APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday July 5, 2017
Quote of the day:
“I’m going to have to figure out how to talk to them about the occupation without actually using that
word.”
--An Orthodox rabbi wondered aloud how best to share with his community back home his experiences from a tour in Hebron, conducted by Breaking the Silence.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Besides inviting President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and Mossad head Yossi Cohen to the US Independence Day July 4th bash at the official residence, the new US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman did something no previous US ambassador did: he invited the heads of Israeli settlement regional councils in the West Bank.**
--An Orthodox rabbi wondered aloud how best to share with his community back home his experiences from a tour in Hebron, conducted by Breaking the Silence.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Besides inviting President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and Mossad head Yossi Cohen to the US Independence Day July 4th bash at the official residence, the new US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman did something no previous US ambassador did: he invited the heads of Israeli settlement regional councils in the West Bank.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Peretz and Gabai go to runoff in elections for Labor Party (leadership)
- Tel-Aviv and Givatayim will distance religious NGOs from educational institutions
- Indian Prime Minister in Israel: “This is the beginning of a partnership”
- Egypt and Hamas creating agreement that will distance the danger of a war in Gaza and weaken Abbas
- High Court: There is nothing to prevent demolishing homes of Jewish terrorists, but the homes of the murderers of Abu Khdeir won’t be demolished
- The page is missing // Haaretz Editorial
- Lost in translation // Gili Izikovich
- The serial criminal again got off easy // Yuval Yoaz
- The cable car planned for Jerusalem’s Old City is hanging from a very thin thread // Moshe Gilad
- The biometric plan got stuck in the line at Ben-Gurion Airport and at the Populations Authority
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Upheaval: Peretz and Gabai’s victory (in race for Labor Party leadership)
- Herzog’s dismissal
- Two ends // Nahum Barnea
- The one who dares wins // Sima Kadmon
- The new [Mizrachi] elite // Eli Amir
- Hebron: Platoon officer killed by unintentional firearm discharge
- Namaste, Israel - Indian PM Narendra Modi landed in Israel
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- The battle over the Labor Party: Peretz vs. Gabai
- The head is in the East // Ben Caspit
- New communities // Meir Uziel
- Unite forces // Eli Amir
- Fatal training accident: IDF officer killed by unintentional discharge of firearm of one of his soldiers during exercise
- On US Independence Day – N. Korea: We launched an inter-continental missile for the first time
- Historic visit – “Together we will build a partnership for growth and war against terror” – Narendra Modi landed in Israel yesterday
- In summer camp: Male scouts counselor arrested on suspicion of sex crimes against a female scout minor
Israel Hayom
- “We are making a breakthrough – for a strong partnership” - Indian PM visits Israel
- Drama in the Labor Party: Herzog was ousted – Peretz and Gabai go to second round
- Hebron: IDF officer killed by accidental firearm discharge
- Police Commissioner: “The (Public Security) minister will control the budget of the police? Not on my shift”
- More folly of UNESCO: “Israel is not the sovereign of Jerusalem”
- High Court justices to state representative in the Hadassah Hospital crisis: “Why don’t you transfer doctors (who resigned from Hadassah) to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital?”
- N. Korea: “We launched an inter-continental missile”; US considering responding
News Summary:
Shock over the ousting of Isaac Herzog and the runoff between two Moroccan-born candidates for the leadership of the Labor Party, declarations of partnership against terror between Israel and India when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Israel making history as the first visit of a serving Indian Prime Minister and an IDF platoon commander is accidentally killed by one of his soldiers in a training exercise in Hebron meant to teach how to act in the case of a stabbing attack - making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
India's Prime Minister Modi said it was an 'honor' to be in Israel declared Israel 'one of India's most important partners.’ He laid a wreath at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and met with both his counterpart Binyamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin. Haaretz has background about this son of a poor tea seller who became premier of the world’s largest democracy.
Shock over the ousting of Isaac Herzog and the runoff between two Moroccan-born candidates for the leadership of the Labor Party, declarations of partnership against terror between Israel and India when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Israel making history as the first visit of a serving Indian Prime Minister and an IDF platoon commander is accidentally killed by one of his soldiers in a training exercise in Hebron meant to teach how to act in the case of a stabbing attack - making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
India's Prime Minister Modi said it was an 'honor' to be in Israel declared Israel 'one of India's most important partners.’ He laid a wreath at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and met with both his counterpart Binyamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin. Haaretz has background about this son of a poor tea seller who became premier of the world’s largest democracy.
