News Nosh 10.15.20

by APN 10/15/20
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APN's daily news review from Israel - Thursday October 15, 2020 

Quotes of the Day:
“(Yitzhak) Rabin was no saint. I saw him in downtown Ramallah, shortly after the first Intifada erupted, when he said that the demonstrations must be quelled "by force, by might, by beating"…But Rabin changed. He came to appreciate the Palestinians’ dogged pursuit of national liberation. I was told by more than one person in his inner circle that after a couple of years of failed attempts to quell the uprising, Rabin explicitly recognized that you can’t break the Palestinians’ spirit and their desire for independence. For many Palestinians, at the time, this became Rabin’s legacy.
—Ori Nir, Americans for Peace Now's vice president for public affairs and formerly Haaretz's West Bank and Washington correspondent, writes in an Op-Ed that it is Rabin's courage to break the mainstream Israeli taboo by recognizing Palestinian nationalism and pursuing peace that APN will honor at its October 20th event.*

"You know, Mr. Prime Minister, I can stand here and count your virtues and achievements over the years, and they are many, at my 18th year in this House. I know and cherish those virtues and I ask myself, how can it be that with all your abilities you do not invest even an hour or two a week to heal the wound? To mend the rifts? Why are you waiting? Are you waiting for the streets to bleed? Do you not hear the voices?...I have been waiting and waiting to be a part of history, and I would like to vote in favor of this historic moment, but I inform you Prime Minister, as long as you do not take time to treat the wounds of Israeli society, I will refrain from (supporting) this agreement."
--Shas MK Yaakov Margi slammed the Prime Minister at the Knesset vote today to approve the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates.**

You Must Be Kidding: 
“These are some of the most vulnerable children, whose life is already extremely hard, and Israel as the occupying power has a duty to ensure that they get their education and basic services.”
--Norwegian Refugee Council director said before Israeli forces bulldozed a primary school in a herding community forcing children to walk some five kilometers to access the nearest school.**


Front Page:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

  • Acting Police Commissioner: “As long as I in this position - the police will be clean of politics”
  • The threat against the Attorney General (Hebrew)
  • Go to Caesarea // Meir Shalev (Hebrew)
  • The choice of the Attorney General // Yifat Ehrlich (Hebrew)
  • Horror show // Ben-Dror Yemini
  • A riot at the wedding

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

  • Prelude - Corona cabinet expected to approve gradual exit schedule from lockdown
  • The wedding fight - Police dispersal of mass wedding ended in violent confrontation
  • (Likud MK) Zohar’s threat

Israel Hayom

  • Students waiting for answers - Today: Corona cabinet expected to determine the schedule for easing the lockdown
  • “The lockdown is not because of the ultra-Orthodox” - (Ultra-Orthodox) MK Moshe Gafni defends his sector: “They caused us to live crowded conditions and complain about infection”
  • Wedding ended in beatings and arrests
  • Because of the epidemic: Decline in number of organ transplants
  • Special: The stormiest election campaign in US history
  • Ben-Gurion Airport is back in action; those returning from ‘green countries’ are exempt from quarantine
  • The Mendelblitt recordings: Another brick fell in the principle of equality before the law // Jacob Bardugo


Top News Summary:
The politician’s threat, the wedding blows and the exit plan and victims of the corona epidemic were today’s top stories in the Hebrew newspapers. Also, the latest in diplomacy, settlers and olives.

The government’s ‘corona cabinet’ is meeting today to decide on the lockdown exit strategy, but some people couldn’t wait. A brawl broke out between wedding guests and Border Police at a wedding Wednesday, when the police arrived to tell the way too numerous guests they had to leave. A probe will be opened to find out who hit first.

