APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday December 23, 2019

  Quotes of the day:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Top News Summary:
Israel's High Court will decide next week if an indicted prime minister is allowed to form a government, a bus crashed into a bus stop killing four people and a minibus transporting Palestinian laborers crashed into a truck killing two of the West Bank laborers in separate accidents yesterday, and there were more reactions to The Hague prosecutor’s announcement that there is a basis to investigate Israel for war crimes in the Palestinian Territories - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

For Israel Hayom newspaper, today's main story was the High Court debate over whether Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu can form a government, despite being indicted in three cases on flagrant offenses. And their answer was clear in the headline: a quote by Netanyahu saying, “The one who decides who will lead the people - is the people.” Interestingly, Netanyahu’s Likud rival, Gideon Sa'ar, agreed with Netanyahu. "It is wrong for the High Court to intervene on the issue, the law is clear. A prime minister is not replaced in the courtroom, but at the ballot box.” (Ynet Hebrew) Attorney General Avichai Mendelblitt, who had avoided addressing this issue last week, was now ordered by the High Court to submit a legal opinion on the matter 48 hours before the court debate on December 31st. Miki Zohar, the Knesset Likud whip, semi-threatened the court, saying that if it decided Netanyahu could not form a government then this would lead to legislation allowing the Knesset to override the courts.

Speaking in Jerusalem at the Wailing Wall of the first Hanukkah candle, Netanyahu slammed the ‘anti-Semitic decrees’ of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), falsely claiming that it tells Jews “in this city, in this land, that we have no right to live here, and that if we live here we commit war crimes.”  While the ICC wants to investigate the settlement of Jews in occupied land, i.e. the West Bank, as a war crime, it never said that living in Israel proper was a war crime. Interestingly, Netanyahu requested Sunday to put a gag on all debates about the ICC probe. The cabinet agreed and all further debates will be held within the Security Cabinet, Yedioth reported. Yedioth also reported that Israel intends to enlist the assistance of other countries who share some of the same concerns over the precedence of an inquiry into a western democracy with a viable legal system. And mayors of Israeli communities near the Gaza border slammed the ICC prosecutor,  saying, ”We are victims of war crimes.” Yedioth, which yesterday splashed across the front page that the probe was "hypocrisy," went looking for dirt on the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. It believes it found it: Bensouda served for four years as Justice Minister and State Prosecutor under the Gambian dictator, Yahya Jammeh, who went into exile in 2017. Jamme came to power in a military coup in 1994. Yedioth reported that in 1996 he appointed her State Prosecutor and later Justice Minister. Yedioth noted that Bensouda's detractors say she should not serve in the Hague after serving under Jammeh, while others says that she fought for women's and human rights and that was the reason he fired her after four years.

Haaretz+’s Noa Landau wrote a fact-check on Israel's response to the ICC prosecutor's call to probe, noting that “Israeli media and officials were quick to spread false conclusions.” And Maariv translated and printed the JPost’s Tova Lazaroff article about “Ten things to know about the ICC’s war crimes probe against Israel.”


Elections 2019 / Netanyahu Indictment Quickees:

Quick Hits:

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Features:

*Video clip by the Israeli Foreign Ministry excited the Saudis: "Come visit us"
This week the Saudi movie, "The Perfect Candidate,” was screened in Israel. The film, which deals with the social complexity experienced by Saudi women, opened the first women's film festival in Jerusalem. The Foreign Ministry interviewed people when they left the film screening in order to share it with the hundreds of thousands of Saudis who follow the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Arabic social media pages. The Israelis expressed great excitement over the movie. Many said they had learned new things about the kingdom, Islam, and the changes in the status of women in the country. "It was very exciting and it smashed stigmas. I fell in love with Saudi Arabia and with Saudis," said one Israeli interviewee. The Israelis praised Saudi director Haifa Al Mansour and the lead actress, and they expressed hope for a future visit to Saudi Arabia and peace between the countries, and even sent a message to the Saudi people: "We are much more similar than you think." Saudi followers of the Foreign Ministry's pages on social media networks, especially on Twitter, were very moved by the Israeli's comments in the video and some admitted that they were surprised to see such positive statements by Israelis towards the Saudis. "These are beautiful and positive things from our cousins and Inshallah there will be peace," said one Saudi. (Maariv+VIDEO)


