APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday April 8, 2018
 

Quote of the day:
"It’s hard to understand how one can look at tens of thousands of people in their cage and not see them. How is it possible to look at these protesters and not see the disaster wrought first and foremost by Israel. How can we absolve ourselves, putting everything on Hamas and not be shocked for a moment at the sight of the blood of innocents shed by IDF soldiers. How can a former Shin Bet security service chief instigate a growing protest here over an empty speech by the prime minister at an equally empty ceremony, while this massacre rouses barely a hiccup?"
--Haaretz commentator Gideon Levy slams the Israeli journalists and pundits competing to make the wittiest comments about the thousands of desperate Gazans.*

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Breaking News:
Scores of Syrians Killed in Suspected Chemical Attack by Assad Forces

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Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

News Summary:
The killing of nine Palestinians, including a journalist, by IDF fire at Gaza demonstrators over the weekend, the controversies over the ceremony of Israel’s 70th anniversary of independence, where the President of Honduras, who is accused of human rights violations, was invited to light a torch, and in opposition to protocol, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to give a speech, which some, including the Speaker of the Knesset and a former Shin Bet chief, plan to boycott and the contradictory reports about where Israel will deport asylum seekers. These stories along with the tons of garbage Israelis left at parks across the country during the Passover holiday and the muflattas Israelis ate at the end of the holiday, were today’s top stories.

The Palestinian journalist union said Israeli soldiers shot and wounded six Palestinian reporters covering the ‘Great Return March’ at the Gaza-Israel fence, despite wearing clothes clearly identifying them as journalists. One Palestinian photojournalist was killed by Israeli fire. Yaser Murtaja, 30, was shot in the abdomen and died. The army said it had no intention to hit journalists and that it would investigate. A total of nine Palestinians were killed over the weekend in Gaza and almost 300 wounded. The Israeli army defended its use of live fire on unarmed civilians and said it would also strike Hamas if attempts to breach the border fence continued, but that it would also try to minimize the number of Palestinian casualties. The IDF estimated that some 20,000 people showed up to the protest, where some burned tires and threw stones and Molotov cocktails. The IDF posted a photo of a Nazi flag waved in Gaza, but an Israeli photojournalist Mati Milstein questioned the photo, noting that "of the dozens of photojournalists and TV crews working on the Israel-Gaza border on Friday, only the Israeli military was observant enough to capture images of a Nazi flag?"

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested that journalists were actually Hamas people in disguise. He also warned journalists against using drones to film the demonstrations. Hamas said it would pay compensation to families of those who were killed or wounded in the march. On Saturday, 2,000 Israeli-Arab protesters marched in the town of Sakhnin on Saturday in solidarity with Gazans. In the diplomatic arena, the EU expressed concern about the number of killings and Israel’s use of force, the Arab League urged The Hague international court to probe the Gaza killings, but at the UN, the US blocked for the second time the call for an independent probe and the Israeli envoy said the UN Security Council should condemn Hamas for using Palestinians as human shields.

Despite Israeli claims, Uganda said it will not accept asylum seekers deported from Israel without their consent. Maariv reported that Israel is considering the possibility of returning Eritrean asylum seekers to their country, and a Rwandan official denied Netanyahu's claim that the New Israel Fund was foiling a deal between Israel and Rwanda for the latter to accept asylum seekers. Meanwhile, the New Israel Fund has raised a quarter of a million shekels in donations since Netanyahu’s attack on it.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

