APN's daily news review from Israel - Sunday November 22, 2020 

Quote of the day:

“I don’t know. We’re still counting votes in the US, so there’s not much game in talking about that, other than to say we’re very convinced that we have made the Middle East safer, and the policies we put in place are the right ones.”
—In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo answers the question: How easy or difficult will it be for the next administration to scale back its policies (vis-a-vis Israel and the Middle East)?*

Front Page:

Haaretz

• Police expected to put leading (anti-Netanyahu) activists on trial
• One-third women fill the space the state left behind
• (US spy Jonathan) Pollard expected to be released to Israel after the restrictions on him were lifted
• The Trump Administration farewell party is in full swing // Noa Landau
• Pfizer asked for emergency approval for the vaccine; Israel will purchase vaccines from a third company
• Study: 95% of those infected with corona developed antibodies after they recovered
• Legislators from Michigan who were summoned to a meeting with Trump refused to cancel the results of the elections
• Petach Tikva municipality will stop separating foreign (asylum seekers') children in educational frameworks
• Plan to cut trees in Hakovshim Park for the benefit of a subway was rejected
• High Court will decide // Akiva Novick on possibility of running Netanyahu for President to avoid his trial
• They led a change - “Four Mothers” documentary film follows the women who led the campaign (to withdraw from southern Lebanon) and shows how they succeeded
• Israeli Judoka Peter Paltchik won gold medal at European Championship for the first time in his career
• The staffing by acting officials of senior positions is a dream for the ministers, but government work is harmed // Sami Peretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

• The judges who pity the violent men - Special project (Hebrew)
• For your care, your honor, Chief Justice (Esther Hayut) // Ben-Dror Yemini
• Jonathan, go home (to Israel)
• Pollard: “I thank everyone who helped me and prayed for me” (Hebrew)
• Everyone made a mistake // Eliyakim Rubinstein
• Last night: Direct rocket hit on factory in Ashkelon, none injured (Hebrew)
• Israeli pride: Peter Paltchik is the European judo champion

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• FRONT PAGE FULL AD: Bibi, open the shopping malls and lower the infection rate
• PAGE 2 - FULL PAGE AD: Open malls - less infection, more secure, half a million unemployed go back to work; Only the 'Big' company outdoor malls open: chaos with people gathering, crowdy, lines
• PAGE 3 - (actual front page)
• Israel waits for Pollard
• They (anti-Netanyahu protesters) flocked to Caesarea
• A corrupt deal // Ben Caspit

Israel Hayom

• Israel waits for Pollard - Head of department for releasing Pollard: “Thank G-d we reached this time”
• The end of a continuing revenge campaign // Avraham Ben-Zvi
• A whole country needs to thank Pollard // Haim Shine
• Likely: Difficulty getting approval for corona vaccines for children
• Europe is his - Peter Paltchik won European judo gold medal
• The women who went through hell - Special project on violence against women
• The next crisis between Kahol-Lavan and Likud: The appointments in the Justice Ministry
• Red color alert in the south: rocket shot toward Ashkelon
• Extensive floods across the country; 22 people evacuated from their homes in Nes Tziona

Top News Summary:
Jonathan Pollard, the Jewish US spy who sold secrets to Israel, will be released from parole and is expected to move to Israel, an Israeli judoka won the European championships, Israel signed a deal to receive millions of doses of a vaccine in early 2021, thousands of Israelis turned out to the weekly Saturday night demonstrations against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu despite the rain and cold and a rocket from the Gaza Strip fell in Ashkelon and was followed by IDF air attacks on Hamas targets - making top news in the Hebrew newspapers. Also Maariv's latest elections poll.

Jonathan Pollard, 66, who was convicted of selling secrets to Israel when he served as an intelligence analyst in the US Navy, is expected to move to Israel after his parole was not renewed on Friday. Pollard, 66, has spent half his life in jail, including the last five years under strict parole. Netanyahu on Saturday welcomed the lifting of the parole restrictions and said he expects him to come to Israel soon.

