APN's daily news review from Israel - Wednesday December 9, 2020 

Quotes of the day:

"Allowing Israel to arbitrate on land rights in the West Bank is like asking Tony Soprano to adjudicate all the financial disputes in New Jersey."
-- Attorney Michael Sfard writes about why the Knesset's attempt to approve Israel administrating land registration in the West Bank must be stopped.*

“They are brainwashed people on the dark side. We will show them the light."
--Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the Emirati businessman who bought 50% of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, plans to turn the team's infamously right-wing anti-Arab racist fans from 'brain-washed' into believers in co-existence.**

Front Page:

Haaretz

• (Likud MK) Gideon Saar establishes new party: “Order of the hour to replace the Netanyahu rule”
• The last Likudnik // Yossi Verter
• Victory for science // Asaf Ronel
• Government withdraws from night curfew plan, shopping malls will open today
• Lockdown initiative and cancellation illustrate the frivolous denial of public liberties // Amos Harel
• Two senior National Security Council members, including the one responsible for dealing with corona, announced their resignation
• Social Welfare Ministry published findings of unsubstantiated study on the damage among children of divorce
• Attack that set France alight was almost covered up and then came the video clip
• Feeling the pain // (Human rights lawyer) Avigdor Feldman writes that the apology of Aisman [candidate for state prosecutor, who made sexist vulgar remarks in the past] raises doubts due to its laundered and vague language
• Prepare for battle // Stav Shaffir on need to unite left-wing politicians and have open primaries
• The series is over, the wound remains open // Ariana Melamed, writing about the Israeli TV series, ‘Valley of Tears,’ about Yom Kippur War, says Israelis remain arrogant
• Crisis leaves the women at home: One out of six female workers who are mothers to small children are forced to stop working

Yedioth Ahronoth

• The explosion in the Likud - (MK Gideon) Sa’ar leaves - this is how it will affect the political system (Hebrew)
• (Kahol-Lavan MKs) Hendel and Hauser expected to join him
• Charged a full price // Sima Kadmon (Hebrew)
• Zigzag - Lockdown was cancelled - and replaced with opening shopping malls and stores
• Failure of the corona cabinet // Sever Plocker
• The vaccines are arriving

Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)

• Division in Likud
• The fall of the wall // Ben Caspit
• Not closed - Government rejected move for night curfew; Vaccinations began on December 20
• Dollar continues to crash

Israel Hayom

• (Gideon) Sa’ar’s gamble - Assessment: Hauser and Hendel will join Sa’ar in the coming days
• National movement cannot be divided into shards // Amnon Lord
• Sa’ar is going into the unknown // Mati Tuchfeld
• A camera at every polling station - Plan to change the election

Top News Summary:
Senior and sidelined Likud MK Gideon Sa’ar announces he is leaving the Likud and forming a new party, the government zigzags on corona restrictions and excitement abounds over the arrival of the first doses of the Pfizer corona vaccine - making top news in today’s Hebrew newspapers.

Also of interest was how differently the Hebrew newspapers presented the results of a study conducted every four years on eighth graders around the world. All the papers reported that the study found that Israeli students improved their ranks in math and science, the Hebrew papers proudly reported. But only Haaretz+ took note that the improvement was ‘moderate’ and more importantly, that the Arab students of Israel were far behind. In math, a 60-point gap exists between the average grades of Jewish and Arab pupils; in sciences, the gap is 42 points. ‘Israel Hayom’ made no mention of this, but quoted former Education Minister Naftali Bennett saying, "The credit goes to all the teachers, principals, education system, and our understanding that Israel's future depends on the scientific and mathematical power of its people.” While not reporting on the gaps, Maariv did quote Bennett saying, “The social gaps also narrowed and there was a sharp decrease of about 10% in the percentage of Arabic-speaking students who have difficulty in mathematics or science.”
 

