APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday April 12, 2018
Quote of the day:
"I haven’t been authorized to speak on behalf of the Holocaust survivors either, because they are not a
homogenous bunch. But I do have one personal request: Change the main Holocaust remembrance ceremony at Yad
Vashem, so that in the future it won’t be used by any politician, from the Right or from the Left, to give a
speech for his own purposes. After all, there are enough poems written by children in the Holocaust, diaries
and authentic farewell letters."
----Ruth Bondy, Auschwitz survivor and journalist, wrote this Op-Ed two years ago and Yedioth re-published it today. Bondy died four months ago*
You Must Be Kidding:
Israel denied passage to the West Bank for medical treatment to two Palestinians who were shot by the Israeli army when protesting in Gaza - and their legs were amputated.
Front Page:
----Ruth Bondy, Auschwitz survivor and journalist, wrote this Op-Ed two years ago and Yedioth re-published it today. Bondy died four months ago*
You Must Be Kidding:
Israel denied passage to the West Bank for medical treatment to two Palestinians who were shot by the Israeli army when protesting in Gaza - and their legs were amputated.
Front Page:
Haaretz
- Trump threatened: “Russia prepare, missiles will come - nice, new and smart”
- US response could create chain reaction // Chemi Shalev
- If Iran takes revenge // Amos Harel
- Political crisis: Netanyahu acting to expropriate from High Court its authority to revoke laws
- Running for elections? // Yossi Verter
- Former State Attorney Lador: (Yedioth publisher) Mozes’ offer to Netanyahu is worth a million dollars in a suitcase
- Holocaust Memorial Day - At age 75, surprise telephone to Levie Kanes revealed to him who really saved his life
- Report in France: Numerous people moved homes because of anti-Semitism
- Residents of Umm al-Hiran signed agreement to evacuate in exchange for lands in Houra
- The solution found for the light rail on Emek Refaim Street (in Jerusalem) has a price
- A spelling mistake allowed the Mayor of Dublin to enter Israel
- Stop the chattering (about Iran) // Dan Margalit
- The Eurovision conquered Rabin Square // Itay Stern
- Hurting together // Haaretz Editorial
- The woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto became a national hero in Poland
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Every generation - The arm with number hugged a baby and now hugs children: We went back to the heroes photographed six years ago in a moving project about Holocaust survivors and their great-grandchildren
- After we are out of here // Ruth Bondy (A Holocaust survivor who passed away)
- Holocaust Memorial Day: This morning at 10:00 a siren will be heard - and Israel unite with the memory of six million
- Tension in the north - Trump: “Our missiles are on the way to Syria”
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links)
- Holocaust Memorial Day - Standing tall (Photo of Israeli girl standing at Auschwitz with Israeli flag wrapped around her)
- Trump: “The missiles are on the way”; Putin: “Reason will win”
- Israel is preparing (for attack by Iran) // Tal Lev-Ram
- 70 years of Maariv
Israel Hayom
- “The lesson of the Holocaust: It is imperative to stand up against evil” - Special edition for Holocaust Memorial Day
- “Jews, make aliyah!” // Dror Eydar
- Remember to remember: A special project
- Trump: Our missiles are on the way
- Winds of war - in a region of dilemmas // Oded Granot
- The US is prepared for a new strategy // Avraham Ben-Zvi
- Storm over the High Court bypass law: Netanyahu and Bennett argued; Kahlon did not attend the cabinet meeting
News Summary:
Stories from the Holocaust in honor of Holocaust Memorial Day, a warning to Russia and Syria from US President Donald Trump that US ‘nice smart’ missiles are on the way to Syria (and warnings from Israeli commentators about how this could affect the region - see Commentary/Analysis below) and the attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to wrestle from the High Court the authority to override laws passed by Knesset, which some thought was an attempt to bring early elections, were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.
