APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday September 11, 2017
Quote of the day:
“We should not be surprised later when they burn or cut down Arabs’ olive trees, when they burn mosques
or churches, and when they burn a family in Duma. We shouldn’t be surprised, yes. And the blood of the
Dawabsheh family [burned to death in fire by Jewish right-wing extremists] in Duma and the Henkin family, the
Henkin couple, which was murdered in a revenge attack [for the murders in] Duma, is on our
hands”
—Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon, blamed incitement by right-wing ministers for the murder of the Dawabsheh family and the Henkin family.*
You Must Be Kidding:
“(Yair Netanyahu is) a “total bro. Next he’ll be calling for gassings.”
—Neo-Nazi website praised the caricature posted by Yair Netanyahu on Facebook depicting anti-Semitic images.**
Front Page:
—Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon, blamed incitement by right-wing ministers for the murder of the Dawabsheh family and the Henkin family.*
You Must Be Kidding:
“(Yair Netanyahu is) a “total bro. Next he’ll be calling for gassings.”
—Neo-Nazi website praised the caricature posted by Yair Netanyahu on Facebook depicting anti-Semitic images.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Senior official in State Prosecutor’s Office warned about suspicion of corruption, State Prosecutor Nitzan and Attorney General Mendelblit ignored it
- Netanyahu worked to have Ari Harow appointed as chairman of Channel 10 when Blavatnik purchased the channel
- Head of Shin Bet: Security situation in West Bank is fragile, Hamas is prepared for another conflict in Gaza
- A sign condemning the Admor of Gur (religious leader) brought about a clash between ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews in Arad
- Suspicion of murder in the Galilee: Women shot by masked person who ambushed her near her work
- Don’t touch the cigar // Odeh Bisharat
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Rami Levy got into trouble
- Miami is under water
- Neo-Nazi website: “Yair Netanyahu is a bro’”
- Break from the troubles - Netanyahu couple took off for 11-day visit to Latin America and the US
- Meni Naftali’s new job
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- By the mercy of the storm
- Channel 10 report: This is how Sara Netanyahu made sure the ‘family electrician’ was employed
- The declaration of the Shin Bet head on Hamas in Lebanon: What does he know that the Mossad and IDF Military Intel don’t know? // Yossi Melman
Israel Hayom
- The US against the wind
- Sharon and Olmert’s meals
- Pilots in jail
- Hypocrites like in the cartoon // Dror Eydar
- Suspicion: Rami Levy took millions of shekels of tax benefits from the head of Mevasseret Tzion Council, Yoram Shimon
News Summary:
Various members of the Netanyahu family starred in the top stories of today’s Hebrew newspapers, but certainly not to their liking, Rami Levy, the titan of an expansive supermarket chain, was arrested on suspicion of corruption and the head of the Shin Bet, Nadav Argaman, surprised with the announcement that Hamas was prepared for another round of conflict with Israsel and that it was establishing “a foothold in Lebanon” under Iranian auspices, all making top stories today. Also the latest on the frozen peace process. Also, a surprising remark by right-wing former defense minister Moshe Yaalon that was barely covered in the news.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara are getting a respite for 10 days from dealing with the various corruption scandals they are embroiled in as they travel through Latin America visiting with political and Jewish community leaders in Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Mexico before they stop at the UN General Assembly in New York, where the Prime Minister will meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines. The Palestinians accused Israel of sabotaging a similar General Assembly sidelines meeting between Trump and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel Hayom reported yesterday. Meanwhile, the Irish Foreign Minister said that the European Union must be a part of the US Middle East peace push, as the biggest aid donor to the Palestinians and as Israel's top trade partner.
**Today’s papers noted details of how Sara Netanyahu circumvented the prohibition of hiring people she has hired before her husband became prime minister and the reason suspected is that she wanted the electrician’s work, paid for by public coiffers, to cover past bills the couple owed him, Maariv reported.
**The Netanyahu couple’s son, Yair, continued to make headlines after a neo-Nazi website lauded him for his recent anti-Semitic Facebook post, which the ADL denounced. However, his dad, the Prime Minister, refused to address his son's post during a cabinet meeting.
Shin Bet Chief, Nadav Argaman, told the Sunday government cabinet meeting that the relative calm in the West Bank is "fragile,” as it is in the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, he said, Hamas is militarily prepared for a renewed confrontation with Israel. Argaman also said that Hamas was establishing a foothold in Lebanon under Iranian auspices, to which Maariv’s Intel Affairs correspondent, Yossi Melman, asked how he would know that if the head of Military Intelligence, the head of the Mossad and the coordinator of government activities, does not? Melman wrote that “The Shin Bet does not have a large research department like the other intelligence agencies in the country, and Lebanon is not within its responsibility. In other reviews, no similar assessment was made.”
*Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon was recorded saying “an unusual statement” during a conference last week, in which he blamed incitement by Israeli ministers for the murders of Palestinians and Israelis, Maariv online reported. Yaalon spoke about incitement by serving ministers. "When the soldiers and police came to evacuate these [settler] houses and young people threw stones and urine bags at them, the Education Minister stood on the roof opposite. All he had to say was to attack the High Court," Ya'alon said, referring to Education Minister Naftali Bennett. Then he said: “We should not be surprised later when they burn or cut down Arabs’ olive trees, when they burn mosques or churches, and when they burn a family in Duma [in reference to the Palestinian Dawabsheh family - OH]. We shouldn’t be surprised, yes. And the blood of the Dawabsheh family [burned to death in fire by Jewish right-wing extremists] in Duma and the Henkin family, the Henkin couple, which was murdered in a revenge attack [for the murders in] Duma, is on our hands.” He added that he was "appalled at the statements made by cabinet ministers about the media's control...When I hear a female minister say that the government should control the media, I shudder,” in reference to a remark by Culture Minister Miri Regev. Yaalon's interview with Sharon Gal on Radio Gali Yisrael took place last week and was revealed on Sunday morning.
Quick Hits:
- Israeli Man Indicted for Attacking Arab 'With Jewish Girlfriend' in Jerusalem - 18-year-old man and his friends asked the man 'why he was going out with a Jew' before assaulting him. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- 'Challenge 5 School' inaugurated in Jubbet al-Dhib, rebuilt after Israeli demolition - Israeli forces seized mobile classrooms in the isolated village the day before the first day of school. Activists and ministry employees rebuilt five classrooms overnight Friday. Israeli forces then stormed the village Saturday evening and attacked activists, sparking fears they would destroy the school again. (Maan)
- Israeli forces raid Abu Dis, fire tear gas at Palestinian schoolchildren - Israeli forces stormed the town of Abu Dis in the occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem on Sunday morning and fired tear gas at university students and young schoolchildren at al-Quds University, who suffered from tear gas inhalation. (Maan)
- Netanyahu Worked to Have Ari Harow Appointed to Chairman of Channel 10 - Netanyahu's request to have his former bureau chief appointed, after supporting his associate, Len Blavatnik, purchase the channel, is being investigated as part of Case 1000. (Haaretz+)
- “He was summoned to do as the lady wanted": This is how Sara Netanyahu employed the “family electrician” at the Prime Minister's Residence - Sara Netanyahu won’t be charged for employing Avi Fahim at the private residence in Caesarea. But, according to Channel 10, a draft of the indictment against the former deputy of the Prime Minister’s Office Ezra Seidoff reveals how she bypassed the prohibition of employing the electrician. According to the suspicion, Fahima submitted a fake invoice in which he falsely gave dates in which he ‘worked.’ (Maariv, p.1, Nana Hebrew)
- 'State’s Decisions in Ammonia Case Raise Suspicions' - “The accumulating weight of the things I will detail brings me to the conclusion that there is a basis for suspecting that irrelevant and even invalid motives are behind the positions of these government officials,” wrote Haifa Prosecutor Eitan Lederer wrote Prosecutor Shai Nitzan in June and described the top gov't officials as “not telling the truth” and “consistently choosing at various junctures the alternative that financially benefited Haifa Chemicals in two ways – the cost of ammonia and preserving its monopoly.” But Nitzan and Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit ignored him. (Haaretz+)
- Submarines Affair: Police question 2 associates of minister in submarine case - Former aide to Minister Yuval Steinitz arrested, businessman questioned based on information from state's witness. (Times of Israel and Globes English)
- MK Smotrich presents: The Arabs of Israel and the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria who renounce their national aspirations will be able to live in Israel as private individuals - According to the proposal of MK Bezalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi), those who refuse will receive assistance in emigration to Arab states and those who act violently will be "treated by the security forces." MK Toumeh-Suleiman: "It's incitement to violence.” (Maariv)
- Israeli forces confiscate agricultural machinery in Jordan Valley - Tubas Governor's office denounced Israeli confiscation of three farming machines, described it as "barbarian practice" against farmers. Statement highlighted that 22 Palestinian families live in Ras al-Ahmar. (Maan)
- WHO: Israel delays or denies 2 in every 5 Gaza patients access to health care abroad - During july, two Palestinians -- a five-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man -- died while waiting to receive permission to leave the blockaded territory for treatment. (Maan)
- Israel seeks delay in case to evict settlers from Hebron house - Prosecutors contend that settlers' purchase of Beit Hamachpela was fraudulent, which residents deny. (Haaretz+ and Maan)
