz+) 
  • Syria frees Golan Druze man imprisoned for 13 years - An Israeli lawmaker claims Berjas Aweidat, who disappeared in Damascus in 2003, was held for allegedly spying for Israel. (Haaretz and Ynet) 
  • Israel and Egypt Oppose U.S. Proposal to Reduce Multinational Force in Sinai - Washington wants to reduce its Sinai contingent by a third fearing they may become targets of ISIS-linked terrorists. (Haaretz+) 
  • Jewish-American leader asks Michelin to taste Israeli cuisine - World Jewish Congress leader calls to include Israeli restaurants in the Michelin Guide, implying decision to omit the country may be political; Michelin says no current plans for Israel guide. (Agencies, Ynet) 
  • Scottish National Party Suspends Activist Over anti-Israel Facebook Posts - Amjed Hussain reportedly shared Facebook posts claiming the Mossad was responsible for the 9/11 attacks and linking ISIS to Israel. (Haaretz)

Features:
*How a Trash-talking Millionaire Is Positioning Himself to Whip the 'Weak and Whiney' Israeli Left Into Shape
Erel Margalit sees himself as the anti-Herzog: rude, crude and 'man enough' to take on Netanyahu. (Danna Harman, Haaretz+ and VIDEO)
**The Jewish friends of the [alleged] stone thrower continue to support him
A young Arab, Sam Araj, who was accused of throwing stones, receives constant support from his Jewish friends in court. The hearing for the case is constantly delayed by the court. Yesterday (Tuesday), Araj wrote them a letter of thanks from his detention cell. In November, Araj was mistakenly identified as the Beersheva terrorist and has been held ever since then in detention on new charges of throwing stones at Shuafat checkpoint. Araj and his friends are part of a Jewish-Arab group called ‘Just Singing’ which brings together musicians. “I am waiting for my innocence to become known and I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” Araj told his supporters. Araj is also a soccer player who in the past was a player on the Beitar Jerusalem youth team. For five months he has been held in detention throughout the whole legal process, as hearings are repeatedly deferred changed at the last minute. “I have a feeling of enormous injustice,” said Jenia Borkatovsky, a participant in ‘Just Singing’ and a student at Bezalel art academy, where she made a film on Araj’s case. “They are defining him a ‘security prisoner’ and that is simply surreal…Before the whole mess, we made a clip together from a love song he wrote and he hosted us in the refugee camp with open arms. This case has shaken up my life.” (MYnet Hebrew)
The long way home 
For Ariel Ben-Meir, the last war in Gaza (summer 2014)  still did not end. After a mortar fell meters from him and killed his best friends he was released from the IDF, entered his car and only recently after a year and three months he got out of it, at the end of a shaking journey across the country. Hagai Adorian, who was also in Operation Protective Edge, turned the journey into a documentary film that will be screened at DocAviv. “I exited Operation Protective Edge with the feeling that I need to escape, so I bought a car and started to drive….My view completely changed. It was a war for nothing. As if they knew there would be casualties and they would have to call mothers and that was okay. A light hit to the wing. I feel as if the country abandoned us…We lost so much for the sake of the state and because of the trip my love for the country grew. I wanted to meet people for whom it all happened. Until today, I see people in the street and I feel as if we did this for them.” (Yehuda Shochat, Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover)
Palestinian Father Tries to Make Sense of Two Offspring Killed in Qalandiyah
'Let's say she had a knife even if she had a cannon – why couldn't they shoot her in the legs? And why did they shoot her brother? Why did they kill them both?,' dad of slain 16 and 26 year old says. (Gideon Levy, Haaretz)
The Exodus from Egypt – to Jordan
It was apparently the big hit of the Passover holiday: More than 10,000 Israelis spent the holiday in Jordan, and at every tourism site Hebrew could be heard. The neighbors from the east have not yet decided what they think about this, but in the meantime, they are pouring compliments on the Israeli tourist who prefers the Hashemite Kingdom over social meetings with ISIS people in the Sinai Peninsula. “One can die in a terror attack anywhere, here we feel safe.” (Yossi Klar and Itamar Eichner, Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover, May 1st)
African American-Palestinian Ties Prove the Vanquished Also Write History
The U.S. is the land of unlimited opportunity and liberty, just not for the masses of blacks. Israel is rebirth and miracle, democracy, startup nation, honey, just not for Palestinians. (Amira Hass (New York), Haaretz+)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
Separated from birth – Why is the Kfar Saba municipality scared of a billboard? (Aviad Kleinberg, Yedioth) After MK Bezalel Smotrich and his wife explained to the people of Israel that they aren’t racists, they just don’t want Arabs to bother their rest in the maternity ward, it was revealed that the separation (of Arabs and Jews in the maternity wards) exists in a number of democratic Jewish hospitals. For many citizens of Israel, another story about the discrimination of Arabs is not news, but the natural way of the world. But the organizations “Zazim” and “Doctors Without Borders” decided they don’t accept the perspective of the Smotrich family. They raised funds and put a billboard on Meir Hospital that said: “Dr. Eitan Wertheim (head of the hospital), stop the separation in the maternity ward” and a photo of two babies’ hands, one with a tag in Arabic and one with a tag in Hebrew. The Kfar Saba municipality demanded the billboard be removed because it is ‘offensive to the public’ and said it received ‘many’ complaints from Jewish and Arab citizens. The ad agency agreed to the demand and announced that the organizations “are invited to put up a different message.”…But the message that views Arabs as potential murderers already as babies [which MK Smutrich said – OH] is not offensive to the public. The fact that hospitals in Israel quietly implement Arab-Jewish separation is not offensive to the public. Smotrich only said aloud what good people at the hospitals do without declarations. The only thing offensive is the proposal to act seriously about equality as per the law…So what isn’t offensive? Let me give you a few examples: “Well done, Government of Israel!” is a great message. “There’s no one like us! We are the most moral country in the world that has the most moral army in the world and the most moral Smotrich in the world!” is a very good message. It unites. “All the criticism on everything we do is treason!” is probably the perfect message. The Kfar Saba Municipality will be happy to put up billboards like that.
