APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday, March 27, 2017
Quote of the day:
Front Page:
News Summary:
Ultra-Orthodox parties expressed opposition to early elections, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon hit an impasse over the coalition crisis, the ministerial legislative committee approved allowing political appointments for deputy directors of government offices – about 26 posts – to the great dismay of the opposition, and Hamas closed all exits from the Gaza Strip as it sought to discover who assassinated a top member of its military wing.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu cautioned against false reports on the settlement talks with the Trump administration, while Trump envoy Jason Greenblatt met with Habayit Hayehudi head and Education Minister Naftali Bennett and with opposition member MK Tzipi Livni in Washington. This took place hours before the opening of the AIPAC conference, where Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer said it was the first time in many years that there was 'no daylight' between Israel and the US. For the first time, hundreds of young American Jews protested outside the conference against AIPAC's support of Israeli settlements, some of them blocking the entrance. They weren’t alone. In Hebron, women, children and other activists demonstrated against the AIPAC conference and its support
of the military occupation of the Palestinian territories, Maan reported.
And settler leader Yaakov Katz told the Associated Press that Jewish settler population growth is the end of the two-state solution. Katz showed that the settler population growth has soared over the past five years to the point where it is now nearly double the 2% nationwide rate of annual population growth. Katz, a settler from Beit El, is a close friend of the newly appointed US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who is also a big supporter of Beit El.
Features:
“Natural growth on the one hand, and lack of planning on the other, has forced the Arab population
to build without permits on a massive scale. The demolition of these homes, constructed out of distress in
the absence of equitable planning, violates morality and basic civil rights."
--Some 250 Jewish and Arab professionals from the fields of building and architecture, wrote in an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for an immediate end to the policy of house demolitions in the Arab sector and calling upon the authorities to advance worthy and fair planning policies.*
--Some 250 Jewish and Arab professionals from the fields of building and architecture, wrote in an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for an immediate end to the policy of house demolitions in the Arab sector and calling upon the authorities to advance worthy and fair planning policies.*
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Ministers approved adding dozens of political appointments
- Hundreds arrested in demonstrations against Russian Prime Minister
- Netanyahu and Kahlon met twice without results, and early elections are still a possibility
- Report in France: The Mossad exploited a joint operation to recruit French counterparts as double agents
- Arab activist for women’s rights was shot in her home in Lod and critically injured
- Likud MKs prevented reform in sports broadcasting, and the prices jumped
- National Lottery cancelled lecture of Breaking the Silence at a public library
- Yes to seniority // Haaretz Editorial
- Freedom of belief // Yosef Edrey on muezzin loudspeakers
- Good Arabs // Jacky Khoury
- A year and a half with the prisoners and prison guards in the security ward of Megiddo prison
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Fear: Hamas will try to thwart the creation of an obstacle on the Gaza border – The wall that could spark a war
- Coalition rebellion
- He’s tired // Nahum Barnea on Netanyahu
- Significant support for Yachimovich
- The daughter of the (London) terrorist who refused to convert to Islam
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The ultra-Orthodox ultimatum
- You broke it, you pay /// MK Ilan Gilon
- We became tools of the game // Hagit Grobglass, Channel 1
- Who will blink first // Dr. Revital Amran
- Anger in the opposition over the dozens of appointments as director without a tender: “Robbery in the light of day”
- He didn’t break the code – A criminal doesn’t incriminate a criminal: This is how Zeev Rozenstein refused to testify against his bitter enemy Yitzhak Abergil, who is accused of attempting to murder him
Israel Hayom
- (Israel Public Broadcasting) Corporation: Contacts over understandings; Ultra-Orthodox told Netanyahu: “Don’t go towards elections”
- Report: “Mossad acted to recruit double agents in France”
- Fear that Hamas will make attacks in Judea and Samaria in retaliation for elimination of senior military wing
- Ultra-Orthodox incitement against an IDF officer: “They are imprisoning deserters, may G-d hurt them”
- The East is not far: Cathay Pacific to launch flights to Israel
News Summary:
Ultra-Orthodox parties expressed opposition to early elections, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon hit an impasse over the coalition crisis, the ministerial legislative committee approved allowing political appointments for deputy directors of government offices – about 26 posts – to the great dismay of the opposition, and Hamas closed all exits from the Gaza Strip as it sought to discover who assassinated a top member of its military wing.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu cautioned against false reports on the settlement talks with the Trump administration, while Trump envoy Jason Greenblatt met with Habayit Hayehudi head and Education Minister Naftali Bennett and with opposition member MK Tzipi Livni in Washington. This took place hours before the opening of the AIPAC conference, where Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer said it was the first time in many years that there was 'no daylight' between Israel and the US. For the first time, hundreds of young American Jews protested outside the conference against AIPAC's support of Israeli settlements, some of them blocking the entrance. They weren’t alone. In Hebron, women, children and other activists demonstrated against the AIPAC conference and its support
of the military occupation of the Palestinian territories, Maan reported.
