News Nosh 10.29.20

by APN 10/29/20
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APN's daily news review from Israel - Thursday October 29, 2020

Quote of the day::""The country is split like the Red Sea between two camps, and the hatred is simmering underfoot."
--President Reuven Rivlin said in a speech today at a memorial event for former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 25th anniver:"sary of his assassination.*

Numbers of the day:
62:38
--Percentage of left-wing Israelis vs. right-wing Israelis who fear that another political assassination will take place in Israel.**


Front Page:Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

  • 3 shots, 25 years
  • The opportunity // Noa Rotman (Rabin’s granddaughter)
  • The hope // Danny Dayan
  • The heart refuses to believe // Nahum Barnea
  • The concern grew // Meir Shalev

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

Israel Hayom

Top News Summary:
On the 25th anniversary of the assassination of the prime minister who wanted to make peace with the Palestinians, withdraw from their territories and give them a state and also advance the Arab community in Israel, Haaretz’s two top stories showed how Israel - and the US - have gone in the opposite direction: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin signed an agreement with US Ambassador David Friedman, lifting the US ban on funding for scientific research in Israeli institutions in the West Bank and Golan Heights and Israel is trying to expand a Jewish town to prevent that area in the country from having an Arab majority population. Yedioth dedicated its whole front page and Maariv almost the whole front page to Yitzhak Rabin and all the Op-Eds in both papers were about Rabin and what his murder meant to Israel and where the country is now. ‘Israel Hayom’ dedicated one Op-Ed to Rabin’s assassination and another from the IDF Chief of Staff, who wrote that the army must remain the army of one people [and not a divided people - apropos, see the article in Quick Hits about three soldiers who were accused by the commander of helping Palestinians enter Israel and the military court accepted their response that it was a false accusation and the commander was scheming against them because of their left-wing views - OH]. Unlike the other papers, ’Israel Hayom’s’ top story was neither about the meaning of Rabin’s murder to Israel’s present and future or about Israel’s pro-settlement moves. ‘Israel Hayom’ focused on corona, the story that has been running in various ways for weeks.

Ironically, most of the settler leaders boycotted the signing ceremony for the US to provide research grants to Israeli institutions in the occupied Territories because Netanyahu had not invited two prominent settler leaders who had attacked him for not keeping his promise to annex parts of the West Bank. However, Netanyahu tried to assuage their anger, suggesting that annexation is still on the agenda. “We did and will do more," he said. "Today's event is a historic correction. Your strength is needed to continue doing. Not everyone understands, we are in the middle of navigation. Just as in navigation you do not progress in a straight line and sometimes you even have to go backward a little. You can see that we know how to navigate and progress to the destination. It's important to explain to friends, I need your help.”  (Ynet Hebrew and Ynet) US President Donald Trump's Senior Adviser Avi Berkowitz supported that statement today, Maariv reported. In an interview with Army Radio, Berkowitz said that "the annexation has not yet been dropped from the agenda - it is something that can be done later and it is not something we do not agree with."

*At a memorial event at the President’s Residence today marking 25 years since Rabin’s murder, President Reuven Rivlin said that Israel is split and “hatred is simmering.” He said it was “unacceptable that journalists should live under threat. It is unacceptable that citizens should strike citizens,” likely referring to the right-wing pro-Netanyahu violence directed at anti-government demonstrators. Later in the day, at a special session in the Knesset, Netanyahu said the incitement to murder was pointed at him and his family. (Maariv)

On Saturday night, the Peace Now movement will march from Jerusalem's Zion Square, where the central rally against Rabin was held ahead of his murder, to Paris Square, next to the prime minister's residence. Memorials to the prime minister will continue through next Wednesday, November 4, the date of the murder on the Gregorian calendar.    