Palestinian Women – and Men – Get Their #MeToo Moment
Arab women are not just going public about their experiences of sexual harassment, but they’re going against their friends, colleagues and political allies. (Noa Shpigel and Jack Khoury, Haaretz+)
Spice of Zionism
Three entrepreneurs, immigrants from France, decided to do what all failed before them and grow saffron in commercial quantities. Saffron is considered the most expensive of spices due to its complex production, but the three did not shy away. They connected with a farmer in Moshav Bar-Giora farm and now, at the end of the first year, produced a few hundred grams of spice from a six dunam field. "In the years to come," they promise, "we will also reach seven kilos.” (Ilana Curiel, Yedioth Hebrew)
Renowned Israeli Expert Slashed U.S. Crime Rates. Why Isn't Israel Police Following His Lead?
As Israeli Arabs protest the deadly results of lax law enforcement, Hebrew University Prof. David Weisburd, whose doctrine has been hailed abroad, says he has the cure, (Josh Breiner, Haaretz - October 2019)
Keeping Israel safe: The most significant developments in defense this decade
The Middle East has experienced a tumultuous 10 years, posing challenges and opportunities alike for the only democracy in its midst. Israel Hayom counts down its topmost significant events of the decade in the realm of defense and security.  (Israel Hayom)
Reading Arabic Literature in Hebrew: New Translation of Egyptian Bestseller Opens the Door for Burgeoning Industry
The new Hebrew version of Naguib Mahfouz's 'The Coffehouse' arrives in bookstores at a time when more and more Arab authors are willing to give Israelis access to their oeuvres. (Eness Elias, Haaretz+)

Elections 2019/Netanyahu Indictment Commentary/Analysis:
Gideon Sa'ar is trying to stop the Likud from its collision course, but it is doubtful he will succeed (against the Bibeast machine) (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Netanyahu is still a super brand, especially when it comes to the hard right. As his grip on the center of the political map and among the pragmatic right-wingers loosens, so does his nuclear base. Aside from the fact that he works at a murderous pace, as only he can: five to six meetings or appearances a day, a huge amount of phone calls to the field, 20 hours a day. At the same time, he is harnessing the Likud mechanism for his campaign cart. His men blatantly threaten major activists. The party, its finances, and its means were harnessed for the benefit of the leader in the extermination war he is waging against the aggressor. The most egregious example is the case of the scrapping of thousands of voters from the party’s book of voters, because " they did not pay dues." There never was and there is great doubt that there ever will be in Israel a more formidable political machine in Israel than the Bibi machine. In the current round, as this machine erases the red lines, burns the brakes and smashes the balances, it becomes more dangerous than ever. In this round, the purpose of this machine is not to defeat Gideon Sa'ar or to defeat Benny Gantz. The ultimate goal is to crush the state, its institutions, its state skeleton, the trust that its citizens have in law, order, law, rules of the game. This is the dance of the machine, after which comes only the flood. Gideon Saar's message to Likudniks is rational, realistic, based on cold logic and accurate calculations: Netanyahu is blocked. With three indictments and half of the political map that cannot sit under him in a government, he is deadlocked. Saar is focusing on the heads of the party’s registered voters, speaking to their logic, offering them a detour on their way to power. Netanyahu speaks to the belly of Likud registered voters, their hearts and their emotions. He offers them a highway to the dead end. He wrote the genetic code of Likud's registered voters. It has an activation code and password. He knows that they know that he knows he's finished his historic job, but he's sure they won't be able to show him the door. Netanyahu's battle plan is simple: first priority, obtaining immunity that will give him refuge him from fear of the law. The recent election results have made the likelihood of immunity very low, to zero. Second priority: conduct his trial from the PM's position while turning the event into a "show trial" and himself to the new Alfred Dreyfus. A victim of a vicious blood libel by Zionist haters and enemies of Judaism, i.e. (Attorney General) Avichai Mendelblitt and (Police Chief) Ronnie Alsheikh. This possibility is also slim, given that he has failed to form a government twice already and doubts whether he will succeed next time. The third option remains: to conduct the trial from any position of power. Netanyahu believes that the mistake of Ehud Olmert's life was his agreement to resign as prime minister and conduct his trial from a private citizen's position. Netanyahu knows that if he comes to the defendants' bench as a private citizen, he is liquidated. He hates being a private citizen. A private citizen also has to pay his own expenses from time to time. He prefers to appear as the opposition chairman or Likud chairman or some title of sitting in absence. He wants to intimidate the system through the realization that his conviction means convicting someone "incumbent." He must reach the defendant's bench when he is "strong." This word, strong, is the face of everything. It has starred in all of Netanyahu's campaigns ever. It adorns all the speeches he has ever made. He made it synonymous with the word "Netanyahu." Meanwhile, in his view, Netanyahu is being persecuted a little more. Either way, he's not going anywhere. Not voluntarily, anyway. If he loses in the next election, he does not plan another scene of "my wife and I decided to take a break from political life." For his part, everyone can take a break. He's here to stay. Not forming a government? Then he will join one as an equal among equals (and take a ‘leave of absence’ at the beginning of his trial). He won’t join a government. So he will lead the Likud from the opposition. Netanyahu is actually trying to tie to himself the entire Likud party. The goal is to make the ruling party (or opposition) his own resonant box. It is not only he who will stand trial. It's the whole Likud, along with it. The party will echo the defendant's messages, fund his protests and back up his moves. All those who are now deflated will find themselves on the bench afterwards. Nir Barkat, Yisrael Katz, Yuli Edelstein, Avi Dichter and Gilad Erdan will have to swallow their spit and repeat the violent (verbal) attacks against the rule of law. After the investigators, the police commissioner, the head of the Investigations Department, the prosecutors, the Attorney General, and the State Attorney, it will be the judges’ turn. Every court hearing will be accompanied by a Bibi-ist demonstration outside. Anyone attempting to perform a surgical procedure to separate the accused from the party will encounter the full power of the Bibeast machine. "I was elected for four years," Netanyahu will declare, and the army of thugs and bots will follow. What will Barkat and his friends do then? The opponents of Netanyahu, the Beginites, the Beitarists of latter day, the Jabotinsky Order and the old and stately right-wing they already lost to Saar in the current round of primaries. They will lose the Bibi-ists now if they refuse to be dragged to the bench with the leader. They will need to get in line and bend what is left of their backbones to survive. They will become slouches for his use. If they are mocked enough, they will be appointed as aides to Yaakov Berdugo’s aides. They’ll have fun. This event could wipe out the Likud and flatten it even more than the previous time (12 seats under Netanyahu in 2006). Gideon Sa'ar is already trying to stop this collision course. It is doubtful he will succeed.
The enemy of my enemy (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) Blue and White wants to run against a Likud party headed by Gideon Sa'ar. But how can they help Sa'ar win without the move doing them more harm than good?
Israel's Left Must Unite or Die (Raviv Drucker, Haaretz+) As of now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right have a chance to approach 61 seats only if one of the left-wing parties fails to pass the electoral threshold. According to a survey by the right-wing religious weekly Makor Rishon over the weekend, the Democratic Union won’t pass the electoral threshold. In such an event, the right gets 57 seats with a potential to grow. In the surveys predicting that the Democratic Union will pass the electoral threshold, the right gets 52 seats, in one survey only 50. Peretz’s decision could therefore determine who will win, the center-left bloc or the right-wing bloc. Peretz’s main argument is that his research – which amounts to one somewhat outdated survey and several focus groups – indicates that together, the two parties are worth seven seats and separately they are worth 11. Even if that’s true, it’s clear that the four seats lost by the Joint List will remain inside the camp.
The list of associates who became enemies is indicative of Netanyahu's tenure (Ephraim Ganor, Maariv) What stands out in Netanyahu is the sowing of hatred and the creation of schism among the people, and the addition of racism, incitement and damage to government institutions. The interesting part is the support he wins from the ultra-Orthodox.