And settler leader Yaakov Katz told the Associated Press that Jewish settler population growth is the end of the two-state solution. Katz showed that the settler population growth has soared over the past five years to the point where it is now nearly double the 2% nationwide rate of annual population growth. Katz, a settler from Beit El, is a close friend of the newly appointed US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who is also a big supporter of Beit El.
Quick Hits:
- New details contradict IDF's claim about Palestinian boy allegedly forced to help troops identify stone-throwers - Palestinian 8-year-old Sufian Abu Hita, who was allegedly made to help find stone-throwers, does not live in the Hebron neighborhood where soldiers purportedly took him door to door. (Haaretz+)
- 3 (Jewish) Israelis arrested over stabbing, seriously wounding 19-year-old (Arab-Israeli) - The victim was stabbed on the street in his hometown of Nahariya in northern Israel, and that four "Jewish suspects," which included a teenager and three others between 20 and 45 years old, were being interrogated for their involvement in the attack. (Maan)
- Israel's national lottery bars anti-occupation veterans' event - Prohibits gathering by Breaking the Silence in lottery-funded library because it is deemed political, even though similar events had taken place there in the past. (Haaretz+)
- After top operative's death, Hamas threatens 'assassination equation' - Hamas has no leads on who killed high-profile official Mazen Faqha • "The criminal Zionist entity will shoulder the responsibility for this murder. The Zionist enemy will pay a heavy price for trying to change the rules of the game," Hamas official says. (Israel Hayom)
- Assassins of Top Hamas Militant Arrived by Sea, Gaza Reports Say - Hamas is being careful not to reveal any details about its investigation into the assassination of Mazen Fuqaha, its senior military commanders say. (Haaretz)
- In rare move, Hamas closes Gaza crossing with Israel after killing of senior militant - Hamas suspects collaborators with Israel of assassination, but closure does not affect goods entering Gaza. (Haaretz, Maan and Ynet)
- Hamas leadership in Israeli jails threatened to prepare for hunger strike - Last Thursday, Hamas prisoners in Israel, in coordination with the Hamas leadership in Gaza, submitted a list of demands to improve their conditions in Israeli prisons. The threat - if the conditions were not met, would be to begin a long and even violent hunger strike. (Maariv)
- Haredi leaflet calls for prayers so harm befalls IDF officer - Pamphlets accuse IDF yeshiva students' unit head Maj. Yaakov Rashi of being a "wicked, evil man," call on ultra-Orthodox community to add passages from Psalms on "the loss of the wicked" to their prayers • IDF condemns "this serious incitement." (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Ultra-Orthodox block Bnei Brak street over arrests of IDF deserters - Dozens of demonstrators tried to block the intersection of Jabotinsky and Ben Gurion Roads between Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan; police detained several of them for interrogation. The leader of the radical Jerusalem faction, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, called for demonstrations against the arrest of the IDF deserters. (Ynet)
- Six right-wing activists arrested and removed from a settlement evacuated during the disengagement in 2005 - As part of a (settler) campaign to encourage returning to evacuated settlements in northern Samaria, six people were arrested this week in the abandoned settlement of Homesh. They were taken for questioning by the police on suspicion of violating the Disengagement Law. (Maariv)
- Buses stoned in Afula (by Jewish children)- In recent weeks there have been complaints of stone-throwing at buses in Afula; police officers boarded the buses and discovered that children and teenagers were the culprits; ten of them, aged 9 to 14, were arrested. (Ynet)
