News Nosh 10.17.17

by APN 10/17/17
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Quote of the day:
"Despite the ideological distance, geographic proximity is more important than all, and creates a shared life. For that, we are here. Moti worked in Kafr Qassem, he did not talk about coexistence—he lived it."

—Arab Israeli MK Issawi Frej (Meretz), who lives in Kafr Qassem, was one of a group of Arab-Israeli officials who paid a condolence visit to the family of Reuven (Moti) Shmerling, a settler from Elkana who owned a storehouse in the Arab-Israeli town and was murdered there two weeks ago.**

Breaking News:
ISIS Capital Falls Islamic State Cleared From Syria's Raqqa, Activists Say
Syrian Democratic Forces raise a flag inside Raqqa stadium, the last remaining area held by Islamic State (Agencies)

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Israel to Syria: Don’t play with fire - The shooting and the response: IDF attacked near Damascus
  • Yellow card // Alex Fishman
  • Assad approved // Yossi Yehoshua
  • “My daughter will continue to live within me forever” - Kidney of Orit Gur, who died in accident in Georgia, will be implanted in her father, who has been waiting for one for three years
  • “I was also raped” - Israeli model Maayan Keret breaks her silence, following women in Hollywood and all over the world
  • The first female security officer in the West Bank: Mother of four will protect the Beqaa [Jordan Valley region]
  • Pain, tatoo - A moving project: Injured IDF soldiers tattoo over their scars
  • The farthest from Gaza: Gilad Shalit is on a romantic vacation
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
  • The Gabbay storm
  • New red line - For the first time, the Syrians shot anti-aircraft missiles at an Israeli photo flight in Lebanese skies
  • The Adir stealth plane (F-35) didn’t manage to avoid the birds
  • Father of woman killed in Georgia hopes to receive her kidney
Israel Hayom

News Summary:
The new leader of the supposedly center-left Labor party said settlement eviction was not necessary for peace with the Palestinians and Syrian Air Force jets made a rare strike at an Israeli Air Force jets, which was on a photo mission in Lebanese skies, for which Israel retaliated near Damascus making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Also in the news, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the security cabinet that Israel won’t cut ties with the Palestinian Authority over its unity deal with Hamas (while Israel Hayom reported that the deal could allow Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to become Palestinian president), Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with Russia’s visiting defense minister, saying, “We don’t always agree, but we're always open," and the responses to Netanyahu’s attack on Israel Police Chief Roni Alsheikh is still rippling. Alsheikh denied that any leaks about the corruption investigations against Netanyahu came from the police. Yesh Atid chairman, MK Yair Lapid, said a “Prime Minister doesn’t threaten the police chief in a normal state” and that Netanyahu would likely also be interrogated in Case 3000, the submarine corruption affair (Maariv) and Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitt called Alsheikh to express his support for him, Maariv reported.

A day after saying he wouldn’t form a government with main Arab Israeli faction, Joint List, the new leader of the Israeli left, Avi Gabbay, said a peace agreement with Palestinians should not necessarily mean settlement evacuation.  In an interview with Channel 2 News, Gabbay was asked whether he felt that the West Bank settlements of Ofra and Eli - both large and isolated - should be evacuated in a future peace agreement. Gabbay replied that it shouldn't necessarily be a prerequisite to peace. And if that weren’t surprising enough, it turns out that at a gathering in Dimona Sunday, he sent a very hawkish message to the Arab states: “If you fire one missile – we’ll fire 20.” Gabbay told the gathering in Dimona that “Arabs need be afraid of us” and that Israel needs a strong, aggressive army. Gabbay was rebuked by members of the Zionist Camp faction and by members of Meretz, but not by members of his Labor party. In the Zionist Camp they attacked Gabbay: “There’s no need for a second Likud party, these are empty slogans.” (Maariv) But except for a soft rebuke by MK Itsik Shmuli and criticism from the party’s one Arab lawmaker, (MK Zouheir Bahloul, said he was “shocked at this statement by the person elected to be the leader of the peace camp”) Labor party members stayed quiet. Haaretz+ reported that they didn’t want to challenge him publicly because the party has suffered so much from years of infighting that they want to give him a chance to make changes.
 
