APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday March 09, 2014

Quote of the day:

---

Front Page News:

Haaretz

• The opposition failed: The Knesset will raise the threshold
• The ship carrying missiles to Gaza arrived in Eilat
• Russia streaming forces to border and threatening to expel nuclear inspectors
• US: Fear of terror attack on Malaysian plane
• The Reform movement: Israel promised (far right-wing) Elad organization would not get control over Wailing Wall
• Commander who beat minor turned into state witness (Hebrew)
• Beit Shemesh and the peoples - A journey in the divided city ahead of elections
• Maariv was not printed this morning: Publisher is looking for a buyer for the paper
• "Inventor of the bitcoin" denies all connections to the digital coin
• 1/4 page ad: We call on MKs of the coalition to oppose the dangerous 'governance law' and to stop the attempt to banish the Arab citizens from the political system! The law will raise the threshold for parties to enter Knesset to 3.25% and is meant to remove the Arab-Palestinian sector from the political arena in Israel. We are civil society organizations in Israel: Palestinian, Jewish-Arab, and human rights organizations, including Sikkuy, Adallah, Agudat Hagalil, Kav Mashveh, Doctors for Human Rights - Israel, the New Israel Fund, Mussawa Center, Shatil and others

• The return home - The unloading of the missiles from the Iranian weapons ship
• The silent people // Eitan Haber asks whether Israeli officials should have made the takeover of the weapons ship into a media photo op
• The stormy week of the MKs - Marathon voting on controversial bills: draft, governance, and national referendum
• Technical failure or terror attack? Malaysian plane to Beijing crashes with 239 people on board
• World Health Organization fighting sugar: Cut to 5% of the daily use
• The blue diamond, the rarest and most wanted in the world, arrives in Israel for an exhibition

• Not published today

• All of Iran's lies - PM in interview with Israel Hayom: "We revealed Iran's face"; "Abu Mazen refuses to enter into negotiations"
• Mission successfully completed: Operation "Full Exposure" arrived yesterday at its end when the missile ship KLOS C docked at Eilat port
• Let Shula (Zaken) talk (against Olmert) // Dan Margalit
• The mystery in the air - Malaysian plane crashed
• Fabulous hosting: Azzam Azzam opened tzimmers at his home
• Rise in motivation to join IDF combat units
• From today say 'Chovlah" instead of trauma; The Language Academy approved new words
• Escalation in crisis in Ukraine: US sent 6 F-15s to Baltic states

---

Peace Talk Highlights:
Today's top stories were docking of the ship carrying missiles allegedly from Iran to Gaza and the three controversial bills that will be pushed through a Knesset vote this week, to the great dismay of the opposition. For the first time in over a year, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gave interviews to the Israeli press and spoke evasively about details of what Israel is willing to concede in the peace process. He also accused the Palestinians of not wanting to negotiate. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has meanwhile reiterated that recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is not going to happen
 
There have been complaints that Netanyahu speaks often to the foreign press, but not to Israelis. That local silence broke over the weekend, when Netanyahu filled the waves with his face and voice - in interviews to Israeli TV channels 2 and 10 as well as an interview to the Israel Hayom daily tabloid, the first in over a year. Netanyahu spoke about the peace process and said that while he "won't leave any Israeli undefended under peace deal," he conceded that "some of settlements will not be included in the (final) agreement. That's clear. Everyone understands that. I will ensure the number will be as small as possible, as far as is possible, if we get there," Netanyahu said attempting to reconcile his position and the need to reach a two state solution.

But he again blamed the Palestinians for problems achieving peace, accusing them of not wanting to negotiate. "Let's first see if the Palestinians are even willing to enter negotiations, because the way I see it, it seems to me that now they are very very far from that, they think they will be able to continue to take their rejectionist route, with unrealistic demands, petitioning the UN; distancing themselves from the question of how they will compromise, how they will recognize the Jewish State, how they understand the right of return (and) how they bring about the end of the conflict," he said. To Israel Hayom Netanyahu said that Abbas refuses to move toward a peace deal. Netanyahu reiterated his demand for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, but, Abbas told Fatah party youth activists that he would stand firm, particularly over the demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry was in Jordan Friday to discuss the peace process with King Abdullah in Aqaba.
  
