News Nosh 4.29.19

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday April 29, 2019
 
Quote of the day:
"But even when we have a state we have to remember that we are first of all human beings. At first you do this [racist acts - OH] to certain people, then towards people you just don’t like or you think you're better than they are."
--Israel's President Reuven Rivlin sent a subtle message to Israelis at a Holocaust remembrance event he hosted.*

Front Page:
Haaretz
 
  • The terror attack shattered the feeling of security of US Jews: Synagogues turned into a target
  • Locating the next murderer requires expanding the monitoring on the internet // Amos Harel
  • (Attorney General) Mendelblitt: The hearing for the Prime Minister will be held by July and won’t be postponed due to (lack of payment of lawyers’) fees
  • State Comptroller report: (Culture Minister) Regev invited hundreds of her associates to the (70th Independence Day) torch-lighting ceremony, and the costs were inflated without an approval
  • The two Syrian prisoners who were released in exchange for the body of Zacharia Baumel were transferred to the Red Cross
  • High Court ordered Education Ministry to immediately provide transportation to children with special needs
  • Polls in Spain: Radical right-wing in Parliament for the first time in 40 years
  • Red flag // Haaretz Editorial on the danger of the appointment of Yariv Levine as justice minister
  • Will there be an opposition? // Raviv Drucker on whether Kahol-Lavan will be combative enough
  • Show of support - Dozens demonstrated in front of the Education Ministry in support of a 15-year-old transgender who was attacked at her school
  • Museum of Mediterranean Culture in Marseille is successful and interesting, but completely ignores Israel // Moshe Gilad
Yedioth Ahronoth
  • “I saw the woman dying and then someone came and asked whether he was good or bad” - Chilling testimonies of Israeli children (at synagogue near San Diego), whose parents moved to US from Sderot because of the Qassam rockets
  • Between religion and blood // Chen Artzi-Srur
  • White terror // Orly Azoulay
  • The Kastner list - 75 years after he rescued 1,672 Jews of Hungary in a controversial deal with the Nazis: The list of survivors who reached Switzerland is revealed
  • Jerusalem: Masses attended the funeral of the “Admor of the Holocaust”
  • (Immunity for one criminal) case in exchange for another // Nahum Barnea on coalition agreements
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
  • The heroism of the worshipers (at synagogue near San Diego)
  • For fourth time this year: Rise in prices of fuel. Price rises to 6.51 shekels a liter
  • Home field - State Comptroller publishes severe report on conduct of Ministry of Culture, which organized last year’s Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony: Hundreds of invitations meant for public were distributed to associates in Likud and in government
  • Fasting and remembering - “We Will Remember Fast” for Holocaust Day is gaining popularity
Israel Hayom
  • “I knew I had to save the girls” - Tragedy and heroism: Almog Peretz from Sderot saved children in the synagogue (near San Diego)
  • The next storm: Appointment of IDF Spokesman
  • Just before the swearing-in: 49 new MKs will get introductory tour of their workplace
  • The survivors who ordered us to remember - Telling and commemorating: The ‘Zikaron BaSalon” )commemorating in the living room( initiative has begun. Just before Holocaust Day: The Admor of Kaliv, who dedicated his life to commemorate the those who perished, died
  • State Comptroller against Minister Regev in severe report on the 70th Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony: “Harmed stateliness”

News Summary:
The tragedy, the heroism and the irony at the San Diego synagogue shooting, where members of an Israeli family that moved to the area from the Gaza border area to get away from rockets were among the wounded, (the 19-year-old shooter posted that Trump was ‘traitorous’ and a ‘Zionist’ and Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan accused the New York Times cartoon of inspiring the shooter), the State Comptroller severe report that found that the Culture Ministry gave out tickets for the big 70th Independence Day event to associates and Likud people, although they were meant for the public, and the Attorney General’s declaration that he won’t postpone the pre-indictment hearing for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, despite his lawyers’ requests were top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Also in the news was the death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub, a Holocaust survivor and ultra-Orthodox rabbi, who was largely known for his efforts to memorialize Holocaust victims. His death came just days before Israel marks Holocaust Day.