Not physical, but far more consequential, was Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s loyalist and coalition whip, MK Miki Zohar's ultimatum to the Attorney General, Avichai Mendelblitt: drop the indictments against Netanyahu and resign or more allegedly incriminating tapes will be leaked to the public.The threat Zohar declared in a radio interview Wednesday follows the broadcasting Tuesday by Channel 12 News’ Amit Segal of leaked recordings of a conversation in which Mendelblitt accused then state attorney Shai Nitzan of intentionally leaving a police file against Mendelblit open in the Harpaz case, even though the case was closed and Mendelblit was cleared of wrongdoing. The recorded conversation served the conspiracy theory that Nitzan was allegedly "extorting" Mendelblitt to get him to indict Netanyahu. Likud MKs said the recordings proved that Netanyahu was being persecuted for political purposes. Netanyahu was quick to object to Zohar's words and demanded that he apologize. (Ynet Hebrew) Zohar said afterward he was not threatening Mendelblitt and Mendelbitt said he wouldn’t be deterred by threats. The Ministry of Justice (led by a Kahol-Lavan minister) said it anticipated a worsening of threats against Mendelblitt ahead of Netanyahu's trial and the signing of a conflict of interest arrangement with him. "The purpose of publishing the tape…was to deter the Attorney General from fulfilling his role and to give it a price: if he continues to stand independently - he'll see that the price will be too heavy," the Justice Department said. Speaking at the Democracy and Zionism conference of the Israel Democracy Institute and the World Zionist Organization marking 25 years since Yitzahk Rabin’s assassination, Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber said, ”The Attorney General is the target of the most blatant attacks in (Israel’s) history.” (Maariv)

Meanwhile, Channel 12 News and its reporter, Amit Segal, threatened to sue former IDF deputy chief of staff, left-wing MK Yair Golan, for libel after Golan Tweeted a post accusing the journalist of serving the interests of Netanyahu like “organized crime.” (Maariv)
The Tweet read:
“Yesterday evening, Amit Segal published embarrassing recordings of Mendelblitt from years ago.
This morning, Miki Zohar threatened that if Mendelblitt does not cancel Netanyahu's trial, more recordings will be released.
Now it is clear how the organization works: Netanyahu collects the recordings, Amit Segal publishes them and Miki Zohar threatens.
Organized crime."

After the ban on demonstrating away from home expired yesterday, anti-Netanyahu protesters drove to Jerusalem Wednesday night, some with pretend mini submarines, demanding that Netanyahu be investigated in the submarine graft scandal. And on Thursday, Gantz said he was considering forming a committee to probe the submarine graft case and Israel's High Court hears a petition  against legislation reinstating banning demonstrators from traveling over kilometer from home their home.
 
Attacks on left-wingers and left-wing symbols continued. A man was arrested for sabotaging the electrical system of the the Haaretz newspaper building and assailing its journalist, Gidi Weitz, saying, “What do you want from Bibi?' (There was other electricity sabotaged yesterday, but it was not reported on in the Hebrew media: Settlers chainsawed wooden electricity poles using causing a power blackout in the Palestinian village of Jalud.)

The position of the State Prosecutor remains a source of dispute, as well, because at present there is only an acting one and if Israel goes to the polls again, it will not be possible to appoint one in the midst of a transitional government. The Civil Service Commissioner said this week that it would not be possible to convene the committee at this time. Mendelblitt and Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn (Kahol Lavan) told the commissioner that there is no impediment to convening the search committee for the appointment of the State Prosecutor.” (Maariv and Maariv)

