APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday May 24, 2016
Quote of the day:
"The problem is far worse. The ill spirit of racism communicated by the ministers and members of the
leadership is being translated into an intolerable reality of violence."
--MK Dov Khenin of the Joint List called on Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to "get answers for what appears, ostensibly, to be a lynching, in broad daylight -- an assault on an innocent civilian in broad daylight (by security forces) just because he is Arab."
You Must Be Kidding:
"The State Prosecutor’s Office also insisted to be the one to represent the state at the High Court, meaning its people, whose views in opposition to (publishing) the report are clear, will represent both sides of the appeal."
--Yedioth's Ronen Bergman writes about the ombudsman report on the relations between the National Forensic Institute and the State Prosecutor's Office, which state prosecutors are trying to prevent from being published. A source who read it said it is a virtual 'earthquake.'
--MK Dov Khenin of the Joint List called on Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to "get answers for what appears, ostensibly, to be a lynching, in broad daylight -- an assault on an innocent civilian in broad daylight (by security forces) just because he is Arab."
You Must Be Kidding:
"The State Prosecutor’s Office also insisted to be the one to represent the state at the High Court, meaning its people, whose views in opposition to (publishing) the report are clear, will represent both sides of the appeal."
--Yedioth's Ronen Bergman writes about the ombudsman report on the relations between the National Forensic Institute and the State Prosecutor's Office, which state prosecutors are trying to prevent from being published. A source who read it said it is a virtual 'earthquake.'
Front Page:
Haaretz
- State Comptroller: Suspicion of criminal conduct by Netanyahu and his associates
- After the dispute between Lieberman and Kahlon, night effort to achieve coalition agreement
- A lesson in the limits to power // Yossi Verter
- Absentee property law: State took half of a home in Jaffa because three brothers left in 1948
- Some 150 killed in Daesh attack on Assad stronghold
- In the soft belly of the Syrian regime // Amos Harel
- Daesh faces a strategic defeat // Zvi Bar’el
- Contractor suspected of causing the death of a laborer by negligence
- Radical right-wing candidate lost in Austrian presidential elections
- The medical interns are renewing their battle, with the financing of the masses
- Institutionalized violence // Haaretz Editorial
- Farce of a round – Public debate needed on Anti-Trust Authority’s intention of easing things for monopolies
- State Comptroller accuses: Attorney General covered up the suspicions against Netanyahu
- The cover-up coalition // Sima Kadmon
- Progress in negotiations with Lieberman
- The high school students’ protest against the Education Ministry’s mathematics campaign
- The rubber boy from Gaza
- Government on hold
- Lieberman will blink first // Yehuda Sharoni
- Bennett is right // Attorney Yehiel Gottman
- A futile cabinet // Noam Amir
- Today: State Comptroller’s report on Bibitours
- The next drawing room // Ben Caspit
- Wars of the under world – Assassination last night in heart of Netanya
- Red celebration in the south (for Hapoal Beersheva soccer team)
- Effort to reach an agreement (with Lieberman)
- Tension in political establishment ahead of State Comptroller report, which deals with the funding of the Prime Minister’s trips
- History: Unemployment – only 4.9%
- Beersheva: The whole city went out to celebrate
- Prepare the marshmallows (For Lag B’Omer holiday)
- Assassination in Netanyah: 30-year-old criminal shot dead
- By a small margin, left-wing candidate defeated radical right-wing in presidential elections in Austria
News Summary:
The State Comptroller said Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is suspected of criminal activity connected to his trips abroad and negotiations stalled over a coalition agreement with MK Avigdor Lieberman making top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Meanwhile, Netanyahu told opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog that the door is still open for him to join the government and he told visiting French counterpart to abandon the idea of a multilateral peace initiative for a bilateral one with the Palestinians.
State Comptroller Yosef Shapira accused the Attorney General's office of covering up the "Bibitours Affair," pertaining to the funding of the travels of Netanyahu and his family while Netanyahu was and MK and finance minister. He suspected Netanyahu of criminal conduct. Yedioth’s senior political commentator Sima Kadmon wrote that one of the reasons that Netanyahu was trying to make a coalition government at this point in time was to divert attention away from the report, which he had seen and knew when it would be published. (See Commentary/Analysis below.)
