APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday March 10, 2019
 

You Must Be Kidding #1: 

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Elections 2019 News:
The top elections story was the dramatic drop in support for the Kahol-Lavan party led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, according to both Haaretz+ and Yedioth (Hebrew) polls and the rise of the far right-wing party of Moshe Feiglin, whose new party may cross the minimum threshold.

Election Quickees:

Other News Summary:
Rising tension between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, between Israel and Palestinians at the Temple Mount and clashes down below between ultra-Orthodox Jews and women praying at the Western Wall were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

The ‘Women of the Wall’ said they were 'abandoned' in clashes and some were injured between them and thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters who were called in to disrupt their prayer service, after Orthodox groups warned of 'Reform Jews conquering the Western Wall.’ Police accused the Women of the Wall of entering the main prayer area to create a provocation.

Up above on the Temple Mount, a solution has yet to be found for the conflicting interest between Palestinians adamant to reopen the Bab al-Rahma building in the Temple Mount compound and Israel, which is keen to keep it closed, as it has for the last 16 years when Israel closed it based on the claim that it served a group associated with Hamas. A senior Israeli delegation visited Jordan Thursday, but failed to reach an agreement, despite reports otherwise. According to one media report, a solution was apparently reached, according to which Israel would allow the entry of building materials under the supervision of the Islamic Waqf, which would close the building to worshipers during the renovations. Those renovations may take longer than planned, Maariv wrote. According to the report, Jordan rejected the Israeli demand to close the compound. A senior Jordanian source said that "Israel will allow the entry of building materials to renovate the site, but it is not clear when the renovations will begin." In any case, 40,000 worshipers prayed peacefully at the Temple Mount Friday. However, tension rose again. Saturday, when Israeli Border Police officers entered the Bab al-Rahma building and, despite objections from Muslim religious leaders at the Temple Mount, they refused to remove their shoes. The video spread through Arab social media outlets. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan plans to close Bab Al-Rahma mosque this week, Maariv reported. Erdan said that due to legal restrictions and the desire to avoid confrontation with thousands of Muslim worshipers, Israel has not closed the prayer house until now, but intends to do so later.

In Gaza, the tit-for-tat continues. On Thursday night the Israeli army shelled a Hamas post after someone opened fire on an IDF post near the Gaza Strip. At the weekly Gaza ‘March of Return’ protests Friday, Israeli forces shot and killed at least one Palestinian and injured 48 others, including four paramedics and two journalists. That barely made news in the Hebrew media. What did make news was the projectile from Gaza that landed in an open area Friday evening, for which Israeli aircraft retaliated by striking a number of targets in the Gaza Strip, including two naval vessels belonging to Hamas, the IDF said. Maan reported that the Israeli navy opened fire targeting Gaza fishing boats off the coast, forcing the fishermen back to shore in fear for their lives; no injuries were reported, and it's not clear if those fishing boats were what the IDF considered Hamas naval vessels. Also on Saturday, the head of an RPG rocket tied to a balloon was located in Israel in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip (Maariv). Israel responded attacking Hamas sites late Saturday night.

Earlier Saturday, a senior Hamas official told Haaretz that the group wants calm, but expects Israel to ease the restrictions on Gaza in return. "Israel is attempting to force a ceasefire in exchange for a return to the situation we were in before the Marches of Return," the official told Haaretz. "In three weeks we will mark the anniversary of the marches, with more than 250 killed and thousands wounded. If someone thinks this blood was spilled in vain, then he is seriously mistaken," said the senior Hamas official. Haaretz+ reported that Israel's new method for pumping cash into Gaza and avoid embarrassment is to use bank payments to Gaza civil servants for fictitious ‘authorized projects.’ (Also Maan.)

Also barely reported on in the Hebrew media was that “two Palestinians infiltrated from the Gaza Strip and were caught.” MaarivOnline wrote that the report of a security incident in the Gaza envelope region caused “great anxiety (until the) two Gaza residents were apprehended and taken for interrogation.” What MaarivOnline failed to report was that the “two Gazan residents” were two children, who from the looks of the photo on Maan News, appear to be aged 8-10. Maan even got a quote from the Israeli army spokesperson, who said that the children are part of a recent increase of Palestinians youths attempting to cross into Israel to “escape the reality in Gaza.
 