Israel hit Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip late Saturday night in retaliation to a rocket that hit a factory in Ashkelon at 9:30PM. But after the rocket fell, Israeli soldiers manning a tank shot a shell of their own volition and without any authorization on a Hamas post. The IDF said it considered the action very grave and it is investigating the incident. (Also Ynet Hebrew and Maariv) Haaretz+ reported that the situation in Gaza - 50% unemployment and a sharp rise of coronavirus infections - increases the likelihood of an escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel. “The view in the defense establishment is that Israel’s political leaders aren’t giving enough attention to understandings reached with Hamas,” Haaretz’s Yaniv Kubovich reported. Israel Hayom reported that the IDF began a military exercise Sunday to improve operational and war readiness in case of another conflict with Gaza.

Maariv poll: The gap between Netanyahu and Bennett is narrowing, the Joint List continues to sink
According to a Maariv-Weekend poll, only 3 seats separate the Likud from Yamina part, with Lapid’s Yesh Atid party trailing behind. About half of the public sees Netanyahu as to blame for the deadlock in the political establishment. Were elections to take place now, the Likud party would receive 27 seats - a decrease of 3 seats compared to a poll conducted last week, while Yamina, led by Naftali Bennett, would increase by one seat and receive 24 seats. Yesh-Atid - Telem, led by Yair Lapid, is also gaining more seats since the previous poll, rising to 18 seats. Kahol-Lavan, which threatens to dissolve the coalition if a budget for 2021 is not passed soon, rises one seat compared to the previous poll and stands at a double-digit figure of 10 seats, but it is still difficult to say that this is a strengthening trend for Benny Gantz and his friends, who are quarreling among themselves. The distribution of the other seats is as follows: Shas led by Aryeh Deri 9, Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman 8, United Torah Judaism 7, and Meretz 6.

 

Quick Hits:

• Israeli Fire Causes Palestinian Child to Lose his Eye - Israeli forces stormed Qalandiya refugee camp Tuesday and injured two people. One of them was Bashar Ahmed Elian Hamad, 16, who was shot in the eye. (IMEMC)
• Rabbi Who Backed Far-right Group to Head Trump Mideast Investment Fund - Aside from renovating West Bank checkpoints, the Abraham Fund is seeking investors for Israel’s natural gas exploration, according to sources. Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, was chosen to lead the fund. [NOTE: This fund is not to be confused with the Abraham Fund Initiatives, an organization which advocates and sets policies of inclusion and equality for Israel Arab's citizens. It was founded by US millionaire, Alan Slifka. - OH]  (JTA, Haaretz)
• UN votes overwhelmingly in support of Palestinian self-determination - While Pompeo makes unprecedented visit to a West Bank settlement, a General Assembly committee redoubled its commitment to a two-state solution with 163 states voting in favor. (Haaretz+ and Israel Hayom)
• Rivlin urges Biden to 'restore confidence' in Israeli-Palestinian peace process - In interview with Washington Institute for Near East Policy, President Reuven Rivlin stressed the importance of US-Israel ties. Israelis, Palestinians must understand "we are not doomed to live together, it is our destiny, we are destined to live together," he said. (Israel Hayom)
• Recently discovered Hamas attack tunnel is deepest ever built - Plunging several dozen yards underground the Israel-Gaza border, the tunnel also extends dozens of yards into Israeli territory. The IDF constructed an elevator to allow troops to descend into the tunnel. (Israel Hayom)
• Gaza Coronavirus Cases Surge but Authorities Fear Lockdown Could Mean Mass Hunger - Gaza medical authorities have ramped up pressure on Hamas to impose a lockdown for three weeks to curb the spread of coronavirus. Sources say Gaza leaders aren’t hastening to make a decision for economic reasons. (Haaretz+)
• Gaza health system just 'days' from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 - With 79 of 100 ventilators taken up by COVID-19 patients, Palestinian enclave's healthcare apparatus may soon become unable to care for critical cases as age of patients rises; Israel enabling humanitarian aid to reach Strip. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Israel to send millions of COVID vaccines to Palestinian Authority - Ramallah says it will be short several million doses even after receiving the vaccines from Israel, as well as millions of vaccines the United Nations has pledged the PA. (Israel Hayom)
• Egypt to briefly open Rafah border crossing with Gaza - Palestinians wishing to return to or leave the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, will be able to do so during the period between Tuesday and Thursday of this week, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced today. (WAFA)
• PLO official: 'Made in Israel' is endorsement of land theft and plunder - Hanan Ashrawi, Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Executive Committee, condemned Thursday the US top diplomat’s visit to an Israeli colonial settlement in the West Bank as an endorsement of land theft and plunder. (WAFA)
• Syria condemns Pompeo's visit to 'occupied' Golan Heights - Beirut condemns "provocative act" by US secretary of state, which it says violates international resolutions. Palestinians and Arab states allege move will help cement Israeli control over territory. (Israel Hayom)
• Israeli army chief, in rare move, defends bereaved family berated by Netanyahu supporters -  Responding to a protest by pro-Netanyahu activist, Kochavi says politicizing the pain of families who lost loved ones 'is a humane and moral red line that must not be crossed’. (Haaretz+)
• Gantz Promises to Adapt Israel's Defense Ministry Forms to Include LGBTQ Families - Following the Justice Ministry's lead, forms will say 'parent 1' and 'parent 2' instead of 'father' and 'mother' ■ Move follows Kahol Lavan's abstention from vote that would have revised all state forms. (Haaretz+)
• Beatings and forced medication: Asylum seekers in Israel report inhuman conditions - A report by the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants NGO describes subhuman conditions and treatment akin to torture such as being hit with belts, lack of contact with the outside world and just moments of free time in the open air. (Yedioth/Ynet)
• Israel Says Agreed With AstraZeneca on COVID Vaccine Rations for 5 Million People - Under the agreement, AstraZeneca vaccines would begin arriving in Israel in first half of 2021 ■ Deal includes largest supply of rations Israel has secured so far. (Haaretz and Ynet)
• Nearly half of new coronavirus cases among Israeli Arabs - Nazareth, the largest Arab city in the country, now declared a red zone due to spike in COVID-19 cases and may be put under lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, ministers to meet Friday to decide. (Yedioth/Ynet)
• Netanyahu’s and Gantz’s parties agree on top treasury appointment, potentially ending stalemate - Cabinet set to discuss a host of appointments after Kahol Lavan agrees to appoint accountant general in exchange for appointing a director general of the alternate prime minister’s office. Meanwhile, key positions remain vacant. (Haaretz+)
• Justice minister boycotts cabinet meet over secret postings deal - Avi Nissenkorn was reportedly kept out of the loop on agreement between his Blue and White party and Likud to install senior officeholders in Treasury, alternate PM’s office. (Times of Israel)
• The MK who defected from the Likud to Kahol-Lavan will be appointed Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia -  37 years after immigrating to Israel, the government is expected to approve the appointment of Alali Adamsu to the post in Addis Ababa, which is currently at war, and to Chad. Also, Foreign Minister Ashkenazi advances the appointment of former MK Hilik Bar to the post of ambassador to Canada. (Yedioth Hebrew)
• The tribute of the Israeli ambassador, which Azerbaijanis appreciated - George Deek, the first Christian Arab ambassador in the history of Israel, visited an area that was bombed in the city of Ganja and promised a boy he would help save his friend, who was seriously injured . The boy died two days later. In a Tweet, the ambassador uploaded photos from a church and wrote: "I apologized for the promise I did not fulfill." (Yedioth Hebrew and JPost)
• Poll finds low support for Israel among Bahrainis, despite high Israeli support for them - "It is important to demonstrate that the UAE and Bahrain are two separate countries," said Global Research's Mitchell Barak. "While we are being sold that they are like cousins, they have very different opinions about Israel and in general." (Israel Hayom)
• 'Erdogan government will not be able to erase history' - Former Turkish MP Aykan Erdemir says Thursday that tensions aside, "Turkish-Israeli relations remain one of the most interesting in the Middle East." Anti-Defamation League and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies hold a joint event to discuss the protection of religious minorities in Turkey. (Israel Hayom)
• Secretive Quds Force Unit 840 behind attempted Golan Heights border attack - IDF Spokesman says explosives found on Golan Heights border likely planted several weeks ago by local Syrians under the direction of Iranian National Guards' elite Quds Force. IDF has been tracking the unit's attempts to establish terrorist infrastructure on the border for several months now, he says. (Israel Hayom)
• Iran's Revolutionary Guard launches aircraft-carrying ship - Iran's paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched a heavy warship Thursday capable of carrying helicopters, drones and missile launchers amid ongoing tensions with the United States. The ship carries truck-launched surface-to-surface missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and a helicopter pad. (Israel Hayom)
• Islamic State claims responsibility for pipeline explosion in Sinai - "The pipeline did not carry natural gas from Israel to Egypt. Gas supply continues as usual," Energy Ministry assures. (Israel Hayom)
• ISIS in Iraq and Syria still long-term threat, US general says - "Today, across vast swaths of Syria and Iraq, the systemic indoctrination of IDP and refugee camp populations who are hostage to the receipt of ISIS ideology is an alarming development with potentially generational implications," Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of US Central Command said Thursday. (Israel Hayom)
• Saudi Foreign Minister: “We support normalization, but the Palestinian issue must be resolved first" - “A full and permanent peace agreement that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state in a dignified manner must be a first priority," Faisal Ben Rahfan said in an interview. The minister added that he expects to cooperate with Biden. (Maariv)