**A Maariv poll revealed that about 42% of the public believe in the chances of another political assassination. An analysis of the poll findings suggests that the older the age of the respondents, the more likely they are to believe there is a chance of another political assassination in the country: 49% of people aged 60 and over think so, compared to 37% of young people up to the age of 29. Of those who fear further political assassination, 48% are secular, compared with 42% who define themselves as traditional and 27% as religious. On the other hand, out of the population group that believes that no further political assassination will take place, the high rate of religious stands out - 52% compared to 34% traditional and 29% secular. According to the political affiliation, it turns out that the fear of another political assassination is mainly among center-left voters. 62% of them fear such a murder, compared to 38% among those who identified themselves as right-wing voters. In contrast, among those who do not fear further murder, there is a clear majority on the right - 45% compared to 21% among those who identified themselves as center-left voters.


Corona Quickees:

  • Backtracking, Netanyahu Says First Through Fourth Grades to Partially Reopen on Sunday - Low infection rates pave way for reopening economy ■ Former army medical chief to replace virus czar ■ Israel to start clinical trials on vaccine. (Haaretz)
  • 'Phone tracing of corona patients more effective that traditional contact tracing' - State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman report into the handling to the coronavirus crisis has found that the number of people exposed to the virus who were found by the phone tracing was three-times higher than those detected using traditional contact tracing methods. (Israel Hayom)
  • Coronavirus czar: Poor testing hides Israel's true infection rate - Prof. Ronni Gamzu urges more people to get tests, says epidemiological investigations suggest levels of morbidity akin to pre-lockdown statistics, warns several Arab localities suffering from high enough infection to mull special mitigation measures. (Ynet)
  • Palestine records 623 new coronavirus cases, eight fatalities - The fatalities included seven cases from the West Bank and another from the besieged Gaza Strip. (WAFA)


 Quick Hits:

  • Israel demolishes three structures near Jerusalem - Israeli forces escorted a bulldozer to the road linking the As-Sawahira Ash-Sharqiya town to Nabi Mousa archeological site, near Abu Dis, where the heavy machinery tore down a 30-square-meter residential structure belonging to Shaker al-Sarkhi, a residential structure belonging to Ismael Hathalin and a residential structure belonging to Omar Suleiman in Wadi Abu Hindi, a Bedouin encampment located in the valley. (WAFA)
  • Israel to Allow Palestinian Farmers More Access to Their Lands Near Green Line - West Bank farmers had petitioned against restrictions issued last year that imposed an annual quota on the number of times they can enter their fields located near the separation barrier. (Haaretz+)
  • Police: Recognize Arab (-Israeli) taxi driver assaulted by two Bnei Brak residents as a victim of hostilities - Defendants, who were his passengers, were accused of punching Ismail Basis, a taxi driver from Tira (in Israel), because he was Arab, and when he escaped from his taxi they threw stones at him and his vehicle, telling him Arabs don’t deserve respect. A police document sent to the Ministry of Defense's Prosecution Committee states that "the circumstances of the incident have a reasonable basis to believe that the injury was caused as a result of a hostile act." The two defendants were indicted in June for assault out of racist motives. (Ynet Hebrew and VIDEO)
  • Military Court: The complaint made against the suspected soldiers - because of their political position - Three Nahal Brigade fighters were arrested on suspicion of helping Palestinians enter the country without a permit, “putting national security at risk.” The three believed that the complainant was their commander - who harassed them because of their political views. The judge in the military tribunal decided to release them, he  justified their position, and ruled that the complaint was indeed only because of their political views. They were completed their army service and were released last month. "I think this is one of the most serious incidents I have encountered in the 26 years I have been involved in military law," said lawyer Efrat Nachmani in a conversation with Nissim Mashaal and Guy Peleg on 103 FM radio, Nachmani represents two of the soldiers. "In a divided society, service in the IDF must be an island detached from everything. There is no way to run an army, certainly not a combat unit, without comeraderie and brotherhood between soldiers." (103FM/Maariv)
  • They searched for the son, they shot his mother to death - Arab society yesterday paid another heavy price for the long-standing lawlessness over many years: an innocent woman was murdered, and a man known to the police was shot dead. A Baka al-Gharbiya resident recently survived three assassination attempts. Yesterday his mother, Aida Abu-Hussein, 47, paid the price: unknown individuals murdered her. Earlier, in the (Arab-Israeli town) Tira, a 21-year-old was shot dead. Since January: 85 have been murdered in the Arab (Israeli) sector. Residents are desperate: "The police are afraid of the criminals, and we are suffering." (Yedioth Hebrew)
  • Bill banning gay conversion therapy to proceed in Knesset - Proposed legislation would strip psychologists using controversial method of licenses, repeat offenders fined and/or sentenced to jail time; resuming procedure is expected to fuel already tense coalition relations between Haredi and secular parties. (Ynet)
  • Leftist NGOs fail to report foreign funding, Knesset Research Center finds - Right-wing watchdog group Im Tirtzu discovers that 11 organizations have failed to follow the directives of the Transparency Law, Registrar of Associations fails to properly enforce law. (Israel Hayom)
  • Lebanon, Israel hold 2nd round of maritime border talks - Washington has been mediating the issue for about a decade, but only earlier this month was a breakthrough reached on an agreement for a framework for US-mediated talks. (Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • US to sell Greece F-35s originally ordered by rival Turkey - The United States intends to sell six F-35 fighter jets to Greece, local media reported Wednesday, adding that the F-35s that will likely be delivered to Greece, were originally ordered by Turkey's air force. The sale comes amid rising tensions between Athens and Ankara, particularly over gas exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, which both countries lay claim to. (Israel Hayom and Maariv)
  • The Police Orchestra is participating in an exciting international venture led by the Emirates - The Israel Police Orchestra will participate in the production of a unique musical tribute in the spirit of the Corona restrictions, an initiative aimed at praising and honoring the heroism and work of police officers around the world. (Maariv)
  • Soccer leagues in Israel, UAE sign working agreement - Leaders of the Israeli Professional Football League and UAE Pro League signed a memorandum of understanding by video conference that includes exploring ideas for competitions between their teams. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Israel's JVP in talks for potential UAE innovation center - JVP Chairman Erel Margalit has met with potential partners and looked at at least one possible site for a hub during a visit to the UAE this week. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • With no visitors, Jerusalem citadel undergoes major facelift - "We have the chance to explore the citadel from the perspective of modern archeologists" using advanced technology to render 3D images of the remains from each time period, archaeologist says. (Agencies, Israel Hayom and Ynet)
  • Czech Republic designates Hezbollah a terrorist organization - Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi hails the move and urges other countries in the European Union bloc to follow suit. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Iran supports 'active resistance to liberate' Golan Heights from Israel - Iran's Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday in a conversation with Syria's ambassador in Tehran that the ayatollahs' regime supports "resistance" to "liberate" the Golan Heights from Israel. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
  • Europe's Jewish population at 1,000-year low - New research from the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research puts the Jewish population of the continent, including Britain, Russia, and Turkey, at the same number cited by famed Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela in 1170. (Israel Hayom)