Quick Hits:
- Survey: Half of Arabs in Israeli universities suffer racism - Some 40% of Arab students said they suffer racism from faculty. 60% said they had forged ties with Jewish students unconnected to their studies. (Haaretz+)
- Tel Aviv cracks down on religious influence in schools - Deputy mayor who holds education portfolio says city wants to limit 'missionary' activity, maintains, 'We will ensure the secularism of the city's schools.’ (Haaretz+)
- Former Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid says, "There is no religionization in the education system" - Israeli Yesh Atid Party Chairman Yair Lapid claimed that the fear of religious content in the Israeli education system is unreasonable. The former Finance Minister also stated that the settlements will not be evacuated anytime soon. (JOL, Mako and Maariv)
- High Court rules against demolition of Abu Khdeir killers' homes - Judges reject petition filed by victim's parents to demolish homes of Jewish murderers but insists demolition policy applies equally to Jews and Arabs. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Abu Khdeir’s father: I will go to the Criminal Court in The Hague - Hussein Abu Khdeir is furious at the Supreme Court's decision not to demolish the homes of his son's murderers: "We expected this decision in the first place, and only wanted to show Israel in its nakedness, as a racist and Nazi state.” (Maariv)
- Radical NGO Breaking the Silence faces wave of event cancellations - Organizers forced to move events to private homes after residents of kibbutzim and moshavim voice fierce opposition • Breaking the Silence, which aims to expose IDF's human rights violations, refuses to sit in panels with us, says pro-army activist. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel's Top Court Agrees to Postpone Ruling on Conversion Changes for Six Months - In exchange, government had agreed to postpone discussion of controversial bill that would deny recognition of any conversions in Israel outside the Rabbinate. (Haaretz+)
- Amid Western Wall crisis, opposition lawmaker pushes new bill for egalitarian prayer space - With the bill, Zionist Union's Nachman Shai aims to ward off 'strategic crisis' with world Jewry. (Haaretz+)
- Rivlin's double-hitter: A July 4th excuse and a dig at government for retreat on Kotel deal - After Israeli president bows out of speech at U.S. envoy's Independence Day event, he laments damage to Diaspora Jews due to about-face on egalitarian prayer at Western Wall. (Haaretz+)
- UNESCO denies once more Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem - Convening in Krakow, UN's cultural committee approves proposal submitted by Arab states rejecting Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and condemning it for conducting excavations in the Old City; despite loss, Israel's UNESCO envoy hails vote as a step in the right direction, arguing Israel forced a softened version and managed and gain a 'moral majority.' (Yedioth/Ynet and Maariv)
- European medical society recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital - The Israel Heart Society successfully lobbies the European Society of Cardiology to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, while apologizing for previously recognizing only Tel Aviv; president of Israel Heart Society: 'We are happy that we succeeded in correcting this political injustice that has no place in medicine.' (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Holocaust survivors urge Polish FM: Stop UNESCO Hebron vote - 12 survivors born in Poland and now live in Israel send letter to Polish government, which is hosting the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting, calling on them to prevent vote on resolution to declare the Cave of the Patriarchs as a Palestinian World Heritage Site. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Terrorist who burned Israeli girl gets 18 years - Court sentences Mohammed Badwan for attempting to murder Ayala Shapira, who was 11 at the time, and her father when he threw a Molotov Cocktail at their vehicle; Badwan convicted for other similar incidents and ordered to pay NIS 50,000 compensation. (Ynet)
- Fearing attacks, ultra-Orthodox soldiers allowed to forgo uniforms on leave - Haredi soldiers have been attacked and threatened by members of their own community for serving in the Israel Defense Forces. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Israeli finance minister and Kulanu chief: My political party will run independent in Israel's next election - Moshe Kahlon says party to remain independent, stresses he will not participate in any attempt to form an alternative government during this Knesset. (Haaretz)
- Israeli ministry intervenes to end rift between rescue groups - Magen David Adom agrees to send out first responders from United Hatzalah, while latter agrees to refer callers to national emergency hotline. (Haaretz+)
