News Nosh 1.30.18

by APN 01/30/18
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APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday January 30, 2018
You Must Be Kidding: 
"There is a female character, female uniqueness, and when they try and turn women into men it decreases the birth rate. It is contemptuous of women, offends their dignity."
--Rabbi Yehoshua Van Dyke argued that women serving in military units harmed their femininity and lowered birth rates.**

Front Page:
Haaretz
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • Expose in Submarines Affair - “Shimron said to me: The brother-in-law will talk with the friend” - State witness Miki Ganor testified that he spoke with the PM’s attorney in code language: “Friend” is Netanyahu and “Brother-in-law” is Shimron’s partner, Attorney Isaac Molcho; Ganor claimed: Attorney Shimron promised to take advantage of his connections with Netanyahu in order to advance the Thyssenkropp deal
  • In Germany of all places: (Volkswagen company) Testing of gas on humans
  • Expose - The hospitals in Israel are infected
  • End of the plastic bag - 80% Drop in use at supermarkets
  • Fake guru - The real story behind the internet sensation and author of bestselling book that teaches “how to catch a partner” - (Michal Millerman doesn’t exist)
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom


News Summary:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that Israel would act to prevent Iranian military entrenchment in Lebanon and Syria, a bitter argument broke out in Knesset over the plan to deport E. African asylum seekers against their will, and opposition MK Yair Lapid slammed the government for discussions with the Polish government over its bill to outlaw declaring Poland was responsible for Holocaust crimes, making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers. Yedioth scooped with details of the testimony of the state witness in the Submarines Acquisition affair, in which he claimed Netanyahu was involved. Haaretz led with a report that Israeli military forces had begun operating within E. Jerusalem (see also Ynet and Israel Hayom) and most of the papers had reports on the bad situation in Israeli hospitals: not enough beds, infected and long lines for surgeries. Also, a Tel-Aviv high school principal wrote on Facebook a post calling detained Palestinian teen "a brave hero."

Netanyahu told Putin that Israel would act against Iranian missile factories in Lebanon, if need be and Lieberman said, “the last thing I want is a third Lebanon war.” Ahead of his trip to Russia, Netanyahu said Iran was trying “to turn Lebanon into "one big missile site.” In a rare Op-Ed published in Arabic media the day before, the IDF Spokesman said the same thing, warning that Iran was turning Lebanon into "one large missile factory,” and he warned the Lebanese people of the consequences. Lebanese MP Mohammad Raad of Hezbollah slammed the Op-Ed as a ‘provocation by cowards,' saying that “Hezbollah is stronger today and can destroy the Israeli army.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah reportedly threatened to open fire on IDF soldiers who are building a fence on the border with Lebanon, Maariv reported. Interestingly, the message to Israel was conveyed by US and British diplomats, according to Maariv, and via UNIFIL, according to Times of Israel. And Israel is planning another fence: along the border triangle with Syria and Jordan. The construction will be carried out in cooperation with the Jordanians in order to foil ISIS militants, Maariv reported.

The discussion over the Polish Parliament’s bill to outlaw saying Poland was guilty of crimes in the Holocaust continued to make headlines. In a phone call discussion with Netanyahu about the bill, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki noted that Israel also has laws that criminalize lies about history. Haaretz thought the reference was to Israel's 1968 law prohibiting denial of the Holocaust, the violation of which constitutes a five-year prison sentence. Head of the Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, criticized Netanyahu's decision to even discuss the bill with the Poles, saying, "We do not negotiate about the memory of [Holocaust] victims.” PM Morawiecki asked how could Poles, who were themselves murdered and tortured by the Nazis, be responsible for the murder of Jews? Poland’s undersecretary of state, Marek Magierowski said. “The new law is not aimed at curtailing historical research or denying the complicity of some Polish citizens in the Holocaust. It's about combating historical distortions. The Polish nation was not responsible for the Holocaust.” Polish President Andrzej Duda also acknowledged there were Poles who committed 'evil' acts against their Jewish neighbors, but that there was no Polish institutionalized participation in the Nazi regime's 'Final Solution.' Speaking at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony held by the Athens Jewish community, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said some Poles aided Nazis and “We won't forget that.” Meanwhile, Education Minister Naftali Bennett has instructed schools to teach 7th-12th graders about how other European nations, and particularly the Poles, responded to the Nazi extermination of the Jews, while at the same time discusses Polish 'Righteous Among the Nations' who saved Jews.