Speaking of elections, Defense Minister and Kahol-Lavan chairman Benny Gantz said that he will go to elections (a fourth in two years!) if Likud does not agree to pass the 2020 and 2021 budgets by the end of December - and that he will back anyone BUT Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is presenting the normalization agreement with the UAE for a vote at the Knesset this evening, but not everyone was excited about it. Netanyahu promised there would be more such agreements and that “the Palestinians will sober up.”  Netanyahu called the agreement a “peace between nations, with a tremendous economic component.” Joint List MKs planned to vote against it, saying that “an agreement that perpetuates the occupation is not a peace agreement; it is a blood-soaked agreement that will bring more war.” **But most significant was the biting speech by ultra-Orthodox MK Yaakov Margi against Netanyahu. Margi, whose party is part of Netanyahu’s coalition, accused Netanyahu of  ignoring the more important issue - the rift in Israeli society. “Mr. Prime Minister, I want to get excited but I can't get excited despite all my efforts," Margie said. "I cannot get excited because the people sitting in Zion are divided and torn apart. There is an atmosphere of war, an atmosphere of disengagement, an atmosphere of lack of solidarity." Margie went on to attack Netanyahu: "You know, Mr. Prime Minister, that I can stand here and count your virtues and achievements over the years, and they are many, at the height of my 18th year in this House. I know and cherish those virtues and I ask myself how can it be that with all your abilities you do not invest even an hour or two a week to heal the wound? To mend the rifts? Why are you waiting? Are you waiting for the streets to bleed? Do you not hear the voices?” According to Margi, the ultra-Orthodox society is led through no fault of its own by extremists: “Never mind the voices of the protesters you do not hear. I understand you and I agree with you because governments are replaced in elections, especially in democratic regimes. But the cries of the ultra-Orthodox society - you are not doing enough to address the extremist groups, including the corona-deniers, who put the ultra-Orthodox society in trouble, and we have seen some police officers make deals in the dark with those extremists." He continued, “Mr. Prime Minister, after achieving peace with the Emirates and the people of Bahrain you will be free to make peace within Israeli society. Ask you know, there is no king without a people. Maybe you are close to that. I am anxious, I am anxious about the fate of Israeli society," said Margi. “Where did it get lost? You sit on the sidelines dealing with important matters, I have no doubt, but in the fate of Israeli society you do not invest even an hour or two to gather a team of experts and learn why there is a bright traffic light in ultra-Orthodox society. [Reference to high rate of corona. - OH] What have you done?” Margie added, "I congratulate you on the peace agreement but, unfortunately, I say this with regret because throughout my 18 years in this House I have been waiting and waiting to be a part of history, and I would like to vote in favor of this historic moment, but I inform you Prime Minister, as long as you do not take time to treat the wounds of Israeli society, I will refrain from this agreement." (Ynet Hebrew)

Incidentally, lsraelis of all persuasions feel they suffer from incitement, according to a poll. And just under half think there is a high probability for a political assassination. The survey found that 86 percent of Jewish leftists, 81 percent of ultra-Orthodox Jews, 70 percent of Arab Israelis and 67 percent of Jewish right-wingers feel they suffer incitement.

Ironically, the normalization deal that the UAE said was to stop Israeli annexation of the West Bank and which Netanyahu said would contribute to peace did not stop approval of more Israeli construction on West Bank land. Israel’s Supreme Planning Council at the Civil Administration approved 1,800 new housing units in the West Bank and are expected to approve 4,000 in total. Peace Now said that makes a record of over 12,000 West Bank homes approved in 2020 and could lead to a de facto annexation. Jordan condemned the settlement expansion plans and the UN said this could fuel instability. Settler leaders praised the decision to approve new construction. “A big thank you and congratulations are due to Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

OTHER DIPLOMACY:

  • Peace with UAE gets real as Israeli bank issues first guarantee - The bank guarantee to FAB – one of the largest banks in the Middle East – would ensure payments for flight tickets purchased by Tal Aviation on UAE air carrier. (Israel Hayom)
  • UAE commercial flight enters Israeli airspace for the first time - Thanks to Israel-Jordan deal to open more flight paths over both countries and signing of Abraham Accords, travel time of Etihad Airways flight from Italy to UAE shortened by 90 minutes. (Ynet)
  • Report: US issues Sudan ultimatum on normalizing ties with Israel - The reward for such a move, according to London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, would be Sudan's removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. (Israel Hayom)
  • Israel, Lebanon Begin U.S.-mediated Talks Over Disputed Maritime Border; Hezbollah, Amal slam Lebanon - Amid first direct talks between the countries in 30 years, Hezbollah criticizes Lebanon Negotiating team, saying it must include only military officials, without any civilians or politicians. (Haaretz and Israel Hayom)
  • Pompeo Urges Saudi Arabia to Consider Normalizing Relations With Israel - The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain last month signed agreements toward normalizing relations with Israel in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran. (Agencies, Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Israelis favor peace deal with Saudi Arabia next, survey finds - Poll by Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies finds Israelis want to deepen ties with Saudi Arabia more than with any other country in the region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urges Riyadh to follow UAE and Bahrain and normalize relations with the Jewish state. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Saudi Arabia presides over G20 interfaith forum - In recent years, Saudi Arabia has been reaching out more to Jewish and Christian groups. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)