Quick Hits:

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Features:

The Arab policewoman who went against the conventions: "I will be the first female Police Commissioner“
Her family initially objected and her fiance canceled the marriage, but Sergeant Mureen Bannawiya (who has already made peace with her parents) does not regret her decision: "To this day, except for me, there is no female policewoman from the village.” (Alon Hachmon, Maariv)
The Israeli running for the presidency of Guatemala
Yitzhak Farhi (born and raised in Guatemala and) is now a Ra'anana businessman, , but in June he will compete to be the next president of Guatemala thanks to a television interview in which he explained the secret of Israel's success. (Itamar Eichner, Yedioth/Ynet)
Rescuing the rescuers: Syrian White Helmet builds new life in UK
With the help of Western powers and Israeli soldiers, Amer was among hundreds of White Helmets evacuated last July from southwest Syria, and now he is adjusting to the sights and sounds of normal life he has not heard for eight years. (Ynet)
 
Elections 2019 Commentary/Analysis:
This Is What Happens When You Stay Silent as the Far Right Rises to Power (Yossi Klein, Haaretz+) Germany once greeted the extreme right with apathy and scorn. We’ve accepted ours with apathy and silence – a troublesome silence that makes a statement.
Israel should be better at disqualifying unsuitable election candidates (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Attorney General was right to back a ban for former Kahanist Michael Ben-Ari, but his mental gymnastics over why Balad should not be outlawed were a masterpiece of legal sophistry.
Corrupt, Racist Politicians' Outrageous Move Against Israel's Far-left (Ravit Hecht, Haaretz+) Far-rightists are disqualifying candidates – something pretty rich considering that cabinet members describe all elected officials from the Arab community as ‘terrorists.’
Whoever tries to swim in the sewage canals of the ruling party understands how Israel has become a debased empire (Ben Caspit, Maariv) All this time, Netanyahu stands there and continues to lie, in the face of the cheers of the crowd. And also: There's enough to look for on (Kahol-Lavan leader) Benny Gantz. There is no need to invent a case against him that is an insult to intelligence [reference to claim by woman that he exposed himself to her when they were in high school - OH].
For Netanyahu, Unity Is a Dirty Word (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) Netanyahu is realizing that his 'innocent victim' campaign strategy is no longer working. Gantz's platform flirts with the moderate right, but there are signs he'll break left if he comes to power.
Netanyahu puts (his political base) into a spaceship and takes off to Planet Bibi (Guy Tzadik, Maariv) The Likudniks fought to enter the hall, and within it, Netanyahu goes to battle against the entire left-wing. And Kahlon offers the middle class insurance against those who are plotting to reach the treasury.
The Israeli elections committee embraced Jewish supremacists and expelled Arab radicals. So what else is new? (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The board’s decisions may be overturned by the High Court but they will be seen by critics as proof of Israel's slide to the darkness of nationalism and ethnocentrism.
When Jews on both left and right whitewash anti-Semitism (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) So many partisan apologists on both sides of the political spectrum have destroyed their credibility on anti-Semitism and exposed rank hypocrisy. It is an ugly moment in our people’s history.
Right-winger’s First Success in Election Polls Endangers Gantz and Netanyahu Alike (Amnon Harari, Haaretz) Moshe Feiglin’s party is now above the electoral threshold, but even Bibi might be cool to a politician who wants to rebuild the Temple and privatize hospitals.
Netanyahu panic and his legal situation could lead to an unnecessary battle in the south (Ran Edelist, Maariv) Do not mistake the zombie effect that supposedly controls the Prime Minister's affairs. At night he hears the clatter of chains and door bolts, and during the day he sees how his life is falling apart into fragments of criminal stories.
Hamas knows now is the best time to pressure Israel into concessions (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) But election season also puts Netanyahu in an impossible bind.
Israel's women want equality, not special treatment (Ravit Dom Eini, Yedioth/Ynet) Israeli society faces many complex challenges, but there is one central issue with a solution that is ultimately a simple choice, and that is parity between the sexes; so what exactly is the problem?
The rock and a hard place: Netanyahu's maneuvering in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the elections is very limited (Tal Lav Ram, Maariv) The threat declared by the prime minister that the IDF will intensify its responses if the escalation (at the Gaza Strip border - OH) continues, is one that if he does not stand by his word, that is likely to exact a political price. This is the case if the rocket fire from Gaza continues.
Blue and White Blood in Israeli Election (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) The problem is that 'opposition' candidates Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid and generations of Israelis suckled an outsized fear of anti-Semitism with their mother’s milk.