Yesterday six opposition MKs were thrown out of a heated panel on the subject of Israel’s planned expulsion of East African asylum seekers, where the Holocaust continues to be a key element in the debate. Interior Minister Arieh Deri insisted that an unnamed country agreed to accept African asylum seekers even if they are deported by force. But sparks flew when MK Oren Hazan (Likud) attacked the New Israel Fund, calling it "the Israel Destruction Fund," for supporting an initiative to hide asylum seekers. MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) responded to Hazan, saying: "You have Nazi friends all over the world" (possibly a reference to Likud MKs' contacts with neo-fascist parties in Europe - OH). MK Amir Ohana (Likud) then accused Zandberg of abusing the memory of the Holocaust. The hearing was halted temporarily because of the disruptions and both Zandberg and Hazan were kicked out along with MK Stav Shafir (Zionist Union) and MK Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union).

Tel Aviv high school principal: “(Ahed) Tamimi is a heroine, we all deserve the slap she gave the soldiers." Ram Cohen, who heads Tichonet school in the city, wrote in a Facebook post that "Yehonatan Gefen was right in his comparison between her and our heroes," noting that the Palestinian girl is “brave and a cultural symbol.” He wrote: "Ahad Tamimi is a Palestinian hero, and not only in the eyes of the Palestinians is she a heroine, but also in the eyes of anyone who thinks that the occupation is one big and ongoing injustice. It continues like Ahed's indictment, which is a collection of angry accusations that describe the natural response of any courageous person living under occupation.” According to Cohen, "In the indictment, there is a story about a girl whose land was stolen and who is fighting to get it back. A girl who every principal would want to be in his school. A girl who is socially conscious and politically aware, a sophisticated activist. Multi-lingual, she uses media in a sophisticated way. A brave girl, who stands before armed men and slaps one of them a slap that we all deserve. A wake-up slap in order to sober us up from the imperviousness and false reality in which we are." (Maariv)
 
