News Nosh 7.15.20

by APN 07/15/20
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APN's daily news review from Israel - Wednesday July 15, 2020

Quote of the Day:

"Israel put out a contract on any struggle that seems violent. Then BDS came along and demonstrated a nonviolent path and that embarrassed Israel and forced it to say that it opposed any type of opposition to the occupation. I’m in favor of a boycott against the occupation, including a boycott against the settlements."
--In an in-depth interview, MK Ahmed Tibi blames the Israeli left-wing for the occupation and the settlements and is in favor of a boycott to end them.*

“From the first day here, we hoped to go from individuals to multitudes, but we can only rest on our laurels when the goal is attained, and that’s when Netanyahu goes home. We hoped for it, but we didn’t think it would get to this.”
—Amir Haskel, a protest leader and former general, said at the massive protest outside the Prime Minister’s Residence last night.**


Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

  • Burning protest
  • They reached the edge // Oded Shalom with the demonstrators at Balfour (Prime Minister’s Residence)
  • Between two protests // Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg on what they are demonstrating about
  • Netanyahu against Gantz: “Because of him there will be a lockdown”
  • Mirit Greenberg, former Miss Israel, is fighting courageously against cancer

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

  • Violence in the heart of the capital: Uncontrolled protest - Heavy clashes: Hundreds rioted after the demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence
  • The opposition bubble is spoiled and disconnected // Galit Distal-Atbarian
  • Assessment: Discussions on lockdown - on Sunday
  • The new (corona crisis) director? Health Ministry turned to Gen. Amir Aboulafia
  • “Small chance that schools will succeed in implementing the capsule method”
  • “We expected more”: The stipends for self-employed will be transferred today to bank accounts


Top News Summary:
Thousands protested outside Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's residence demanding he resign, some violent incidents took place at the protests and the government stated that a corona lockdown is a-coming (for which Netanyahu blamed Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz) - making top stories in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

**In Haaretz, the headline was the real news story: A massive demonstration took place opposite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s residence, where thousands of Israelis called on him to resign for corruption and anti-democratic moves. In Maariv and Israel Hayom, the news focused on the incidents of violence that took place. But blocking roads and breaking shop windows took place in the city center after hundreds of young people broke off from the protest at the Balfour residence and marched into town. Later, journalists who were participating in the main protest were interviewed and said that there were provocateurs planted in the crowds to make violence. Also, some headlines gave the wrong impression. Ynet wrote “Thousands of protesters try to break into PM's residence in Jerusalem,” when in fact some were trying to enter a closed off area surrounding the Prime Minister’s walled compound. The rally was meant to coincide with the Day of the Storming of the Bastille, said one of the organizers. Fifty demonstrators were detained, but it appears they were mainly at the clashes that took place in the city center. A right-wing reporter of Channel 13 news was accosted and an undercover policeman who accosted a demonstrator was pushed and pulled to set the young man free. Some media wrote that the policeman and the reporter were ‘beaten’  or ‘assaulted’ although the video clips show otherwise: a bald-headed man wearing black violently dragging a demonstrator wearing green and other demonstrators trying to pull him and push him away from the demonstrator. (Maariv) At some point, the demonstrators leave the two and the bald man slams the demonstrator to the ground. Reporters Ariana Melamed and Orly Bar-Lev, who were at the demonstration, told 103FM that "The provocateurs who attacked journalists are not part of the protesters" and that the “Provocateur elements were planted in the demonstration so that we do not talk about the protest itself.” (Maariv and Maariv)

Corona Quickees:

  • 1,573 new corona cases reported as total shutdown becomes a possibility - There were 22,417 active corona cases in Israel as of Wednesday morning, with 195 patients listed in serious condition, 56 of them on ventilators. Health Ministry asks former head of IDF Planning Directorate to serve as "corona czar." (Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Minister Edelstein: Barring a miracle, Israel heading to a second lockdown - Health Minister says rate of new cases in the next 3 or 4 days will dictate the decision to impose a lockdown but rejects criticism directed at the government for failing to prepare for a second wave of coronavirus contagion. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Likud: PM blames Gantz' recklessness for next general lockdown - Source claims 'Blue & White try to sabotage every decision that does not match their populist agenda'; Blue & White calls to delegate duties to the military and Defense Ministry. (Yedioth/Ynet and Maariv)
  • Poll: 41% of Likud voters are dissatisfied with the handling of the crisis, Yamina party gets stronger - A 103FM poll found that 41% of Likud voters are dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the corona crisis and 57% of Likud supporters think it’s fine. If fourth elections were held now, Likud would get 34 seats out of the 120 and the right-wing - ultra-Orthodox bloc would have a total of 64 seats. (Maariv)
  • Israel mulls limiting public gatherings to 10 people as virus surges - PM convenes special meeting, in wake of record number of COVID-19 infections, attended by ex-Health Ministry DG Bar Siman-Tov, who oversaw the last lockdown; National Security Council recommends shuttering restaurants, synagogues. (Ynet)
  • Israel fails to supply medical teams with PPE amid virus, review finds - Defense Ministry review shows medical teams received only 14% of required N95 protective face masks and only 6.8 million disposable medical robes out of 25 million needed; shortages in protective gear will lead to more infections among staff, warns senior physician. (Ynet)
  • Israel Bought Masses of Low-grade Gear to Fight the Coronavirus - Hospital officials say this includes everything from ventilators to masks; Nearly $300 million were spent on breathing machines, most of which haven't yet arrived. (Haaretz+)
  • Yesh Atid party MK: "The public should not obey the closure"; President Rivlin: “That is a harm to the foundations of the state" - MK Idan Roll tweeted a Tweet from which it is implied that he calls on the citizens of Israel not to obey a full closure, if it is imposed soon. President Rivlin: "Leaders - opposition is coalition, be careful with your words.” (Maariv)
  • No New Year Pilgrimage to Ukraine for Israeli Jews This Year - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jews will have to forego the annual pilgrimage, mayor says. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Israeli researchers find existing drug eradicates coronavirus from lungs - Scientists from Hebrew University and Mount Sinai Medical Center say they worked out what makes the virus so dangerous to human lungs and how to diminish the virus' severity using widely-used anti-cholesterol medicine. (Maariv, Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Local Palestinian leaders fight with PA over lockdowns - West Bank governors representing merchants and traders demand relaxation of closures as Palestinian Authority decision-makers try to find balance between preserving the economy and safeguarding public health. (Ynet)
  • PA refuses to pick up corona aid waiting in Israel - Despite severe shortage of medical equipment and testing kits, PA leadership prefers to leave UAE shipment on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport rather than accept Arab "normalization" with Israel. [NOTE: The PA said it would not accept anything from Israel until it dropped its annexation plans. - OH] (Israel Hayom)
  • Gaza Residents on Trips Abroad Can't Return Home Amid Coronavirus Crisis - In the midst of the coronavirus and after the end of the Palestinian authority's coordination with Israel, some Gazans have been stuck abroad. (Haaretz+)

Quick Hits:

  • After settlers establish outpost, Israeli army blocks road to Palestinians - Israeli forces build three-meter dirt mound to cut off Palestinian farmers from their land of the town of Asira a-Shamaliya, just north of Nablus, while violently dispersing protests against the West Bank outpost. Mayor Hazem Yussef Yaseen accuses the Israeli authorities of facilitating the settlers’ actions. “This kind of outpost is not built without the assistance of the Israeli army,” he said, adding that soldiers have been escorting the settlers whenever they travel in and out of the area. (Sicha Mekomit Hebrew/ 972mag)
  • Israel Pushing Massive Tree Planting in Negev to Deny Lands to Bedouin - Plan ‘to conserve open spaces and nature from illegal control,’ Israel Land Authority says, covers 40,000 dunams, which nature protection agency assert will harm desert ecology. (Haaretz+)
  • Court Rules Israel Can't Deny Residency of Palestinian Whose Son Stabbed a Policeman - Judge rules that Mustafa Khatib's mother should not be punished for her son's actions in 2015 attack, reversing sanction imposed by interior minister. (Haaretz+)
  • After being suspended: Department Investigating Police interrogated Border Police soldier filmed beating ultra-Orthodox man at a demonstration - Video of the incident was circulated on social media, in which the Border Policeman was seen wildly pushing a young ultra-Orthodox man into the road. He was suspended from all operational activities until the end of the DIP investigation in his case. (Maariv+VIDEO)
  • Following the video in which he mocked Bedouin children: a complaint was filed against children's star, Roy Boy - The children’s parents filed a complaint against the children's star Roy Boy (actor Roy Oz) at the Ma'ale Adumim police station, to which they attribute offenses of detecting racism, photographing and publishing minors without a permit and in violation of the law and humiliation. (Maariv)
  • Israeli Universities Group Chief Resigns Over 'Political Takeover' of Academia” by Minister: “Turkey is here” - 'In recent weeks, under the scepter of the higher education commissar, Minister Zeev Elkin, we are witnessing attempts to paralyze the gatekeepers entrusted with the future of science in Israel,' Prof. Ron Robin writes. (Maariv and Haaretz+)
  • MKs will today elect their representatives to committees for the appointment of judges and judges - Tension ahead of the secret ballot for the election of two Knesset representatives to the committee. In an agreement between the Likud and Kahol-Lavan factions, it was agreed in advance that MK Osnat Mark and MK Zvi Hauser would serve as coalition representatives. (Maariv)
  • The battle for the budget: Ganz fears a political trick on Netanyahu's part - The prime minister wants to pass a budget till March 2021, and people close to the Kahol-Lavan chairman believe that Netanyahu may want to leave himself the option of early elections and serve as transition prime minister. (Maariv)
  • Israeli Army Appoints Point Person on Hamas, Circumventing Gov't Unit, Sources Say - The 'inexperienced' reservist has been drafted as part of efforts to allow coronavirus aid into Gaza without sparking the ire of bereaved Israeli families. (Haaretz+)
  • Hamas Commander Who Allegedly Defected Provided Israel With Intel, Saudi Report Says - Al Arabiya quotes sources saying the commander gave Israel information about Hamas' planned operations and residential compounds used by senior officials. Hamas vehemently denies reports of his defection. (Haaretz+)
  • Lynch attempt in broad daylight: Two (Nature and Park Authority) INSPECTORS were rescued from an angry mob near Beit Jan - Two employees of the Nature and Parks Authority, who made a mistake and drove to Mount Meron by mistake, found themselves surrounded by dozens of local Druze citizens, who threw stones and even set fire to their vehicle. [NOTE: Journalist did not get a quote from anyone from the village or try to find out the reason for the attack on the car of the Nature and Parks Authority inspectors.] (Maariv+VIDEO)
  • Journalist Fired From Channel 13 Says Decision Influenced by Netanyahu's Interests - Nir Becher, who was let go from company after 30 years in journalism, says the channel's CEO landed his job after serving as a media adviser to Likud ministers. (Haaretz+)
