APN's daily news review from Israel

Tuesday May 10, 2016
 

Quote of the day:

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Breaking News: 
Manhunt in Jerusalem after two elderly women stabbed
Two elderly women were stabbed Tuesday morning on the Golden Promenade in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood in Jerusalem, over the Green Line. Two  (Ynet and Haaretz)

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
On the eve of the Day of Remembrance for Israel’s Fallen, today’s papers focused on stories of the fallen and those they left behind. Also in the news, was the Education Ministry’s controversial new civics book, the opening of the trial of the ‘Shooting Soldier from Hebron,’ and the statement by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the storm over the statements by Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan “is now behind us.” However, Haaretz and Israel Hayom reported that that an IDF booklet for commanders visiting Holocaust sites in Poland suggested they make the comparison that Gen. Golan made that so outraged Netanyahu and the right-wing.
 
The commentators wrote at length about the Education Ministry’s new civics textbook where, they say, it’s all about religion and it makes Arabs, secular Jews and Mizrachi Jews disappear from Israeli society. (See Commentary/Analysis below.) But it’s not only the Education Ministry’s books, run by far right-wing Minister Naftali Bennett, but also the ceremonies on these weighty days that some parents are concerned about. Haaretz+ reported that numerous Israeli Jewish parents are keeping their children home from school on Holocaust Day and the Day of Remembrance for Israel’s Fallen because they don’t trust the Education Ministry to teach these subjects in a way that befits the children’s age and without being militaristic. [Article presently only in Hebrew.]
 
The trial of the soldier, who shot dead a neutralized wounded Palestinian assailant who was laying on the ground, opened yesterday and the court asked the two sides to use mediation to agree on a plea bargain. But Maariv reported that the prosecution rejected the proposal. The soldier will be forced to respond to the indictment in two weeks and will remain in custody in the meantime on an open base. Meanwhile, a new video broadcast on Israel's Channel 2, appeared to undermine the claims by Azaria that the assailant moved. Video taken from a different angle from the original video, shows that the knife Azaria referred to is a distance from Sharif's hand and was not within his reach. 
 
Netanyahu met with Major General Golan at a pre-Independence Day toast for the first time since the storm over Golan’s Holocaust Day speech. Netanyahu said that Golan's statements comparing the trends in Israel today with those of Germany before WWII was a “one-time event” and "The speech is behind us." But reporters learned that as part of the Witnesses in Uniform program, whereby IDF officers visit concentration camps in Poland, IDF officers were encouraged to discuss whether Israel is ever on the same slippery slope as Nazi Germany "at the far end of which we are also liable to commit such atrocities." 
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

In Reinventing Itself, Israeli Museum Recasts History of Jewish People
Expanded Beit Hatfutsot will emphasize the positive aspects of the lives of world Jewry. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+) 
“Take down Netanyahu from rule”: Lior Dayan spent 24 hours with the hilltop people
Torah. Fury. Determination. Sacrifice. Lior Dayan spent 24 hours with the hill people [radical settlers who live in outposts – OH], who are fighting to change the order of the country, even if it means taking down the right-wing prime minister from rule. The opening fire of my journey to the fringes of the State of Israel, was fired by Border Police forces at dozens of Palestinians who had gathered at the entrance to Duma village [where Jewish terrorists committed the arson/murder of the Dawabsheh family last July – OH] and began throwing stones and burning tires. They didn’t just begun rioting for the heck of it. It was their reaction to the demonstration that took place at the entrance to the village by 40 people who could be defined as being the hardcore of the settlement movement. [See photos of them wearing shirts reading: ‘Jews love Jews.’]
It began when D. explained to me that the transformation of Israel from a democracy to monarchy ( "Kingdom of Israel") needs to be quickened, thus creating fertile ground for the coming of the Messiah.
"And how do you do that? How do you speed it up?" I asked.
"You find ways to move that which is in the way ," he said.
"What is in the way?"
"Mainly the government.”
"And what about the head of government, the Prime Minister?" I inquired.
"Bibi", said D. firmly, "He is the worst thing that happened to the people of Israel. Because he comes disguised as a right-winger, but in fact he is the most left-wing. He’s like Sharon. He became prime minister and then changed. He is the first one that needs to be taken down."
"What?" I tensed up.
"Removed from power."
"Removed from power in what way?" I tried to understand more. "You aren’t even at the age where you can vote for the Knesset."
"No," D. laughed. "Even if I were over 18 I would not vote. There is no one to vote for, no one really serious in any party, and I don’t want to be part of the democratic process, because I don’t believe in democracy."
"Wait, so if on the one hand you're not going to vote and you do not believe in democracy, and on the other hand you think that Bibi is the biggest obstacle to the Kingdom of Israel and therefore should be removed from power, then how will it happen?"
"There are ways to make it happen,” said D.
 "I don’t understand what that means in practice."
"Whoever needs to know what that means, knows what that means," he explained. "Salvation will come from here, from the hills, I assure you." 
(Lior Dayan, Maariv+PHOTOS)