- Settlers occupying Hebron home attacked Palestinian woman with stones - The settlers, who forcibly took over parts of the Abu Rajab family home, hurled stones at the 55-year-old Mrs.Abu Rajab while she was on the stairs, on the ground floor of three-story building. (Maan)
- PA Arrests Palestinian for Hosting Right-wing Israeli Lawmaker - The Hebron resident was picked up by Palestinian security forces after photos of his meeting with Likud MK Yehuda Glick were published. (Haaretz and Maan)
- Hundreds of Orthodox Christians Protest Sale of Church Property in Jerusalem - The demonstration against sale of land by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate highlighted tensions between Greek Orthodox leadership and the Palestinian faithful. (Haaretz+ and Maan)
- Woman murdered walking home from daycare center in Majdal Krum - Hiba Manaa, 35, had recently finalized her divorce from her second husband. (Haaretz+)
- After Years of Tension, Religious Violence Erupts in Israeli Town - Ultra-Orthodox and secular residents of the desert town of Arad clashed Saturday in a battle over the town's character and future. (Haaretz+)
- PA releases Issa Amro on bail amid charges of 'causing strife' over Facebook post - Palestinian human rights activist Issa Amro, imprisoned for criticizing the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Facebook, was released from a PA detention center on a $1,400 bail. (Maan)
- Thousands attend funeral of 22-year-old slain Palestinian Raed al-Salhi - Al-Salhi died in an Israeli hospital last week, succumbing to multiple gunshot injuries to his chest at closer range, sustained during an Israeli detention raid in the camp a month ago. Mourners shouted chants calling for retaliation for Israeli violence against Palestinians, and urged Palestinian parties to come together for national unity. (Maan)
- Low-flying Israeli Jets' Sonic Booms Damage Homes in Lebanon, Security Sources Say - Lebanon has accused Israel of violating its air space to strike a target in Syria. Lebanese security officials say Israeli sorties are part of large-scale training exercise IDF is holding in northern Israel. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- Hamas restores Gaza power to pre-crisis level - At the height of the electricity crisis in Gaza, its residents were forced to settle for only two hours of electricity per day; now, power supply returns to the levels it was at before the crisis, as Hamas forced to assume civil responsibility for the strip's residents. (Yedioth/Ynet)
- Senior Hamas official: "No discussion of (prisoner exchange) deal without release of 54 Shalit prisoners" - Musa Abu Marzuq, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, said during his visit to Cairo with Haniyeh that "we can not discuss a deal, in light of the occupation’s breach of its commitment.” Abu Marzuq said talks were conditioned on release of all 54 Palestinian prisoners released from the Shalit deal, who have been re-arrested by Israel. (Maariv)
- Syrians express gratitude for Israeli field hospitals - Victims of the Syrian civil war treated by Israel on the Golan Heights pen appreciation for IDF's medical care, saying it has strengthened their yearning for peace, undermined indoctrination of Israel as an enemy; 'To all Syrians who say Israel is the enemy, I say that you are liars. Israel is our friend.' (Ynet)
- 3,000-year-old Tomb Containing Mummies Discovered in Egypt - Archaeologists find tomb dated back to Egypt’s 18th dynasty New Kingdom era. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Israeli rescue teams depart for South Florida - Delegation organized by the Israel Rescue Coalition would administer first aid and assist Jewish communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma; most of the Jewish residents of South Florida have already evacuated. (Ynet)
Features:
The kashrut trend: More and more businesses go kosher for financial reasons
Amid an acrimonious debate raging in Israeli society centering on religionization, and religion's supposedly growing presence in our daily lives, there are quite a few restaurants, cafés and other places of leisure deciding to go kosher—not necessarily because of religion. (Ofer Matan and Eli Mendelbaum, Ynet)
In Color: Amazing Photos of Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land From 1900
The then-revolutionary photochrom method gave the world its first color pictures — based a lot on the imagination of the employee working the printing plates. (Chen Malul, National Library, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
An End to Torture in Israel (Dr. Rachel Stroumsa, Haaretz+) Now, for the first time in years, state representatives have said in public that Israel cannot continue to routinely torture suspects under interrogation.
After Netanyahu's rule - who in the world really cares about the State of Israel? (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The whole world is looking for a formula for calm in Syria - apart from ISIS and the Israeli government, which is trying to conceal from its citizens the fact that a decade-long foreign and security policy failed completely.
U.S. Jews' Unprecedented Dilemma: Stuck Between Twin Disasters of Trump and Netanyahu (Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) We're in unknown waters: between a nationalist president who gives succor to neo-Nazis, and an Israeli PM who humiliates us and sets in train a potentially irreversible rupture between U.S. Jews and Israel.