A Strange Drawing Found in Sinai Could Undermine Our Entire Idea of Judaism
Is that a 3,000-year-old picture of god, his penis and his wife depicted by early Jews at Kuntillet Ajrud? (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
The Gazan activist whose post sparked the March of Return
Ahmed Abu Artima wondered in Facebook post what might happen if thousands of Gazans walked towards the border fence unarmed, and sparked the mass March of Return protests; Abu Artima professes objection to violent struggle and tire burnings, but says he does not oppose the presence of Hamas combatants near border fence; 'I wish to live with Israelis in a single state, without apartheid,' he declares. (Ynet)
What happened when this Israeli Jerusalemite realized he shares his hometown with Palestinians
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: An Israeli living in Romania reminisces about the time his Jewish-Arab band traveled to Jordan to pass a letter to a Lebanese singer. (Meital Shapiro, Haaretz+)
Standing with African migrants, former IDF fighters recall their ‘hell’
After suppressing traumatic memories for years, soldiers who greeted asylum seekers in Israel after their long journey in the deserts of Africa have decided to share their experiences; ‘While I was on guard duty, I saw the Egyptians placing them in a row and executing them,’ Staff Sgt. Nir Leibler recalls; ‘One woman was full of scars on her body from melted plastic and cigarettes,’ First Lt. Eliana Bastiaans says. (Amir Alon, Yedioth/Ynet)
A Letter From London': A Documentary About Israel's Creation That Mostly Leaves Out Palestinians
This Balfour Declaration documentary offers a Zionist ethos nostalgia overdose and a superficial gloss on the Arabs living in pre-state Palestine. (Uri Klein, Haaretz+)
The hard job of IDF observers during Gaza border clashes
Observers in operation rooms along the border are tasked with monitoring the security fence and alerting the troops on the ground to any suspicious movement; it's their job to distinguish between armed terrorists, main instigators of rioting, uninvolved protesters, shepherds, and Palestinian workers trying to cross illegally. (Yoav Zitun, Ynet)
 