Quick Hits:
  • Israeli settler admits to targeting Palestinians in string of attacks after trying to run over Palestinian laborer - Suspect, a resident of Beitar Illit, confessed to police who arrested him a day after he tried to run over a Palestinian man after he heard him speak Arabic. (Haaretz, Maariv and Ynet)
  • Gaza hospital closes as UNRWA protests US fund cuts - Hamas orders hospital in northern Gaza to halt operations, claiming it has run out of diesel fuel required for generators needed amid daily power outages; PA rejects claims, saying funds already transferred for purchase of more diesel to keep generators going; UNRWA workers and Gaza residents march in protest against US decision to slash funds. (Ynet)
  • (State witness Miki) Ganor: Shimron said he'd get Netanyahu involved in submarine affair - Giving Netanyahu the code name 'the friend' while referring to attorney (Netanyahu’s brother-in-law and special diplomatic envoy) Yitzhak Molcho as 'the brother-in-law,' David Shimron, the PM's cousin and close confidant, allegedly told state witness Miki Ganor that he would ask 'the brother-in-law to talk to the friend' about promoting the submarine deal. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • In first since US Jerusalem move, top Israeli, PA officials to meet — report - Despite no communication between Palestinian Authority and White House, Palestinian PM Rami Hamdullah asked to meet with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, reportedly to focus on joint economic projects frozen following Trump's recognition of the capital. (Times of Israel and Maariv)
  • Israeli lawmakers debate 'construction terror' by Palestinians in West Bank - Moti Yogev of the right-wing Habayit Hayehudi party has praised the implementation of demolition orders against Palestinian structures built without permits. (Haaretz)
  • Scientists Working for Israel Reveal Top Secret Information Online, Stunning Defense Officials - Israel is trying to erase any trace of the information it has gone to great lengths to hide, but it has already been copied on other site. (Haaretz+)
  • Fitness app inadvertently divulges IDF bases, patrol routes - Popular fitness app Strava publishes 'heat map' showing routes its users take while walking or jogging; map unintentionally reveals locations of known or classified IDF and American bases around the world; 'Soldiers' patrol routes also divulged,' says programmer. (Ynet)
  • **Prominent rabbis claim women's military service 'lowers birth rate' - At a Jerusalem event devoted to "uniqueness of women," religious Zionist rabbis tell hundreds of enlistment-age women that their place is in the home, blast state for exploiting youth's "desire to contribute." Rabbi: This is about a new value – gender. (Israel Hayom)
  • The IDF changes its approach and ignores the rabbis: Every response will lead to a campaign of interest parties - Hidden camera of Hadashot TV News revealed the rabbis' methods of persuasion at a conference intended for young religious women. The girls were warned that they would be harassed, the integrity of their family would be damaged and they would have difficulty conceiving. (Maariv)
  • Israeli Air Force Leaning Toward Upgraded F-15 Over F-35 for Next Fighter Jet Acquisition - The rapid aging of the IAF’s current fleet makes the new purchases necessar. (Haaretz)
  • Lebanon: Two Israeli Agents Behind Car Bombing Targeting Hamas Operative - Local media reports the two were aided by two locals in operation to assassinate Mohammed Hamdan in Sidon. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Report: Gazan farmers allowed to work near Gaza border for the first time since 2006 - As part of an arrangement between Israel and Hamas, which was mediated by the International Red Cross, some 12 Gazans were allowed to reach an area that had been closed to Palestinians since the abduction of Gilad Shalit. (Maariv)
  • East Jerusalem-based NGO dissolved for financing terrorism - Illicit activities by Committee of Agricultural Work were exposed by Israel Hayom in 2016. Court: Evidence shows group funneled millions of dollars to Gaza's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Minister: NGO heads may face criminal charges. (Israel Hayom)
  • Punishment of lawyer who wrote insulting poem about policeman: 5000 shekels and aid to an organization for asylum seekers - Judge rejected prosecution’s request to jail (political activist) and attorney Barak Cohen, and sentenced him to 300 hours of of community service, which he will serve according to his request by giving legal advice to an organization aiding asylum seekers. Two and a half years of hearings were spent arguing whether Cohen’s actions (poems against policeman Alon Hamdani) constituted a crime or legitimate criticism. Judge Dana Amir ruled in June that the posts, accruing over a long period of time, did amount to a crime. (Haaretz Hebrew and Mekomit Hebrew)
  • Ultra-orthodox English newspaper censors photos of female Holocaust survivors - In a story about the last living survivors of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, the photo prompted anger from readers and an apology from the publication. (Haaretz)
  • Western Wall Rabbi Expresses Regret After Female Reporters Segregated From Men During Pence Visit - Globes journalist Tal Schneider had threatened to sue the rabbi and the U.S. Embassy in Israel over the enforced gender separation of reporters and photographers at the holy site. (Haaretz and VIDEO)
  • Israeli teachers to education minister: 'Stop deportation of asylum seekers' - Over 140 teachers sign an open letter calling to stop the deportation of asylum seekers. Meanwhile, former education ministers and Israel Prize winners warn against an ‘injustice that contradicts Jewish values.’ (+972mag)
  • Breitbart's Jerusalem Chief Reportedly Bought Thousands of Fake Followers on Twitter - A New York Times investigation exposed dozens of public figures including Breitbart's Aaron Klein for purchasing bot followers to feign influence. (Haaretz)
  • Donald Trump a Zionist? For one month, Wikipedia claimed he was - David Ben-Gurion, Theodor Herzl and Donald Trump? Wikipedia’s list of Zionists isn't sure the president has earned the title just yet. (Haaretz+)

Features:
Israel's explainers: "Without the youth, the project does not move forward, the adults are watching from the sidelines"
Aya Ben Hanan came to the Eye2Israel project because of the cool videos, but remained when she realized that she could help prevent incitement on the Internet. "The most powerful result of the public relations campaign is to bring down an inciting post.” (Carmit Sapir Weitz, Maariv)
'There is no justice in Israel — it’s always postponed'
The Nawara family expected to hear the sentence of the Israeli soldier who killed their son, Nadeem. Instead, they were forced to sit quietly while the soldier’s lawyer argued that it was not his client but Nadeem who was guilty of a crime. (Joshua Leifer, +972mag)

