News Nosh 04.06.14

by APN 04/06/14
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APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday April 06, 2014
 

Quote of the day:

"I came to be with them, to condemn the acts and actions (of) terrorists who try to harm the innocent. We will not let this carry on."
--Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich visited the Arab village of Gush Halav, Jish, in the Western Galilee, where the tires of 40 cars were punctured and hate graffiti was sprayed, ostensibly by Jewish citizens.**


Front Page News:

Haaretz

Yedioth Ahronoth

  • Last effort to save negotiations - US sources to Kerry: It's time to admit to failure
  • Scandal or festival // Yehudi Nuriel on news of drugs supplied to famous performers
  • Hot holiday - Hot weather today perfect to begin Passover holiday
  • Today: Olmert expected to be questioned on suspicion of obstruction of justice
  • 4 female pupils in 6th grade planned to stab their classmate "because of an argument"
  • Who here is the Ace? War and Peace: Israelis and Lebanese go head to head at Lebanon Poker Championships
  • (Tycoon) Dankner art - IDB Holdings puts on sale collection of art that decorated its offices

Maariv

  • not published today

Israel Hayom

 

Peace Talk Highlights:
The Americans are getting exasperated, but despite the crisis, the Israelis and Palestinians are meeting today to try to save the peace talks, the Hebrew papers announced on their front pages.

US Secretary of State John Kerry declared "it's reality-check time" on whether an agreement can be reached anytime soon and that the US will re-evaluate its role as mediator. Haaretz reported that the US administration is frustrated with both Israel and the Palestinians, but privately, it mostly blames Israel.
 
Despite the mutual blame between Israel and the Palestinians, both sides agreed to meet again today (Sunday) together with US envoy Martin Indyk. Yedioth wrote that both sides 'want to climb down the tree and are looking for creative solutions and are fearful of the situation deteriorating even more. However, it appears they are on a collision course. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians don't want clash with US, but if Israel fails to live up to its commitment to release the fourth round of prisoners, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would 'have a free hand' to seek UN recognition. The Palestinians also plan to demand today that the talks focus on final borders in exchange for extending the talks and the Palestinian commitment not to join international organizations, Haaretz reported. "They spoke generally without addressing the 1967 borders or the boundaries of Jerusalem," a Palestinian official said of the Israeli negotiators. "One of the proposals was that Jerusalem won't be mentioned in the framework agreement at all, and instead the Americans would attach an external letter that would stress the importance of Jerusalem to Palestinians without defining its borders."
  
However, according to the Israelis, "This matter is up to the Palestinians," an Israeli source told Ynet. "If they insist on the fourth group (of prisoner releases), it will be a problem. We are willing to consider overriding the demand to cancel the Palestinian turn to the UN, but the question is whether the Palestinian are willing to override the request for the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners, which at this state seems impossible." (According to a report by the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen news site, the two sides also met secretly late Friday night.)
  
 The papers reported that chief Israeli negotiator Tzipi Livni accused pro-settler Housing Minister Uri Ariel of intentionally sabotaging the talks by issuing tenders in East Jerusalem on Wednesday, hours before a deal was to take place between the sides. (Ariel said Livni failed miserably and is now looking for someone to blame.)
And while Livni said Abbas' move to apply for membership in UN institutions, was "a big mistake," she also told Channel 2's Meet the Press, "The question is not who is to blame for the crisis" and that Israel has to deal with Palestinian decisions it finds unacceptable. She said that Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should hold direct talks. 
 
 Finance Minister Yair Lapid, however, has prepared his 'alibi,' writes Haaretz. Lapid, who conditioned joining the coalition on the resumption of peace talks, blamed the Palestinians for 'intentionally' derailing the process.
 
Meanwhile, a Palestinian official said that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will commence protests beginning this week against Israel's failure to release a fourth group of veteran prisoners.
 
As the US is preparing for a possible reduction of its involvement in the Israel-Palestinian peace process and the two sides meeting today, Yedioth writes that Israel is preparing for the talks failure. Among the sanctions it is considering is the freezing of 19 construction master plans in Area C that were already approved, and stopping a program prepared in cooperation with international organizations that allots 14,000 dunams in Area C for agricultural use. Moreover, writes Yedioth, Israel is considering preventing ministers and CEOs of government ministries from meeting with their counterparts on the Palestinian side. If Abbas decides to move forward with memberships in international organizations, Israel will impose more severe sanctions such as freezing the transfer of Palestinian tax money, putting back military checkpoints across the West Bank that Israel dismantled, putting up bureaucratic blocks and also making massive settlement construction. The right-wing is calling for increasing the rate of demolishing illegal Palestinian homes [built over Green Line, but without receiving rarely given Israeli permit -OH[.