*At a Holocaust commemoration event, President Reuven Rivlin had a subtle message for Netanyahu and Israelis in general. At the President’s Residence, Rivlin hosted a special Holocaust commemoration event known as ‘Remembering in the Living Room,’ where a Holocaust survivor shared his chilling story. Yosef Hershkowitz, who was sent to Auschwitz and discovered after the war that his mother and four brothers perished in the Holocaust, said: "I want to say one thing to the younger generation. I say it all the time: you complain, but you do not know what it means not to have a state, that you can come home and go travel wherever you want. There, if you traveled, you did not know if you could ever come back." Yedioth’s Itamar Eichner wrote that “Rivlin hinted that the lesson from the Holocaust should be applied to the establishment of governments in Western countries today.” Rivlin: "I think that Yosef also wanted to convey a message that a person cannot act like an animal. And this message is not only to those who committed crimes against us and did what they did, but to anyone who would abuse others just because they are different and because of racist or nationalist impulses and other thoughts that negate seeing an individual as a person and (to those who) elevate the collective as something that is more important. Today there are entire systems within Europe where neo-Fascist groups have been ignored for almost fifty years by the public among whom they lived, and when we sometimes have to create governments, we sometimes give in and those (groups) become very central people in the governments. These are things that when we were at the level of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust in the situation in which we were oppressed, as Joseph said so beautifully, we had no state. But even when we have a state we have to remember that we are first of all human beings. At first you do this [racist acts - OH] to certain people, then towards people you just don’t like or you think you're better than they are." (Yedioth/Ynet Hebrew and JPost) Apropos, a few dozen Israelis protested, demanding Israel let a transgender girl return to school, after other students attacked her verbally and physically, leading to her hospitalization.
 
Quick Hits:
  • Israel Lets Settlers Spend Passover at Evacuated Outpost but Forbids Entry to Palestinian Land Owners - Amona outpost was built on privately owned Palestinian land and is a closed military zone - but settlers are free to enter and the zone remains closed only to Palestinians. (Haaretz+)
  • Netanyahu party's foreign affairs director endorsed Spain's far-right party Vox – then apologized - Eli Hazan deleted the tweet in which he announced Likud supports Vox, which tapped a Holocaust denier for congressional candidate and is anti-immigrant and anti-abortion. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Israel releases two prisoners to Syria through Golan Heights - The two, a Fatah operative and a drug smuggler, were taken by the Red Crescent emergency services through the Qunteira Crossing. Both asked not to be returned to Syria. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
    Terrorist exiled to Syria, disappointing fiancé in Hebron - Hamis Ahmed infiltrated a Golan Heights IDF base to carry out an attack in 2005 but he was caught and imprisoned; he was released Sunday in a goodwill gesture following release of Zachary Baumel. (Ynet)
  • Golan Heights' Druze Expected Their Prisoners to Be Released in Exchange for Israeli Soldier - Israel released two Syrians after the remains of Zachary Baumel were returned from Syria - but did not release prisoners from the Golan Heights because the state identifies them as Israeli and not Syrian. (Haaretz+)
  • Israel arrests Hamas member who planned suicide attack near Election Day - Shin Bet security service say 23-year-old Palestinian planned to attack civilians and soldiers near Jerusalem. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
  • Netanyahu offers Kahlon to stay on as finance minister if he rejoins Likud - From the far right, Rafi Peretz to be education minister, while Netanyahu hopes Bezalel Smotrich will agree to an expanded housing portfolio as coalition talks continue. (Haaretz+)
  • PA prevents West Bank, Gaza patients from receiving treatment in Israel - Palestinian authorities refuse to cover medical costs for those seeking treatment in Israeli hospitals, in response to Israel cutting funds PA allocated for terrorists' salaries, leaving those in need of urgent medical care locked in the middle of a political dispute. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Netanyahu, Kahlon discuss crumbling Palestinian economy - Israeli leaders are increasingly concerned that the Palestinian Authority is close to collapse in the wake of PA President Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to accept tax revenues collected by Israel, which the government has reduced over the PA's insistence on paying monthly stipends to terrorists and their families. (Israel Hayom)
  • New Knesset members receive a course on the rules of the house, among those absent: Gantz, Ashkenazi and Gabbay - In preparation for the swearing-in of the 21st Knesset, the new members undergo a crash course in which they learn for the first time the voting buttons and where their seat is for the coming years. (Maariv)
  • Ultra-Orthodox party looks to secure stronghold on government amid coalition talks - United Torah Judaism hopes to push its religious agenda, as Netanyahu signals he has no intentions of naming far-right settler leader Bezalel Smotrich as justice minister. (Haaretz+)
  • Knesset report: Only 10% of the bills have become laws - The 20th Knesset is the legislative record of all time. During its tenure, 5,997 private bills and 393 government bills were submitted, of which 625 were passed. Most of the private bills remained only "law declarations" and were not promoted beyond the initial stage of laying on the Knesset table. This is a huge number of 4,646 private bills, which the legislative process did not even begin, even though some of them were given headlines and covered by the media. This is about 77% of all private bills submitted. (Maariv)
  • Lebanese defense minister: We will bomb Israel’s airport if it attack -
  • “If Israel bombards our airport, we will bombard its airport; if it strikes our oil facilities, we will strike its oil facilities,” Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab warns while touring country's south, which borders with Israel. (Israel Hayom)
  • Morocco trains foreign students in practice of moderate Islam - In 2015, King Mohammed VI founded an institute to train imams and female preachers of Islam from Africa and Europe in the practice of moderate Islam. Many come from areas where extremist groups like Al Qaida and Islamic State are active. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Israel says it will join 2020 World Expo in Dubai - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls Israel's participation a representation of its 'rising status in the world and the region.’ (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Poll: 64% of Americans hold favorable views of Israelis - Pew Research Center finds that although majority of Americans have positive views about Israelis, just 41% hold favorable views of the Israeli government. At 61%, more than twice as many Republicans hold positive views of Israel's government than Democrats. (Israel Hayom)
  • Federal U.S. judge blocks enforcement of Texas anti-Israel boycott law - The Texas law requires contractors to certify that they don’t boycott Israel but a U.S. district judge said boycotts are protected free speech. (Agencies, Haaretz and Israel Hayom)
  • Iran FM Says He Will Visit North Korea\ - The U.S. has tightened sanctions on North Korea to try to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons. (Agencies, Haaretz)