Worse for Netanyahu, coaltiion negotiations have reportedly hit a dead end. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon was at odds with Yisrael Beytenu's Lieberman over pension reform for immigrants while Education Minsiter Naftali Bennett threatened to leave the coalition if a plan weren’t put in place that would give cabinet members more military information.
So it was no surprise that Netanyahu continued to say that Herzog and the Zionist Camp were still welcome to join the coalition. “The door is still open,” Netanyahu told Herzog in the first Knesset summer session. But Herzog refused to “lead Israel to a national disaster.”
Netanyahu also reiterated to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls that he would only agree to direct negotiations with the Palestinians. "I will sit alone directly with President Abbas in the Élysée Palace, or anywhere else that you choose. Every difficult issue will be on the table: mutual recognition, incitement, borders, refugees and yes, settlements – everything," Netanyahu told a joint press conference with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who was visiting Israel.
Quick Hits:
- Palestinian Woman/Teenage Girl Killed After Attempted Stabbing Attack - An officer opened fire after the woman approached the Ras Bidu checkpoint north of Jerusalem with a knife. Maan: The Palestinian Ministry of Health later identified her as 17-year-old Sawsan Ali Dawud Mansur. (Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Maan)
- Israeli court rules to release Palestinian hunger-striking prisoner - Israeli military prosecution accused 43-year-old resident of al-Fawwar refugee camp of “incitement” against Israel on his Facebook page, Boulos said. However, the court rejected the charges and ruled that Sami Janazreh would be released next Monday. (Maan)
- Israeli authorities return bodies of brother and sister shot dead at Qalandiya - Israeli authorities returned the bodies of Maram Salih Hassan Abu Ismail, who had been pregnant, and her brother Ibrahim. Both were shot dead by Israeli forces at the Qalandiya military checkpoint on April 27. The Israeli Justice Ministry’s police investigation into the killings was dropped after it was revealed a privately contracted security guard. (Maan)
- Israel returns body of Jerusalemite Palestinian killed in March - Israeli authorities on Monday returned the body of Fouad Abu Rajab al-Tamimi, 21, who was shot and killed during an armed altercation with Israeli soldiers in occupied East Jerusalem two months prior. (Maan)
- Court orders police to free Arab supermarket employee to house arrest hours after barbaric police beating in Tel Aviv - Justice Ministry launches investigation after video showed plain-clothed officers assaulting supermarket employee. Police also opened investigation. (Haaretz and Maariv)
- *Arab supermarket employee: 'A lot of people just started beating me' - Witnesses say border police officers severely beat Arab-Israeli supermarket worker in Tel Aviv in an unprovoked attack in broad daylight. Speaking to Army Radio Maysam Abu al-Qian, 19, recounted the incident when undercover police beat him. Officers say Arab supermarket employee was belligerent and his behavior warranted arrest. Police says it will investigate. (Maariv and Israel Hayom)
- Police Commissioner Alsheich: "The police are waiting to stop being the media’s punching bag" - Police Commissioner referred to the incident that was exposed of (undercover) Border Police (who beat an Arab-Israeli supermarket employee in Tel-Aviv) and also addressed the wave of terrorism, "The police are perceived by the public as an organization that has gone through a deep crisis, which is also related to the issue of norms and values." (Maariv)
- MK Akram Hasson: "You cannot fight the police (violence) when the courts believe them" - Following the violent incident in which a young Bedouin was beaten by Border Police in Tel Aviv, 103FM radio host Gabi Gazit spoke with Kulanu party MK, who said: “If they were beating a Jew in Belgium or Germany I would be the first to be outraged.” (Maariv)
- Israeli prison services assault 2 Palestinian prisoners in Megiddo prison raid - Israel Prison Services' takeover unit, known as the Masada, stormed two sections of Megiddo prison overnight Sunday and assaulted two Palestinian prisoners and damaged prisoners’ belongings. A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Services told Ma’an he was looking into reports of the incident. In January, a protest was made over overcrowdedness. (Maan)
- 'Shooting soldier from Hebron,' Elor Azaria, pleads not guilty to manslaughter charges - Attorneys submit a plea against manslaughter charges following an incident in which he shot a neutralized terrorist in the head: 'He saw an immediate and real danger to his life and his friends' lives.' (Ynet and Maariv)
- Without thinking twice: (Arab) Law student volunteered to represent a sick widower - Ahmed Darawsheh, a third year student at Carmel Academic Center from Iksel village, attended the court hearing as part of his studies, at which the 60-year-old woman had trouble communicating because of her illness. At that moment Darawsheh decided to help her and became her interlocutor. (Maariv)
- (Arab) photographer humiliated at Netanyahu's office: "They asked me to take off my pants, it was insulting" - Radio Non-Stop 103FM called Druze-Israeli photographer Atef Safadi, of the European Press Agency, who was not allowed to enter the press conference with the Prime Minister and his French counterpart because he refused to lower his pants in a security check. Since Safadi was the pool photographer of the event, no photo was taken at all. (103FM/Maariv)