This week some fiery battles will be raged in the Knesset over the votes on three of the coalition’s flagship bills – the bill that raises the electoral threshold to 3.25 percent, the bill on drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, and the bill requiring a national referendum for Israel to give up annexed land. "The three bills are considered a package deal – a way to pressure coalition parties to pass all three, although some members of the coalition have objections to each of the bills," explains Haaretz+. Coalition chairman Yariv Levin (Likud) if only one bill passed it would mean “the immediate breakup of the coalition, and I think that none of the partners want that." Under existing law, a party must win at least 2% of the valid vote count to enter the parliament, translating into two Knesset seats. The new bill will raise that threshold to 3.25% and make it virtually impossible for small parties, including all the Arab parties to enter the Knesset. The floor debate is scheduled for Monday, with a final plenum vote on Tuesday. Many accuse the coalition of trying to banish the Arabs from the political arena. Opponents of the national referendum bill say that it would make it difficult to hold peace talks and finalize a permanent accord.

Quick Hits:

Commentary/Analysis:

When will the U.S. Jewish community talk peace? (Ori Nir, Haaretz+) How will the U.S. Jewish establishment, such as AIPAC, confront the prospect of peace for Israel when it is mired in an echo chamber of self-righteous axioms and simplistic thinking? 
Recognizing Israel is enough (Friday Haaretz Editorial) Israelis live in a Jewish state, which is the realization of the Zionist vision; they need no Palestinian recognition. 
Palestinian Arabs and America do not need to recognize Israel (Ronn Torossian, Times of Israel) Recent clamoring about whether the Palestinian Authority and America should or should not recognize Israel as a Jewish state as part of a “peace” agreement is completely irrelevant. Israel’s right to exist is the right of the Jewish people and unreserved. There is no reason for the people of Israel, whose rights to the land of Israel are in the Bible to ask anyone to recognize the country.
Iran and 'Karine B' (Elliot Abrams, Israel Hayom) In the Karine A case, the key issue was the intended recipient of the seized weapons; this time, the key issue is the donor.
Israel's state-sponsored missionary work (Haaretz Editorial) Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is obsessed with ‘Jewish identity,’ led by cabinet member Naftali Bennett. 
Iranian cement and Israeli whitewash (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) A country that basks in the glory of military achievement, no matter how impressive, is not a healthy country. 
A boycott for a boycott (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) When it comes to concrete steps taken by the Palestinian leadership, the reaction should not only be verbal. In simple biblical Hebrew, "an eye for an eye."
Hey Arab sister, I’ve got 4,135 days to make peace… (Chaya Lester, Times of Israel) I’ve got a 6 year old son… and, as much as I admire & appreciate the IDF, I’d prefer to NOT send him to the army in 12 years...Do you remember me my Arab sister 6am frantic panicked at the hospital in the heart of Jerusalem We brushed arms as we rushed our girls along that sickening maze of hallways... 
Rocking the boat? (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) Obama is neither listening to nor cares about Netanyahu's repeated warnings that time is running out before Iran acquires nuclear weapons.
If I were an American Jew, I’d worry about Israel’s racist cancer (Daniel Blatman, Haaretz+) Amid the awareness that Israel is sliding toward an apartheid regime, the silence of Jews worldwide is deafening. 
Stop fiddling while Israel occupies (Rachel B. Tiven, Times of Israel) From Ramaz High School disinviting Rashid Khalidi, to Hillel after Hillel tying itself in knots, to front-page New York Times coverage of my synagogue’s e-blasts, American Jews engage in a sort of proxy conflict that avoids the real issues. This is a diaspora luxury that Israel and those who care about it cannot afford. American Jews must engage directly and immediately to resolve the terrible conflict with which Israel was born.
Irrational ire invoked at Israel (Dan Calic, Ynet) No other nation or people have engendered such a plethora of movements, organizations and views obsessed with boycotting it, dividing it up or destroying it altogether. 
Frankly, America, Bibi doesn’t give a damn (Yoel Marcus, Haaretz+) In his speech to AIPAC, it was as if Netanyahu were saying to Obama: Attack me before I arrive and I’ll get you back double. 
Operation Full Disclosure: A promo of Israel's capabilities (Dr. Haim Shine, Israel Hayom) It's important the international community understand that Israel takes very seriously its right to exist without a nuclear threat hanging over its head. 
It's time to sign on the Green Line (Matthew Kalman, Haaretz+) An initiative by British Jewish students calling on pro-Israel groups to use maps that show the Green Line is long overdue. 
Change in status of Arab women begins in Tunisia (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) Situation of tens of millions of women in Arab and Muslim world, even after Arab Spring, is in alarming state of regression. In Tunisia, however, innovative constitution sees women as worthy of any position.
Rare intelligence collaboration (Lilach Shoval, Israel Hayom) Using satellites, drones and signals intelligence, Israel was able to track the Gaza-bound weapons shipment at any given time.

Interviews: 

Netanyahu to Israel Hayom: Iran has not changed
"Right now the battle is over the truth, and the truth is Iran is a country that breaks all the rules," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in Israel Hayom interview. PM: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refuses to move toward peace deal. (Interviewed by Shlomo Cesana in Israel Hayom)

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