Obama's Not Naive, He's a Lover of Realpolitik (Nitzan Horowitz (Washington), Haaretz+) The winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize let us down and neglected whole regions like South America and Africa.
Irony: The lesson we need to learn about the Holocaust is found in the rebuke from Germany (Ran Adelist, Maariv) Two months ago, after a meaningless visit to Germany, Netanyahu said that the Chancellor told him that "this is not the time for two states." The Chancellor’s stunned advisors were quick to make clear that Netanyahu "distorted her remarks."
Talks of Joining Netanyahu Are Damaging Isaac Herzog's Remaining Credibility (Haaretz Editorial) If the desire to defend the destructive policies of this government burns in Herzog’s bones, it would be better for him to resign from the Knesset head to the UN, like his father and Netanyahu.
Tensions in Gaza Are Rising as Israel Gains Edge Over Hamas Tunnels (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Hamas is under pressure twice over, from both the worsening domestic situation in the Strip and the militant organization potentially losing its main threat against Israel. 
The tunnel uncovered last month was dug before Operation Protective Edge (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Hamas sees its tunneling strategy as the most important tool in its war plans and in its preparation in the face of a new round of fighting, even though the assumption is that there Hamas has no intention at this stage to initiate an attack move. On the contrary, Hamas is trying to block any attempt by rogue organizations, which don’t adhere to its discipline, to launch rockets into Israel or to fire small arms in the border area. After each such incident, Hamas is making efforts to arrest those involved in actions. In the West Bank, the army continues to enter Palestinian cities and not to declare its presence, harass or humiliate the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli security establishment has an interest in continuing security coordination with the Palestinian security services. Under it, Israeli army cities enter only when necessary. Almost 60% of IDF forces in the West Bank are working to ensure peace and order and the rest of the forces are in other areas: along the border of the Gaza Strip, Sinai, Lebanon and Syria. It should be noted that the IDF did not change its rules of engagement (to open fire) following the incident of the Shooting Soldier, Elor Azariya, who is accused of shooting and killing a neutralized Palestinian terrorist. In fact, the instructions have not been changed for over a decade. Following the incident, but also in the wake of the large number of cases in which IDF soldiers made (political) statements on social media networks, and essentially violate clear orders, the military decided to take action to raise awareness among the soldiers that it is strictly forbidden to express themselves political, and that the law on political statements on social media networks is the same as the law on refusal to obey orders. 
Is rhetoric important? The one who stands at our head demonstrates that eloquent speaking is not necessarily excellent conduct (Avraham Tirosh, Maariv) Good rhetoric influences listeners, stuttering and awkwardness are rejected by them. There is no lack of examples from Israeli leadership from throughout generations. 
BDS, Springsteen, and Heresies of the anti-Israel U.S. Left (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) Let them come. Let them come in droves. Let artists like Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt bring Israelis who need to hear it, a message of social justice and freedom for Palestinians. 
After the holidays: What will be is what was, just a lot harder (Yitzhak Ben-Ner, Maariv) Prime Minister has for years religiously adopted a policy of ‘sit and do nothing and that it is better to talk and to promise than to ensure and maintain. Only when he freezes then the others act, especially on the damage. 
How the British Labour Party Scandal Illustrates Zionism's Main Problem (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The government's attempt to confuse anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism ignores the fact that Zionism can no longer fulfill the heart’s desire of the citizens of the state it founded.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.

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