- Foreign press boycotts Netanyahu pics after journalist asked to strip - The FPA said in a statement that it was “disturbed and disappointed” by Safadi’s treatment by Netanyahu’s security, and that the photo agencies were boycotting photos from the event. (Times of Israel)
- Before his swearing-in to the Knesset, Yehuda Glick visited the Temple Mount "to charge my energy"; Netanyahu berated him - Incoming Likud MK visited the Temple Mount and stressed that he would work to end the ban on MKs from visiting the site: "All my work in the Knesset will come from the energy I received from this place." But Netanyahu chastised him at the Likud faction meeting: "That is the last time you do a thing like that." (Maariv and Maan)
- Due to death threats: Security will be affixed to incoming Knesset member Yehuda Glick - Security guard will escort the Temple Mount activist, who will be sworn in to Knesset, replacing the outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon. This comes following the assessment of the threats against him and the assassination attempt on him in 2014. (Maariv)
- Footage shows violent tiff between Golani officer, soldier - IDF Spokesman's Office: 'Exceptional' incident, involving commander of soldier who left base without leave, contradicts army values. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli Government Websites Failing to Provide Arabic Translations - Thirty percent of government ministry websites have no information in Arabic at all, in violation of cabinet decision passed over a decade ago. (Haaretz+)
- Twenty families move to Gaza border community - Two years after 19 families move away from Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the Gaza border area following Operation Protective Edge, 20 new families have moved in, and are expected to become full members of the kibbutz. (Ynet)
- Israel to Resume Cement Deliveries to Gaza After UN Assurances - UN special envoy promises Israel that cement will not reach Hamas, with additional inspectors being posted on Palestinian side of border. (Haaretz+)
- Report: 45 percent of UNRWA schools affected by violence in past 5 years - According to the report, 302 of UNRWA’s 692 schools across the Middle East -- representing 44 percent of its educational establishments -- have been rendered inoperative at some point since 2011. (Maan)
- Hundreds of academics call to boycott genocide conference in Israel - Academics condemn decision to hold a conference on genocide in Jerusalem at a time when Israel’s actions are ‘being viewed through lenses of ethnic cleansing and genocide.’ (+972mag)
- Israel's Religious Gender Segregation Wars Find New Battleground - Ministry decision to let women use bridge at Lag Ba'omer pilgrimage site inflames Haredim. Center for Women’s Justice hails victory after four-year battle to make pathway leading to Shimon Bar Yochai’s tomb open to all. (Haaretz+)
- Study: 15 Percent of LGBT Women Humiliated by Israeli Medical Staff - LGBT women ask for medical services less than straight women, and when they do ask they often encounter a humiliating attitude, data indicates. (Haaretz+)
- "Green Prince" at the Jerusalem Post Conference: Islam is the problem - Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a Hamas leader and who served as a spy for the Shin Bet, said that the was taught that Jews are the enemies of humanity and the Palestinians, but then he realized that "Israel is a beacon of democracy in a sea of darkness." (Maariv/JPost)
- Third Suspect Arrested in U.S. Stock Swindle Involving Israelis - Russian police, Interpol nab American who lived in Israel, called 'face' of sting allegedly aimed at stealing contact info of more than 100 million clients of major U.S. finance institutions. (Haaretz+)
- Heathrow considers Ben-Gurion Airport-style 'ring of steel' - British aviation and counter-terrorism chiefs will visit Ben-Gurion Airport later this week to learn about Israel's multilayered security method, which according to the British Sunday Times consists of at least 12 separate rings of security. (Israel Hayom)
- Gaza 'Spiderboy' seeks to storm Guinness world records - Mohammed al-Sheikh, who appeared on 'Arabs Got Talent' in Lebanon, has extraordinary acrobatic skills and will likely enter the Guiness Book of Records for the 'most full body revolutions maintaining a chest stand in one minute.' (Ynet)
- Turkey Shifts to 'One-man-state' Even Before Constitutional Change - As Erdogan transitions the country from parliamentary democracy to presidential system, his opponents — and skeptical Western allies — fear growing authoritarianism. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Nearly 150 Killed in Attacks on Assad Strongholds in Syrian Coastal Cities - ISIS claims responsibility for suicide and car bomb attack on packed bus station in Tartus, launch of three rockets onto Jableh; both cities are Alawite strongholds in normally quiet coastal areas. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Obama Says Hopes Death of Taliban Leader Will Lead to Peace Process - U.S. president confirms death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour in U.S. drone strike, says Taliban should seize opportunity to reconcile with Afghan government. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
After All These Years, How Can Anyone Still Believe Netanyahu? (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) After the failure of talks with the PM, Herzog is in too miserable a state to represent anyone who wants to oust Netanyahu.