Features:

This Pastoral Palestinian Community Built a School of Its Own. Now Israel Wants to Demolish It
Before the schoolhouse was built, children had to walk seven kilometers each way to get an education. Will the dream be destroyed by bulldozers? (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+)
What Biden’s top defense secretary candidate has to say about Israel – and Iran nuclear deal
Michèle Flournoy has spoken out on everything from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Iran and Syria during her decades in Washington. (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+)
How Ancient Egyptians Would Join the Gods After Death
New analysis of a First Book of Breathing papyrus sheds light on its derivation from the Book of the Dead and postmortem deification in ancient Egypt – for those who could afford it. (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz+)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Pompeo’s Grotesque Farewell Party in Israel Shows That the Trump Team Knows It's Over (Noa Landau, Haaretz+) Pompeo used his visit to Israel and the settlements to push forward his pet ideological project and advance his post-Trump political career.
The closest thing to sovereignty (Ariel Kahana, Israel Hayom) As soon as the US secretary of state set foot in Sha'ar Binyamin, a long boycott was lifted. Through Mike Pompeo's presence at the Psagot Winery, and of course his statement declaring the Jewish settlement of Judea and Samaria legal, the United States had recognized the Jewish people's moral and historical right to Judea and Samaria.
The Last Days of Pompeo (Friday Haaretz Editorial) Mike Pompeo chose to end his term as secretary of state with a tour of solidarity with Israel’s extreme right, while spitting on decades of pre-Trump U.S. foreign policy, on the norms of international law and on justice. On Wednesday he came across more like an extremist leader of the Yesha Council of settlements than as the foreign minister of the superpower. It’s a good thing that this will presumably be his last official visit. It’s a good thing that he will soon leave office.
It’s no wonder that conspiracy theories flourished during the Trump and Netanyahu era (Ran Adelist, Maariv) Conspiracy theories are an alternative reality of events that correspond with Fake News and political views. Those of the right are much more colorful. Not to mention the effectiveness of their chains of infection and the super-springs that market them.
Trump Hands Biden a Precedent: Terrorists Can Be Negotiated With (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+)  The outgoing U.S. administration is encouraging the Taliban’s participation in the Afghan government and not demanding that Iraq boycott the Shi’ite militias. Such measures could open a window for contacts with Hezbollah.
Let's dive into the confusion about the submarines (Amir Avivi, Israel Hayom) Defense acquisitions are complicated and entail lengthy negotiations and the involvement of a lot of different officials in multiple countries. But Israel never intended to expand its submarine fleet beyond a total of six.
Israel and its neighbors grow anxious as Trump becomes more unpredictable (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The president may have backed down from the idea of attacking Iran, but there are many other theaters to escalate. Israel steps up psychological warfare by outing an Iranian unit.
Netanyahu must legalize the status of settlements, now, before Biden arrives (Prof. Arie Eldad, Maariv) Trump served in the White House for four years, but Netanyahu did not apply sovereignty, did not build, did not even promote construction plans. But now it's urgent. Very soon, our friend Biden will be here, and who knows what will happen.
One Is a Free Hero, the Other, a Hostage (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) Another festival comes and goes: Jonathan Pollard seems likely to immigrate to Israel. He already earned Israeli citizenship while in prison, and he may of course take advantage of it – but let’s not make him a national hero, as the right would like to do. Pollard is neither a hero nor is he a nationalist. He’s a spy, an American Jew who betrayed his country, doing damage to both his community and Israel. The defense establishment in the United States did indeed treat him cruelly; but Israel has no right to complain. Its treatment of another man, a man with arguably more values than Pollard, Mordechai Vanunu, is much crueler. And yet - a torch has already been lit on Mount Herzl on Independence Day for the former, while the torture of the other hasn’t ended to this very day, and hardly anyone says anything in protest. It’s not fair to compare the two. Despite the efforts of Israeli media to fondly but meanly call him “the atomic spy,” Vanunu did not engage in espionage, but published information in his possession to express his legitimate anti-nuclear and anti-Zionist ideology. The campaign of vengeance against him was not due to any security damage he had supposedly done – it’s doubtful that he caused any – but aggressive political reasons…