Commentary/Analysis:
Netanyahu, the Gravedigger of Statesmanship (Haaretz Editorial) The survival of democracy depends on a system of checks and balances constantly undermined by the current prime minister. 
Political survival at the IDF's expense (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) The deputy IDF chief's message was the right one, but he chose the wrong place, time and perhaps historical analogy. Regardless, Netanyahu, who is acting more like a reality TV star than a leader, should not have jumped to publicly undermine Maj.-Gen. Golan.
Netanyahu's attack on the deputy chief of staff achieves its goal: deterrence (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The storm surrounding Yair Golan's Holocaust day speech, in which he compared trends in Israeli society to 1930s Germany, seems to guarantee that contenders for the army's top spot won't dare to be as outspoken. 
Once Encouraged to Shut Up, Israel's Generals Are Speaking Out (Moshe Fisher, Haaretz+) The IDF itself has contributed over the years to the ongoing erosion of its principles, but this is changing, to the politicians' chagrin.
Without Palestinians and human rights: Bennett’s new civics is trying to silence the criticism (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) Dr. Revital Amiran was one of the authors of the book and she withdrew her name from it. "Bennett's timing was expected. When Israeli society is busy with bereavement, it is a good time to minimize the likelihood of the awakening of a public uproar," she writes in this Op-Ed.
Israel's New Civics Text Highlights God's Role in State's Creation, Dismissive of Arabs (Yarden Skop, Haaretz+) A 500-page book unveiled by Education Ministry sees Israel's existence as the fulfillment of 'God's promise,' seems to minimize role of Arabic as an official language, and makes little reference to Rabin assassination.
Israel's New Civics Text Sugarcoats Reality (Or Kashti, Haaretz+) Secular Jews and Arabs reduced to a footnote in book that subordinates a state education system to a partisan agenda. 
Why Writing a Civics Textbook in Israel Is Difficult (Yael Guron, Israel Hayom) The new book is an attempt at touch on all of Israel's controversies, but civics is an ongoing conversation and the text is not perfect. 
The Left's moral bankruptcy (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) Leftists are desperate for "signs" in Israeli society that "justify" the IDF deputy chief's nonsensical comments.
The affair of the soldier who shot dead the neutralized terrorist is a watershed event (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv April 10th) Serious intellectuals can not turn their heads or be led by their audiences. They first need to tell their audiences the truth. This is a watershed event. Not because our soldiers never shot or abused prisoners or enemy soldiers unnecessarily. This is a watershed event because it cracked the importance of morality in the IDF. Until this incident, it was clear that the IDF's strength was fueled not only its talent in fighting wars, but also because of its moral authority which determined what were the red lines of those wars. The two criteria internal and external of the strength of the Israeli military were power and the limits to power. They were what allowed the army to enjoy a high level of public confidence, which the Knesset and other state institutions can only dream about. They are also what allowed parents who disagree with the government's policy to educate their children to participate in a meaningful service in the military. The demonstrations in support of the soldier and the prime minister’s sympathetic phone call to his father signaled to us that this is no more. The damage to the consensus over the IDF due to the prosecution of the Shooting Soldier demonstrates to us that the moral dimension of the army is gradually disappearing and  irrelevant. Unlike in the past, the leadership, not only political but also literary, are not taking action to plug the gap. In 1949, S. Yizhar, a pioneer of those questioning the righteousness of war and the existence of the ideal of purity of arms in the IDF, published the story "Captive." The story describes how Israeli soldiers arbitrarily took captive a Palestinian shepherd and how they put him through humiliating and bestial interrogations. How fragile was Israel at the time, how unclear it was whether the Zionist vision was about to be realized. And yet, there was so much moral strength in the society that could accept the criticism. S. Yizhar did not seek to challenge the Zionist vision or disintegrate the society. On the contrary, he sought to strengthen it and he believed it would benefit from criticism and sharing its sins. The Palestinian captive served him as a reflection of the state of captivity in which Israeli soldier was in, torn between his conscience and values, which order him to release the captive, and between the social pressure forces that forced him to be cruel. Nobody called S. Yizhar a traitor. Nobody boycotted him. This story, like many others, became part of the curriculum in schools. The Israeli society has come a long way since then. More than a few cases of failure to maintain the purity of arms has befallen us. We have seen some distant years ago, some of which are far from the eye. But from the recent one we cannot divert our eyes. It is present through the camera lens of the Arab photographer whose image, as reflected in the excellent report by journalist Yigal Mosko of Channel 2 News, as if it stories emerged from the stories of S. Yizhar. And as close as this affair is, so our ability to accept it gets farther. Of course the leadership had a crucial role in that. This ruling leadership has lost its conscience, and the opposition is still bleeding and silent. But the great rift that is most obvious is in the leadership ability of the authors. Those who throughout the Jewish tradition in general and Zionism in particular held the role of the gatekeepers. No more. Besides David Grossman, who still speaks from time to time in the town square, the moral strength of Israeli writers is lost. Many of them float comfortably in the dirty waters of the Israeli consensus, which moves far from the center. They are afraid to express their voice on moral-political issues. Whether it’s the fear for their livelihoods or whether it’s the fear of fewer Facebook ‘Likes’, serious intellectuals cannot turn their heads or be led by their audiences. They are the first ones who need to tell their audiences the truth: the soldier is not a hero in Israel, purity of arms is a value that keeps our humanity and criticism is not treason. In this sense, they have a responsibility to release the soldiers, and society in general, from captivity. 
In the Darkness of Israeli Society, a Few Rays of Light Are Shining Through (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) During a week that captures the entirety of Israel's history, it should be remembered that 'our hope is not yet lost.'
Hamas: Provoking despite distress (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Israel cannot let Hamas drag it into a limited war of attrition along the border. 
The Old Middle East: the French initiative for peace exposes Israeli neocolonialism (Uri Savir, Maariv) France's peace initiative is good for Israel for many reasons. Among other things, it is the basis for a two-state solution and it is an opening for cooperation with the Arab League. But Netanyahu does not want it. 
To Peter Beinart: We pro-BDS Jews Are Just as Much Part of the Jewish People as You Are (Ben Lorber, Haaretz+) The arguments for BDS attract ever more Jewish students, triggering the Jewish establishment’s frenzied counterattack, clinging to the status quo, while a seismic shift is underway in the U.S. Jewish community.

 

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