Quick Hits:
  • Police from Jerusalem were interrogated on suspicion of beating a handcuffed detainee and threatening two minors with an assault dog at the police station -The Department for the Investigation of Police opened an investigation following information received by it. In one of the cases, the interrogators beat a  detainee and then continued beating him at the police station when his his hands and feet were cuffed, slamming his head against the wall, and slapping him. In another case, a police investigator was questioned on suspicion of placing a police assault dog in interrogation rooms during interrogations of two minors, one suspected of throwing stones, in order to threaten them to give information. (Maariv and Yedioth/Ynet Hebrew)
  • Peace Now: Construction approved for 31 settler homes in Hebron - For the first time in 15 years, Israel reportedly okays building of homes in the Jewish settlement in Hebron, according to the anti-settlement watchdog; Israel yet to officially confirm move. (Agencies, Ynet)
  • Exclusive: Hillel International Threatened to Cut Ties With Israeli Government Over Database of U.S. Jewish Students - Ultimatum forced Israel's Diaspora Affairs Ministry to suspend its project, just hours after the project was first revealed by Haaretz. (Haaretz+)
  • *Arab officials console family of Jewish terror victim - Senior Arab officials from Kafr Qasim pay a condolence visit to the bereaved family of Reuven Shmerling, who was murdered in the Arab city in a nationalistically motivated attack; MK Issawi Frej: 'Shmerling worked in Kafr Qasim, he did not talk about coexistence—he lived it.' (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Schools Close in East Jerusalem Neighborhood to Protest Presence of Israeli Border Police - Parents say the policemen are deliberately deploying near schools to provoke disturbances. (Haaretz)
  • Pence to Attend Israeli Event Marking UN Acceptance of 1947 Partition Plan - U.S. ambassador to UN Nikki Haley will also attend event organized by Israeli UN mission, to take place at site where the UN historic vote took place. (Haaretz)
  • Bezeq: UN to ban us for operating in disputed territories - Bezeq CEO Handler says United Nations Human Rights Council to include company on list of companies working in disputed territories, in effort to exert financial pressure on it; 'We will not cooperate with a move that utterly constitutes anti-Israeli propaganda,' says Handler in since-deleted Facebook post. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Israeli settlers steal olive harvest, attack Palestinian farmers in West Bank - Israeli settlers stole the pickings of more than 65 olive trees under protection of armed Israeli forces in two villages. Israeli NGO ‘Rabbis For Human Rights’ (RHR) said the settlers, from the illegal Zayit Raanan outpost, were arrested by Israeli security forces following RHR intervention and noted that “The arrests on October 15th demonstrate that the Israeli security forces do indeed, should they want to, have the capacity to act against hate crimes.” (Maan)
  • Prime Minister: Plan to shut down Breaking the Silence organization - Netanyahu instructed Minister Levine to make a new version of the “NGO Law," which he thought was too soft. The new bill will allow for measures to be taken against NGOs that operate against IDF soldiers, according to Channel 2 News. (Maariv)
  • Israeli doctor elected head of World Medical Association - Dr. Leonid Eidelman is the head of the anesthesiology department at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. [NOTE: Both articles fail to mention that Eidelman, who is chairman of the Israel Medical Association, made headlines for opposing Israeli government orders to force-feed Palestinians hunger-striking in Israeli jails. (Maariv and JPost)
  • Hezbollah claims to have captured 3 Mossad agents - The Lebanese terrorist organization publishes photographs, confessions of three supposed agents who work for Israeli Mossad, whose mission was to gather information on political figures in Lebanon, as well as on military sites in Lebanon and Syria. (Ynet)
  • Hezbollah recruits Palestinian to carry out W. Bank attacks - Netanyahu's Arabic-language spokesperson mocks the Lebanese terror organization's 'failed' attempts to recruit Palestinian to attack Israelis in the West Bank; 'Another Hezbollah failure,' tweets Ofir Gendelman. (Ynet)
  • Funds not yet in for Gaza plant that would stop sewage from marring Israel, too - The World Bank says it’s working with the Palestinian Authority to solve the problem, while the Israelis have built a dam in a stream in the south. (Haaretz+)
  • Israeli bulldozers level land in northern Gaza Strip - Witnesses added that Israeli drones were also flying above the area at the time. (Maan)
  • Gaza fishermen union denies reports saying Israel to expand fishing zone - Despite reports that Israel demanded all Gaza fishermen “not violate” the boundaries of the designated zone, threatening them with immediate punishment, head of the Gaza Fishermen's Union Nizar Ayyash, said union received no calls in this regard from any official sides. (Maan)
  • Two IDF officers suspected of bribery, fraud - Lieutenant colonel and major allegedly paid outside contractors millions of shekels for works they did not carry out on IDF bases, receiving benefits and bribe money in return; 10 civilians also arrested. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • 'Who Wants a Bullet?' Israeli Cop Pulls Gun on ultra-Orthodox Protesters - Cop found himself surrounded by demonstration in Jerusalem following arrest of draft dodgers from radical ultra-Orthodox sect. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Israel declares Ukraine safe, removing hurdle to rejecting citizens' asylum requests - Spike in number of asylum-seekers from Ukraine, whose citizens can enter Israel without a visa, prompted new guidelines. (Haaretz)
  • 3 terrorists convicted of the murder of 4 Israelis in Sarona attack - Cousins Mohammad Mahmara and Khaled Mahmara, who opened fire at Max Brenner cafe in the Sarona Market, and their accomplice Ayash Musa Zayn, were found guilty of the murder of three Israelis they shot as well as a fourth who fell while escaping and succumbed to her injuries later. (Ynet)
  • Jerusalem’s Long-lost Ancient Roman Theater Revealed in Old City Excavations - Archeological dig under Wilson’s Arch also uncovers eight previously unknown layers of Western Wall stones. (Haaretz+)
  • Israeli Judo Team Banned From Competing Under National Flag in Abu Dhabi - Israel Judo Association says move will not prevent athletes from participating: 'We won't be dragged into the political arena.’ (Haaretz)
  • NY art museum to display iconic Israeli tembel hat - Israel's iconic tembel hat to appear in exhibit by NYC's Museum of Modern Art titled 'Items: Is fashion modern?', exploring clothing that has made an impact on the world in 20th, 21st centuries; NY Consul General Dayan: 'Hat's inclusion source of Israeli pride.' (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Israeli race car driver wins NASCAR's European championship - Alon Day wins NASCAR's European circuit Whelen Euro Series after finishing fourth in season's final race; 'I haven't quite come to grips with it yet. The entire team's ecstatic and you can't beat this feeling.’ (Ynet)
  • WATCH Netanyahu does victory lap on U.S. Sunday shows after Trump's Iran deal speech - Netanyahu's U.S. media tour comes as he is embroiled in multiple mounting scandals threatening his premiership. (JTA, Haaretz)
  • Trump Lashes Out at Schumer Over Iran Deal U-turn: 'Tell That to Israel' - Schumer had voted against the deal under Obama in 2015, however released a statement on Sunday saying that the deal should be given more time before being scrapped. (Haaretz)
  • Kurds claim Iraqi troops 'burnt houses and killed many' in battle for oil-rich Kirkuk - Kurdish officials say state-backed militias aim to retake disputed northern city; both sides fighting ISIS, enjoy U.S. support. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Battle for Kurdistan: U.S. Weapons Face Off Against U.S. Weapons as Iraqi Forces Seize Key Kurdish Oil Center - Peshmerga pushed back two assaults by the Iraqi forces south of Kirkuk, destroying several U.S.-supplied Humvees used by Popular Mobilisation, a force which is also trained and armed by Iran. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • ISIS militants attack church in Egypt's Sinai with grenades and assault rifles, six dead - Church of Saint George in El-Arish was closed following a wave of attacks against Sinai Christians by ISIS-affiliated militants. (Agencies, Haaretz)