Crossroads in the Palestinian arena: Where do black swans fly when the lake is frozen? (Aviad Mandelbaum, Maariv) The "concept" has held for about 50 years - there is no normalization without progress on the Palestinian issue - and now that concept is gone. The defense establishment must examine whether it is prepared for the Palestinian "black swan" - the surprise that no one could have predicted, that the Palestinian people might take. In general, the restoration of coordination and the change of the US administration are a sigh of relief for Israel and the Palestinians and the postponement of the Palestinian struggle to another summer day, when the lake is full of swans.
The PA's policy of deception (Maurice Hirsch, Israel Hayom) While the PA may hope to deceive the uninformed, the truth is incontrovertible: For the PA, rewarding terrorists is not about social welfare, but about incentivizing and rewarding terror and murder.
One small step towards Palestinian-Israeli talks (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) With no serious breakthrough on the horizon to solve the decades-long conflict, a renewal of ties between Jerusalem and Ramallah holds great importance in restoring some order to the Middle East quagmire.
The Palestinian leadership chooses captivity (Amjad Iraqi, 972mag) Devoid of strategy, the PA has returned to its role as a subcontractor of the occupation. Luckily, the richest source of Palestinian power is in its grassroots.
The Glass Ceiling Preventing a Hamas-Israel Calm (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The issue of soldiers' bodies and civilians held in Gaza, as well as Israeli political considerations, are hampering what both sides seek. What could be Trump and Netanyahu’s positive legacy?
The 'Sand Curtain' has fallen (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) The Sand Curtain between Israel and the Arab world has fallen, like the Iron Curtain 30 years ago, but some have difficulty rejoicing in the breakthrough. The Left assiduously is poking holes in the Abraham Accords and making sourpuss faces whenever the Roadrunner-fast advances in Gulf-Israel ties are mentioned.
If You Don’t Want Netanyahu as Prime Minister, You Might Get Him as President (Akiva Novick, Haaretz+) A drab passage in the Israeli law book that has been gathering dust is about to inflame the country’s political world. “The President of the State shall not face criminal charges,” promises Article 14 of the Basic Law on the President of the State – and there is exactly one person for whom this article is very relevant.
Arab Israelis are joining the new Middle East (Dr. Col. (res.) Moshe Elad, Israel Hayom) MK Mansour Abbas, along with many other who favor a more tolerant version of Islam and want to partake in the state's affairs, are realizing that a new reality in the region is emerging.
Netanyahu is not the man teach us morals (Amichai Attali, Ynet) The prime minister has ingrained into the political system the notion that one should never engage the predominantly Arab Joint List faction, but was quick to flip-flop on the issue once it became expedient for his interests.
Israeli Education Must March Behind a Different Drummer (Adar Cohen, Haaretz+) Why did the Education Ministry ignore Ruth Gavison's pedagogic guidelines to teach a pluralistic view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?…It is from Ruth Gavison that I learned how to educate toward complexity. Most of us, young and older alike, routinely divide the world – certainly the political arena – into good and bad, right and wrong, those who are on our side and others who will always be suspected of being against us. Our basic identity is what dictates our preferences, our attitudes and the people we will agree to listen to amicably while nodding our assent, and not with aggressive impatience.
A Commission to Probe Israel’s Submarine Affair Is Nigh, and Netanyahu Has Cause for Concern (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+)  Still, in the run-up to the next election, he knows that now is the time to start bashing away at the support for Naftali Bennett on the right.
Following the deal by Gantz and Netanyahu: Nissenkorn is expected to boycott the cabinet meeting (Ben Caspit, Maariv) In his desperate efforts to maintain the prospect of a rotation with Binyamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz may find that he has lost the support of his party. The corrupt deal he formed with Netanyahu provoked a great deal of anger among Kahol-Lavan people.