Smiles, compliments and unpleasant surprises (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The Prime Minister will be able to forget for ten days about Ari Harow and the submarine affair. But aside from the compliments he will receive on Israel's achievements in the fields of science and agriculture, the permanent reprimand on the political deadlock will come up.
The PA’s Gift to Hebron’s Settlers (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The arrest of West Bank activist Issa Amro betrays common PA-Israeli interests to deter acts of civil disobedience.
Our Sons Are at Your Service, Just Don’t Touch the Cigars (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) The message from the probes into the Netanyahus is clear for any future leader: Do whatever you like, just don’t get tangled up with gourmet meals or pink champagne.
An attack on axis of evil’s ‘missile accuracy project’ (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) If Thursday’s strike in Syria was indeed carried out by the IDF, then it was a message from Israel that it makes good on its threats. Assuming the Iranians will now speed up their plans for missile factories in Lebanon, will Israel risk launching a military confrontation against Hezbollah or hold back out of fear of escalation?
Liberal American Jews’ Feelings Towards Israel Now Include Conspicuous Contempt (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Netanyahu Jr.’s anti-Semitic cartoon is the latest nail in the coffin of what was once unbridled admiration for the Jewish state.
Much ado about nothing (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) The indictment of Sara Netanyahu is nothing more than an attempt by the Left to unseat the government without elections. It will end in failure, just like the last elections.
Netanyahu's Silence on Son's Inflammatory anti-Semitic Cartoon Is Deafening (Haaretz Editorial) The Prime Minister must cut the growing ties between Jewish nationalists here and racist nationalists, including anti-Semites, worldwide, even if it means publicly reprimanding his son.
Amid an acrimonious debate raging in Israeli society centering on religionization, and religion's supposedly growing presence in our daily lives, there are quite a few restaurants, cafés and other places of leisure deciding to go kosher—not necessarily because of religion. (Ofer Matan and Eli Mendelbaum, Ynet)
In Color: Amazing Photos of Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land From 1900
The then-revolutionary photochrom method gave the world its first color pictures — based a lot on the imagination of the employee working the printing plates. (Chen Malul, National Library, Haaretz)
Commentary/Analysis:
An End to Torture in Israel (Dr. Rachel Stroumsa, Haaretz+) Now, for the first time in years, state representatives have said in public that Israel cannot continue to routinely torture suspects under interrogation.
After Netanyahu's rule - who in the world really cares about the State of Israel? (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The whole world is looking for a formula for calm in Syria - apart from ISIS and the Israeli government, which is trying to conceal from its citizens the fact that a decade-long foreign and security policy failed completely.
U.S. Jews' Unprecedented Dilemma: Stuck Between Twin Disasters of Trump and Netanyahu (Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) We're in unknown waters: between a nationalist president who gives succor to neo-Nazis, and an Israeli PM who humiliates us and sets in train a potentially irreversible rupture between U.S. Jews and Israel.
Smiles, compliments and unpleasant surprises (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The Prime Minister will be able to forget for ten days about Ari Harow and the submarine affair. But aside from the compliments he will receive on Israel's achievements in the fields of science and agriculture, the permanent reprimand on the political deadlock will come up.
The PA’s Gift to Hebron’s Settlers (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) The arrest of West Bank activist Issa Amro betrays common PA-Israeli interests to deter acts of civil disobedience.
Our Sons Are at Your Service, Just Don’t Touch the Cigars (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) The message from the probes into the Netanyahus is clear for any future leader: Do whatever you like, just don’t get tangled up with gourmet meals or pink champagne.
An attack on axis of evil’s ‘missile accuracy project’ (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) If Thursday’s strike in Syria was indeed carried out by the IDF, then it was a message from Israel that it makes good on its threats. Assuming the Iranians will now speed up their plans for missile factories in Lebanon, will Israel risk launching a military confrontation against Hezbollah or hold back out of fear of escalation?
Liberal American Jews’ Feelings Towards Israel Now Include Conspicuous Contempt (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Netanyahu Jr.’s anti-Semitic cartoon is the latest nail in the coffin of what was once unbridled admiration for the Jewish state.
Much ado about nothing (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) The indictment of Sara Netanyahu is nothing more than an attempt by the Left to unseat the government without elections. It will end in failure, just like the last elections.
Netanyahu's Silence on Son's Inflammatory anti-Semitic Cartoon Is Deafening (Haaretz Editorial) The Prime Minister must cut the growing ties between Jewish nationalists here and racist nationalists, including anti-Semites, worldwide, even if it means publicly reprimanding his son.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.