OLIVES, SETTLER ATTACKS and VIDEOS:
Meanwhile, the settler attacks on Palestinian families harvesting their olives continues and for the first time, Palestinian courts are considering taking legal action against Israeli settlers. And young Palestinians have organized to reinforce the olive harvesting families. The grass movement group is called ‘Faz3a’ and its volunteers have succeeded some times to ward off the settler attackers. But, not today. Settlers chopped and destroyed 300 olive trees around al-Jabaa village. On Wednesday, settlers flooded olive trees with wastewater in the town of Deir Ballut, which causes severe damage to the trees. On Monday and Tuesday, settlers attacked Palestinian families harvesting around Burqa village. They also attacked Israeli journalist Ohad Hemo who broadcast the chilling attack on Channel 12 News. (VIDEO) In the video, Faz3a volunteers talk to the settlers alongside Hemo, while the settlers claim that the land, which was owned by the farmers, belonged to the Jews, who received it from G-d. When one of the Faz3a volunteers told the settler to pick up his shirt and show Hemo the club he was hiding, a brawl broke out. The settlers can be seen hitting family members with clubs at 04:24. On Sunday, Faz3a volunteers stopped settler youth from building a pool on a Palestinian family’s private agricultural property in Deir Istiya village. (VIDEO) Another video shows a large group of masked settlers coming to attack Palestinian families harvest last week.


Quick Hits:

