APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday February 09, 2014

Quote of the day:

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Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Lapid: Without criminal punishment for (ultra-Orthodox) draft-dodgers - we will leave the coalition government
• Despite testimonies against him, another investigation case against (settler leader and Sec.-Gen. of the Amana settler housing company) (Zeev Hever) Zambish was closed (Hebrew)
• Putin's show: The (Olympic) games opened
• Hadassah (Hospital) received only 15% of the income from the private doctor service (sharap) - the rest went to the doctors
• One killed in explosion in Tel-Aviv
• Kerry's Deputy: The EU should "go fu## itself"

• "The unity of the people is more important than the unity of the land" - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman continues to surprise in his moderate positions: Supports Kerry's initiative and says he is a "real friend of Israel"
• Yvette (Lieberman's) choice // Sima Kadmon
• Can you also get a Spanish passport? Spain to give passport to descendants of expelled Jews
• War in the street - In the heart of a residential neighborhood in south Tel-Aviv, a criminal was assassinated in his car
• 75% of the public: Cancel the water corporation
• And who do the real estate developers give contributions to? Mayors in whose cities they have projects

• Olmert: "The settlers exaggerated their trauma from the disengagement (from Gaza);  The evacuees: "Pathetic rhetoric" (Hebrew)
• Emotionally handicapped // Eli Budhana (Hebrew)
• Report in Teheran: Iranian warship getting closer to US territorial waters (Hebrew)
• This morning at 10AM: Hospitals striking for two hours in solidarity with Hadassah Hospital employees
• Tomorrow: Beginning of voting in (Knesset) committee for 'sharing the burden.' After agreeing on criminal sanctions, arguing over formulations
• Jerusalem: Neighborhood kiosks pooling a single brand to survive against the supermarkets
• After 522 years, Spanish government decided to support law that would give citizenship to descendants of Jews expelled from Spain. Among the criteria: Proficient Spanish or Ladino

• The crisis at Hadassah: Freeze and dismissals - Solidarity: Partial strike at hospitals across the country
• Red color in south (poppies)
• 522 years later: Descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain can receive citizenship
• Another assassination in Tel-Aviv
• Ahead of the vote over the (ultra-Orthodox) draft law tomorrow: tension and threats
• A show, Iran-style: Sends naval fleet to threaten US coasts
• Suspicion of hit-and-run in Haifa: 60-year-old blind woman moderately injured

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Peace Talk Highlights:
Today's two top stories were the 'surprising' statements of support for US Secretary of State John Kerry and against 'Greater Israel' coming from hawkish settler Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the declaration by former prime minister Ehud Olmert that he planned to evict 80,000 West Bank settlers, but not leave any presence in the Jordan Valley. Meanwhile, Kerry shared his belief about how to reach a peace agreement.

**Lieberman almost sounded as if he had joined the left-wing camp, when he said during a speech to the Commercial and Industrial Business Club at the Tel Aviv Hilton that “the unity of the people is more important than the unity of the land.” He called Kerry, who has been under attack by right-wing ministers, 'a true friend of Israel' (for which the US lauded him) and accused anti-Kerry pro-settler Economy Minister Naftali Bennett of seeking headlines . The papers remarked on how moderate Lieberman sounded. Yedioth called him the 'New Lieberman' and wrote that he is strengthening his image as the 'responsible adult.' But it was Haaretz and Maariv that revealed why he supported the Kerry Framework deal: "The idea of population exchange is the part of the future agreement," he said then attacked Arab MKs Ahmed Tibi and Jamal Zahalka, wrote Maariv. Yedioth did not mention the population exchange plan and only wrote that Lieberman was 'less moderate in regards to the Arab MKs,' saying that Tibi and Zahalka "identify themselves with Hamas, with Hezbollah and with the Palestinian Authority and act systematically to destroy Israel. There is no reason they should be a part of this society." Afterward he said, "If we will it, it is not a dream and we can make land and population exchanges. Even in the Geneva Initiative they spoke of canceling the residency of Arabs in E. Jerusalem." [Note: Tibi and Zahalka do not identify themselves with Hamas or Hezbollah, but do support the right for the Palestinians and Lebanese to fight Israeli invasions. Tibi has condemned Palestinian attacks targeting Israeli civilians. Regarding the Geneva Initiative, the comparison is not valid because Palestinian E. Jerusalemites are not Israeli citizens. They were conquered in 1967. - OH] Speaking to Army Radio on Sunday, Lieberman said he would be willing to leave his home in the West Bank setlement of Nokdim as part of a true peace agreement with the Palestinian and added: "There is no new Lieberman, I'm not conciliatory or moderate."
 
In an interview with Israeli Channel 2 News, former prime minister Ehud Olmert said that his proposed peace deal in 2008 included evacuating "about 80,000 settlers" from the West Bank and he had no doubt it could be done today. He reiterated his belief that Israel can safely withdraw from the West Bank and noted that his deal did not include any presence in the Jordan Valley and it was agreed upon by then Defense Minster and former chief of staff Eud Barak. Olmert said that it was others in Israel who told Abbas not to sign a deal with him and that he believed that Abbas was willing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
 
Kerry now had his turn: After both Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave interviews to the US press, Kerry spoke with the Washington Post. He revealed little however. What he did say was that his way to get to a framework deal was letting both sides express their dissent. "For them as leaders to be able to embrace an endgame, they need to have the right to be able to have some objection," he said. He also said that the two sides are working on an option for having a third party secure the West Bank. Abbas wants NATO and Netanyahu refuses.