Quick Hits:

• European diplomats visiting Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip amidst a surge in coronavirus cases - The 18 European diplomats visited the the European Hospital in Khan Younis and the European Union-funded central water desalination plant inside the Israeli-blockaded enclave to check on the humanitarian and health conditions. (WAFA)
• Military Court Accepts Lenient Plea Deal for Soldier Who Shot Dead Innocent Palestinian - The Israeli soldier who killed Ahmad Manasra, 23, who was at the time helping another Palestinian killed by the same soldier, receives community service and a three-month suspended sentence. (Haaretz+)
• Police cleared in alleged shooting of maimed 9-year-old boy - Justice Ministry says Border Police forces were attacked by a group of stone-throwers when Malik Eissa, 9, was struck by what appeared to be a sponge-tipped munition and lost vision in his left eye. Medical experts could not determine whether the boy had been struck by a bullet or a stone, ministry says. (Agencies, Israel Hayom)
• **UAE Sheikh who bought into Beitar Jerusalem vows to show anti-Arab fans the light - Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and his Israeli partner, Moshe Hogeg, both vowed to turn the team, which has gained notoriety for its racist fans and ban on Arab players, into a model of coexistence. Bin Khalifa says 'door open' to Arab players. (Maariv Sport Hebrew, Israel Hayom and Times of Israel)
• Andrea Bocelli Shared A Stage With Israeli Performers At Dubai Opera For One Magical Night - Last night, a ‘Celebration of Peace’ stunned a partly-filled auditorium at Dubai Opera. Israeli singer-songwriter Idan Raichel performed alongside Nadreen Qadri and a host of performers before the guest of honor, Maestro Andrea Bocelli took to the stage alongside Soprano Talia Or. The Israeli performers replaced the Israeli Opera, which was originally scheduled to perform, but cancelled after one musician tested positive for corona. (Lovin Dubai and VIDEO, Israeli blog with VIDEO, UAE gov't website and Israel Hayom Hebrew)
• Stickers Reading ‘Leftist Traitors’ Stuck on Homes of anti-Netanyahu Protesters - 'When they come to your home that’s crossing a line. The message is clear and a personal threat,' said one activist who was targeted. (Haaretz+)
• Retirement of Justice Mazuz may lead to first conservative majority on Israel's Supreme Court - In addition to Mazuz, six other justices who are considered liberal are due to retire in the next three years, and if there is another Knesset election, the next government would be involved in replacing at least some of them. (Haaretz+)
• Israel's Supreme Court Orders Retrial of 2009 Teen Murder Convict - The prisoner was sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2009 when he was 16 years old, for firing at a bus that was transporting students in Kafr Qasem. He murdered Amjad Shawahana, who was then 15 years old, and seriously wounded another student. (Haaretz+)
• Almost a Third of Israelis Living in Poverty Since COVID Hit, Report Finds - 143,000 more families became food insecure since the pandemic began; Nonprofit founder says 2020 is the worst year for poverty in Israel
  in 2020, the poverty rate rose from 20.1 percent, or 582,000 households, to 29.3 percent. (Haaretz+)
• Israeli Officials Finally Admit: Anti-coronavirus Surveillance Data Is False - Israeli lawmakers for months voted to extend the Shin Bet’s mandate to track citizens, despite warnings that it wasn't working. (Haaretz+)
• AIPAC Does Not Oppose F-35 Sales to the United Arab Emirates - Democrats oppose the sale in part because of the UAE’s role in the civil war devastating Yemen. (JTA, Haaretz)
• Jordan seeks to renew Red Sea-Dead Sea water project - "Peace agreements are an incredible and immediate opportunity to renew infrastructure projects," Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis says. (Israel Hayom)
• National Cyber Directorate: Troubling increase in threats to critical infrastructure - Israel National Cyber Directorate Head Yigal Unna : Things are getting worse because we are increasingly dependent on technology. The more advance we get, the greater the challenges and vulnerabilities become. We need to run faster just to stand in place. (Israel Hayom)
• Trading at Record High, Israel's Shekel Continues to Gain Value Versus the Dollar - The dollar is weakening due to optimism about a global economic recovery, as well as expectations that Washington will launch another economic incentive program. (Haaretz+)
• Iran TV apologizes for calling Roger Waters 'political expert' - Iran's state television on Tuesday issued a correction after calling Pink Floyd's Roger Waters a "political expert" when airing his comments on US President-elect Joe Biden. (Israel Hayom)
• Mysterious banner over busy Tehran street says, 'Thanks Mossad' - The message was apparently in reference to the recent assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. (Israel Hayom)