- *Hundreds of building planners demand PM end Arab building discrimination - Over 280 architects, engineers and building planners send an open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, objecting to ‘the ongoing discrimination against the Arab population in Israel in the area of housing and planning’; The letter claims that ‘natural growth on the one hand, and lack of planning on the other, have forced the Arab population to build without permits on a massive scale,’ and that demolishing these structures ‘violates morality and basic civil rights’; Among those who have already signed the letter are the dean of Bezalel’s Architecture department and professors from the universities of Ben-Gurion and Haifa. (Ynet)
- Palestinian family coerced by Jerusalem Municipality to tear down their roof in Beit Hanina - Yousif Bukhtan told Ma'an that the walls of his 60-square-meter house had been built several years ago, and the roof was added three years ago. (Maan)
- Israel orders Palestinian families in Jordan Valley to evacuate homes for military drills - Israeli forces ordered more than 10 Palestinian families in the Ras al-Ahmar area northeast of Tubas to leave their homes starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. on Thursday. (Maan)
- Israel installs new surveillance cameras inside Palestinian villages - Locals said this marked a departure from usual measures whereby cameras were only installed at main raids and crossroads. (Maan)
- Israeli forces fire at Palestinian fishermen, agricultural lands in Gaza - The Israeli navy's gunboats opened fire at unarmed Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis,and Israeli troops opened fire at Palestinian agricultural lands east of al-Qarara in Khan Yunis. (Maan)
- Bennett Slams Netanyahu: The Prime Minister Shouldn't Be Ordering News Articles - Israeli education minister reacts to Haaretz report that Yedioth Ahronoth ran a story slamming Bennett over sluggish development of daycare facilities as a 'goodwill gesture' to the Netanyahu. (Haaretz)
- Israeli minister sends Supreme Court into turmoil over president appointment reform - Ayelet Shaked sees disadvantages to the current practice of making the longest serving justice head of Israel's top court when outgoing president retires. (Haaretz+)
- Greatly expanding minister's powers, panel approves more political appointments - The plan would allow every minister whose ministry employs at least 150 people to name one deputy director general as a personal political appointment. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Israeli Court to Rule Whether Conscientious and Religious Draft Objectors Are Equal - A left-wing organization has requested the High Court to extend the conditions of military exemption granted to religious women to those objecting on moral grounds. (Haaretz+)
- Two Israeli teens likely to be charged with running $1.2 million cybercrime operation - Source says the probe has taken an unusually long time because of pressure from the FBI and because the Swedish government is involved. (Haaretz+)
- Decades in waiting, Israelis seize their chance to win Rhodes scholarships - Palestinians, too, as the ultra-prestigious program branches out to students from parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. (Haaretz+)
- Why Israelis Living Near Gaza Strip Keep Hearing False Rocket Alerts - There were three alarms sounded near the border in March, only one of which turned out to be a projectile. But safety-first approach of automated system means mistakes will continue to happen. (Haaretz+)
- Mossad Reportedly Turned French Spies Into Double Agents After Joint Syria Op - Le Monde reveals how Israeli espionage agency allegedly exploited a successful chemical weapons operation to get French counterparts to become sources; former head of French counterintelligence agency being questioned as suspect in case. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- Israel-Lebanon maritime dispute heats up - In response to news of Israeli legislation concerning maritime demarcation between the two enemy states, Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament warns that such a bill is 'a declaration of war.' (Ynet)
- Russia Advises Travelers: Don't Criticize Israelis, Don't Use Yiddish and Arabic Swear Words - Issuing warnings for countries all over the globe, Russian Foreign Ministry asks tourists not to compare Kenyans to monkeys and not to offend gays. (Haaretz)