Commentary/Analysis:
Preparing the Final Expulsion of a Bedouin Community in the West Bank (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) On the Knesset website there appears a new category of terrorism, ‘construction terror.’ Those convicted in advance include the Palestinian Authority, the Bedouin and the European Union.
Pence came to Israel to tick off his to-do list (Orly Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) When Donald Trump took office as US president, he promised to broker ‘the deal of the century’ in the Middle East; a year later, the Middle East has never been further away from Washington’s heart. In such a reality, the vice president’s visit will mainly be remembered as a visit that never actually happened.
Beware the Pavlovian response (Omer Lachmanovitch, Israel Hayom) The new Polish legislation on the Holocaust is a threat to free speech, but the bigger threat is the Polish government's efforts to rewrite history.
When Israel ignorantly blames the Holocaust on the Poles, it boosts their illiberal nationalists (Oded Even Or, Haaretz) Poland’s authoritarian curb on debating its complicity in the Holocaust is odious, but the Israeli backlash has been foolish - and smells of anti-Polish prejudice.
Between Poland's Holocaust revisionism and Israel's Nakba denial (MK Haneen Zoabi, +972mag) Poland’s attempt to scrub clean its role in the murder of European Jewry is, at its core, no different from Israel’s attempt to erase the catastrophe that befell the Palestinians in 1948.
From denunciations to acts: A rabbi who incites against enlistment must not serve as the rabbi of an institution that receives state support (MK Ofer Shelah, Maariv) The war of the extremist rabbis from the ultra-Orthodox camp against the IDF service has moved to the stage of action. When it comes to incitement against recruitment, there is no difference between "religious Zionism" and the extremist factions in the ultra-Orthodox public.
History Will Not Forgive the Sins Against Gaza (Mohammed Azaiza, Haaretz+) The media and social networks are filled with descriptions of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and with calls for change. Leaders know what they have to do.
Not a cost-free exercise (Zalman Shoval, Israel Hayom) U.S. President Donald Trump believes he has a unique opportunity to bring peace to the Israelis and the Palestinians, but how will he respond if he realizes his expectations were unrealistic?
The awakening of the Israeli conscience (Orly Noy, +972mag) The campaign to stop the deportation of the asylum seekers is an encouraging reminder that Israeli society’s collective conscience has not yet totally disappeared.
Recording of Sara Netanyahu screaming is just the tip of the iceberg (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) With this kind of helpmate, what sleepless nights must the prime minister be subjected to amid the corruption investigations against him and other ills?
It’s Not Her, It’s Him (Haaretz Editorial) The tape where Sara Netanyahu is heard yelling at the family’s media adviser does have public interest, but it is another example of the way public attention is being diverted away from Netanyahu’s failures as prime minister.
Lieberman’s explicit warning to Iran (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet)The defense minister’s unusual statement that ‘Israel is familiar with the people involved in producing missiles’ was a clear message that the Iranians arming Lebanon are in Israel’s crosshairs. So how is Israel working to prevent Lebanon from becoming ‘one big factory for the production of precision-guided missiles’?
Netanyahu's message to Putin: Iranian hegemony also threatens you (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Netanyahu arrived at the Kremlin with the head of Military Intelligence, who explained to the Russian president the implications of Iran's activities in Lebanon and Syria: The establishment of factories in Lebanon that will turn Hezbollah's ‘stupid’ rockets into precision missiles, and eventually harm Russia's interests in the region.
A new red line: IDF deterrence efforts reach Lebanon’s citizens (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) The IDF spokesperson’s warning against Iranian entrenchment in Lebanon, in an op-ed published in Lebanese and Arab websites, is the first time the Israeli army appeals directly and officially to Lebanese citizens. What made Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis make such an unusual, dramatic move at this time?
The tragic decline of liberal values in the U.S.-Israeli alliance, from Truman to Trump (Dana H. Allin, Haaretz+) This year Israel marks its 70th anniversary. But, punctuated by Trump’s cartoonish Middle East policy, it's a melancholy milestone for America-Israel relations, marking the deterioration of the ethics and ideals that once bound them together.
Our Pain, the Pain of the Palestinians (Alit Karp, Haaretz+) Israel is so sensitive to its own national pain, but ignores and denies that of the Palestinians.
What secrets is Israel's state archive hiding from the public? (Noam Hofstadter, +972mag) Instead of exposing the past, the government archives are busy with hiding information from the public. The reasons: fear of exposing war crimes, upsetting the ‘Arab public,’ and harming Israel’s image.
It’s OK to Say You Want to Live in a Jewish State (Alexander Yakobson, Haaretz+) The goal must be to cultivate a ‘broad’ Israeli identity in Arab citizens, based on the state being their home and their country, in addition to its being the national home of the Jewish people.
An incomparable comparison (Dr. Uri Edelman, Israel Hayom) Comparing the indescribable suffering of Holocaust victims with the plight of illegal infiltrators is an affront that cheapens the memory of the Holocaust.
Tahrir Square Is Empty (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) As preparations for March’s presidential elections in Egypt intensify, so is the pressure and threats on President Sissi’s critics.
 
Interviews:
ZOA's Morton Klein Secretly Visited Qatar This Month. Here's Why He Went – and What He Did There
The Zionist Organization of America leader denounced Qatar just last year, but flew to Doha this month at the Emir's invitation: 'I spoke truth to power about anti-Semitism,' he explains in an interview. (Interviewed by Amir Tibon in Haaretz+)
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.

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