APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday March 3, 2019
 

Quote of the day:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Elections 2019 News:
In the aftermath of Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitt's announcement to indict Netanyahu on bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases, pending a hearing, Yedioth focused on the 'holes' in Netanyahu's defense (Ynet here focuses on Case 1000),  Israel Hayom wrote that Likud said it was 'going to war,' with a strategy to label the Kahol-Lavan party as 'left-wing' and the Attorney General as 'unable to withstand media pressure,' Maariv focused on Netanyahu's recruitment of Likud ministers to "charge TV studios" to defend him, and in the streets of Tel-Aviv hundreds protested for and against him. Haaretz's top story was the analysis by jurist Mordechai Kremnitzer that the dropping of charges of bribery in Cases 1000 and 2000 was wrong and it will weaken the prosecutor’s case against Netanyahu (which Maariv reported was exactly what Netanyahu's lawyers thought and they were very satisfied. “Without even starting to lay out our arguments, 2/3 of the bribery clauses were dropped,“ they told Maariv. They also claimed that the removal of the bribe suspicion from Case 2000 will help them further reduce the bribe article from Case 4000.)

Also in election news, all the coalition parties said they would continue to serve in the Netanyahu government despite the announcement, but Kulanu party said it would wait till the results of the hearing to make any further decisions. Polls show that Kahol-Lavan can form a majority coalition with center, center-left and Arab parties and Netanyahu might not be able to. According to a poll conducted by Kan public broadcaster, the center-left bloc has 61 seats, as opposed to the right's 59. A Channel 13 News poll found that Kahol-Lavan would get 36 seats to the Likud’s 30. Israel Hayom-i24NEWS poll predicted that Kahol-Lavan party would get 38 seats to the Likud’s 29.

Election Quickees:

Other Quick Hits:

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Features:

Without Saying a Word, Israeli Troops Beat Up a Blind Man in His Bed
Israeli soldiers invaded the home of a Palestinian family at night, and battered a man in the face in front of his wife and children. He’s 47, blind and on dialysis, and his toes have been amputated because of diabetes. (Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz+)
The secret story of Israel's transit camps
In the early years of the Jewish state, new immigrants were sent to 'ma'abarot', tent cities of Jews from all over the world; conditions were tough and while many of the officers policing these shanty towns grew up there themselves, when the residents rioted, they were met with a firm hand. (Noam Barkan, Yedioth/Ynet)
Timeline of tragedy: The death of Madhat Yusuf
At the onset of the Second Intifada, 12 Border Policemen were stationed at the Joseph's Tomb complex in Nablus when a Palestinian mob attacked; the Druze sergeant was shot and bled to death before being evacuated by PA police over four hours later, and his family never forgave Benny Gantz nor the rest of the chain of command involved. (Ariela Ringel Hoffman, Yedioth/Ynet)
The Arab world's pop culture revolution
While governments in the region have sought to harness the power of the internet—especially after the 2011 Arab Spring—young people have been experimenting with newer forms of digital activism. (Terrance J. Mintner, Ynet)