- Journalists from Yedioth Ahronoth gave testimony in the 2000 case (Netanyahu corruption case) - Police anti-corruption investigators sought to find out, as was hinted in the recordings of the talks between the prime minister's and Yedioth publisher Noni Mozes, whether the newspaper changed its attitude toward Netanyahu. The testimonies were also collected following the Adelson interrogation. (Maariv)
- Israeli president eases ex-PM Olmert’s parole restrictions - Two days after his early release from prison, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has his sentence commuted. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- 'I'm coming home,' says one of 201 N. American new immigrants to Israel - Group that includes 34 families with 78 children and 51 singles from U.S. and Canada holds moving farewell ceremony in New York before boarding Nefesh B'Nefesh flight to Israel • Most North Americans making aliyah this summer will be moving to Jerusalem. (Israel Hayom)
- On July 4th, Thousands of U.S. Sailors Docked in Israel Aim to Drink Port City Dry - Beer taps in Haifa's lower city, usually quiet midweek, worked overtime to serve U.S. Navy seaman on U.S. aircraft carrier fighting ISIS in Syria. (Haaretz)
- **US ambassador parties like it's the 4th of July - Welcoming a host of Israeli government leaders and public figures, Ambassador Friedman throws a 4th of July celebration at his Herzliya Pituah home complete with McDonald's, Ben and Jerry's and fireworks. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Providing the tools to answer Israel’s BDS foes - Hundreds of thousands of activists in dozens of countries across five continents with one goal: improving Israel's international image. Here’s a peek at the operations being carried out by the Maccabi World Union, the EIPA and IAC organizations who are taking the fight to the boycott movement. (Ynet)
- Tough data: "About 1,000 minors in Israel engage in prostitution" - According to the Acting Director General of the Ministry of Public Security, this information was produced during a joint survey conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs. (Maariv)
- Some 12 acres consumed by forest fire in Jerusalem area - 17 firefighting crews battle blaze in the Sataf Forest in the Jerusalem Mountains alongside 4 air tankers and KKL-JNF; police officer suffers from smoke inhalation in fire in capital's Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood. (Ynet)
- Palestinian Authority Forces 6,000 Gazan Employees Into Early Retirement - West Bank leadership says it will lift all sanctions on Strip if Hamas rulers step aside there and let it govern. (Haaretz)
- Israeli military drone crashes in Gaza Strip - Incident is the second of its kind in a week, but the army assures that no intelligence was leaked because any information would have been automatically erased. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Egypt agrees to open Rafah Border Crossing - After Egypt assisted Hamas in their electricity crisis by providing them with fuel for their power plant, it has now agreed to reopen the border crossing between them and Gaza, allowing passage to Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip and back. (Yedioth/Ynet)
Features:
*U.S. Rabbis Just Got a Close-up Look at Occupation in the West Bank - and It’s Not a Pretty
Sight
Rabbis' visit comes after 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of West Bank. What hadn’t been planned, though, up was that their trip would coincide with one of the worst crises ever in relations between Israel and the U.S. Jewish community. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
We won’t turn the other cheek, US Jewish leaders say
Amid threats to withdraw donations to Israel following the government’s approval of the Conversion Bill and decision to freeze the plan for an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall, visiting leaders of America’s Jewish organizations say Prime Minister Netanyahu must decide ‘if he wants a pluralistic state or a halachic state.’ (Nehama Duek, Yedioth/Ynet)
Commentary/Analysis:
A Hug and a Cover-up The Touchy Issue Left Off the Agenda of India PM Modi's Visit to Israel (Barak Ravid, Haaretz) Netanyahu didn't exaggerate when he called Indian PM Modi's visit 'historic.' Wishing to avoid discord over India's ties to Iran, visit focuses on civilian issues.
Peretz vs. Gabbay: Old news vs. hot news (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The two Labor finalists have one thing in common—their Sephardic descent. In any other aspect, they are very different. Amir Peretz’s advantage, as well as his weakness, is his rich political experience. Avi Gabby is Peretz’s mirror image: New, fresh and inexperienced.
If Gaza Doesn’t Explode, Thank Egypt, the Qatari Crisis and Abbas' Biggest Rival (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) A shake-up in the Middle East that enhances the clout of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates could serve Israel by preventing another violent clash in the Strip - for now
Opinion Leftists, Stop Teaching in Israel's West Bank University (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) Decent Israelis, seekers of peace, must engage in the smallest act of civil resistance and refuse to study or work in Ariel.