Commentary/Analysis:
The Israeli Minister Who Could Save Its Democracy (Haaretz+ Editorial) Moshe Kahlon, the Kulanu party chairman, has repeatedly promised to protect the judiciary. Now is his chance to step up to the plate.
Nothing makes sense here: A journey along the fences and barbed wire suffocating the Gaza Strip (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) On one side there are watchtowers and workers building an anti-terror barrier. On the other, a small tent city of Palestinian protesters.
Dying on the fence of the Gaza prison (Hagai El-Ad, Yedioth/Ynet) From time to time, control over another people requires days of killing and slaughter. More bloody days lie ahead. But don't expect accountability. 'Investigations' are merely a routine stage in the organized whitewash.
The real story behind the Israeli-Jordanian peace deal (Efraim Halevy, Haaretz+) Efraim Halevy, who was intimately involved in contacts between King Hussein and the Israeli government, responds to an article by Aluf Benn.
The decrease in the number of casualties in Gaza: the success of the IDF, the failure of Hamas (Tal Lev Ram, Maariv) Focusing on the data in order to prove that the terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip failed is a mistake. The number of protesters may yet rise. But the lessons learned by the army led to an Israeli achievement in the confrontation.
**The blockade on Israel's heart (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) It’s hard to understand how one can look at tens of thousands of people in their cage and not see them. How is it possible to look at these protesters and not see the disaster wrought first and foremost by Israel?
Hamas Hijacked the Gaza Protests, Which Are Set to Continue for Weeks (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The organization finds itself stuck between Israel and Egypt, with PA financial aid cut off and Iran not supplying the assistance the Palestinians had expected.
Israel is reaching a crossroad and will not want a routine of demonstrations and counter-reactions (Yossi Melman, Maariv) Hamas can note with satisfaction that with the help of a new tool - mass demonstrations - they have brought to the world's consciousness the problem of Gaza. But its leadership also knows that the gimmick may have exhausted itself.
On the verge of eruption (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) The Gaza Strip is a powder keg and the smallest spark could ignite the entire sector and spread to the West Bank and Israel's northern border. Neither side wants war, but the situation could easily spiral out of control.
Israel Is the Terrorist (Ilana Hammerman, Haaretz+) Young Palestinians are not carrying out acts of terror- they are leading a desperate struggle against an army that is a thousand times stronger than they.
Gaza protests: When there’s smoke, there’s fire (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Most of the Palestinians killed over the weekend were hurt while running amok towards the fence, as the IDF had no other way to stop them. So far, the Israeli army has avoided targeting substantial Hamas assets deep within the strip so as not to spoil Passover—but now that the Jewish holiday is behind us, the riots’ organizers could be targeted too.
An Honest and Brave Reckoning Must Occur Before the Next Round of Violence Is Upon Us (Avner Gvaryahu, Haaretz+) A state's comptroller report on 2014's Operation Protective Edge exposes the Israeli soldiers who fought in the Gaza Strip to the risk of prosecution under international law.
The cold calculation behind the Israeli army’s sniper fire on the Gaza border (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The politicians instructed the military to prevent a breach of the fence, but it’s doubtful that they held detailed discussions about the means to achieve this.
The spirit of the commander: A commission of inquiry into shooting demonstrators is vital to the world and (Israeli) society (Ran Adelist, Maariv) The number of fatalities and injuries in the (Gaza-Israel) fence incidents requires the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to examine the conduct of the army from the commander of the command to simple soldier. But the government needs to do the national soul-searching.
Hold Your Fire (Haaretz Thursday Editorial) The army's test throughout Friday's demonstrations on the Gaza border will be in the number of casualties; even under a government that doesn't see Palestinians as equal human beings, the IDF must act with humanity.
Inciting Against New Israel Fund (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) How did Netanyahu pin the blame on the group for the failure of the asylum seeker deal with Rwanda? He just knew he needed to supply supporters with a demon that forced him to make his latest flip-flop.
Underlying the protest in support of the infiltrators is the intention to eliminate the Zionist entity (Dr. Chaim Misgav, Maariv) All those who now support the infiltration of infiltrators in southern Tel Aviv are supported by those who dream, in fact, the truly great dream: the expulsion of the Jews from their land in favor of millions of "refugees.”
American Jews should boycott Netanyahu for his vile campaign against NIF (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The prime minister is using the infamous 'stab in the back' gambit to deflect attention away from his asylum-seeker fiasco.
In His Politics of Incitement, Netanyahu Has Reached an All-time Low (Haaretz Wednesday Editorial) Netanyahu's attack and planned probe into the New Israel Fund proves Israel is headed by a man without red lines or restraint.
Night unto the nations (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet)  Ben Gurion's aspiration of creating a state that will be a 'light unto the nations' is facing its toughest challenge yet: the planned mass expulsion of African immigrants. But let it be clear: this is naught but a test, a tool, a means in the revolution of values that is washing over Israeli society.
This is Zionism as racism. This is Israel at 70 (Bradley Burston, Haaretz+) It hurts me to write what I'm about to. But it also hurts me to live in this place today. To open my eyes and see what's right here, right now.
PM Netanyahu absolutely right in annulling migrant deal (Shlomo Pyutrekovsky, Yedioth/Ynet) The deal with the UN's refugee agency was a bad one, which would have provided ample incentives for economically-minded migrants to infiltrate Israel in hopes of a better future here on in other Western countries; PM Netanyahu was therefore absolutely right to annul it and should be lauded for it, rather than criticized; if you're a true refugee, who is really persecuted in your country of origin, then asylum in another, relatively tranquil African country is a reasonable response to your plight.
What Judd Apatow has in common with a sexist settler rabbi (Nissan Shor, Haaretz+) One brainwashes people across the globe using rom-coms. The other is a religious fanatic and a local joke. Who is more dangerous?