The cover-up coalition (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth) There were moments yesterday when it even seemed like Netanyahu’s nightmare was about to happen: The negotiations with Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party reached a dead end, Lieberman announced he wouldn’t join the government and Netanyahu was left with his shaky coalition of 61 members. Netanyahu knows that from this evening, the public and media interest will be completely diverted to the State Comptroller report and to his family’s deeds. The expansion of the government will be a footnote in the events awaiting him. That, apparently, is also one of the reasons that Netanyahu wanted to expand his government even before the publication of the report. If everything that was written in the report and in the State Comptroller’s letter to (former state attorney general Yehuda) Weinstein is true, then we are speaking about an earthquake.
What It's Really Like Being Arab in the 'Liberal' City of Tel Aviv (Amer Dacca, Haaretz+) The savage beating of a 19-year-old Bedouin man by police officers on Sunday made me recall my own ordeal at the hands of the police, over 20 years ago.
Machiavelli was right: Never leave values in the hands of politicians (Avihu Sofer, Maariv) The recent events in politics have proved again that we can not leave our values and public discourse in the hands of politicians, who are preoccupied only with being elected.
When Israeli Cops Lynched an Arab Supermarket Worker, They Exposed the Government’s Brutal Face (Haaretz Editorial) As of this writing, no government leader, not least the prime minister, has seen fit to issue a condemnation of the off-duty officers who savagely beat Maysam Abu Alqian.
The dysfunctional political game (Isi Leibler, Israel Hayom) Netanyahu saved his government by bringing in Lieberman. But it may yet prove to be a Pyrrhic victory.
Of the Three Alternatives Facing Israel, the Likeliest One Is Also the Bloodiest (Shaul Arieli, Haaretz+) It's time to dispel the hypothesis: The conflict will not necessarily end with a decision between the one-state or two-state solutions. As thing look now, indecision will shape a third, violent, solution.
The spin returns – The whiners are going in droves (Meirav Betito, Yedioth) From Netanyahu’s point of view, there is no need to explain and to justify the changes to the Defense Ministry. Instead he can play the game he loves: “Turn the criticism around and point it at the media.”
Emperor Bibi Fiddles While Israeli Economy Burns (Meirav Arlosoroff, Haaretz+) The treasury’s chief economist says the country will be bankrupt by 2059 unless demographic trends are addressed. So what does our prime minister do? The very opposite of what’s needed.
Herzog, leave or call elections (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Troubled Labor leader Isaac Herzog should move up his party's primary and seek a new mandate -- or resign.
Israel Doesn't Need Herzog Acting as a Fig Leaf (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) The government may be taking a further step rightward, but the involvement of the Labor party in the coalition wouldn't have aided the country diplomatically.
The Left cut itself off from society (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) For many years now, the Israeli Left has forgotten what democracy is.
Jewish Bernie Supporters: Don't Let the Scaremongers Win (Jacob Bacharach, Haaretz+) We may end up giving in to the pressure to get behind Hillary Clinton, a repellent and frightening candidate, to stop Trump, whose ‘fascist’ and anti-Semitic danger has been over-amplified. But not now.