Sergeant's Preventable Death Is a Parable of the Core Israeli Story (Yair Assulin, Haaretz+) There are so many things to write about and truly these are significant, stormy and revolutionary events on many levels. But after reading Yaniv Kubovich’s important investigative piece (Hebrew Haaretz, Tuesday) about the frighteningly needless death of soldier Evyatar Yosefi in the Hilazon Stream in January 2019, you want to just write about it. You want to write about it mainly in order to scream. You want to shout about all the attempts to sweep it under the rug, the manipulations, the power plays, the criminal instincts – there’s just no other word for it – of the commanders, who in a moment’s time and without the blink of an eye, while the corpse was still in the water, were already beginning to disrupt the investigation, to hide the truth. To shout at a neglectful battalion commander who screams at a brave soldier that he’s a liar, and a division commander who watches in silence…And you cannot help but think about all the military people who speak today about corruption and morality, who view themselves as leaders. If they really want to see any change made in this place, if they are really committed to what they say, they must demand a new investigation into this incident and give stiffer punishments to the commanders. Because that’s the source of the erosion, the lack of confidence, the corruption. The IDF is Israel’s most powerful educational system. All emanates from it and no change will come unless we understand that. Unless we shout.
Cover Up, Cover Your Ass: How to Get Ahead in Israel (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) Evyatar Yosefi was abandoned to his death twice. The first time when he and his comrades from the reconnaissance battalion of the Paratroops Brigade were sent for a navigation training exercise in the middle of a storm at night, combined with criminal negligence and arrogance. The second time was when his dead body was floating in the rushing water of the Hilazon Stream, while on the bank his commanders had already begun a campaign of covering up and evading responsibility. It is here that they actually went into action and attacked, and displayed their excellence. It is impossible to read the investigative report published this week by Yaniv Kubovich in Haaretz in Hebrew and continue on as normal. I don’t understand how sane parents are supposed to send their children off to combat service in an army with such a level of professionalism, safety, attitude toward human life, investigative culture and sense of responsibility – and this is in what is called an “elite unit.” But this story has spilled over outside the boundaries of the army. It testifies to the deep, disastrous Israeli character…
Atarot must be allowed to take off again (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) Israel has lost the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Atarot to the Palestinians twice – once in 1948, and again through international pressure. It's not too late to change the destiny of this Jewish-owned land and keep it part of sovereign Jerusalem.
There's No Point to a Commission of Inquiry on Netanyahu's Submarines Affair (Israel Harel, Haaretz+) Three years ago, when reports began to surface about alleged corruption in connection with the purchase of submarines, the Defense Ministry had a duty to immediately investigate the extent of the IDF’s and the purchasing administration’s involvement in the scandal. They failed in their duty. Only when the threat of an investigation can be used by Kahol Lavan as a weapon against Benjamin Netanyahu – some are rightly referring to it as blackmail –  only then is Defense Minister Benny Gantz “considering” the establishment of such a commission of inquiry...
Fanning the flames of hate (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) By providing a platform to the anarchist fringes and ignorant but well-funded provocateurs, the media hopes to create rifts within Israeli society. In a democracy, the leadership and the path are decided in democratic elections; there is no shortcut. We must not let the street take over our vision and our lives in the land of our forefathers. We must defend our home.
The American Outsider Who Saved Israel's Supreme Court (Avigdor Feldman, Haaretz+) In 1948, Shimon Agranat was appointed to Israel's top court and stopped it from abasing itself. Is this about to happen again?
 

Interviews:
Trump administration will continue to be a force for good'
"You can see nations coming to understand that the Palestinians have rejected reasonable offers to negotiate time and time again. The leadership has simply failed its own people," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells JNS. (Interviewed by Alex Traiman in JNS/Israel Hayom)

*Pompeo to 'Post': All options still on the table to counter Iran
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrapped up a visit to Israel, replete with dramatic policy announcements. (Interviewed by Lahav Harkov in The Jerusalem Post/Maariv).

Pompeo hints more Trump administration announcements on Israel to come
“There’s every reason to expect that the direction of travel for US policy with respect to Israel will continue.” US policy towards Israel will continue in the same vein in the coming weeks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview Friday. (Interviewed by Lahav Harkov in JPost)
 

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