Features:
The people who were by Rabin's side in his last moments return to the minutes that changed history
The journalist who crawled behind him as he descended the stairs, the media student who was standing next to him at the time of the shooting, the doctor on duty who received him at the emergency room and the senior surgeon who was forced to announce his death. (Ilana Stutland, Maariv)
We are the children of November '95: the trauma of the generation born near the time of the murder
They were born a few days before or after the day of the murder, and this coincidence affects their lives to this day. Now, as 25-year-old adults, born in November '95, they tell what this traumatic event means to them. (Nur Israeli, Maariv)
The settlers' vision for Hebron: high-rise buildings and doubling the number of residents
Following the approval they received for advancing construction in the wholesale market complex, the settlers are formulating a plan for the construction of 60 housing units on the site. Another venture is being advanced, contrary to a court order. The state recently informed the district court that the Civil Administration intends to issue a building permit within a week for the construction of 31 housing units for settlers in the "Hezekiah Quarter" project. The construction of the project was discussed in court following an administrative petition filed by Peace Now and the Palestinian municipality of Hebron. Peace Now says the reason the state is promoting the granting of the building permit even though the issue is still being discussed in court is related to Israel's desire to complete the move before the US election. The settlers: “This is the largest construction in Hebron since our ancestor Abraham.” Peace Now said in response: "The settlement in Hebron is the ugly face of Israeli control of the territories. The intention to double the number of settlers in the city is a serious blow to Israel's interest in reaching peace with the Palestinians. It is unfortunate that instead of dealing with the corona crisis, the government is carrying out an ugly grab just before the US election to please a group of extremists, at the expense of the will and interests of most of the country's citizens.” (Elisha Ben-Kimon, Yedioth Hebrew)
Why These Jewish Republican National Security Experts Are Endorsing Joe Biden
Speaking at a ‘Jewish Republicans for Biden – Putting Country over Party’ online meeting, Eliot A. Cohen and Ambassador Eric Edelman say Trump has left a power vacuum in the Mideast which isn’t ‘good for Israel.’ (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
A Week to Election, Israel, U.S. Make Play at Legitimizing Settlements Before It May Be Too Late (Noa Landau, Haaretz+) The deal expanding U.S. scientific cooperation to the West Bank settlements suggests that Netanyahu and Adelson are not relying on a miracle on November 3.
The writing is again written on the wall - this time let's read it in time (Dalia Rabin, Maariv) In the long and continuous news editions of that terrible night, 25 years ago, the saying that "the writing was on the wall" resounded. Experts and commentators, journalists and politicians, said one after another that the seeds of violence, calamity and incitement could be seen, long months before; That the cries that arose at intersections and squares, at gatherings and confrontations in the media, were a fertile ground on which the abominable murderer grew. But it did not grow there alone. It was a (fertile) ground of abysmal hatred, and to this day it grows roots. In any democratic society, the right to debate and disagreement is of great importance. It seems that even this obvious thing needs to be said and written these days…Sometimes we seem to have forgotten what it means to be a Democrat, and most importantly, we have really forgotten what it means to be a Jew. Controversy lies at the heart of democracy and at the heart of Judaism. The big question is how to argue without hating, how not to agree without crossing red lines and without forgetting that after all and before everything - we are one people, one country. Generations have passed since a Jewish assassin shot in the back of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense, and in our own backs, all of us. The streets are stormy again, a lot of graffiti is written on the wall. Let's read them, and this time in time. You are invited to watch tonight the candlelight rally in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, which will be broadcast live on the Yitzhak Rabin Center website, on our Facebook page and on our YouTube channel. 25,000 memorial candles will be lit to mark the 25th anniversary of the murder. You are also welcome to light a virtual soul candle at the memorial site we set up. May the memory of Yitzhak Rabin be blessed. (Written by the daughter of the late Prime Minister, who is the head of the Yitzhak Rabin Center.)
Trump is the best president for Israel's security (Amir Avivi, Israel Hayom) Israelis overwhelmingly view the Trump administration as a historic period that has fundamentally transformed the country’s international standing and security.
