APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday December 12, 2016
You Must Be Kidding
#1:
Want to buy the Western Wall, board a train at Ammunition Hill and wait a turn because the street is closed
after a zebra escaped the Biblical Zoo? Now you can with the new Jerusalem version of Hasbro's famous game. The
Jerusalem municipality helped in choosing the sites. But the game does not include the non-Jewish sites in the city.
You Must Be Kidding #2:
“He called another guy and, in all, five different workers came to check out how I was dressed. I felt humiliated. It was very unpleasant."
--Parliamentary aide Shaked Hasson said after Knesset guards denied her entry into the Knesset under a recent "sharpening of the Knesset dress code."
You Must Be Kidding #2:
“He called another guy and, in all, five different workers came to check out how I was dressed. I felt humiliated. It was very unpleasant."
--Parliamentary aide Shaked Hasson said after Knesset guards denied her entry into the Knesset under a recent "sharpening of the Knesset dress code."
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Netanyahu: I’ll ask Trump to cancel the agreement with Iran
- Ministers will be allowed to adjust tenders for associates; PM: We need to govern like in the US
- 15 killed in attack on Coptic church in Cairo
- Three years since establishment of Holot detention facility
- Boy, whose father tried to save him when he fell off a cliff, died
- Parliamentarian aide denied entry to Knesset because her dress was “immodest”
- The voice of our master // Haaretz Editorial
- Unethical ethics code // Oudeh Bisharat
- Offspring of the settlers of the American colony return for a homeland visit
Yedioth Ahronoth
- In life and death – Heartbreaking: Ilai Nir, 10, died 2 days after his father, Omri, was killed attempting to save him
- Minister Levine: High Court is left-wing
- Health Minister: Don’t eat doughnuts
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- “2.5 million Israelis are poor”
- Poverty has many faces // Adv. Vered Windman
- The last path of Ilai and Omri
- ‘Adir’ (incredible) day
- A new Middle East // Noam Amir
- Terror returned to Cairo: At least 25 killed in explosion near church in center of city
Israel Hayom
- Together, forever (Omri and Ilai) – Spirit of nobility: Little Ilai’s organs will be donated
- National Service? Not in the service of BDS
- Health Minister presents: and now doughnuts are out
- The ‘Adir’ (F-35) Israeli force
- Against the reforms and the High Court: Shas party presented the ‘Wailing Wall law’
News Summary:
The heartbreaking news that the boy, whose father died jumping off a cliff to save the boy’s life, died of his injuries, too, the excitement over the planned arrival today of two F-35 jets, ‘Adir,’ (they didn’t arrive because of weather conditions), and the statement by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who said that Israel ‘should govern like Trump’ by making political appointments, rather than using search committees – making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Netanyahu also said he would ask US President-elect Donald Trump to cancel the Iran agreement and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barekat said he was optimistic Trump would move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Also in the news, an alternative poverty report by the Latet organization found that almost a third of Israelis are poor – meaning some 2.5 million people live in conditions of severe shortage. Some 80% of Israelis fear that within a year they could fall into poverty if they lose their job or fall ill. (Also Maariv)
Quick Hits:
- Israel deals blow to human rights groups with national service bill - Ministers back bill to prohibit organizations from employing national service volunteers if they get majority of funding from foreign governments. As such, it'll mostly affect left-wing and human rights NGOs. (Haaretz+)
- New Directives Could Bar Anti-occupation Group From Israel's Schools - Warning to principals follows lecture by member of Breaking the Silence at high school. (Haaretz+)
- Israel approves special benefits for religious and right-wing towns - Ministers adjust criteria for assistance to enable all 12 communities to qualify. (Haaretz+)
- Israel chief rabbi: Women shouldn't go to the army - Yitzhak Yosef's remarks come amid the military's plan to let women serve in tanks, which has raised an outcry in the Zionist-Religious camp. 'It is not the way of the Torah,' rabbi says. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- **'Immodest' Dress Sees Israeli Lawmaker's Aide Denied Entry to Knesset - Aide to MK Merav Michaeli said she 'felt humiliated' by an hour's inspection of her above-the-knee dress by male guards; she was allowed in only when Michaeli intervened. (Haaretz)