  • Left on Umm Kultoum Street: Why is Yair Netanyahu angry with the “Star of the East“? - The Haifa Municipality naming committee has announced that it has decided to name one of the streets in the downtown area [where mostly Arabs live - OH] after the Egyptian singer. The street was previously named “Ghetto Fighters Street.” The city committee noted in its decision that Umm Kultoum, who is considered one of the greatest Arab singers of all time, is synonymous with Arab music in general and Egyptian music in particular and as such, it was decided to name a street in Haifa, as a mixed city, which is a model for coexistence between Jews and Arabs. The prime minister's son responded on Twitter: "Shame and madness.”  [NOTE: Nowhere in the article is there a quote by Yair Netanyahu, only a Twitter Tweet by a man named Ronen Mayer, who called Oum Kulthoum an “anti-Semite.” Also, until today, Oum Kulthoum’s songs are often sung by Jewish Israeli (Mizrachi) singers. - OH] (Maariv)
  • Ministry Seeks to Close Glaring School Gaps by Improving Screening of Arab Teachers - Arab teachers will not be required to take the internal exam, but success on the test increases their chances of finding a job in the system. (Haaretz+)
  • High quality: View the first images obtained from the new Israeli spy satellite - One week after its successful launch into space, the Ofek 16 observation satellite camera was activated Tuesday night for the first time and downloaded the first images to the IAI control station in Yehud. (Maariv and Israel Hayom)
  • Turkey says it rejects EU condemnation over Hagia Sophia - EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell says there is "broad support to call on the Turkish authorities to urgently consider and reverse this decision" to turn the museum into a mosque. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Iran's Quds Force commander: Tough times await Zionist regime - Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani breaks regime's silence on mystery explosions at Iranian industrial facilities, warns that "major events" are about to befall Israel and the US, claims US aircraft carrier fire was Iranian retaliation. (Israel Hayom)
  • Iran Says It Has Executed Defense Ministry Worker Linked to CIA - In a separate case, authorities announce a death sentence for an Iranian accused of providing information to U.S. and Israeli intelligence services on the whereabouts of slain commander Qassem Soleimani. (Agencies, Haaretz and Israel Hayom)
  • Biden’s New Jewish Outreach Director Says Trump Is Dangerous for Israel - Aaron Keyak tells Haaretz he expects Republicans to ‘push a fabrication’ that former vice president is anti-Israel, noting role Biden had in $38-billion aid package. (Haaretz+)
  • Jewish groups urge U.S. to step up pressure on Jordan to extradite terrorist - A joint statement signed by 18 right-wing and centrist groups aims to step up the pressure on Jordan to send Ahlam al-Tamimi, who orchestrated 2001 Jerusalem bombing that killed 15 people, to the U.S. for trial. (Agencies, Ynet and Israel Hayom)
  • UAE delays Mars mission by two days over weather conditions at launch site - Hope Probe was slated to take off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center for a seven-month journey to the red planet to collect data about the atmosphere. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Ruptured pipeline in Egypt causes massive blaze, injuring 17 - President of the petroleum pipelines company, Emad Abdel-Qader, says initial reports indicate that an "external party" had possibly punctured the line. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Russia says joint patrol with Turkey hit by bomb attack in Syria - Russia called off the patrol following the blast near the town of Ariha in Idlib province that damaged one Russian and one Turkish armored personnel carrier, the ministry said. (Agencies, Haaretz)
  • Yemen's Houthi rebels claim 'bank of targets' in Israel, Saudi Arabia and UAE - Iranian media reports Yemenite militants possess military capability to reach Israel's southernmost city of Eilat, Israeli cargo ships in southern Red Sea, with a missile or drone strike targeting Israeli targets could occur in the coming weeks. (Ynet)