Commentary/Analysis:
Israel Forces Palestinian to Raze His and His Daughter’s Homes With His Own Hands (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+) In East Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities require residents to demolish their ‘illegally built’ homes by themselves or to pay the city exorbitant sums for doing it…It’s all done according to the law, by the book. And all of it reflects the policy of occupation in Jerusalem: Embitter the lives of the Palestinian residents, fill them with despair and maybe they’ll finally leave their city. Treat them with a heavy hand, torment them.
Minister Regev is fighting against the left-wing, but she is stepping on the gas in neutral (Prof. Arieh Eldad, Maariv) While the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Miri Regev is fighting all the treacherous leftist windmills - her office continues to employ someone responsible for Arab culture, who praises terror and martyrs. Lubna Zouebi has a BA in Communication and an MA from Tel Aviv University's unique program on conflict resolution and dialogue. On her Facebook page she wrote extensively about equality, openness, avoiding violence against women and against harming helpless people. Some of her colleagues describe her as an outstanding worker. This outstanding employee of the Ministry of Culture expresses her views on her private Facebook page. A week after three Arabs from Umm al-Fahm murdered two Border Police officers, Hael Sattawi and Kamil Snan on the Temple Mount, and on the day that riots broke out in Jerusalem caused by Arabs because of the installation of metal detectors at the entrances to the Mount, riots in which three (Palestinian) rioters were killed, she expressed her opinion on the events: “To all those who said that the lives of people are more important than the land, the house and Al-Aqsa, I tell you: If they rape this land and our house, you and your soul are next in line…You cannot protect your body and your life if you could not protect your symbols, your lands, your children, your identity and your existence with dignity, not humiliation.” There were those who read that, were shocked and filed a complaint with the Civil Service Commission. The Commission's mills grind slowly. Only in mid-February did the hearings take place. The prosecutor did not demand that she be dismissed from the Civil Service, only to reprimand her severely and to fine her monthly salary. Since she admitted to guilt, she was only reprimanded. Not severely, and half a salary fine.
Outlaw Israel's Arabs (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) They are already regarded as illegitimate citizens. Why not just say so and anchor it in law?
The Damage Done by Pope Netanyahu (Haaretz Editorial) In empowering itself to decide who’s a Jew and who is less a Jew, the government is acting as a Vatican of the Jewish religion.
Islamic Jihad is the real threat from Gaza (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) While Israel is busy negotiating ways to calm tensions in the coastal enclave, it would do well to pay attention to the organization that does not listen to Hamas and is only trying to make the situation worse.
The Israeli Army Doesn’t Have to Win (Jonathan Shimshoni, Haaretz+) In a conflict centered around civil societies, one can win only if one is willing to claim ownership over the rival society or, alternatively, to destroy or expel it. In either case, only a Pyrrhic victory is guaranteed.
How Assad Defied the Odds, Won in Syria and Pushed the U.S. Out (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Eight years into Syria's Civil War, Russia is the big victor in Syria and will remain for a long time to come.
ISIS Women Want to Go Home, and the West Faces a Tough Dilemma (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Western countries are reluctant to take back runaway citizens, partly out of fear their ISIS husbands will mobilize terror cells back home.
Ilhan who? In Israel, nobody knows or cares about the Omar anti-Semitism controversy (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) Israelis' obliviousness this week parallels their lack of concern over tropes and tweets of white supremacist U.S. politicians — and their sometimes deadly consequences.
A botched Gaza raid may rewrite how Israel runs its special operations (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Findings on the failed op, which ignited a two-day conflict, will soon land on the IDF chief's desk.
 
 

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