- Katsav says he now 'understands victims' feelings' - The convicted rapist and former president tells parole board recent treatment he underwent in prison helped him to reach new understandings concerning his crimes; however, he has yet to take responsibility for his actions or ask for victims' forgiveness. (Ynet)
- Bill Banning non-Orthodox Services at Western Wall Submitted to Knesset - Lawmakers from three coalition parties sponsor bill, which would prevent women from wearing prayer shawls and reading from Torah at site. Those violating it would face jail time or fine. (Haaretz)
- *Pass GO, collect NIS 200: Monopoly comes to Jerusalem - Players of the new board game could buy the Biblical Zoo, the Western Wall and the Knesset, and donate NIS 150 on their way to the Kotel; game draws criticism as it doesn't feature non-Jewish sites. (Ynet)
- “If convicted, the soldiers of the battalion will go AWOL": Soldiers from Elor Azariya’s company threaten to make a mass revolt - TV reporter spoke with friends of the ‘Shooting Soldier,’ who talk about a decline in motivation: "We wanted to throw away the weapons. Soldiers transferred to serve in the supply room and in the canteen, they don’t want to be combat soldiers." (Maariv)
- Hundreds sleep over at illegal West Bank outpost to protest impending evacuation - The young religious Zionists thought the evacuation might happen after the Sabbath, but the move has been postponed as an alternate site in the West Bank is prepared. (Haaretz+)
- Construction worker killed in central Israel after ceiling collapses - Since the beginning of the year, 45 people have been killed in construction accidents, the highest annual number in a decade. (Haaretz+)
- IAF Commander qualifies on F-35 - As commander of IAF, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel is qualified to fly all aircraft in service; Eshel has begun the process of qualification on the new F-35 and is expected to finish training in the US. (Ynet)
- Israel's UN ambassador to host Interchange diplomatic mission - Fourteen ambassadors to visit Israel as part of American Jewish Committee's Project Interchange. Visit will allow envoys to get firsthand look at Israeli reality, challenges and achievements, bolster bilateral ties, Ambassador Danny Danon says. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel's Turkish envoy has a friendly face in Ankara - Upon moving into the ambassador's residence in Turkey, Eitan Na'eh discovers an Israeli neighbor married to Swiss Ambassador to Ankara Walter Haffner; 'I have found myself arguing for Israel here,' says Tamar Haffner. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- 78 days into hunger strike, two Palestinian detainees demand total acquittal from Israel - Ahmad Abu Farah, 29, is suspected of security offenses; Anas Shadid, 19, is being held on suspicion of incitement on social media. Both are being detained without trial. (Haaretz+)
- Palestinian security forces deny IDF troops entry to Jenin - Paratroopers apparently took the wrong wrong into the city and hadn't coordinated with the Palestinians, the army says. The Palestinian Authority said the incident could have brought unnecessary confrontation. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- Bombing at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral kills 25 - Bombing comes during a sweeping crackdown against Islamic militants by security forces; many supporters of former Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammad Morsi blame Christians for his ousting. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Death Toll in Istanbul Bombings Rises to 44, Most of Them Police - Over 100 pro-Kurdish party officials have been detained across Turkey in response to the twin blasts. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Turkey Detains More Than 100 From pro-Kurdish Party in Wake of Istanbul Bombings - The operations come after an offshoot of the party claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombings, which killed 44. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
How Jaffa got its American Colony
150 years ago, members of the Church of the Messiah settled in the Holy Land in order to hasten the Redemption. They failed. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
150 years ago, members of the Church of the Messiah settled in the Holy Land in order to hasten the Redemption. They failed. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
The voice of our master - David Bitan Is Speaking for Netanyahu (Haaretz Editorial) Asked about Netanyahu's Election Day plea to his supporters to vote
en masse because 'Arabs are flocking to the polls,' the coalition chairman responded with a new political
doctrine. Now it's time for Netanyahu to clarify his own position.