Top Commentary/Analysis:

The Knesset Must Speak Up, Before the Public Takes the Law Into Its Own Hands (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The sanctions the Israeli government is levying on its citizens are starting to be accepted without question. The chutzpah of Likud legislator Yifat Shasha-Biton, who didn’t approve closing swimming pools and gyms, is the exception. Fortunately, the gatekeeper, coalition whip Miki Zohar, quickly pelted this nasty woman with stones. She deserved it. We’re in an emergency, danger looms over us, hundreds of thousands of unemployed are going hungry, and Ms. Shasha-Biton wants to exempt anyone who still has money for a gym or pool ticket. She rebelled rather than submit in solidarity to the sages who continue to conduct human experiments. Shasha-Biton not only went against the prime minister’s decision, she upset the public’s adjusting to life in distress, to obeying orders, to sufficing with the crumbs the government provides without asking questions. This is the threat that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears, and rightly so….
The aggressive evacuation of the protest tent in Balfour - an attempt to undermine democracy (Arik Bender, Maariv) The raid, which was done as if it were a force raiding at dawn on an enemy target, was an unwise and reprehensible act. This is a continuation of the alarming trend of using excessive force against civilians.
Free advice for gym and swimming pool owners: Register for the Likud party (Ben Caspit, Maariv) Don’t go to Balfour [the Prime Minister's official residence] and don’t harass the Minister of Finance. Go register for the Likud party. Not alone. Take your clients with you. The thousands and tens of thousands of fitness addicts of all kinds. And all those who can not start the day without a refreshing swim. Once you cross the threshold of tens of thousands of people who register for the Likud, you can open the gyms and pools without a problem, even if there is an epidemic of the black plague mixed with cholera. Miki Zohar [coalition whip who threatened Likud MK who voted to open gyms and pools against Netanyahu’s decision - OH] will suddenly remember that his original opinion (as he announced it last week) is that gyms should be opened - and then everything will fall into place. That's how it works here. The [Netanyahu] family took over the Likud party, which took over the country. When Miki Zohar proudly announces on television that his motto in life is "power, respect and money,” we all need to understand the principle. He will already find great reasons why all gyms and swimming pools should be opened immediately. Actually, I think I'm wrong. He no longer has to find good reasons. Shame is long dead. You can open and close as many as you want, whatever you want, whenever you want, for no reason. From the diving board. The main thing is that you register for Likud, guys. Then it will be okay…
A Reeducation for Higher Education (Haaretz Editorial) Prof. Ron Rubin left no room for interpretation about the motives for resigning his post as chairman of the Association of University Heads on Tuesday. “We are witnessing attempts to take control of science in Israel, with the aim of frightening, weakening, censoring and permitting political interests to dictate the research agenda,” he wrote in a message to faculty and students. His resignation follows a series of statements by senior officials in the higher education system. The open battle being waged by the universities with Zeev Elkin, the cabinet minister responsible for higher education, is over the independence of academia, and nothing less. Beneath the radar while most Israelis are preoccupied by a worsening coronavirus health crisis, Elkin has been working from the moment he was appointed minister to tap faculty from Ariel University [Israeli university in the West Bank - OH] for the Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee, which is responsible for an annual budget of roughly 12 billion shekels ($3.5 billion).,,In the best tradition of Prime Minister Netayahu’s governments, Elkin wants to do with higher education what Miri Regev did with culture and Amir Ohana with the justice system – taking political control via distribution of resources and appointments.
The virus doesn't differentiate between Right and Left (Meir Indor, Israel Hayom) The protests over the government's handling of the economic fallout from coronavirus are turning into anti-Netanyahu performances, and participants are not following public health regulations.
It’s Time to Replace Shin Bet Tracking (Michael Birnhack, Karine Nahon and Haim Ravia, Haaretz+) the massive use of the Shin Bet’s cellphone location technology made the system collapse. The extent of the errors in the system, it turned out, were huge, sending thousands of Israelis into quarantine by mistake, causing them loss of income and unwarranted fear, in addition to the harm it inflicted on the economy. Involving the security agency in the fight against the coronavirus placed it in the spotlight, and sunlight doesn’t suit such an organization. Transparency is not part of its organizational DNA. The agency is also not suited to such a task. It’s not the job of a security agency to profoundly infringe on the privacy of individuals in a situation that is not related to national security. In addition, there still hasn’t been a thorough enough debate over the price that is being paid as a result of the Shin Bet’s tracking from a medical, security, social and economic standpoint, in addition to the price paid by Israel’s democracy.
Netanyahu can't hide behind US reluctance (Avi Bareli, Israel Hayom) If sovereignty over the Jordan Valley is vital, we must establish it whether the Trump administration publicly endorses the move or not.
Zoom and The Voice Could Save the Center-left – and Israeli Democracy (Chemi Shalev, Haaretz+) Traditional political parties have been supplanted by empty shells serving the needs of their authoritarian leaders.
Inspires hope: Thousands of young women extend their military service and volunteer as combatants (Tal Lev Ram, Maariv) The 20 girls who will be drafted into the designated officer track of the borders protection further illustrate the scope of the positive phenomenon. The problem is that trends may change, and the military needs to keep them motivated.
The Iranians Are Lulling Israel's Leaders to Sleep (Yitzhak Brik, Haaretz+) Iran aims to entrench its deployment of missiles around us and is avoiding creating tension before the job is done. Meanwhile, Israel's army and citizens are totally unprepared for this looming existential threat.
Climbing the Walls and Picking My Battles in the West Bank (Umm Forat, Haaretz+) A new lockdown has shuttered West Bank day care once again and I've taken to going on walks in nature with my kids. Who cares if they don't pick up their toys? At least they're healthy.
Russia ramps up bid to break up U.S. alliance with Syria's Kurds (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Moscow promises to make the Kurds an integral part of the diplomatic process and partners in the Syrian government when the civil war ends, but the Kurds aren't biting.
West Looks for Ways to Combat Assad’s Latest Weapon: International Aid (Wilson Fache, Haaretz+) With Russia pushing for all UN humanitarian aid in Syria to be controlled by Damascus, some Western countries are trying to find ways to bypass the Assad regime.
 

Interviews:

*This Noted Arab-Israeli Lawmaker Blames the 'So-called Left' for the Occupation
The occupation will only end with foreign intervention, MK Ahmad Tibi asserts. And there won't be utopian coexistence. (Interviewed by Ravit Hecht in Haaretz+)

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

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