Israel is using technology to avoid facing what it's doing to Palestinians (Ofri Ilany, Haaretz+) Palestinians aren’t people just like you, we’re told, they’re 'threatening motifs,' video-game monsters that must be eliminated in order to advance to the next stage.
It's not Netanyahu. It's the nation (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Most Israelis, who have never spoken to a single Gazan, only know that the Gaza Strip is a nest of terrorists. That’s why it’s OK to shoot them. Shocking? Yes, but true.
Israel Is Dominated by a Rabble of Online Commenters (Yossi Klein, Haaretz+) A clerical fascist state will rise here much faster than you think. It won’t be Mussolini’s Fascist Italy or Hitler’s Nazi Germany. It will be Khomeini’s Iran.
Agricultural terrorism is nothing less than a strategic threat to the state (Ephraim Ganor, Maariv) The last of the farmers struggle valiantly against acts of terror, such as setting fire to heavy tools, equipment, fields and orchards, warehouses and packing houses and stealing crops, agricultural equipment and animals…With determination it is possible to eradicate this affliction, but effort is insufficient. We must treat this problem as a national problem and act accordingly. The current situation will lead to the revolt of the last of the remaining farmers, as recently warned by MK Eitan Broshi of the Zionist Camp. Such a rebellion could be a national crisis. Whoever thinks it’s possible for an independent state like Israel, which is surrounded by enemies, to be dependent on the import of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and fruits from Turkey and Jordan and meat imports from South America - is disconnected from reality. And whoever ignores the future of agriculture here ignores the future of the state. Where is the Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel when agriculture needs a real minister to represent it?
My Fiery Protest Is Simply the Cry of My Very Soul (Daniel Blatman, Haaretz+) Just like Emile Zola, people of conscience are protesting against the leaders who have sent Israel’s politics and culture down to levels worthy of a fascist beer hall.
Jews get off easy when the victim is an Arab (Mordechai Kremnitzer, Haaretz) Jews in Israel have often received ridiculously light sentences for attacking Arabs, even when the assaults resulted in death.
Why everyone should oppose Bennett’s academic ethical code (Yehuda Nuriel, Yedioth/Ynet) Under the guise of ‘preventing politicization' and all kinds of other excuses, the education minister and Bayit Yehudi leader is trying to create a terror regime—targeting the mind and mouth of every academic, of every lecturer and, as a result, of every student as well.
What I Saw at a Shin Bet Lecture at Jerusalem's Hebrew University (Ilana Hammerman, Haaretz+) After a Shin Bet recruitment event, all of my ethical and academic senses tell me that an academic institution should not collaborate with secret services anywhere - much less in Israel.
The election of A-Sisi (and the Passover greeting from the Palestinian Authority) (Jackie Khougy, Maariv) The behind-the-scenes workings attest to a responsible position and leadership ability on the part of the Egyptian president and his people. And also: why the compliments of the Saudi prince and the Palestinian blessing for Passover should be treated with caution. The nice words of Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Salman are a caress to the ego, but they do not indicate an intention to open the gates of Saudi Arabia to Israelis, or to give (Saudis) a green light to visit Tel Aviv…
In the heat of the weekend events in the Gaza Strip, the holiday greeting sent from Ramallah for Passover did not get attention. Muhammad al-Madani, head of the committee for contact with Israeli society in the bureau of Mahmoud Abbas, wished Israelis and the Jewish people a happy holiday. "The leadership and the Palestinian people are reaching out to you in the hope of cooperating as soon as possible in order to remove the walls of hostility,” the statement said. "We believe that the festival of freedom should inspire ‘Tikkun Olam’ (the repair of the world), in the spirit of the call, 'Send our people.'" Al-Madani acted as an emissary of Abbas and with his knowledge. It would be interesting to see if the Israeli government would react in the same way towards the Palestinian Authority leadership, or toward the neighboring Palestinian population. Israel does not have to wait long. In mid-May (the exact day has not yet been determined), the month of Ramadan will begin…
The Egyptian candidate, Musa Mustafa Musa, who ran against the current president had no chance. A-Sisi is well known to the public, and behind him are a brigade of aides and supporters, the military and the security establishment. In five years of rule, he managed to gain experience and knowledge in running the affairs of the state, which can greatly ease the voter's decision. Musa, a construction engineer and politician from a party few know, was equipped with patriotic feeling and a lot of good will, but lacking any assets. The reality behind the scenes was much more complicated. Musa was recruited by the Al-Sisi campaigners and agreed to run against him only a few hours before the registration was closed. In was known in advance he did not come to run for the Presidency. His job was to help create a demonstration of pluralism, and to lose. The Supreme Elections Committee is composed of representatives of the judicial system. In Egypt, separation of powers is not practiced. The judges, the prosecution and the police are subordinate to the presidential palace and the security forces. What is said to them will do...It makes sense that an overwhelming majority will give its vote to Al-Sisi. After all, who would want an inexperienced president who knows nothing about the public? But the question marks lie elsewhere. For example, serious candidates who were disqualified under various pretexts, such as Ahmed Shafiq, the former prime minister and commander of the air force…The second problem is the published participation rate. According to the Elections Committee, 41% (about 24 million voters) went to the polls. The participation rate is evidence not only of the public's confidence in the elections, but of the regime's kashrut seal. Had the committee published a more modest figure, ranging from 10% to 15%, A-Sisi's local and international critics would have attacked. Throughout all the years of his office, he would have been accused of being elected by a small number of voters, and therefore his legitimacy would be doubtful. In any case, many doubt the ethical standards of the regime. But when the rate is 41%, A-Sisi and his people can tell the world that the people want their kingdom.
With His Survival Guaranteed, Assad Pushes Into Border Area With Israel, Violating Accords (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) As the U.S. prepares to pull its troops out of Syria, Israel ought to brace for an ever-confident Syrian army whose actions close to the border are becoming a true cause for concern.
 

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