Features:
"We're fed up": Mizrahi social activists are willing to lead the left
They're fed up with saying they always point to someone who screws them over. Now, they want to stop being led, and believe that the left side of the political map should exit the 03 area code region. (Arik Bender, Maariv)
Israel Promised to Build Its First Modern Arab City Since 1948. Here’s What Came of It
Nine years have passed since plans for Tantur where approved, at the time sparking Israeli Arab hopes. Since then, no cornerstone was laid, no road was paved and hope was lost. (Jack Khoury, Haaretz)
Submarine (corruption) affair's secrets are coming to the surface
Secret meetings in effort to prevent the suspension of the submarine deal, the changes Israel requested that could indicate capability to launch nuclear missiles from the submarines, and Ya'alon's claims Netanyahu pressed him on the patrol boats deal. Yedioth and DIE ZEIT uncover more details of the affair that complicated Israeli-German ties. )Ronen Bergman and Holger Stark, Yedioth/Ynet)
Readers Ask Haaretz Is it OK for me to criticize the occupation even though I no longer live in Israel?
'I left Israel over 15 years ago, mainly for personal reasons. Is it ethical for someone who left to openly criticize the government and the army's treatment of Palestinians?' (Moral Minority, Haaretz+)
To tattoo the pain
Injured IDF soldiers and victims of terror attacks ale already accustomed to numerous treatments and rehab work, but not to a treatment like this: An Israel Museum project connects them with famous tattoo artists, who tattoo over the scars and also the scars in the heart. “After an injury, you carry the scars you didn’t ask for your whole life. Here you did it out of choice.” (Gil Korotovky, Yedioth’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, cover)