Other Commentary/Analysis:
Israel’s Education Minister for Racism (Haaretz Editorial) A rotten stench of racism is wafting from the decision by the head of the Habayit Hayehudi party, Education Minister Rafi Peretz, to join forces for the coming election with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, which spews hatred of Arabs in the spirit of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. With this decision, Peretz has made himself unworthy of serving as education minister of all Israel’s children. We must not remain silent about granting such legitimacy to Jewish racism.
The ICC campaign of lies (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) The Hague decision to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes is result of inherent biases within the system; but perhaps Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda will, like Richard Goldstone before her, reject the probe she oversees.
The Right Has Eroded Israel's Protection Against an International Probe (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) A possible investigation at The Hague would look into aerial bombardment and civilian casualties, in a worrisome precedent for Israel as well as other Western armies. Netanyahu and his backers have shrugged off warnings of a diplomatic tsunami, but now it seems Trump’s support is not the be-all and end-all.
A Likely Hot Slogan of Israel's Upcoming Election: 'Death to The Hague' (Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz+) 80 years after its birth, in its old age, Yedioth Ahronoth is placing the Jewish state alongside the Iranians, the Syrians and the Turks! Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like, read Sunday’s reverberating headline of Yedioth regarding “the hypocrisy of The Hague,” as the newspaper described it…The situation of the (Yedioth’s) editor in chief is understandable. After all, his boss is busy with nighttime meetings spent bargaining with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close the free daily Israel Hayom, thus to increase his profits. Maybe this motto, of profits above all, is what dictates the “gevalt” style on the front page of the newspaper, which, in the grip of this fervor, creates this type of foolish headline, which raises the pitch of the masses’ hollow patriotism. For the editors’ information, and not only those at Yedioth: Patriotism, like fat in the blood, becomes dangerous when it exceeds the permitted limits. Who knows, maybe the slogan “Death to The Hague” will yet turn out to be the hot slogan of the upcoming election campaign. If the party of the minister in charge of educating our children, both Arab and Jewish, embraces Kahanist politician Itamar Ben Gvir, anything is possible.
New ICC ruling reveals organization's true anti-Semitic intentions (Eldad Beck, Israel Hayom) If and when ICC judges rule it is within their jurisdiction to put Israelis on trial for "war crimes" allegedly committed in Judea and Samaria, east Jerusalem, and Gaza – the idea of an international court will have reached a point of historical, moral, and legal bankruptcy.
How Social Media Shapes Iraqis' Revolt (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) From the modest part it had in the 2011 uprising, social media now sets the rules.
Abbas' election bluff ( Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hasn't run for office in 14 years. Now, under pressure from the EU, he is talking about holding an election, but this week, Hamas surprised him by agreeing to his conditions. Will the Palestinians have an opportunity to choose their leadership?
In Syria, Russia and Iran watch as new players step into the arena (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+)  While Saudi Arabia seeks a foothold in the oil-rich region, Assad says he has offered China investment opportunities in his country – where Russia, Iran and Turkey already operate.

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