 

Quick Hits:

  • Palestinians say over 1,500 children killed by Israel since 2000 - Palestinian minister says more than 10,000 children have been arrested during the same period and 200 are still detained. (Haaretz)
  • Nablus man suffers fractures during settler attack - Mohammad Ahmad Radi Ibrahim, 33, suffered several fractures after dozens of settlers from Elon Moreh attacked farmers in the village of Urif Friday. (Maan)
  • Settlers raid East Jerusalem neighborhood, stone residents - Dozens of settlers raided the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in E. Jerusalem Friday, vandalizing property and attacking residents. Israeli police arrived and arrested two Palestinians after assaulting them. (Maan)
  • Israeli settlers uproot 650 grape vines south of Bethlehem over weekend - On Saturday, settlers destroyed 200 vines that were four years old and another 150 that were planted only two months earlier in al-Khadr village. On Friday, settlers destroyed over 300 newly planted grape vines in the same village. (Maan)
  • **Minister Aharonovitch in (Arab) village of Gush Halav (Jish): "The perpetrators are terrorists" - Two days after the tires of 40 vehicles were punctured and hate graffiti was sprayed, such as "Only goyim (non-Jews) will be evacuated from our land," Public Security Aharonovitch arrived to visit the Arab village in Western Galilee. "National crimes and hatred are one of the central issues that I am dealing with. There are dozens of cases like this and we have good information on some, including this case...," he said. (Yedioth, p. 21)
  • Palestinians clash with IDF soldiers near Ramallah - Crowd gathers outside Ofer Prison near Ramallah Friday to protest Israel's refusal to release prisoners; Israeli army says 5 Palestinians wounded while Palestinian sources say 13 wounded. (Haaretz) 
  • Israel okays controversial East Jerusalem archaeology project - Arab residents in Silwan say the planned visitor center fails to take their needs into account and is an attempt to further strengthen the Jewish presence in the neighborhood. (YnetVIDEO)
  • East Jerusalemites finally start receiving mail - Israel Post has set up mail distribution centers in East Jerusalem at an investment of millions of shekels. (Globes)
  • IAF attacks 5 Gaza targets Friday following rocket fire at South - Israeli Air Force hits terror targets in the northern and central Gaza Strip in response to three rockets fired Thursday night at the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council area. (Ynet)
  • IDF officers take to Facebook to support soldier who drew Hitler - The new page, created after the cadet was expelled for drawing the Nazi leader, seeks to create a place where soldiers can 'doodle without fear.' (Haaretz) 
  • IDF weighs opening 2nd combat battalion to women -Army seeks to integrate female fighters into more combat roles, citing a 64% rise in the number of women asking to be drafted into combat positions and possible personnel gaps that will be created when service for men is shortened. (Israel Hayom)
  • Report: Israel banks on another decade of U.S. military aid - According to Defense News, most of Israel's current agreement is already earmarked for purchases through 2018. (Haaretz)
  • Meet 'Morty' - IDF's new and improved mortar - Israel Military Industries develops GPS-guided mortar shell, solving accuracy issue, offering military response to Gaza terror cells. (YnetVIDEO) 
  • Peres gets Chinese social network account ahead of China visit - President Shimon Peres is scheduled to embark on a three-day official visit to China on Monday. Peres to meet with leading Chinese businessmen to increase economic ties. It will be the first Israeli presidential trip to China in a decade. (Israel Hayom) 
  • Arab microbiologist is Israel's new 'Master Chef' - Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, a 33-year-old mother of three from northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, dreams of opening a Jewish-Arab cooking school. (Haaretz and Ynet)
  • Bedouin vow to stay in contested Jordan Valley - As civil liberties groups say Israeli home demolitions have risen, Jews and Palestinians both claim rights in key territory. (Times of Israel) 
  • Israeli tech preferred over Russian for Indian carrier - India already uses Israel's Barak 1 missile system for anti-ship missile defense and is considering the more advanced Barak 8. (Haaretz)
  • West Bank rabbi: Left-wing Jews are clueless about the Bible - U.S.-born Shlomo Riskin says non-Orthodox Jews are willing to trade land for peace because they are unaware of 'our biblically mandated right to Israel.' (Haaretz) 
  • 400,000 Israelis to head overseas during Passover - Top destinations for Israeli travelers are United States, France, England, Russia, Italy and Germany. 20,000 Israelis expected to fly to Turkey this month, despite travel warning. Increase in travel attributed to low cost airlines entering the market. (Israel Hayom) 
  • Tommy Hilfiger on brief visit to Israel - US fashion designer arrives in Holy Land to launch new store, hang out with his good friend Bar Refaeli. (Ynet)
  • 4 killed, 8 tunnels destroyed in Sinai security operations -  Egyptian forces reportedly raided areas across the Sinai Peninsula where Wahhabi "insurgents" were based. Eight tunnels leading into the Gaza Strip were also destroyed during the raids. (Maan)
  • Israel slammed for sending asylum seekers to Rwanda without status, rights - MK convenes extraordinary session of Knesset committee following Haaretz report. (Haaretz) 
  • New play 'Camp David' retraces 1978 peace accord - Short-run theatrical production in Washington, DC celebrates spirit, drama of the 13 days of negotiations that led to first Arab-Israeli peace treaty. (Agencies, Ynet)