Features:

Unemployment is rising, businesses are closing and quarantine is imminent: but dozens of journalists are in Dubai, some of them commercially funded
Erel Segal and Yinon Magal of Channel 20, Anat Davidov from 103FM, Yehuda Schlesinger of ‘Israel Hayom’ and Ariel Shenbal of ‘Makor Rishon’ all traveled to Dubai on the bill of tourism company Asi Global Tours, which markets trips to Dubai for people who keep kosher. Numerous Israeli journalists are now in Dubai at the expense of and as part of delegations of businesses with economic interests. Apparently, the Israeli public will soon have to read and watch dozens of other items on Dubai from various angles - from the great business potential in the country to the kosher food that will be marketed to tourists who want to travel there. The result: 3,200 articles about Dubai since the start of November. For comparison, in that same period, 3,400 articles were published on unemployment, and 950 articles on bankruptcy and business closure due to corona. The meaning of such immense coverage is, to a large extent, the diversion of public discourse from the failures of the management of the corona crisis, to the land of the new seemingly unlimited opportunities that opened up to Israelis as a result of the peace agreements. This week, Bank Hapoalim sent a delegation to a conference it is holding in Dubai with the Israel Export Institute. Among the journalists who traveled with the funding of these bodies were Yael Ayalon and Anat Davidov from 103FM Radio, Nir Kipnis from Maariv, Eran Bartel, the economic editor of ‘Israel Hayom.’ Nitai Anavi from Army Radio traveled to Dubai with funding from the Peres Center for Peace. Some journalists were sent at the expense of their media organizations Amalia Duak, economic correspondent of Channel 12 News, Dror Gloverman, also of Channel 12, Danny Zaken from "Globes" newspaper, Elichai Vidal from "Calcalist", and Haim Etgar who went to film a program there, regardless of the conference. Amit Segal is currently in Dubai as part of a self-funded journalistic journalism tour. (Sharon Sporer and Tomer Michelson, ’The Hottest Place in Hell’ Hebrew blog)