In This Heat, Cry Over Gaza, Not Britney (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) Israelis would give Britney Spears a fan for her stage performance in Tel Aviv before they'd give Gazan residents a chance to drink their own sweat.
Why you should care about Conversion Bill (even if you aren’t a convert) (Jessica Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) The moment Israel doesn’t accept the converts of any stream of Judaism, it isn’t accepting its community as a whole. It’s shutting the doors on people who your communities welcomed with open arms and are an integral part in the building of your Jewish communal life.
SodaStream 1, BDS 0 (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The movement claimed SodaStream was losing customers because of Israel's occupation of the Palestinians. That was pure nonsense.
What isolation? (Amnon Lord, Israel Hayom) Not only does the first visit in Israel by an Indian head of government mark the impressive strategic partnership and friendship between the two countries, but it also reflects Israel's burgeoning status as an international power.
Blocking Access to Free Expression in Israel (Haaretz Editorial) A Knesset committee has approved for its final votes a benighted bill aimed at granting the government control over the content the public can be exposed to online.
Hezbollah taking Israeli war mongers seriously (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Even when Defense Minister Lieberman declares that Israel has no intention of launching a war in Lebanon, Nasrallah doesn’t believe him. He prefers to listen to the underground streams in the defense establishment and in the government, which are pushing for an attack as soon as possible.
A cynic at the top (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) Like every foreboding nationalist, Netanyahu aims all his efforts at the struggle against the internal enemy: Israel's Arabs and human rights groups.
UNESCO's decision was to verify the killing of the chances of peace (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The decision of the UN Cultural Organization on the status of Jerusalem proves the continued hostility towards Israel in the United Nations, but it is a marginal and negligible institution with no real meaning.
The Dutch Gamble (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The Dutch, giving money for solar panels in Palestinian villages, decided to take a risk on the assumption that their country has a gentleman’s agreement with Israel.
Do not make threats (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) When U.S. Jews, irked by Israel's decision to veto the Western Wall compromise, suggest that they will stop supporting the Jewish state, we have to speak up.
American Jews Obviously Never Saw Netanyahu’s Betrayal Coming. But Why? (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) U.S. Reform and Conservative Jews were enamored by an idealized vision of Israel and thus were waylaid by the decision to deny them a space at the Western Wall.
Israelis who hate American Jews (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) They're not saying 'Oh, please, come to Israel so we can all live together as soul-mates.' They're saying, 'We hate you. We don't want your kind here.' They want you to walk away, to abandon the playing field to them.
The Labor Party maintained its tradition of ousting its leaders, but Gabai and Peretz's achievement was unprecedented (Ben Caspit, Maariv) The two finalists in the primaries of the Ashkenazi Labor Party are Moroccans. Something like that has not happened before. This is the real repair of the party, and if it doesn’t work now, it won’t work at all… This will be a battle between the oldest Knesset member in the House and someone who has not served in the Knesset and does not know the house. Any bet is possible…The list of losers yesterday besides (ousted leader Isaac) Herzog: Erel Margalit, who must examine himself, Ehud Barak who was counting on Herzog, and Tzipi Livni who was counting on both of them.
U.S. Jewry Shocks Israelis by Resisting Traditional Sado-maso Routine (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) American Jews protect Israel and do its bidding, and all Israelis expect in return is that they say thank you as well.
Rabbis' visit comes after 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of West Bank. What hadn’t been planned, though, up was that their trip would coincide with one of the worst crises ever in relations between Israel and the U.S. Jewish community. (Judy Maltz, Haaretz+)
We won’t turn the other cheek, US Jewish leaders say
Amid threats to withdraw donations to Israel following the government’s approval of the Conversion Bill and decision to freeze the plan for an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall, visiting leaders of America’s Jewish organizations say Prime Minister Netanyahu must decide ‘if he wants a pluralistic state or a halachic state.’ (Nehama Duek, Yedioth/Ynet)
Commentary/Analysis:
A Hug and a Cover-up The Touchy Issue Left Off the Agenda of India PM Modi's Visit to Israel (Barak Ravid, Haaretz) Netanyahu didn't exaggerate when he called Indian PM Modi's visit 'historic.' Wishing to avoid discord over India's ties to Iran, visit focuses on civilian issues.