**The confidential report - This is how they try to cover up an earthquake (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth) Quietly and in the shadows, enormously powerful agents are trying in these days to bury one of the most severe reports that were written about the law system. The prosecutorial ombudsman examined over the last year the relations between the State Prosecutor and the National Forensic Institute for the period in which Dr. Yehuda Hiss was the head of the National Forensic Institute (1988-2012). A senior political source who read the draft report called it an ‘earthquake.’ But the State Prosecution is acting with strength to prevent it from being published. Why is this important? Because the institute is the body that provided an expert opinion for thousands of serious criminal court cases, and according to its doctors’ testimonies, people were sent to long prison terms. The system of ‘give and take’ with the State Prosecution, testimonies given on autopsies performed by others, changes in the doctors’ testimonies allegedly according to the needs of the prosecution in order to get a conviction – all these could sharply disrupt the administration of justice. Investigative reports by Yedioth revealed a series of severe acts, at the head of which was the theft and trade in thousands of organs for research purposes in exchange for money and academic credit. Moreover, it was found that Hiss testified in court on autopsies he did not perform, that expert opinions were changed according to the versions that were given by the suspects to the police in interrogation, and in many cases, the Institute submitted opinions that were comfortable for the prosecution and matched the indictment….In the end, Hiss was forced to leave. The head of the ombudsman, Judge Hila Gerstel, decided to investigate the issue…the result, as said, at least based on someone who read the report, is incredibly severe. But there are prosecutors who feel immune to the publication of criticism. When the draft of the report was given to them, 11 of them appealed to the High Court, their names remain confidential, in an unprecedented demand to prevent the report’s publication and in the meantime to impose a blanket order of confidentiality…It’s hard to assume that the attorneys acted on their own initiative. State Prosecutor Shai Nitsan wrote the State Attorney General a letter identical in its content to the claims that the attorneys raised to the High Court. The State Prosecutor’s Office also insisted to be the one to represent the state at the High Court, meaning its people, whose views in opposition to the report are clear, will represent both sides of the appeal. Gerstel understood that it is likely that the State Prosecutor’s office will not get real criticism and she resigned. But what about the public that needs to be sure that the same sensitive area – the relations between the State Prosecutor and the National Forensic Institute – are pure and without corruption or at least devoid of ambition? How is it possible that after everything that was revealed about the Forensic Institute the prosecutors still demand to hide the facts and bury the truth, literally, deep in the ground?
Sheldon Adelson Is Wrong: Trump Is No Champion of Israel (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) Trump offers a more perilous world and a more vulnerable Jewish state. How then can Sheldon Adelson glibly affirm Trump's 'devotion' to Israel's safety?
ISIS Attacks in Assad's Stronghold Serve as Warning to Putin (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Islamic State attacks killed at least 150 people in a series of suicide bombings in Latakia, and the choice of target and the timing were not a coincidence.
After All These Years, How Can Anyone Still Believe Netanyahu? (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) After the failure of talks with the PM, Herzog is in too miserable a state to represent anyone who wants to oust Netanyahu.
The cover-up coalition (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth) There were moments yesterday when it even seemed like Netanyahu’s nightmare was about to happen: The negotiations with Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party reached a dead end, Lieberman announced he wouldn’t join the government and Netanyahu was left with his shaky coalition of 61 members. Netanyahu knows that from this evening, the public and media interest will be completely diverted to the State Comptroller report and to his family’s deeds. The expansion of the government will be a footnote in the events awaiting him. That, apparently, is also one of the reasons that Netanyahu wanted to expand his government even before the publication of the report. If everything that was written in the report and in the State Comptroller’s letter to (former state attorney general Yehuda) Weinstein is true, then we are speaking about an earthquake.
What It's Really Like Being Arab in the 'Liberal' City of Tel Aviv (Amer Dacca, Haaretz+) The savage beating of a 19-year-old Bedouin man by police officers on Sunday made me recall my own ordeal at the hands of the police, over 20 years ago.
Machiavelli was right: Never leave values in the hands of politicians (Avihu Sofer, Maariv) The recent events in politics have proved again that we can not leave our values and public discourse in the hands of politicians, who are preoccupied only with being elected.
When Israeli Cops Lynched an Arab Supermarket Worker, They Exposed the Government’s Brutal Face (Haaretz Editorial) As of this writing, no government leader, not least the prime minister, has seen fit to issue a condemnation of the off-duty officers who savagely beat Maysam Abu Alqian.
The dysfunctional political game (Isi Leibler, Israel Hayom) Netanyahu saved his government by bringing in Lieberman. But it may yet prove to be a Pyrrhic victory.