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Israel's impoverished army
Serving soldiers who can't afford food, troops turning to crime, parents buying thermal underwear - the monthly living allowance from the IDF simply isn't enough. (Ynet) 
Snapshot: Palestinians in Israeli art - the good, the bad and the bizarre
A Palestinian youth cries out after being hurt in a protest. This is how Defense Minister Ya’alon wants us to 'manage’ in the absence of peace. (Haaretz+) 
World of American donations to the Jewish State revolutionized
New generation of US philanthropists continues to donate some $2 billion a year to Israel, but they are no longer willing to sign a check and leave it at that. How does raising big funds work? Where does the money go? And how does the issue of the settlements affect donations? (Ynet) 
A tent amongst the rubble in East Jerusalem
Similar to other pregnant women who eagerly await their transitions into motherhood, on that gloomy morning May Aldebai was speaking to her unborn baby, telling him about the cozy room she had prepared for him. She did not imagine that before the clock had struck 10 a.m., everything would be buried beneath the rubble of her family home. (Maan)

Commentary/Analysis:

47 years a slave: A new perspective on the occupation (Eva Illouz, Haaretz+) Very few struggles in history have centered on how a nation should treat a third group of people, but there are strong parallels between black slavery and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. 
Isratine? No, we must part (Yaron London, Yedioth/Ynet) How can one imagine a bi-national state in a world where even Czechs and Slovaks cannot bind themselves to one authority? 
A Jewish and undemocratic bill (Friday Haaretz Editorial) A new bill wants to direct schools to strengthen the concept of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.
A poorer army (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) The IDF will not be a barrier to peace but the political leadership in Israel maintains a state of war. 
Livni's boycott bogeyman (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) The menace of BDS is being deliberately overstated. It is largely an artificial threat manufactured by the Israeli Left and echoed by Kerry. 
AIPAC’s self-inflicted wounds in Iran sanctions campaign puncture its power of deterrence (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Rage from Jerusalem fueled the Jewish establishment’s hasty and unequivocal support for a Senate bill that was as dangerous as it was disingenuous. 
Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) The battle for 'sharing the burden equally' is waged between those embodying the silver platter on which the Jewish state is handed and the shirkers who take it for granted. 
Let the IDF choose its recruits (Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth/Ynet) IDF has surplus of soldiers, shortage of quality manpower, new draft bill will only make matters worse. 
Ariel Zilber is no Adam Verete (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz+) Maybe it is a good thing that the knights of freedom of speech are actually now those who are sheltering someone in their image. 
Moderation's wisdom (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) The Palestinians are essentially banking on the boycott against Israel, but the settlers should nonetheless try moderation, as a temporary measure.
Understanding antifragility, Israel can transform its crises into breakthroughs (Yehezkel Dror, Haaretz+) Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book "Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder," is about to be released in Hebrew. Israeli leaders should use the theory in peace-making efforts and to realize reforms.
The fabricated Palestinian history (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who this past week claimed Palestinian lineage to the Canaanites, is not the first Palestinian to reinvent history. A study of history shows that the roots of present-day Palestinians lie far from here.
Israelis hibernate while politicians squabble (Yoel Marcus, Haaretz+) This government has no concrete plan requiring the people's decision, so apathy reigns while confused citizens pack the bars and restaurants.
Appeasement and economic sanctions (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) The U.S. is pressuring Israel while placating Iran and the Palestinian Authority. 
One man's prayer, another man's incitement (David Landau, Haaretz+) Once religious Judaism and fundamentalist nationalism are deliberately yoked together, differentiating between ritual and incitement is becoming far more complex. 
Kerry's words: A warning or a threat? (Shlomo Cesana, Israel Hayom) Israeli government officials believe U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is setting up Israel as the side to blame if the peace talks with the Palestinians fail and is using the Europeans to apply pressure on Israel.
Obama's pragmatism is killing Syria (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Russia warns the West against meddling in Syria's civil war, but it needn't worry. 
Sayed Kashua's children hear only one Zionist story (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) How will Zionist history make the state’s actions fit its peculiar narrative, the writer wonders.  
No matter what happens with Kerry, Netanyahu determined to be the last man standing (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) The prevailing assumption in the political realm is that the PM is not about to make a dramatic move that will threaten his hold on the premiership and will lead to a new election. 
Building a wall against us (Saar Gamzo, Israel Hayom) The effectiveness of the BDS campaign calling for a cultural boycott of Israel appears negligible, given the number of first-rate international stars who have come to Israel to perform in recent years.
On sanctions, Israel hasn't seen anything yet (Daniel Levy, Haaretz+) Clumsy Israeli propaganda campaigns won’t obscure the realization in Europe and among Palestinians that the occupation must cease to be cost-free for Israel.
In Israel's north, a formidable enemy is now a shadow of itself (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) Far from being hurt by the attempt to depose the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israel has, overall, benefited from recent developments in the civil war.
No peace conference will rid Syria of gang control (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Neither the Free Syrian Army nor the regime can promise that Syria won’t just remain a state of militias. 
The pitiless conflict zone that I miss desperately (Lipika Pelham, Haaretz+) Back in London, l long for the daily identity struggles, ebullience, destruction and adrenaline that perpetually intrigued and bound me to Jerusalem, my home for eight years.

Interviews: 

Anat Kamm says she's no Snowden, but no traitor either
Former Israeli soldier who leaked classified documents gives first interview after spending two years in prison. (Interviewed by Anat Fishbein in Yedioth and summarized by Haaretz+ - Full Hebrew interview here.)

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