Elections 2019 Commentary/Analysis:
Facing charges, Netanyahu looks to world stage for help (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Netanyahu has one great advantage over his rivals, and he's using it to maintain his image. The election campaign will heat up, with potentially violent consequences.
What will it take for Israel's right-wing voters to say enough? (Dahlia Scheindlin, +972mag) A small group of right-wing voters could tip the balance and lead to a change of government in Israel. Who are these voters, what do they care about, and would a Kahanist party in the Knesset be a step too far?
Charges Against Netanyahu Are Solid, Embarrassing – and Lethal (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) The attorney general describes unprecedented catering to wealthy businessmen, and lays bare a narrative that directly clashes with the prime minister's claims.
Bennett's big nightmare sounds like a good scenario for many Israelis (Udi Segal, Maariv) A unity government will be able to exist only if Netanyahu resigns. Therefore, for the good fortune of the education minister Naftali Bennett and to the dismay of a large part of the public, it’s not possible.
Netanyahu Is Facing Less Severe Charges - and That Could Help His Defense (Mordechai Kremnitzer, Haaretz+) Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit's preference for breach of trust charges over bribery in two cases is a blow against the rule of law and the fight against government corruption.
Netanyahu should do the right thing (Yossi Beilin, Israel Hayom) The presumption of innocence is not the same as the right to lead, even if the law permits it. Israel deserves a prime minister who is entirely dedicated to matters of state.
Now That He's Cornered, Netanyahu Is More Dangerous Than Ever (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) With the planned indictment, the attorney general called him out: Corrupt and corrupting. It’s scary to think what Bibi would offer his coalition partners in return for a law to prevent him from standing trial.
Netanyahu has his 'natural partners' on side, but Likud still worried (Moran Azoulay, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister has the clear backing of the right in wake of the attorney general's call for his indictment, but his party fears that a diminished bloc will make it difficult to form a government after the elections.
Seven myths Netanyahu is peddling to the public in the Bezeq corruption case (Nati Tucker, Haaretz+) The main claims being raised by Netanyahu and his cronies, and the truth as it appears in the investigative material.
Meeting with Arafat: All the facts that Netanyahu forgot to mention to his admirers (Nathan Zehavi, Maariv) He tried to advance the two-state solution, appointed a quartermaster as defense minister, and declared that the prime minister should resign if investigations were conducted against him (when Ehud Olmert was prime minister - OH).
Netanyahu indictment highlights key tool to protect democracy from its destroyers (Mordechai Kremnitzer, Haaretz+) The offense of breach of trust, not straight bribery laws, protects the public in a world of corrupt connections between politicians and the wealthy.
Freedom of the press was almost lost (Ariel Kahana, Israel Hayom) If the alleged collusion in Case 2,000 had gone ahead, the country's two largest newspapers would have been unduly influenced by the prime minister, but the media preferred to focus on cigars.
Netanyahu has the support of the right, but at what cost? (Moran Azulay, Yedioth/Ynet) The coalition parties were almost unanimous in their support of the prime minister in the face of his legal woes, but he could find that this support does not come cheap, if he is ever again entrusted with forming a government.
Decision to indict Netanyahu exposes Israel's double rule (Aluf Benn, Haaretz+) On stage, we see players like the government and media outlets, but the real authority is behind the scenes. This is Netanyahu's true legacy.
Not a state of all its citizens and no disengagement plan: Populism is the greatest danger (Lilach Sigan, Maariv) The worst election period we have ever known illustrates the difficult situation we have reached as a society. From the preoccupation with the question of who we are, we have neglected the simple question - what do we aspire to?
Netanyahu against the nation (Friday Haaretz Editorial) A country cannot function when it is led by a person who accuses the police, prosecutors, opposition and press of conspiring against him.
How will the attorney general's decision affect the election? (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) Die-hard supporters will cast their ballots for the prime minister's party no matter what. But what about Netanyahu supporters who trust the attorney general or those who wouldn't have voted for Netanyahu but don't want to be bullied?
Netanyahu’s response to his criminal indictment is, in essence, a plea for a putsch (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) The prime minister cast himself as innocent victim and escalated his attacks on the rule of law in what Americans might view as a dress rehearsal for the benefit of Mr. Trump.
They forgot what it is to be Jews? The data reveals the truth behind the statement (Shmuel Rosner, Maariv) How small is the Israeli left? It depends on who and what you ask. It is time to start talking about the numbers that present the differences between left and center left, and also the map of Israeli Judaism.
With indictment, Netanyahu's gaslighting will only get worse (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) One minute he's inciting as if Kahane were really alive, the next he's showing off his civilized manners alongside world leaders. And then you start to wonder – maybe he's okay and we're the crazy ones?
In Netanyahu’s Israel, Lying Pays (Nitzan Horowitz, Haaretz+) Nelson Mandela said that ‘love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.’ If only that were true. In the meantime, incitement works.
The struggle against Otzma Yehudit party is not moral, but political (Kalman Liebeskind, Maariv) What happens when Rabbi Benny Lau, the son of a Holocaust survivor, compares Jews to Nazis? And also: when leftist journalists and politicians are arguing with the dead Rabbi Kahane, instead of the living Itamar Ben Gvir.