Both sides are responsible for turning the anniversary of Rabin's assassination into a day of controversy (Adv. Danny Zamir, Maariv) I believe there is no party that is solely responsible for creating the feeling that this Memorial Day cannot be celebrated together. Both sides, the secular from the center-left, and the religious from the center-right, were responsible for this in a mutual tango…Twenty-five years after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, there is nothing more symbolic than closing the circle carried out this week by the pre-military preparatory schools. Many of the heads of the preparatory schools made a change in their lives and established these institutions following the assassination of Rabin. The preparatory schools themselves, spread over 80 sites throughout the country, contain about 4,500 12th-century graduates from all types of populations. About 45,000 of their graduates are spread throughout the country. The preparatory schools contain two stubborn ideological centers that represent different theoretical and religious world views to the point of contradicting each other, a rift that it is doubtful can be closed in the current political world that is devoid of ideological discussions. On the one hand, preparatory schools are led by preparatory school leaders who believe in nationalist ultra-Orthodox or very religious world views, and on the other hand, preparatory schools that are committed to pluralistic, egalitarian and liberal world views. A world containing two such opposing groups has another unique interest: their success in establishing one movement, the Pre-Military Preparatory Council, which is not just a pragmatic movement representing them in favor of pooling resources for them, but a common movement for all leading preparatory schools, with disputes, disagreements and tensions at times. One policy of achieving common and identical goals: active civic leadership to ensure the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel…And yet the unsolvable point of pain is the anniversary of Rabin's assassination. There are many reasons for this… I believe there is no party that is solely responsible for the formation of the feeling that this Memorial Day cannot be celebrated together. Both sides, the secular from the center-left and the religious from the center-right, have been concerned with mutual tango and are not always aware that they are turning this day into a day of controversy and exchange of accusations…
Israel's Execution of Palestinian Hunger Striker Maher Akhras Is Taking Place Now (Jonathan Pollak, Haaretz+) Maher Akhras is still clinging to life. He struggles with every breath, but even 94 days of starvation have not defeated him. However, as far as Israeli High Court justices Uzi Vogelman, George Karra and Alex Stein are concerned, the Israeli hospital bed on which he lies is already occupied by a dead man. He is now on the 94th day of his hunger strike, after he was kidnapped from his home in the dead of night by armed men and jailed without charge or due process; without even being told what he is suspected of or being confronted with any evidence of wrongdoing. But really, what right has he to complain? The despicable practice of detention without charge is rather common throughout the world, in other dictatorships too – ones which make not nearly as much effort to present themselves as democracies. Unlike them, Israel has given this practice a decent-sounding name.
Rabin's real legacy is the way he saw the borders of Israel (Amos Gilboa, Maariv) …The third, is in my opinion, Rabin's real great legacy, which tends to be somewhat hidden: how he saw Israel's borders in the Palestinian arena. On October 5, 1995, at the presentation of the Second Oslo Accords to the Knesset of Israel, Rabin said the following, which all security and state officials should remember by heart: "The borders of the State of Israel at the time of the permanent settlement will be beyond the lines that existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the lines of June 4, 1977. These are the main changes - not all of them - as we see them and want them as a permanent solution: First and foremost, a united Jerusalem that will include both Ma'ale Adumim and Givat Zeev as Israel's capital under Israeli sovereignty. The security border for the defense of the State of Israel will be set in the Jordan Valley in the broadest sense of the term. Changes that will include the addition of Gush Etzion, Efrat, Beitar and other localities, most of which are east of what was the Green Line before the Six Day War. To establish settlement blocs and I wish there would be like them, like Gush Katif, also in Judea and Samaria.” This is his "I believe," and any interpretation is superfluous. And a final word: Rabin's assassination was preceded by wild personal incitement against him, under the ideological banner. Not against his party. Against the man named Yitzhak. Today, on a much larger and more creative scale, wild personal incitement is being waged against the prime minister under the banner of democracy and corruption. Against him and not against his party. We have learned nothing.
Unfortunately, we hear cynical voices that oppose Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day (President Reuben (Ruvy) Rivlin, Maariv) We insist on marking this important day, because these days of remembrance are the links in the chain that binds us to our people, to ourselves, to our history, and to our roots.