Features:
JNF accused of squandering your generosity
Jewish National Fund coffers hold 4 billion shekels ($1.15 billion) in liquid assets, the “Hamakor” (“The Source”) investigative news program on Channel 10 revealed Wednesday. According to the report, in 2009-2013 the JNF, which controls 13% of the land in Israel, or 2.5 million dunams (some 620,000 acres), received almost 6 million shekels for administering its land, a sum that represents over 90 percent of its income. The investigation revealed problematic spending by the JNF. The JNF denied it has wasted funds from its swollen coffers and said it was overseen by its internal comptroller. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni slammed the JNF for its refusal to be reviewed by the State Comptroller and to publish financial reports. "They are doing everything to make politicians oppose the moves I am spearheading," said Livni. Chairman of Knesset Legislative committee, MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), recently refused to accept the Attorney General's recommendation to apply to JNF the duties applicable to any public benefit corporation, such as a State Comptroller reviews and publishing financial reports. Senior judicial people said yesterday that Rotem and many other right-wing ministers are not interested in supervision over the JNF, because part of its budget goes to settlements and because it gives out senior public positions, including being an envoy abroad, to its political activists, usually to the ruling parties, Yedioth reported. (Haaretz and Yedioth, p. 22)

The story of an agent
The dramatic capture of Jonathan Pollard in Washington in 1985 was accidental. Had Pollard made slightly different decisions in the days before his arrest, he could have avoided life imprisonment. (Israel Hayom)
Photos give a rare look into the Nazis of Mandatory Palestine
Photographer Heinrich Nus worked with Arab orphans and married an Arab woman, putting his Nazi credentials in doubt. (Haaretz)
The secrets of Unit 504
Being a member of Unit 504 is not for the faint of heart. This field interrogation unit gleans tactical, real-time information that changes battle plans and, most importantly, saves the lives of soldiers in the field as well as civilians on the home front. (Israel Hayom)
In Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, oriental splendor meets New York grandeur
Incorporating only the facade of the historic Palace Hotel and an aura of the past, the world-famous Waldorf puts itself on the map of the city's luxury accommodations. (Haaretz) 
With a strong hand: Israel against Lebanon. In poker
The Lebanese are scared of Hezbollah, the Israelis of the Tax Authority and everyone prays for a straight flash. That's how it is in the Lebanon poker championships, which is actually held in Montenegro: peace negotiations may be collapsing, but near the green table, everyone plays with everyone. Reporter Lior Igel traveled to meet the people for whom it's not a matter of politics. (Yedioth, '24 Hours' supplement cover)
A legendary Mossad commander steps from the shadows
The intensely driven Mike Harari, subject of a new book, received the agency’s top honor for operational work related to Iran’s nuclear program… at age 80. (Times of Israel)

Commentary/Analysis:

Make funding for settlements transparent (Haaretz Editorial) Public money is not private capital to be used by the settlement division or the legislation committee. That's just plain robbery.
It’s the Palestinians’ fault, let them pay (Gideon Levy, Haaretz) This cynical and useless game, whose only purpose is to prove again that the occupied ones are to blame, will end in bloodshed. 
Peace talks: Very late, but not too late (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) It's still too early to guess whether the current confrontation heralds the end of peace talks, or if we can turn the clock back.  
Zaken, lies and audiotape (Amir Oren, Haaretz) Ehud Olmert's former right-hand woman, Shula Zaken, may have been motivated by revenge, but her plea-bargain agreement is a price worth paying.
Abbas' failure (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) The last round of talks eroded even further what was left of the Palestinian leader's credibility.
Are Arabs human beings? (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz) Blindness enables Israelis to see themselves as living in a democracy, while it is in fact an apartheid regime.
The prime minister of America (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) As an American, Netanyahu has the thinking patterns of Republican voters, and those are the people he wants around him.
Can Israel's left bring peace? (Tal Niv, Haaretz) Tal Niv goes head-to-head with Ari Shavit, saying that the occupation cannot be ended 'unilaterally.'
Why Israel can’t represent world Jewry (Roy Isacowitz, Haaretz) With the 'Jewish state’ demand, is Israel setting itself to follow Putin’s example - to intervene in states where Jews, its ethnic compatriots, are deemed to be in danger?
Is Israel isolated? (Yoram Ettinger, Israel Hayom) A close look at Israel's international standing reveals splendid economic, technological and scientific integration, irrespective of the Palestinian issue.
Obama goes back to benign neglect (Barak Ravid, Haaretz) After peace talks meltdown, it will be some time before U.S. steps back into Mideast quagmire.
Now is not time to go back to negotiating table (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) The Palestinians need to regain their equilibrium after their recent diplomatic coup, and Israel must pay the price for handing them that victory.
How Israel almost went to the polls over deal with Palestinians (Yossi Verter, Haaretz) If Netanyahu thought his coalition's right wing would let him exercise tactical flexibility to gain another year of peace talks, he was proved wrong again.
Kerry's looming deadline and the peace process industry (Ramzy Baroud, Maan) As the US-imposed April 29 deadline for a "framework" agreement looms, time is also running out for the US administration, which must now conjure up an escape route to avoid a political crisis if the talks are to fail, as they surely will.
How Palestinians view the collapse of talks, and the future (Avi Issacharoff, Times of Israel) The West Bank refugee camps don’t seem quite ready for a new conflagration. But that can easily change, and some PA officials say it will.
Nothing new: We have been sentenced to live in this conflict many more years (Prof. Cielo Rosenberg, Maariv's NRG Hebrew) Whoeve makes the effort and check the Israeli - Palestinian conflict since the beginning till today will see again and again the same mantras repeated, and the U.S. has nothing to offer the parties that has not been offered in the past.
Both Israel and the Palestinians are between Kerry and a hard place (Amos Harel, Haaretz) All sides have made mistakes in the peace talks, including the U.S., but there’s too much at stake to stop now.
A stain on Bennett (Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom) In a short time, Naftali Bennett has forgotten ideology and turned into a politician.
The real reason behind Arabs' low test scores (Salman Masalha, Haaretz) Were I a fan of conspiracy theories, I would accuse Bill Gates of purposely trying to trip up the Arab test takers.
Rightists used Pollard for political gain (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) In his 30 years in US jail, Israeli spy has been paying price of becoming a national hero in Israel.
Academic brainwashing (Ben-Dror Yemin, Maariv's NRG Hebrew) Shenkar College chose to promote the apartheid campaign and Sapir College held a joint conference with the New Israel Fund, in which a central speaker (Prof. Yehouda Shenhav) claimed that a Jewish state is a disaster. Before we complain about the demonization campaign sponsored by the global financial Jihad, you should look at what is happening in Israel, as the framework of "academic freedom of speech."
The IDF’s moral infrastructure needs a revamp (Friday Haaretz Editorial) The expulsion of an officer cadet for doodling Hitler is ridiculous.
Negotiating to the death (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) Iran and its Palestinian and other proxies have learned that the best way to defeat democratic enemies with strong militaries is to negotiate them to death, first figuratively and then literally.
 

Interviews: 

The mediator of the coalition
Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin is playing a key role in trying to prevent the coalition from falling apart. "I very much want to see Pollard come home, but this is a terrible deal that would harm Israeli security," says Elkin. (Interviewed by Mati Tuchfeld in Israel Hayom)
 


 

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

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