Commentary/Analysis:
Israel's Jewish Religious Fanaticism Is Infiltrating America (Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) Radical separatism and the fear of modernity, so prevalent in Israel, is infecting the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in New York City, with Mayor Bill de Blasio's shameful blessing.
With Netanyahu, it’s all about political survival (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister’s attack on the police chief and initiatives to shut down the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation and advance the law granting a sitting premier immunity from investigations are all aimed at serving Netanyahu’s needs in some way. Instead of resting on the laurels of a successful diplomatic weekend, he is busy lashing out at the police and the media and settling personal scores.
Why Syria didn't retaliate to the last Israeli strike (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Syria and allies practice restraint after alleged Israeli attack on missile plant.
A perfect storm (Ron Meiberg, Maariv) Just as after Benjamin Netanyahu our country will not be the one whose founders imagined it, America will not be the union of the founding fathers who worked on it and defined it until the last detail.
In a Gaza hospital, Palestinian reconciliation is a matter of life or death (Mohammed M., Haaretz) While Gaza's electricity supply is still hostage to unresolved Hamas-Fatah tensions, the Al-Shifa hospital uses generators to keep its neo-natal intensive care unit operational. 'We've lost infants who could have been saved', its director says.
Hate Donald Trump. Love His Stance on Iran (Jonathan S. Tobin, Haaretz+) It may be dissonant and indigestible for his detractors, but the president's right to kick the West out of its complacency on Iran.
Israeli Arabs are breaking their silence (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Subject to threats and intimidation, a delegation of young Arabs is joining the battle against BDS, representing the silenced majority of Israeli Arabs which has become an integral part of Israel in almost every field. Thanks to them, the battle for equality, social justice and reconciliation between the nations has a better chance of succeeding.
Bennett, Bent on Destruction (Haaretz Editorial) Naftali Bennett and his colleague, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, seek to keep Israel outside of the diplomatic track in order to push it into the annexation track.
Assad is trying to set a new red line and prevent the Israeli air force from operating in Lebanon (Yossi Melman, Maariv) The most important question regarding the Syrian response to the Israeli (aerial) photography mission is whether it was carried out at the initiative of the president - or perhaps with the coordination of Russia and Iran, and even under their guidance.
Trump Conjures anti-Semitic 'Dual Loyalty' Canard, Sends Critic Schumer to 'Tell That to Israel, Chuck' (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) As Netanyahu lauds the president with superlatives that would make Sean Hannity blush, Trump makes Iran nuclear deal all about him.
Until we identify our enemy as an enemy, we will have a hard time defeating it (Kalman Libeskind, Maariv) As long as there is no peace between us and the Palestinians and they give benefits to those who slaughter us, they are our enemies. So is Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas), so is (senior Palestinian official and negotiator Saeb) Erekat, so are the rest of their people. Until we understand this, we will find it difficult to make peace with them.
Trump Against Postmodernism (Tzvia Greenfield, Haaretz+) The U.S. president and his supporters want to restore a world that clearly defines what is evil.
Some things cannot be killed (Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Israel Hayom) Islamic State will disappear as an organization, but the world is likely to continue suffering at the hands of the evil ideology it instilled in the hearts and minds of too many Muslims.
Israel’s Message to Russia Sent in Syria, Received in Tel Aviv (Gili Cohen, Haaretz) Why did Israel decide to bomb the Syrian anti-aircraft battery this time?
Neutralizing Syrian battery draws a new Israeli red line (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Syria's improved SA-5 anti-aircraft missiles can threaten both Israeli military jets and passenger planes flying in Israel's airspace. With Assad using the missiles against Israel for the second time this year, the IDF felt it needed to send a message of deterrence.
Stars, Stripes and Violence (Yehuda Bauer, Haaretz+) At heart, the United States is a violent society that is founded on the blood of others – that's why I spurned offers to move there from Israel.
Israel Strike in Syria: Putin Turning Blind Eye to Israeli Attacks, as Long as Assad Survives (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) In Syria, Putin is happy to keep Jerusalem and Tehran in balance. The only question is how long he can keep juggling all these balls.
Catalonia Isn't Palestine (Nitzan Horowitz in Barcelona, Haaretz+) One can understand the Catalans' national feelings, but in actuality, what's bad about the current situation?
 
Interviews: 
Austrian presumptive leader: Coalition partners must reject anti-Semitism
A day after Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, 31, led his party to victory, he tells Israel Hayom: Far-right party will have to abide by zero-tolerance policy on anti-Semitism before joining coalition. On Iran he says: We cannot be naive. (Interviewed by Eldad Beck in Israel Hayom)

Ai Weiwei: The new fences and walls betray the world's sagging courage
The world-renowned Chinese artist and political activist tells Haaretz how his new documentary gives refugees a voice – and why he cooperated with the Israel Museum. (Interviewed by Neta Alexander in Haaretz+)

 

Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.

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