Features:
Israeli Arab Soccer Team Climbs to a Higher League, Bringing New Hope to a Generation
Representation of the Arab community in soccer is on the rise. The meaning of this goes beyond pure sports. (Or Boker, Haaretz+)
Eating disorders a growing problem in the Middle East, researchers say
Medical expert says issue long been overlooked in region due to lack of awareness and accurate data; Israel recently ranked high on list of nations plagued by high rates of the phenomenon. (The Media Line, Ynet)
Jewish and Palestinian women create together. But don't call it coexistence
A new exhibition features religiously observant Jewish and Palestinian women artists, who are struggling for legitimacy in both societies. (Eness Elias, Haaretz+)
Israeli woman smuggled matzah to grandchildren in Gaza
40 years ago, "Sarah" married a Muslim man from the Gaza Strip. They had two children, and he wound up taking them back to Gaza without her consent. Recently, Sarah learned that she has five grandchildren, and wants them to know about their Jewish roots. (Hanan Greenwood, Israel Hayom)

Commentary/Analysis:
Soldiers Have to Shoot at Palestinians. It's Israel's Way to Keep Them in Check (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Israel admits it: The military is in the West Bank to protect settlements. The notion that we want peace is old fake news.
Why I Don't Give Lectures in Israel About the Occupation (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) What will the tiny handful of Israelis for whom fighting the occupation is paramount do now? What will they do, the people who will not consent to living in an apartheid state? The election results left no room for doubt: Israel lacks a critical mass of opponents to the occupation.
The Israeli Left’s Bleak Lesson After the Defeat (Emilie Moatti, Haaretz+) Did the Kahol Lavan folks really think anyone would believe their “we’re the soft right” nonsense? That people on the generic right would vote for them because they inserted a few backers of the loony nation-state law onto their ticket?
No, it’s not about race (Victor Rosenthal, Israel Hayom) The growth of the right-wing politics in Israel that Bernie Sanders and Beto O'Rourke decry isn't due to racism, it's due to the Israelis finally wising up.
The Baumel deal revealed the way Netanyahu intends to run the country (Dr. Revital Amiran, Maariv) The deal to return the soldier missing from the Battle at Sultan Yaakub, took place without the convening of the cabinet and the government, and in hiding from the ministers and the public, creating a precedent that demonstrates the prime minister's lack of fear from neutralizing the proper democratic process in order to promote narrow political goals.
The Left Is Dying. Now What? (Tzvia Greenfield, Haaretz+) The left not only in Israel but almost everywhere in the democratic world has in effect expired. Its influence is now nearly nonexistent. Perhaps it’s hell but there’s no choice but to recognize the facts. If it’s still important to do a post mortem analysis about the left, then there are three main reasons for this.
That Netanyahu Cartoon Wasn’t anti-Semitic (Zeev Engelmayer, Haaretz+) Netanyahu is depicted as a dachshund, which maybe is a compliment because these dogs are great hunters, and despite their natural suspiciousness, they boast an innate ability to make friends. Behind Netanyahu the dachshund walks his good friend Trump, sullenly, a kippa on his head, symbolizing the strength of his ties with Netanyahu. Trump has been photographed wearing a skull cap — near the Western Wall, for example — so it’s not something an artist has put on him without any justification. The choice to illustrate Netanyahu and Trump walking with determination, and even against a blood-red background, hints that they’re not just taking an innocent morning walk. They’re on a survivalist hunting trip. What are they hunting? Foreigners? Leftists? The hostile media? The Star of David on Netanyahu’s collar is totally justified, and there’s a reasonable chance that if Netanyahu had to choose a symbol to wear around his neck, he’d pick this one. Netanyahu is leading Trump, his steps a little tense, but the leadership role is definitely flattering for the head of a small country.