Meanwhile, the tension was still in the air over a possible limited Iranian strike on Israel for Israel’s alleged attack on an alleged Iranian drone base in Syria as well as over a potential Syrian retaliatory strike on Israel if the US attacks Syria for a recent chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians. Literally in the air. To the point that when Israeli Air Force jets flew over Tel-Aviv this afternoon, many thought war had started. At the main Holocaust Memorial speech at Yad Vashem, Netanyahu warned Iran, ‘Don’t test Israel’s resolve.’
Quick Hits:
- **Israel Denied Passage for Medical Treatment to Two Palestinians Who Protested in Gaza - and Their Legs Were Amputated - The two amputees were shot during mass protests near the Gaza border fence, which government cites as reason for rejection of permit requests. (Haaretz)
- 1,297 Palestinians Shot and Wounded by Israeli Soldiers are Overwhelming Gaza's Hospitals - An additional 1,554 Gaza residents have been treated for tear gas inhalation or injuries by rubber-coated steel pellets. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Gazans use homemade masks against Israeli tear gas - Palestinians rioting near Israel-Gaza border use masks inspired by movies, medical masks and T-shirts to ward off IDF's crowd control measures. But makeshift masks are useless against direct exposure to tear gas, have more of a psychological impact. (Israel Hayom)
- Palestinian shot in viral Israeli sniper video: 'They shot me and later laughed at me' - Tamer Abu Daqqa denies he was instigating violence, claims he was shot while trying to help Palestinian youths escape army fire. (Haaretz)
- New bill seeks to make filming soldiers on duty punishable by jail - Documenting soldiers to "purposely undermine the morale of IDF soldiers and state residents will be punishable by five years in prison," bill says • PM Netanyahu: The video showing radical leftists harassing soldiers "outrageous and absurd." (Israel Hayom)
- Israeli Army Hits Hamas Targets in Gaza; Rounds Fired From Strip Hit Israeli Home - Following the hit, rocket sirens rang throughout southern Israel. Hamas confirms Palestinian killed was member of its military wing. (Haaretz and Israel Hayom)
- Bedouins in embattled Negev village sign deal to relocate - Umm al-Hiran residents to move by the end September in exchange for plots of land and compensation. (Haaretz and Ynet)
- Sexual assault probe closed against three Shin Bet agents - The department said in a statement that the evidence was not enough to continue the investigation. (Haaretz)
- U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem stalled, despite government efforts - While the embassy was exempted from requiring a building permit, it hasn't gotten permission to build a wall around the new office - one of Trump's key demands. (Haaretz)
- Jerusalem mayor thanks Guatemala for embassy move - Guatemalan Embassy move planned for May 16, two days after U.S. Embassy in capital opens • Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat lauds Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales for "courageous decision," promises to facilitate smooth relocation. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel plays blame game over typo that let Dublin mayor barred over BDS to enter - Israel's Interior Ministry claims Mícheál Mac Donncha slipped through the cracks because the Strategic Affairs Ministry misspelled his name in the document recommending his ban. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
- Defying BDS activists, Screaming Trees founder fully intends to perform in Israel - 'I don’t sing for or endorse governments, fucked up as they are. The darkest places need it most,' he said. (Haaretz+)
- Yad Vashem head prepares for day when no Holocaust survivors remain - The day when we will no longer have living testimonies of the Holocaust's atrocities is approaching, but Avner Shalev believes it's still possible to convey the memory of the Holocaust to the next generation: 'There is no decline in the will to learn, the way to preserve the memory is to create meaning.' (Ynet)
- Yad Vashem appeals for artifacts as survivors dwindle - The Holocaust museum launched 'Gathering the Fragments' drive in 2011 to collect Holocaust-related artifacts, urging people to come forward, donate items to preserve for future generations. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Anti-Semitic incidents in US up 57% in 2017, report says - Anti-Semitic expressions in the public sphere saw a rise in 2017 even as acts of physical violence toward Jews continued to drop, new report says. Several tens of thousands of Jews have relocated in recent years, in what authors call "internal exodus." (Israel Hayom)
- 2017 Anti-Semitism Report: 9% rop in violence towards Jews in the world - A report on the state of anti-Semitism in the world, published by the Kantor Center for the Study of European Jewry, states that despite a 9% decline in violent incidents, they became more brutal and caused communal insecurity. (Maariv, p. 3 and Channel10)
- Report: Anti-Semitism Has Led to a ‘Corrosion of Jewish Life’ in the Diaspora - The annual survey of Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center notes that the number of violent anti-Semitic attacks had declined by 9% in 2017. (Haaretz+)
- More than 250 killed in Algerian military plane crash - Algeria declares three days of mourning after transport plane crash kills 257 people in the country's worst air disaster. Witnesses say one of the wings caught fire, pilot tried to avoid hitting highway. Casualties include Western Saharan refugees. (Israel Hayom)
Features:
Iran's Army of Drones, Target of Syria Strike: Rising Force or Limited Threat?