- Egypt Court Sends 56 to Jail Over Boat Sinking That Killed 202 Migrants - Since Turkey and EU reached an agreement last year to curb the flow of migrants and refugees sailing from Turkish shores, most migrant journeys now take the more dangerous route from north Africa. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- U.S.-backed Syrian Militia Makes Gains Against ISIS, Sets Sights on Raqqa - The Syrian Democratic Forces expects the assault on the Islamic State's de-facto capital to take place in early April. (Agencies, Haaretz)
Features:
The Yemenite immigrants who rebelled against the new Israeli state
Amid efforts to force a secular lifestyle on them, new arrivals at a transit camp in northern Israel in 1949 demanded a synagogue and threatened a hunger strike over the absence of religious education. (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+)
Heavy Cargo: A rare glimpse into the lonely world of those with combat shock
Guy was caught in an explosion on Bus 5 on Dizengoff Street. Assaf was present in the double attack at the Beit Leid junction. And Rami (pseudonym) got his (shock) at the ‘(Battle of the Chinese Farm’ (in Egypt in ‘73). Now they talk about the difficulties and ask for just a hug. (Mordechai Haimovitz, Maariv)
Fledgling Israel, seen by the iconic photographer who left it
Some 20,000 photographs taken by Zoltan Kluger have been posted on the Israel State Archives website and are freely accessible to the public. Who knows who you might find there. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)
When it comes to cross-dressing, Egypt was way ahead of the curve
Cross-dressing was a big draw for urbane Egyptians a century ago: Diva Umm Kulthum dressed as a boy in early performances, while Qasim Amin encouraged women to dress and behave like men in order to satisfy their male partners. (On Barak, Haaretz+)
Two Exhibits Herald the Future of Israel's First Palestinian Museum
A visit to the Umm al-Fahm Art Gallery. (Shaul Setter, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
When an Israeli Minister Threatens a Newspaper (Friday Haaretz Editorial) A minister who threatens his critics in such a fashion cannot serve in his position in a democratic state.
Netanyahu prefers to demonstrate his esteem for Trump from afar when both houses of Congress and the White House are in the hands of the Republicans (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) One would expect the prime minister to arrive at the AIPAC conference as a winner, but the issue of the settlements made him avoid a face-to-face meeting.
New bribery suspicions could prove game changer in Netanyahu's media case (Ido Baum, Haaretz+) Reports that media mogul Arnon Mozes presented Netanyahu with evidence that he had acted on his behalf against a political rival upgrades the men's taped conversations from mere gossip to criminal realm.
Why do the Jordanians hate us? (Elyakim Haetzni, Yedioth/Ynet) It’s unclear why Israel’s governments keep spoiling Jordan with different perks, while ignoring the insatiable hatred towards us among the kingdom’s residents.
Palestinians Could Be Planning a Surprise at Arab League Summit (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Some observers expect Abbas to soften demands for opening of talks with Israel.
What made an Israeli hacker terrorize Jewish centers worldwide? (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet) After arresting an Ashkelon resident over bomb threats to Jewish centers around the world, police investigators are trying to figure out his motive: Psychological issues, a childish search for an ego boost, or revenge over the fact that he was not drafted into the IDF?
Save the Supreme Court's Seniority System (Haaretz Editorial) Though she preaches about separation of powers, Justice Minister Shaked seeks to intensify the political system's hold on the judicial branch with a harmful new reform.
Hamas will avenge commander’s killing, but not in the immediate future (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) The fact that Hamas leaders are attributing the assassination of senior commander Mazan Fukha to Israel raises the possibility of escalation on the Gaza front. Regardless of who did it, the assassination serves as a warning to the rest of the prisoners who were released in the Shalit deal and returned to their evil ways.