Netanyahu defused three bombs before the election. Now comes the hardest one (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The Palestinian Authority is hanging on the brink, and the West Bank could explode into violence.
Saving international organizations from themselves (Eytan Gilboa, Israel Hayom) When international courts and U.N. agencies become mired in double standards and discrimination, perhaps might really does make right.
Israel's Likely-to-be New Justice Minister Is a Red Flag (Haaretz Editorial) Steps that Yariv Levin is planning have single goal: subordinating the legal system to the political one, and thereby emptying Israeli democracy of its commitment to liberty, equality and human rights.
Gazans' only way out is through Egypt - if they can afford it (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) A two-track system offers wealthier Gazans to pay for expedited exit permits to Egypt through middlemen while all the others are left waiting.
The plague of burning churches on Passover (Yaron London, Yedioth/Ynet) The sight of Notre Dame on fire may have struck sadness in the hearts of those who, as God commanded, do not celebrate the downfall of others, but one rabbi appears to have been carried away with the spirit of the current holiday.
In a Jewish State, the Zionist Left Can Offer the Arabs Nothing but Empty Words (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) The Zionist leftists tried everything. They promised peace and security, settlements and two states, Mizrahim and Ashkenazim, and nothing worked. Only one choice remained, the doomsday weapon, the wildest wild card of all: to join with the Arabs. Only thus could they return to power, wrote the pundits. Why didn’t they think of that before? How good and pleasant it is when brothers sit together, center-left with “Israeli Arabs,” as they are popularly called, in denial of them being Palestinians.
The electoral base trap (Limor Livnat, Yedioth/Ynet) In order to avoid the almost inevitable situation in which ministers use their posts to primarily serve their narrow base, Netanyahu should form a coalition with Blue and White so that he is not held hostage to the sectarian demands of his coalition negotiating partners.
Netanyahu Has a Militia (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz) The very man who is responsible for the rule of law is circumventing all the state’s institutions and employing his private militia, over which there is no governmental oversight, and whose only bylaws are the whims and desires of the person who set it up – Netanyahu.
Main problem with Trump's peace plan (Shlomo Pyuterkovsky, Yedioth/Ynet) Israelis have learned through bitter experience to fear peace deals, and whether or not this is the most pro-Israel agreement in history, these things have a habit of exacting a heavy price in blood.
For Trump and Netanyahu, San Diego Synagogue Attack Is an Inconvenience Best Sidelined and Ignored (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Unlike liberal Jews after Pittsburgh, Chabad won’t accuse the U.S. President of complicity or the Israeli prime minister of collaboration.
Israel wants Google, Facebook to pay hundreds of millions in taxes to plug deficit (Sami Peretz, Haaretz+) The two multinationals currently pay no income tax in Israel, although they do pay other taxes, such as VAT and wage taxes.
 
Interviews:
Why The New York Times' Executive Editor Is Worried About Trump's 'Enemy of the People' Tweets
In an interview, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet defends the publication's coverage of Joe Biden's 'tactile politics,' explains how his paper's political slant differs from that of Fox News – and finds the silver lining in Trump's presidency. (Interviewed by Tzach Yoked in Haaretz+)

LISTEN: From Poway to Palestine, Jewish-Muslim Kinship Will Prevail
In his farewell pod appearance, Bradley Burston says that hopes for the Holy Land lie with young people on both sides realizing that their parents were idiots (LISTEN FREE to Haaretz Weekly)
 
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.