Top Commentary/Analysis:
Cool Tel Avivian or pro-settler nationalist? Netanyahu could be ousted by this man (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) Gideon Sa'ar was an outsider far to the right of Likud, but he went on to help Netanyahu transform the party from a beaten shell of itself to a fighting parliamentary machine. Now he's back to try to take over the party.
Power move or sour move? Sa'ar's gambit could tilt the political system (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom) Gideon Sa'ar's departure from the Likud could strengthen Netanyahu or bring Gantz closer to the premiership, or it could catapult Naftali Bennett into the prime minister's office.
Charged a full price (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth Hebrew) The prime minister last night paid a heavy price for pettiness, paranoia and not giving encouragement. The man who ran against him for the Likud leadership and received about a quarter of the votes, which put him in the fourth slot on the Likud list for the Knesset, and despite being left outside the government - announced his decision to leave and form a new party.
Gideon Sa'ar Isn’t Looking to Join Netanyahu. He Aims to Succeed Him (Yossi Verter, Haaretz+) In contrast to Bibi's sycophants, Sa’ar is a true Likudnik, perhaps the last one.
Let the Israeli Left Choose Their Own Leaders. Only Then Will They Replace Netanyahu (Stav Shaffir, Haaretz+) A forecast for the election season: In the coming weeks, the media will be replete with headlines quoting a “senior left-wing lawmaker,” “associates” and other mysterious sources who will give briefings assailing one another, blaming each other for worshiping generals or for the thousandth time remembering the need to form a Jewish-Arab alliance. Ultimately, if voters enable it, these politicians will prefer to retain their safe positions over making changes, and we will yet again pay the price.
Seeking glory at Likud's expense (Amnon Lord, Israel Hayom) Gideon Sa'ar's decision to split from the Likud was met with glee on the Left and there is no real way to gauge how it will affect the Right. 
The New Gantz Is Called Eisenkot (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) A government of experts – the dream of the despairing, the oppressed and the frustrated – already exists in Israel. Most of the ministers are experts, but not in their areas of responsibility. However, when it comes to deception, fraud, swindling and vote theft, nobody is more professional. What experts does Israel still need when there are dozens of outstanding professionals in every government ministry, with a great deal of experience, whose voice nobody hears? What medical genius can run the Health Ministry if a third of the population defies the directives, stages mass weddings, floods the shopping malls and holds funerals attended by thousands for its rabbis? Which winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics can manage Israel’s economy without a budget? Because there is no hope for a government of experts in the State of Israel, we seek relief from magicians, shamans and readers of coffee grounds. The latest star in the firmament is former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
Panic broke out at the Balfour Residence again - the apparent result: the cancellation of the election (Ben Caspit, Maariv) To stop the danger of an assault, Netanyahu will agree to a rotation. In the meantime, we will see the Gideons sitting outside and Lieberman, Bennett & Co. continuing to sit in the opposition. Will it happen? Depends on Benny Gantz.
No Longer ‘Forever Pure’ (Haaretz Editorial) You have to rub your eyes in order to believe that the deal between the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club and Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates is real and not some very good joke. The club – which in recent years has become synonymous with hatred of Arabs, in which no Arab player has every played and which has vowed to remain “forever pure” of Arabs – has sold a 50 percent stake to a Muslim, a relative of Abu Dhabi’s royal family. There is nothing to be taken for granted about this deal, which wouldn’t have been signed if not for the courage, vision and steadfastness of Beitar Jerusalem’s owner, Moshe Hogeg who, from the moment he bought the club, set himself the goal of routing the racism that is the hallmark of some of its fans. Hogeg, not fearing the response of Beitar’s far-right militant fan club, La Familia, said: “In my eyes and those of the great rabbis, racism is a sin before God. Racism isn’t done – certainly not in the holy city and certainly not on my watch.”
Criticism aside, Beitar deal could herald change (Jalal Bana, Israel Hayom) This is the time for Israel's Arab citizens to exploit the momentum, expand their ties with senior Emirati officials and enjoy the fruits of peace.
The (soccer) team that reached the height of disgusting will bring peace (Zeev Avrahami, Ynet Hebrew) What fun to write today: My team has Arab owners…It took the team a few years after the Likud took power to win a championship. So, the Likud was in power and Beitar was in power, as well. The Reds [socialist-associated workers’ teams - OH] were pushed to the center of the roster, with a rotation here and there, the Histadrut (National Labor Union) was no longer what it used to be….We became favorites, we gave out jobs, Binyamin Netanyahu went on to the field and bounced a ball on his head to the cheers of the fans. Avigdor Lieberman [far right-wing anti-Arab politician - OH] sat in the VIP galley. The “Mourning in the Histadrut" chant was replaced by the rhythmic and dirty poem of "Death to the Arabs." From a team that represented the Mizrachi periphery of Israel in the 1970s, Beitar Jerusalem has turned into a tainted, scary and threatening club. More and more hostile, violent, extremist, racist elements have taken over the club and the stands. It stole a championship from Hapoel by cheating, threatening the players of the opposing team. ‘Death to the Arabs’ remained the constant chant, only this time the fans made it clear: the Arab can die as much as he wants, but not in a Beitar uniform. Over our dead bodies. We will burn the club down (if there is an Arab player). They also waved a sign: Pure forever. And if all this was not enough, Beitar got an arms dealer and a wanted criminal as an owner. Gaydamak's Beitar has scrubbed the ceiling of disgust, the filth: that money will buy everything here. Years and Beitar has not recovered from this matchmaking. Anyone who cared for his own soul escaped from this club. But go run from childhood habits. Here comes peace, and then another. And then Eli Ohana, the best player in its history and the current chairman, is going to sign a contract that will transfer 50 percent of the ownership of Beitar to Arab owners. It was Ohana who was the club's most extroverted player, both in his game and in his right-wing political stance. I will write this again. A Balkan orchestra plays on each of my finger pads as I write these letters. Beitar Jerusalem - Solo Accordion - has Arab owners. Roll it over your tongue, give peace a chance: (Beitar) Jerusalem is divided. Peace is only a matter of time.