AIPAC 2017: No Political Camp Has the Right to Define Who's pro-Israel (Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Haaretz+) We opposed David Friedman. We stand with refugees and undocumented immigrants. We call out anti-Muslim hate and combat anti-Semitism. And we’re still firmly in the pro-Israel camp.
Leadership test: Kahlon’s conduct in the (Israel Public Broadcasting) Corporation crisis is tantamount to be or not to be (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The finance minister faces two bad choices, but the option of standing stubbornly against Netanyahu may pay off more. The choice before him will determine whether he will succeed in turning from being the guard of the public purse guard into a leader (of the country).
Israel's Mizrahim are trapped between two worlds (Iris Leal, Haaretz+) The border between the residents of the distressed neighborhoods and their fury concerning the refugees, and the liberals on the left who call them racists – this is our place.
The (Israel Public Broadcasting) corporation is just an excuse: Netanyahu is trying to divert the public debate from countless issues (Prof. Cielo Rosenberg, Maariv) The IPBC crisis creates a comfortable political situation for Netanyahu to initiate elections. But this crisis is the minor reason why the government should go home.
AIPAC's Choice: Be Apolitical or Be Honest About Political Affiliation (Liat Schlesinger, Haaretz+) These days, many on the Israeli center-left view AIPAC as nothing more than the U.S. branch of Likud. Here's what the pro-Israel lobby needs to do to correct that.
The Sobered-up Dream Lives On: Israel, and Zionism, Are Still Capable of Renewal (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) In 50 years, one aspect of my 100 trips to Israel has been constant: visiting my Holocaust survivor cousin David, who rejected family attempts to lure him to America. His sober, unromanticized optimism about Israel gives me hope.
The Real Threat to Israel: Hezbollah and Iran - Not the Palestinian Stalemate (Moshe Arens, Haaretz) Mossad's former chief said not solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will end Israel as we know it. But the facts on the ground say otherwise.
There is no democracy without freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and these are now in danger (Uri Savir, Maariv) In the Igal Sarna affair we must remember that democracy is the foundation of the existence of the State of Israel, and its loss is a greater danger to us than all the thousands of missiles held by Hamas and Hezbollah.
Controversial left-wing artist shouldn't be kept from receiving Israel's highest honor (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) Expressing unacceptable opinions is not a reason, barring very extreme cases, to disqualify anyone’s candidacy for the Israel Prize in an existing category.
Amid efforts to force a secular lifestyle on them, new arrivals at a transit camp in northern Israel in 1949 demanded a synagogue and threatened a hunger strike over the absence of religious education. (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz+)
Heavy Cargo: A rare glimpse into the lonely world of those with combat shock
Guy was caught in an explosion on Bus 5 on Dizengoff Street. Assaf was present in the double attack at the Beit Leid junction. And Rami (pseudonym) got his (shock) at the ‘(Battle of the Chinese Farm’ (in Egypt in ‘73). Now they talk about the difficulties and ask for just a hug. (Mordechai Haimovitz, Maariv)
Fledgling Israel, seen by the iconic photographer who left it
Some 20,000 photographs taken by Zoltan Kluger have been posted on the Israel State Archives website and are freely accessible to the public. Who knows who you might find there. (Ofer Aderet, Haaretz+)
When it comes to cross-dressing, Egypt was way ahead of the curve
Cross-dressing was a big draw for urbane Egyptians a century ago: Diva Umm Kulthum dressed as a boy in early performances, while Qasim Amin encouraged women to dress and behave like men in order to satisfy their male partners. (On Barak, Haaretz+)
Two Exhibits Herald the Future of Israel's First Palestinian Museum
A visit to the Umm al-Fahm Art Gallery. (Shaul Setter, Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
When an Israeli Minister Threatens a Newspaper (Friday Haaretz Editorial) A minister who threatens his critics in such a fashion cannot serve in his position in a democratic state.
Netanyahu prefers to demonstrate his esteem for Trump from afar when both houses of Congress and the White House are in the hands of the Republicans (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) One would expect the prime minister to arrive at the AIPAC conference as a winner, but the issue of the settlements made him avoid a face-to-face meeting.