Tehran flaunts its drones' advanced capabilities, but the West seems dismissive. The limitations of the aircraft force Iran to base them in Iraq and Syria. (Yaniv Kubovich. Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Policing Bereavement (Haaretz Editorial) Lieberman’s latest ban makes it clear that the issue of entry permits to Palestinians from the territories is not subordinate to that holy of holies of 'security considerations', but rather to purely political considerations.
*After we are gone from here (Ruth Bondy, a Holocaust survivor who passed away five months ago, Yedioth/Ynet) After we are out of here nothing will happen. Life will continue as usual or not usual. For many it will be easier…I also was not certified to speak in the name of the survivors of the Holocaust, because they are not a homogenous group, so I have a request, a personal one: Change the Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day at Yad Vashem, so that in the future, no politician, from the right or the left, will speak at it for his interests. Because there is no lack of poems that children in the Holocaust wrote, diaries, authentic goodbye letters.
Son of a Bitch, What a Video (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) We should thank the soldiers in that video for sharing their genuine emotions and rejoicing at the sight of an unarmed Arab flying in the air after being shot.
The High Court bypass article: How can one breakthrough the foolish circle and maintain a regime of balances? (Prof. Oded Mudrik, Maariv) 61 MKs is too little, but a majority of 80 or 90 MKs may serve the purpose of the passage of the bill, which allows for renewed legislation of a law that was disqualified.
Tensions Run High Revenge by Iran could push Israel to terminate Tehran's presence in Syria (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Iran knows reacting to the 'Israeli strike' could endanger its interests in Syria, and hitting back could inflame the region.
The threat of a nuclear war is liable to bring about a Holocaust that will make the Holocaust being remembered today seem as something miniscule (Avraham Tirosh, Maariv) Why do I, a native of Israel, define myself in a certain sense as a "Holocaust survivor"? And also: a tribute to my father, Yosef Tirosh, whose words after the surrender of Germany remained relevant.
Netanyahu was once a leader of stature. Now he's becoming a delusional maniac (Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) Decadent, corrupt, desperate and weak: Why Netanyahu has to go.
The lessons of the Holocaust and Syria (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Russia was among the countries whose citizens were killed in Nazi gas chambers during World War II. Today, however, it condones the use of such chemical warfare by the Assad regime in Syria. What are the American options and objectives for a strike in Syria—and where does Israel fit into the thicket of interests?
This Is Not a Drill: Syria Showdown Could Spark Israeli-Iranian and U.S.-Russian Clashes (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Trump’s flippant threat to attack with 'nice' missiles highlights risk of war by miscalculation.
Trump's rare opportunity (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Islamic State has already been routed, while a balanced and sane confederation can possibly be established in Assad's place.
Explained Donald Trump Threatening Syria Seriously Contradicts His Campaign Promises (Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) Trump had campaigned on a vehement anti-war stance and was a fierce critic of intervention in Syria during Barack Obama's presidency.
New Polish remembrance day: Manipulation or moral message?
(Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) The Polish government’s attempt to emphasize the issue of Poles who saved Jews can be seen as a trick aimed at clearing the Poles’ conscience. On the other hand, the efforts to glorify the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust can also be seen as a source of great national pride and a message to the young generation.
Tehran flaunts its drones' advanced capabilities, but the West seems dismissive. The limitations of the aircraft force Iran to base them in Iraq and Syria. (Yaniv Kubovich. Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Policing Bereavement (Haaretz Editorial) Lieberman’s latest ban makes it clear that the issue of entry permits to Palestinians from the territories is not subordinate to that holy of holies of 'security considerations', but rather to purely political considerations.
*After we are gone from here (Ruth Bondy, a Holocaust survivor who passed away five months ago, Yedioth/Ynet) After we are out of here nothing will happen. Life will continue as usual or not usual. For many it will be easier…I also was not certified to speak in the name of the survivors of the Holocaust, because they are not a homogenous group, so I have a request, a personal one: Change the Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day at Yad Vashem, so that in the future, no politician, from the right or the left, will speak at it for his interests. Because there is no lack of poems that children in the Holocaust wrote, diaries, authentic goodbye letters.
Son of a Bitch, What a Video (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) We should thank the soldiers in that video for sharing their genuine emotions and rejoicing at the sight of an unarmed Arab flying in the air after being shot.
The High Court bypass article: How can one breakthrough the foolish circle and maintain a regime of balances? (Prof. Oded Mudrik, Maariv) 61 MKs is too little, but a majority of 80 or 90 MKs may serve the purpose of the passage of the bill, which allows for renewed legislation of a law that was disqualified.
Tensions Run High Revenge by Iran could push Israel to terminate Tehran's presence in Syria (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Iran knows reacting to the 'Israeli strike' could endanger its interests in Syria, and hitting back could inflame the region.
The threat of a nuclear war is liable to bring about a Holocaust that will make the Holocaust being remembered today seem as something miniscule (Avraham Tirosh, Maariv) Why do I, a native of Israel, define myself in a certain sense as a "Holocaust survivor"? And also: a tribute to my father, Yosef Tirosh, whose words after the surrender of Germany remained relevant.
Netanyahu was once a leader of stature. Now he's becoming a delusional maniac (Eric H. Yoffie, Haaretz+) Decadent, corrupt, desperate and weak: Why Netanyahu has to go.
The lessons of the Holocaust and Syria (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Russia was among the countries whose citizens were killed in Nazi gas chambers during World War II. Today, however, it condones the use of such chemical warfare by the Assad regime in Syria. What are the American options and objectives for a strike in Syria—and where does Israel fit into the thicket of interests?
This Is Not a Drill: Syria Showdown Could Spark Israeli-Iranian and U.S.-Russian Clashes (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Trump’s flippant threat to attack with 'nice' missiles highlights risk of war by miscalculation.
Trump's rare opportunity (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Islamic State has already been routed, while a balanced and sane confederation can possibly be established in Assad's place.
Explained Donald Trump Threatening Syria Seriously Contradicts His Campaign Promises (Alexander Griffing, Haaretz+) Trump had campaigned on a vehement anti-war stance and was a fierce critic of intervention in Syria during Barack Obama's presidency.
New Polish remembrance day: Manipulation or moral message?
(Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) The Polish government’s attempt to emphasize the issue of Poles who saved Jews can be seen as a trick aimed at clearing the Poles’ conscience. On the other hand, the efforts to glorify the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust can also be seen as a source of great national pride and a message to the young generation.
Interviews:
Israeli army tells Gazans that acts of protest go against Islam
An IDF spokesman suggested that a 'good' Palestinian woman takes care of her home and kids instead of going out to protest. We asked him what makes him an authority. (Interviewed by Nir Gontarz in Haaretz+)
Israeli army tells Gazans that acts of protest go against Islam
An IDF spokesman suggested that a 'good' Palestinian woman takes care of her home and kids instead of going out to protest. We asked him what makes him an authority. (Interviewed by Nir Gontarz in Haaretz+)
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.