*Israel's Tony Soprano Policies in the West Bank (Michael Sfard, Haaretz+) The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held a meeting about two weeks ago aimed at making land theft in the West Bank more efficient. You don’t believe me? Take a look at the minutes of the November 23rd session on the committee’s website. Don’t be misled by the sleepy headline, “Renewing the land registration process in Judea and Samaria – Adopting recommendations of the Civil Administration.” ..If implemented, it will strip hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of property rights to what remains of their land in the West Bank. The promulgators present it as a fair, professional and neutral “land registration,” by which Israel will once and for all put in order the land registry and list all those who have rights to land plots – Palestinians, Jews or “the state.” In practice, allowing Israel to arbitrate on land rights in the West Bank is like asking Tony Soprano to adjudicate all the financial disputes in New Jersey.
Iran Is Already Stalking Israelis Visiting the UAE. Mossad Is Bracing for the Worst (Yossi Melman, Haaretz+) Warnings about an Iranian attempt to exploit the situation in the Persian Gulf have existed for years, but the expectation of visits by tens of thousands of Israelis is a major headache for the Shin Bet and Mossad.
The Arab Spring's unintentional results (Oded Granot, Israel Hayom) A decade after a series of revolutions rattled the Middle East it seems Iran and Israel were the only ones to emerge stronger, albeit for opposite reasons.
Two Shocking Israel-UAE Developments Just Occurred. The More Significant One Was in D.C. (Amir Tibon, Haaretz+) Israel is now publicly lobbying congress to approve Trump's massive arms deals with UAE, amid growing criticism on Capitol Hill.
Among those around Biden, the Palestinian question is in a higher place than the nuclear deal (Shlomo Shamir, Maariv) The nuclear deal will be a major topic for discussion by the new president, but any change will be made in cooperation with the powers that be. As for the Palestinian question, Biden will act independently. According to sources in Washington and the UN in New York, Joe Biden has his own ideas and plans for dealing with the Palestinian question. The new administration will address the Palestinian issue as a key part of its policy towards the Persian Gulf states and as a motivating factor that will advance the achievement of peace agreements between Israel and the Gulf states with which Israel does not yet have agreements - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait. The central principle of President Biden's policy is to find an economic-non-political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is the assessment of officials in Washington and the United Nations. This is the assessment of Mark Schneur, an Orthodox rabbi in New York, a well-known political activist in the community, who has maintained and maintained close ties with the leaders of the Persian Gulf countries for years. Mark Schneur has visited these countries many times and is now staying in Abu Dhabi, the first stop on a skipping trip he will be conducting in the coming weeks in the Gulf states. In a special conversation with Maariv, Mark Schneur said that, on the part of Joe Biden, mediation efforts between Israel and the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait are expected to be more "focused, serious and ambitious" than with outgoing President Donald Trump, his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. According to Schneur, from recent talks with senior Saudi and Qatari officials, the priority they attach to resolving the Palestinian problem as a condition for promoting peace agreements with Israel has become even clearer. But the priority is not on achieving a political solution to the conflict but on an arrangement that will facilitate and improve the economic situation of the Palestinians. According to Schneur, this position of the Saudis and Qataris is well in line with the views of Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris and their view of the Palestinian problem. "Biden and Harris have an understanding and sensitivity to the Palestinian problem, especially the difficulties and hardships of the Palestinians' daily lives. Joe Biden wants to reach a settlement of the conflict, not necessarily a diplomatic-political arrangement, but an economic arrangement that will alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people,” says Schneur. “This is an aspiration that Saudi Arabia and Qatar support and will help achieve… also as a basis and motivation for recognizing Israel.”
The danger of Biden wanting an Iran deal too much (Ari Morgenstern, Haaretz+) A return to the old nuclear deal is a non-starter, writes CUFI's policy head: Any agreement with the Tehran regime must be comprehensive, bipartisan and durable. And Biden's team must be willing to walk away.
‘It’s Not About Money’: Destructive Cyberattack Proves Israel Lacks One Key Thing (Omer Benjakob, Haaretz+) Massive attacks by possible state actors masquerading as petty criminals are increasingly an issue in digital warfare – and Israel doesn’t appear to have a policy to combat it. There is another option: the establishment of a democratic Israeli party that will unite all the relevant forces and declare the holding of open primaries for the party’s leadership. Only this way will it be possible to rehabilitate voter confidence, recruit a new and fresh leadership and attain a Jewish-Arab partnership.
 

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