New bribery suspicions could prove game changer in Netanyahu's media case (Ido Baum, Haaretz+) Reports that media mogul Arnon Mozes presented Netanyahu with evidence that he had acted on his behalf against a political rival upgrades the men's taped conversations from mere gossip to criminal realm.
Why do the Jordanians hate us? (Elyakim Haetzni, Yedioth/Ynet) It’s unclear why Israel’s governments keep spoiling Jordan with different perks, while ignoring the insatiable hatred towards us among the kingdom’s residents.
Palestinians Could Be Planning a Surprise at Arab League Summit (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Some observers expect Abbas to soften demands for opening of talks with Israel.
What made an Israeli hacker terrorize Jewish centers worldwide? (Ronen Bergman, Yedioth/Ynet) After arresting an Ashkelon resident over bomb threats to Jewish centers around the world, police investigators are trying to figure out his motive: Psychological issues, a childish search for an ego boost, or revenge over the fact that he was not drafted into the IDF?
Save the Supreme Court's Seniority System (Haaretz Editorial) Though she preaches about separation of powers, Justice Minister Shaked seeks to intensify the political system's hold on the judicial branch with a harmful new reform.
Hamas will avenge commander’s killing, but not in the immediate future (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) The fact that Hamas leaders are attributing the assassination of senior commander Mazan Fukha to Israel raises the possibility of escalation on the Gaza front. Regardless of who did it, the assassination serves as a warning to the rest of the prisoners who were released in the Shalit deal and returned to their evil ways.
AIPAC 2017: No Political Camp Has the Right to Define Who's pro-Israel (Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Haaretz+) We opposed David Friedman. We stand with refugees and undocumented immigrants. We call out anti-Muslim hate and combat anti-Semitism. And we’re still firmly in the pro-Israel camp.
Leadership test: Kahlon’s conduct in the (Israel Public Broadcasting) Corporation crisis is tantamount to be or not to be (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The finance minister faces two bad choices, but the option of standing stubbornly against Netanyahu may pay off more. The choice before him will determine whether he will succeed in turning from being the guard of the public purse guard into a leader (of the country).
Israel's Mizrahim are trapped between two worlds (Iris Leal, Haaretz+) The border between the residents of the distressed neighborhoods and their fury concerning the refugees, and the liberals on the left who call them racists – this is our place.
The (Israel Public Broadcasting) corporation is just an excuse: Netanyahu is trying to divert the public debate from countless issues (Prof. Cielo Rosenberg, Maariv) The IPBC crisis creates a comfortable political situation for Netanyahu to initiate elections. But this crisis is the minor reason why the government should go home.
AIPAC's Choice: Be Apolitical or Be Honest About Political Affiliation (Liat Schlesinger, Haaretz+) These days, many on the Israeli center-left view AIPAC as nothing more than the U.S. branch of Likud. Here's what the pro-Israel lobby needs to do to correct that.
The Sobered-up Dream Lives On: Israel, and Zionism, Are Still Capable of Renewal (Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) In 50 years, one aspect of my 100 trips to Israel has been constant: visiting my Holocaust survivor cousin David, who rejected family attempts to lure him to America. His sober, unromanticized optimism about Israel gives me hope.
The Real Threat to Israel: Hezbollah and Iran - Not the Palestinian Stalemate (Moshe Arens, Haaretz) Mossad's former chief said not solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will end Israel as we know it. But the facts on the ground say otherwise.
There is no democracy without freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and these are now in danger (Uri Savir, Maariv) In the Igal Sarna affair we must remember that democracy is the foundation of the existence of the State of Israel, and its loss is a greater danger to us than all the thousands of missiles held by Hamas and Hezbollah.
Controversial left-wing artist shouldn't be kept from receiving Israel's highest honor (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) Expressing unacceptable opinions is not a reason, barring very extreme cases, to disqualify anyone’s candidacy for the Israel Prize in an existing category.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.