Actually, why not Bibi? The victory of Mansour Abbas (Adv. Shakib (Shakib) Ali, Ynet Hebrew) The Arab public understood that the Joint List would not rescue them from their troubles. Who can do that? On the surprising success of the connection between the Islamic Movement and the Likud and Binyamin Netanyahu. This is no longer a secret: there is cooperation between the Islamic Movement and its four members on the Joint List (led by the chairman of the RAAM party, MK Mansour Abbas), and the government of Binyamin Netanyahu. This despite the position of the other members of the Joint List, which, to say the least, does not approve of this conduct. Such things have happened in the past. In the recent past, too, Netanyahu's people have found a sympathetic ear in the Islamic Movement. Last November, MK Abbas told Army Radio that he had met with the prime minister's envoy, Natan Eshel, and that they had discussed the formation of a minority government with the support of RAAM. The fact that MK Abbas was willing to cooperate with Netanyahu indicates that the Islamic Movement does not see its parliamentary mission the same as the other members of the Joint List And this has considerable significance. As far as Arab society is concerned, there is really no difference between the "right" and the "left." Whether Netanyahu falls or not, it does not matter to them. After all, any other government that comes in its place will also exclude them. The people who make up Netanyahu's most bitter rivals, Yesh Atid and Kahol-Lavan, have in fact ignored the Arab public over the years, and especially in the last three election campaigns. And forget (the far-right) Yisrael Beiteinu and Habayit Hayehud parties. In this background, MK Abbas - the deputy chairman of the southern faction of the Islamic Movement - found himself pushed into the arms of the ruling party, because in his view, in the current situation only it can rescue Arab society from its troubles, especially in regards to housing and crime problems. Therefore, there was nothing surprising in his cooperation with Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin regarding the storm over canceling the vote on the establishment of the committee of inquiry into the submarine affair. On that same occasion, he announced that Netanyahu would approve the ministers' decision to extend the five-year plan for Arab society (a plan that includes a budget of about 9 billion shekels, of which only a third was used for reasons mostly related to blocks set by various government ministries. This week Netanyahu kept his promise. To the end of 2021). MK Abbas' support for the cancellation of the vote on the commission of inquiry brought him fire and brimstone from his fellow members on the Joint List. He stressed that he was not elected to fight the government or serve as a tool in the hands of the opposition parties to Bibi, or to inflame the public with fiery speeches. There are those in Arab society who claim that MK Abbas is running away from the rain and covering himself with a waterfall, but there are those who insist he did what he had to do. It is time for a change gears, they say. Instead of a confrontational and heated argument, cooperation with the government is needed. Any government. Instead of focusing only on political rights, the social rights and the improvement of the living conditions of the Arabs in Israel should be taken care of. And, indeed, the Arab public is fed up with the current situation in its localities, and it understands that the Joint List is failing to rescue it from its troubles. The Arab public faces no influence over decision-making and, despite its 15 seats, it fails to prevent racist legislation, house demolitions continue, crime intensifies and the quality of life deteriorates. Despite the "electoral achievement,” many Arab villages still have no infrastructure, no public institutions have been established, master plans are stuck, no land is under construction, sewage is still flowing in some streets, crime is spreading, human life has become no man's land and residents are fleeing to Jewish cities. Representatives of the Joint List fail to bring about an improvement in living conditions, and the Arab resident is thirsty for a calmer and better life. Even if this requires cooperation with Netanyahu. How right is MK Mansour in his approach? Time will tell. But if we assume that his conduct is an experimental balloon aimed at checking the pulse of the Arab street, then he passed the exam with great success. The Arab street did not condemn his conduct or his positions. On the contrary: In a post he published, it is clear that he receives wall-to-wall support. Anyone who wants to can see this as a trailer for the next elections, in which the approach that prioritizes the social interest of all Arabs in Israel, even in cooperation with a right-wing government, will get stronger at the expense of the "just not Bibi" approach. Given all this, it must be assumed that as a new party is formed - Arab or Jewish-Arab - that will emphasize the social aspect of the Arabs in Israel, while changing the tone of the dialogue with Jewish Israel, the day will not be far off and the Arab localities will prosper.
Netanyahu’s Economic Violence (Haaretz Editorial) Benny Gantz, the alternate prime minister and Kahol Lavan party chairman, recently threatened that if a budget for 2021 isn’t prepared by the end of October and approved by the first week of November, Kahol Lavan will start proceedings in the Knesset to call early elections. On Wednesday, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t agree to pass the budget, Gantz will consider supporting lawmaker Moshe Ya’alon (Yesh Atid-Telem) as temporary prime minister. As Gantz told associates, supporting Ya’alon, holding new elections, dismantling the current government and forming a new one are “all on the table.”