Netanyahu, Israel’s one and only (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The system of checks and balances, which stabilized the prime minister, has collapsed. Only two restraining systems remain: The IDF General Staff and the free media. Both are under fire right now.
Is Bezalel Smotrich the Future of Israel? (Carlo Strenger, Haaretz+) Habayit Hayehudi's rising star is seen as a bizarre, racist, homophobic extremist, who is of no interest except for his weirdness. But disregarding him is dangerously wrong.
Bennett’s euphoric week (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) As far as the Bayit Yehudi leader is concerned, passing the Regulation Bill in first reading and the legal opinion provided by the attorney general are the first step towards applying Israeli sovereignty to the entire Jewish settlement in Area C.
Throw the Bible at Fundamentalist Jews Like Bezalel Smotrich (Alex Sinclair, Haaretz+) There are those who say that religion and politics should never mix. In Israel they already do. The time has come to stop holding on to our polite pluralism.
New Middle East: the plane that will dramatically affect the complicated situation in the region (Noam Amir, Maariv) ‘Adir’ (the F-35 combat jet) is not just another plane that will be integrated into IDF missions. It will dictate the quality of future missions and will turn into the biggest boy in the neighborhood, with whom no one dares mess.
BDS Paranoia Gone Wild: Will Israel Now Ban Entry to a Quarter of the World’s Christians? (Steven Klein, Haaretz+) By celebrating the deportation of a visiting Christian theologian, the right-wing media showed once again that it’s a parrot for the Israeli government’s stream of fake news.
The new sheriff in Syria (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Russia's presence in war-torn Syria, while a boon for President Bashar Assad and Iran, could also provide certain benefits for Israel.
Like Israel, Turkey and Egypt Trapped in Domestic Terror Quagmire (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) All three nations understand that the violence that works with ISIS won’t necessarily end local terror. Yet at the same time, any attempt to negotiate with terrorists is considered treasonous.
Netanyahu, Israel’s one and only (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The system of checks and balances, which stabilized the prime minister, has collapsed. Only two restraining systems remain: The IDF General Staff and the free media. Both are under fire right now.
Is Bezalel Smotrich the Future of Israel? (Carlo Strenger, Haaretz+) Habayit Hayehudi's rising star is seen as a bizarre, racist, homophobic extremist, who is of no interest except for his weirdness. But disregarding him is dangerously wrong.
Bennett’s euphoric week (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) As far as the Bayit Yehudi leader is concerned, passing the Regulation Bill in first reading and the legal opinion provided by the attorney general are the first step towards applying Israeli sovereignty to the entire Jewish settlement in Area C.
Throw the Bible at Fundamentalist Jews Like Bezalel Smotrich (Alex Sinclair, Haaretz+) There are those who say that religion and politics should never mix. In Israel they already do. The time has come to stop holding on to our polite pluralism.
New Middle East: the plane that will dramatically affect the complicated situation in the region (Noam Amir, Maariv) ‘Adir’ (the F-35 combat jet) is not just another plane that will be integrated into IDF missions. It will dictate the quality of future missions and will turn into the biggest boy in the neighborhood, with whom no one dares mess.
BDS Paranoia Gone Wild: Will Israel Now Ban Entry to a Quarter of the World’s Christians? (Steven Klein, Haaretz+) By celebrating the deportation of a visiting Christian theologian, the right-wing media showed once again that it’s a parrot for the Israeli government’s stream of fake news.
The new sheriff in Syria (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom) Russia's presence in war-torn Syria, while a boon for President Bashar Assad and Iran, could also provide certain benefits for Israel.
Like Israel, Turkey and Egypt Trapped in Domestic Terror Quagmire (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) All three nations understand that the violence that works with ISIS won’t necessarily end local terror. Yet at the same time, any attempt to negotiate with terrorists is considered treasonous.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.