Commentary/Analysis:
The Israeli Soldiers Who Beat a Blind Palestinian Man Are Beastly (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) It was beastly human beings who stormed into the home of Mizhar Munzer and his wife Iman, who covered up the gravity of the incident, who did not punish anyone and who remained indifferent to this abuse.
Hate: An Israeli Love Story (B. Michael, Haaretz+) For anti-Semitism hunters, preserving paranoia and blurring the line between Judaism and Zionism is the best way to handle criticism of the country's abominations.
The dangerous illusion of a two-state solution (Tamar Asraf, Yedioth/Ynet) The left-wing has been advocating 'two states for two nations' as if it was an advertising slogan, promising us something, they themselves know can never realistically be achieved, while relying on wishful-thinking and half-truths.
Settler violence against Palestinians is the escalation to fear in the West Bank (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Rise in attacks against Palestinians likely to continue as army, police, Israeli society stand by passively or encourage attacks.
Oshrat Kotler, the human animals and soldiers of the Red Army who saved her grandfather (Meir Uziel, Maariv) When she apologized for the broadcast, it got worse. I would ask her why she insisted on reminding us again of what was unbearable to hear. That is to say, the unacceptable assertion that the soldiers are in an impossible situation because of "the reality of control over another people." It can be said that this is because of the reality of building a homeland for the people returning to their homeland, or because of the reality of the need to defend themselves from destruction.
*Readers Ask Haaretz A Friend Is Moving to a Home Built on Stolen Palestinian Land. Is It Immoral to Help? (Yoana Gonen, Haaretz+) Should you help a good friend move to an illegal settlement home in the West Bank? Haaretz's ethical adviser has an answer
Unrest on the Temple Mount: Why now? (Rachel Avraham, Israel Hayom) Following both Turkey's and the PA's increased control over east Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the Fatah-influenced waqf is using the Gate of Mercy issue as an excuse to stir up trouble.
The element of surprise: The conclusions from the meeting between Netanyahu and Putin should be taken with limited restraint (Tal Lev Ram, Maariv) In a briefing to journalists accompanying him on his trip to Moscow, Netanyahu presented three achievements from his meeting with Putin: The Syrian air defense system, the S300, will not be transferred to the Syrian army; Israel has the freedom to continue to operate in Syria, according to the red lines noted by the Russians; And a political team will be set up to remove from Syria the foreign forces that entered it before the civil war…The Russians have no problem conducting a friendly meeting with the Israeli prime minister in parallel with cooperation with its great enemies. And therefore the agreements reached should be treated with limited attention. At this stage, the assessment in our defense establishment is that the Russians will not exert pressure to remove the Iranians from Syria, and will continue to play a dual and complex game to realize their interests in Syria.
The IDF's Much-needed Revolution of Consciousness (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) The bloody doctrine of 'containment' must give way to decisive victory, which will cause the enemy to lay down its arms. Only then can peace be imposed upon it.
What is good for the Jews: The rift between Hamas and the PA is no longer just their problem (Jackie Khougy, Maariv) For a long time there has been no venom in the relationship between the PA and Hamas as was seen this week. Nevertheless, yet it is no longer certain that this split is beneficial to Israel. Also, how the Egyptian president Abdal Fattah Al-Sisi began to reform the world. For al-Sisi, the summit of European and Arab countries that Egypt hosted in Sharm el-Sheikh was a success. Al-Sisi sought to strengthen cooperation with the capitals of Europe in the fight against terrorism. In addition, he took advantage of the opportunity to give a hug to the Palestinians on the eve of the presentation of Donald Trump's peace plan. And all this was intended as a framework for the last minute in the speech of the Egyptian president. Al-Sisi appealed to "all peace-loving peoples.Do not listen to the propaganda of hatred and division, he said, and do not listen to those who try to blame the other because he is the devil only because his religion, gender or ethnic affiliation are not like yours. Let us embark on joint work, on the basis of human values and our confidence that all humanity has one destiny.” This is not the first time that Al-Sisi has called for international reform and cooperation against the extremists. In the past, he declared that something had gone wrong in the way of Islam and should put back on track. He sought to enlist the clerics, headed by Al-Azhar, to correct the world, which would restore the religion of Muhammad to its proper place. They turned their backs on him. You can understand what pushed him to (ask). Extremism engenders terror, and terrorism is one of Egypt's foremost problems.
Kushner tries to win support for peace plan in Arab world – and inflames Israeli right (Amir Tibon, Haaretz+) Trump’s special adviser is trying to dispel the notion that his plan is biased toward Israel, but isn’t finding buyers on either side for what he’s selling.
 

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