The military must remain united (Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Israel Hayom) The IDF proves that it is possible to hold different opinions and diverse beliefs and at the same time show camaraderie, friendship, and true partnership.
The Palestinian scorpion and the frog from the UAE (David Bedein, Ynet Hebrew) The Gulf emirates generously fund UNRWA, which is a hotbed of incitement against Israel. Now, surprisingly, incitement is also directed at them. On the expulsion of the emirates from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. During the hasty visit to Israel by the delegation from the United Arab Emirates, in which its members signed a variety of economic agreements that are supposed to serve the two countries, there was further excitement associated with guests from the Gulf principalities. Emirati officials who visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque received a barrage of humiliation and derogatory calls from Palestinians for daring to sign an agreement with Israel…While the senior emirate delegation was in Israel, praise and praise were posted on UNRWA's Facebook page that the organization's schools can now maintain the curriculum in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, "thanks to financial support from the UAE" ...Now a new company has entered this relationship - the State of Israel. Absurdly, the Palestinian student sits at the UNRWA school, which, as mentioned, "thanks to financial support from the United Arab Emirates can maintain the curriculum," and learns that the State of Israel is the mother of all sin and has no right to exist. The same student discovers that at the same time, in the same country, ministers from the United Arab Emirates are sitting and enjoying warm Israeli hospitality. The result is that your enemy's friend is your enemy, and the UAE actually funds the incitement against it…
Israel-Sudan accord is bad news for Hamas (Yoni Ben Menachem, Israel Hayom) There is a serious concern among the terrorist organization's leadership that the normalization agreement will paralyze its activities in the North African country.
 Interviews:
Rabin's security guard tries to prevent the next political assassination -  In a special project of Ynet and the Yitzhak Rabin Center, key people in Israeli society tell in front of the camera how the murder changed them.
Shai Glazer was 26 when he helped his boss carry Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a few minutes after he was shot. Today he educates and teaches citizenship: "I failed. The only way to prevent the next political assassination is education.”
"I was 26 at the time, a member of the prime minister's security cell,” Glazer recalled. "During this time we witnessed all sorts of things. You absorb and see and hear, and are constantly in friction with protesters [who opposed peace agreement with Palestinians leading to Palestinian state - OH]. (People) waiting near the house on Friday, there (were) very violent demonstrations; cursing, spitting. People were not afraid to lie under the prime minister's car." The weekend leading up to Rabin's assassination was routine. "There was nothing unusual, there was no special alert. The night before there was tension and anticipation because the organizers [of the pro-peace rally at Rabin Square - OH] feared there would not be many people, who would come to the square. Just ahead of the event, at the briefing beforehand, there was some tension and more alertness. Because we understood that it was a huge event, that there would be masses." Throughout the evening, Glazer was close to the prime minister, even the moment he was shot. "The murder catches us near the car, we go down the stairs, and I'm something like a meter in front of Rabin. Going down the stairs and as we approach the car a shot is heard, then two more. I did not see anything because I was with my back to the shooter. The sound of the shot was very strange, kind of muffled. In the background I heard cries of ‘it’s fake, it’s fake.’ I turned around and saw a pile of people. I picked up Rabin together with Yoram Rubin. Yoram lay down on him in the car, I took Leah with me in the escort vehicle and we fled from there.” The feelings after the murder were severe. "It's a burden, I failed. There is no doubt that this event has affected my worldview, both politically and religiously.” The change in Glazer's life accompanied him for many years, until he decided to leave the field of security and to educate students to become better citizens. "Every time I go to class, for me, I go on a mission now. If I ask my students - they have no idea what the Oslo Accords are. The current generation does not understand what kind of incitement there was then. I ask the students today: ‘Tell me, will there be another assassination of a prime minister in Israel?’” Glazer said. "What do they answer you? ‘Of course, the question is when.'" Glazer concluded: "We would expect that after Rabin's assassination some lessons will be learned, and if I am a rabbi or a high school teacher I have a responsibility. The only way to prevent the next political assassination is education. Rabin's assassination is a watershed. The question is who will stop this slippery slope, and who the one who will stop it - is only us." (Interviewed by Michaela Hazani, Ynet Hebrew + VIDEO)

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

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