  • Settlers cut electricity poles with chainsaw in Jaloud village - A group of settlers sneaked their way into the eastern part of Jalud, south of Nablus, where they chopped down a number of wooden electric poles with chainsaws, causing power blackout in the area. (WAFA)
  • Israel's Top Court Denies Another Request to Release Palestinian Hunger-striker - Maher Akhras, who denies claims of his Islamic Jihad membership, was offered to be freed in November at the end of his administrative detention in return for ending his strike. (Haaretz+ and IMEMC)
  • UN official calls on Israel to act in case of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner in Israel - The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov today expressed concern about the situation of Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli jail, Maher al-Akhras, 49, and called on Israel to either charge al-Akhras, specify a time for his imprisonment, or immediately set him and all administrative detainees free. (WAFA)
  • Dozens of Palestinian prisoners in Israel on hunger strike in solidarity with fellow inmates in isolation and with hunger-striker Maher al-Akhras - Some 60 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails started an open-ended hunger strike Thursday in solidarity with three of their fellow inmates held in solitary confinement, two of them for six months. Two days earlier, 30 other prisoners started an open-ended hunger strike in solidarity with Maher al-Akhras, on hunger strike for 81 days in protest of his administrative detention. (WAFA and IMEMC)
  • Israel to remove Palestinian residential tent in northern Jordan Valley - Israeli occupation authorities Tuesday night notified a Palestinian of removing his residential tent in al-Farisiya village, east of Tubas city, in the northern Jordan Valley, according to sources. Also, Israeli forces chased and briefly detained two Palestinian shepherds as they were grazing their livestock in Ein Sukkot in the northern Jordan Valley. (WAFA)
  • Three months after seizing Palestinian land Israeli settlers set up caravan on that land - The settlers set up a caravan in Khirbet Ehmair in al-Farisieh village some three months ago after seizing it, planting it with trees to create a fait accompli and building a water reservoir and shack, indicating their intention to bring more mobile homes to that area and set up a new illegal settlement outpost. (WAFA)
  • **Palestinian Primary School Demolished by Israeli Forces - Wednesday afternoon, Israeli forces used D9 Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish European-funded school in Ras al-Tin herding community, which served 50 students, from first to sixth grade, who otherwise would have to walk some five kilometers to access the school in nearby al-Mughayyer village. (IMEMC)
  • Two Israeli Soldiers Injured During West Bank Operation - The soldiers, wounded lightly and moderately, were hit by shrapnel from an explosive thrown at them when they entered a Nablus refugee camp, according to an army statement. (Haaretz+, Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Israeli navy attacks Palestinian fishing boats off northern Gaza shore - The Israeli navy opened fire Wednesday Palestinian fishermen sailing off northern Gaza shore without any apparent reason, forcing the fishermen to return to the port, reported WAFA correspondent. (WAFA)
  • Ugly Likud confrontation: "You and the retarded blonde are not worth the sole of my shoe" - An ugly verbal incident was recorded in the Knesset today, during which MK Keren Barak (Likud) was heard insulting members of her faction, MK Mai Golan and MK Osnat Mark. Barak: “This was a marginal and private confrontation that in the heat of things has slipped into personal and unwanted statements, and I regret that.” The storm erupted following the absence of the two Knesset members from a vote on the Student Rights Law in the days of Corona, initiated by MK Yurai Lahav-Herzno from Yesh Atid party. Golan and Mark had signed on the bill, but Likud ordered them to vote against it and MKs Golan and Mark refused. (Maariv)
  • Australia slashes financial aid to UN's Palestinian refugee agency - UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini: We are constantly in crisis mode when it comes to the cash flow. (Israel Hayom)
  • India provides $1 million to UNRWA for Palestine refugees - Representative of India to the State of Palestine, Sunil Kumar: “On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to express my appreciation for the remarkable efforts carried out by UNRWA. India shall continue supporting the Agency’s activities in providing vital services and necessary humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees.” (WAFA)
  • UNRWA youth ambassador’s permission to cross Israel to be denied - MK Avi Dichter (Likud) announced the revocation of the travel document from former 'Arab Idol' Gazan song winner, Mohammed Assaf, UNRWA's regional youth ambassador, following the disclosure of videos in which he calls for a struggle against Israel. [Assaf wants to travel from the West Bank to Gaza by crossing Israel - OH.] Assaf, 30, who previously won the “Arab Idol” singing reality show, left Gaza and now lives with his wife in the UAE. MK Dichter's letter states that although Israel cannot prevent Assaf from entering Judea and Samaria (West Bank) because he holds Palestinian citizenship, Israel is working to get UNRWA to stop Assaf's activity in the organization. (Maariv)
  • Corona chief: Israel approaching threshold for easing lockdown restrictions However, the target number of 2,000 daily infections, along with a positive test rate of under 8% and a basic reproduction rate of less than 0.8, must be met as a daily average for an entire week, Prof. Roni Gamzu clarifies as Wednesday's confirmed cases dip below the 2,000-mark. (Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Donations to Israeli Universities Fall Off by as Much as 50% During Coronavirus Crisis - Meanwhile, students demand lower tuition and Finance Ministry says it won’t compensate universities for such a move. (Haaretz+)
  • 'Major' cyberattack targets two government agencies in Iran - Iran denied that there was any evidence of a widespread attack on any other agencies so far except for the two that were mentioned. (Maariv and JPost)
  • HBO buys rights to Israeli 'Dibukim' thriller TV series - The announcement comes a day after the American media giant reportedly bought the rights to Israel's most expensive TV series ever produced, 'Valley of Tears', which depicts Yom Kippur War. (Ynet)
  • Twitter follows Facebook in banning posts denying Holocaust - Company says that it will take down posts that deny the Holocaust for violating its hateful conduct policy. (Israel Hayom)
  • TikTok vows in Knesset to tackle anti-Semitism - After abstaining from previous Knesset discussions on surge of anti-Semitism online and facing accusations of ignoring the phenomenon on the platform, TikTok official suggests app be used as tool to increase awareness of the horrors of the Holocaust and Holocaust studies. (Yedioth/Ynet)
  • Germany frees up millions in aid to Holocaust survivors amid pandemic - Following negotiations with Berlin, Claims Conference agrees to pay $662 million to more than 240,000 survivors around the world to help ease coronavirus burden; German government expands eligibility to Romanian, Bulgarian survivors. (Ynet)


Features:

Intel Bonanza: The Other Egyptian Spy That Saved Israel in 1973
A former Mossad agent recounts the actions of Agent “Fix” — and reveals how Israel was able to call the Soviet Union’s bluff, but not act on it in the Yom Kippur War. (Yossi Melman, Haaretz+)
TikTok… Boom! Israeli Army's Social Media Has 'Big Smiles' and Soldiers Doing Yoga. You Know What's Missing
Israel's army is a savvy player on social media, using it to win the hearts of future recruits as well as to disseminate its own narrative in cyberspace. (Shira Maikin, Haaretz+)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Going to Caesarea (Meir Shalev, Yedioth Hebrew) A lesson in the motherland, some history and some geography: Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world in its dimensions, and one of the greatest in the world in its history. Only 1,000 meters but 2,000 years separate Binyamin Netanyahu's house in Caesarea from the center of Roman rule in ancient Caesarea - and so yes, now, again we are [protesting - OH] in Caesarea and again we are fighting a foreign regime to save the country and the state from it. One thousand meters from Netanyahu's house is another historic site - Kibbutz Sdot Yam, where the PALYAM, the Palmach’s naval company, was established and operated. Netanyahu knows the PALYAM, because from it grew the navy, which is the corps that most interests the prime minister, and in the most secretive and discreet way. Eighty years ago, PALYAM acted against British foreign rule and brought illegal immigrants to Israel. Only 1,000 meters, only 80 years, but what a distance in values between the modest row boats and the illegal immigrant ships of PALYAM and between Netanyahu's submarines, and let’s not forget - Egypt's submarines. [Reference to the massive submarine corruption case - OH.] Netanyahu loves submarines. They suit his character and his goals. They are not visible, they operate in secret, and as it is written (in the Talmud): “Blessing is found only in a matter concealed from the eye,” nor is there any interrogation, yet. But today we took these submarines out of the water and showed them, and if we can, so can the Attorney General. History and Geography, Mr. Prime Minister. Go out and learn in Sdot Yam and in ancient Caesarea. And if a policeman stops you and asks where is your mask, tell him: the mask is me, the state is also me, and the navy is me, everything is me. But, actually - no, Mr. Netanyahu. Your mask has been removed. You have been exposed: The submarines are you, and according to the indictment the bribe is you, the fraud is you, the breach of trust is you. Even your voters already see and know who you are, what your abilities are, what your value is and what your values are. In Sdot Yam and ancient Caesarea, the Israelis of the distant past and the recent past fought for their country and its revival, and were willing to sacrifice their lives for it. You are sacrificing the same state for your own sake and for your own good. We, the Israelis of today, won’t let you. We will bring you down. Among the first people of Kibbutz Sdot Yam was also a young woman named Hannah Szenes. One thousand meters and 80 years ago she wrote the unforgettable lines: “My Lord, my Lord, may it never end. The sand and the sea, the rustle of the water, the sparkle of the sky, the prayer of man." I love and respect and cherish this poem in my heart. But thanks to Netanyahu, it is already possible to change and update it a bit: My Lord, my Lord, may it end. May it end forever. Not the sand and the sea, not the rustle of the water, not the sparkle of the sky, and certainly not the prayer of man. May your destructive and wanton priesthood and your miserable leadership end. Hannah Szenes' song is even called "Walk to Caesarea" - so go to Caesarea. Go home, Biyamin Netanyahu. You deceived, divided, crushed, failed and made others fail in the war against corona. Go home.