Peretz vs. Gabbay: Old news vs. hot news (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The two Labor finalists have one thing in common—their Sephardic descent. In any other aspect, they are very different. Amir Peretz’s advantage, as well as his weakness, is his rich political experience. Avi Gabby is Peretz’s mirror image: New, fresh and inexperienced.
If Gaza Doesn’t Explode, Thank Egypt, the Qatari Crisis and Abbas' Biggest Rival (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) A shake-up in the Middle East that enhances the clout of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates could serve Israel by preventing another violent clash in the Strip - for now
Opinion Leftists, Stop Teaching in Israel's West Bank University (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) Decent Israelis, seekers of peace, must engage in the smallest act of civil resistance and refuse to study or work in Ariel.
In This Heat, Cry Over Gaza, Not Britney (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) Israelis would give Britney Spears a fan for her stage performance in Tel Aviv before they'd give Gazan residents a chance to drink their own sweat.
Why you should care about Conversion Bill (even if you aren’t a convert) (Jessica Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) The moment Israel doesn’t accept the converts of any stream of Judaism, it isn’t accepting its community as a whole. It’s shutting the doors on people who your communities welcomed with open arms and are an integral part in the building of your Jewish communal life.
SodaStream 1, BDS 0 (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The movement claimed SodaStream was losing customers because of Israel's occupation of the Palestinians. That was pure nonsense.
What isolation? (Amnon Lord, Israel Hayom) Not only does the first visit in Israel by an Indian head of government mark the impressive strategic partnership and friendship between the two countries, but it also reflects Israel's burgeoning status as an international power.
Blocking Access to Free Expression in Israel (Haaretz Editorial) A Knesset committee has approved for its final votes a benighted bill aimed at granting the government control over the content the public can be exposed to online.
Hezbollah taking Israeli war mongers seriously (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Even when Defense Minister Lieberman declares that Israel has no intention of launching a war in Lebanon, Nasrallah doesn’t believe him. He prefers to listen to the underground streams in the defense establishment and in the government, which are pushing for an attack as soon as possible.
A cynic at the top (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) Like every foreboding nationalist, Netanyahu aims all his efforts at the struggle against the internal enemy: Israel's Arabs and human rights groups.
UNESCO's decision was to verify the killing of the chances of peace (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The decision of the UN Cultural Organization on the status of Jerusalem proves the continued hostility towards Israel in the United Nations, but it is a marginal and negligible institution with no real meaning.
The Dutch Gamble (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The Dutch, giving money for solar panels in Palestinian villages, decided to take a risk on the assumption that their country has a gentleman’s agreement with Israel.
Do not make threats (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) When U.S. Jews, irked by Israel's decision to veto the Western Wall compromise, suggest that they will stop supporting the Jewish state, we have to speak up.
American Jews Obviously Never Saw Netanyahu’s Betrayal Coming. But Why? (Asher Schechter, Haaretz+) U.S. Reform and Conservative Jews were enamored by an idealized vision of Israel and thus were waylaid by the decision to deny them a space at the Western Wall.
Israelis who hate American Jews (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) They're not saying 'Oh, please, come to Israel so we can all live together as soul-mates.' They're saying, 'We hate you. We don't want your kind here.' They want you to walk away, to abandon the playing field to them.
The Labor Party maintained its tradition of ousting its leaders, but Gabai and Peretz's achievement was unprecedented (Ben Caspit, Maariv) The two finalists in the primaries of the Ashkenazi Labor Party are Moroccans. Something like that has not happened before. This is the real repair of the party, and if it doesn’t work now, it won’t work at all… This will be a battle between the oldest Knesset member in the House and someone who has not served in the Knesset and does not know the house. Any bet is possible…The list of losers yesterday besides (ousted leader Isaac) Herzog: Erel Margalit, who must examine himself, Ehud Barak who was counting on Herzog, and Tzipi Livni who was counting on both of them.
U.S. Jewry Shocks Israelis by Resisting Traditional Sado-maso Routine (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) American Jews protect Israel and do its bidding, and all Israelis expect in return is that they say thank you as well.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.