Of the Three Alternatives Facing Israel, the Likeliest One Is Also the Bloodiest (Shaul Arieli, Haaretz+) It's time to dispel the hypothesis: The conflict will not necessarily end with a decision between the one-state or two-state solutions. As thing look now, indecision will shape a third, violent, solution.
The spin returns – The whiners are going in droves (Meirav Betito, Yedioth) From Netanyahu’s point of view, there is no need to explain and to justify the changes to the Defense Ministry. Instead he can play the game he loves: “Turn the criticism around and point it at the media.”
Emperor Bibi Fiddles While Israeli Economy Burns (Meirav Arlosoroff, Haaretz+) The treasury’s chief economist says the country will be bankrupt by 2059 unless demographic trends are addressed. So what does our prime minister do? The very opposite of what’s needed.
Herzog, leave or call elections (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Troubled Labor leader Isaac Herzog should move up his party's primary and seek a new mandate -- or resign.
Israel Doesn't Need Herzog Acting as a Fig Leaf (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) The government may be taking a further step rightward, but the involvement of the Labor party in the coalition wouldn't have aided the country diplomatically.
The Left cut itself off from society (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) For many years now, the Israeli Left has forgotten what democracy is.
Jewish Bernie Supporters: Don't Let the Scaremongers Win (Jacob Bacharach, Haaretz+) We may end up giving in to the pressure to get behind Hillary Clinton, a repellent and frightening candidate, to stop Trump, whose ‘fascist’ and anti-Semitic danger has been over-amplified. But not now.
**The confidential report - This is how they try to cover up an earthquake (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth) Quietly and in the shadows, enormously powerful agents are trying in these days to bury one of the most severe reports that were written about the law system. The prosecutorial ombudsman examined over the last year the relations between the State Prosecutor and the National Forensic Institute for the period in which Dr. Yehuda Hiss was the head of the National Forensic Institute (1988-2012). A senior political source who read the draft report called it an ‘earthquake.’ But the State Prosecution is acting with strength to prevent it from being published. Why is this important? Because the institute is the body that provided an expert opinion for thousands of serious criminal court cases, and according to its doctors’ testimonies, people were sent to long prison terms. The system of ‘give and take’ with the State Prosecution, testimonies given on autopsies performed by others, changes in the doctors’ testimonies allegedly according to the needs of the prosecution in order to get a conviction – all these could sharply disrupt the administration of justice. Investigative reports by Yedioth revealed a series of severe acts, at the head of which was the theft and trade in thousands of organs for research purposes in exchange for money and academic credit. Moreover, it was found that Hiss testified in court on autopsies he did not perform, that expert opinions were changed according to the versions that were given by the suspects to the police in interrogation, and in many cases, the Institute submitted opinions that were comfortable for the prosecution and matched the indictment….In the end, Hiss was forced to leave. The head of the ombudsman, Judge Hila Gerstel, decided to investigate the issue…the result, as said, at least based on someone who read the report, is incredibly severe. But there are prosecutors who feel immune to the publication of criticism. When the draft of the report was given to them, 11 of them appealed to the High Court, their names remain confidential, in an unprecedented demand to prevent the report’s publication and in the meantime to impose a blanket order of confidentiality…It’s hard to assume that the attorneys acted on their own initiative. State Prosecutor Shai Nitsan wrote the State Attorney General a letter identical in its content to the claims that the attorneys raised to the High Court. The State Prosecutor’s Office also insisted to be the one to represent the state at the High Court, meaning its people, whose views in opposition to the report are clear, will represent both sides of the appeal. Gerstel understood that it is likely that the State Prosecutor’s office will not get real criticism and she resigned. But what about the public that needs to be sure that the same sensitive area – the relations between the State Prosecutor and the National Forensic Institute – are pure and without corruption or at least devoid of ambition? How is it possible that after everything that was revealed about the Forensic Institute the prosecutors still demand to hide the facts and bury the truth, literally, deep in the ground?
Sheldon Adelson Is Wrong: Trump Is No Champion of Israel (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) Trump offers a more perilous world and a more vulnerable Jewish state. How then can Sheldon Adelson glibly affirm Trump's 'devotion' to Israel's safety?
ISIS Attacks in Assad's Stronghold Serve as Warning to Putin (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Islamic State attacks killed at least 150 people in a series of suicide bombings in Latakia, and the choice of target and the timing were not a coincidence.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.