*Yitzhak Rabin Is Still Being Assassinated (Ori Nir, Israel Hayom) Rabin was no saint, but he changed, and was gunned down for it. When the U.S. left refuses to remember his peacemaking with the Palestinians, they hand victory to Netanyahu and the Israeli right.
Netanyahu's Coalition Whip Must Be Investigated for Extortion (Gidi Weitz, Haaretz+) Coalition whip MK Miki Zohar threatened Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit on Wednesday that if he did not close criminal cases against Netanyahu and resign, more tapes of him would be released.
Danger of a constant drip-drop of leaks undermines trust in the judiciary (Herb Keinon, JPost) Efforts are well under way to impugn the integrity of those involved in drawing up and issuing the indictments against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it is being done one leaked recording and one leaked email at a time. One day the target is former police commissioner Roni Alsheich, another day it’s former state attorney Shai Nitzan, and most often it is Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
The Netanyahu witchhunts harm national security (Eldad Beck, Israel Hayom) Looking ahead, Germany and other countries could hesitate to sign new deals with Israel, out of concern that political actors will decide to embroil future Israeli statesmen in "corruption scandals."
Netanyahu's Opponents on the Right Are Getting Stronger, and They Could Take Him Down (Anshel Pfeffer, Israel Hayom) Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party is soaring in the polls, but stitching together an alternative coalition will prove more challenging.
Bennett is actually Likud's greatest asset (Avishay Ben Haim, Israel Hayom) Deep inside, Yamina leaders Naftali Bennett is a Netanyahu supporter. This actually places him in a good position to be named the next leader of the traditional national camp.
Meet the Israeli Protesters of 2040 (Yossi Klein, Haaretz+) Please meet the plumbers, carpenters and police officers of 2040. They are now six years old. They don’t know yet that their fate has been sealed. They started – or not – the school year without a computer, which is now what the pencil and notebook were to their grandparents. They will learn, maybe, how to read and write next year, maybe in another two years – and maybe never. There is no special urgency to learn reading and writing at age six, they say in the Education Ministry – nothing will happen if the child begins to read only at the age of seven.
It is sad that those who demand integrity from the leadership do not act that way themselves (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) If there is one thing that drives me crazy it is to see a lot of women and men walking slowly without masks in the streets every morning. They don’t care about me or the country. …I was particularly interested in the comprehensive interview conducted by Sheri Makover-Blikov in the Friday supplement of Maariv (9.10.2020) with Carmi Gillon, former Shin Bet chief and one of the leaders of the Balfour protest. In all the protests we demand that social distance be maintained,” Carmi explains to the interviewer, to which she replies: “And yet even in recent demonstrations the masses found it difficult to maintain the rules of distance and endangered themselves and their surroundings.”  And what does Carmi Gilon answer her? "The fresh air at the demonstrations is the same air at the beach, which before the closure was crowded and full of people lying half naked next to each other. In our demonstrations we are dressed, at least the sweat doesn’t mix." This is delusional! But let us leave this "nonsense" and move on to matters of integrity. As is well known, during Gillon's shift as head of the Shin Bet, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Where was Gillon at the time of the assassination? In Paris. What did he do there? "I went to Paris on a mission sent by Rabin,” Gillon tells the interviewer to explain why he was not in Israel…When does a prime minister send a Shin Bet chief on a mission abroad? Gillon was the head of the Mossad? What kind of mission was that? Political? Security? And much more than that: these were days of severe tension, Gillon publicly warned of the possibility that Rabin will be assassinated, so will Rabin send him abroad and another eve of a rally in Tel Aviv? The fact is that he traveled, apparently to meet in Paris with the Shin Bet security chiefs in Europe, despite his own warning. He should have stayed in the country, but he disregarded his warning. It saddens me that those who devoutly demand integrity from the leadership, and call Netanyahu a "liar," do not have it themselves. This is how it all starts with the little thing about not wearing a mask.
A Tale of Two Protests: Dispossessed Palestinians vs. Privileged Jewish Israelis (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Protest vs. protest. The protest of the dispossessed, rightless Palestinian farmers who are trying to fight for the last remains of their property and their dignity, and the protest of privileged Jewish Israelis, who want to have a different prime minister and who lament the end of their democracy. One protest stirs up emotions, while Israel ignores the other. But they are intertwined. It’s impossible to demand democracy without demanding democracy for everyone. There is no such thing as democracy that is not for everyone. Israeli fascism is in Burqa, not yet on the Tel Aviv beach.
Jibril Rajoub's problematic Palestine (Michael Milstein, Yedioth/Ynet) If the veteran Fatah official, who trades in incessant anti-Israel slogans, does indeed end up as the next Palestinian president, Jerusalem may find itself dealing with a dangerous successor to Arab nationalist and extremist Yasser Arafat.
Endless warnings of Gaza’s collapse are why we’re failing to prevent it (Yara M. Asi, 972mag) The strip's rehabilitation already demanded ‘herculean efforts.’ With the spread of COVID-19, action is imperative.
With Its Economy Plummeting, Iran Is Waiting for a New U.S. President (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Criticism of President Rohani has been growing, mostly over the absence of economic planning and management, but that's not only the result of the latest wave of U.S. sanctions.
Chevron's purchase is another nail in the BDS' coffin (Jonathan S. Tobin, Israel Hayom) The oil company's investment isn't just a huge boost for Israel's natural-gas industry. It's more evidence that the Arab world has given up the war on the Jewish state.

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

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