APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday October 07, 2014
Note: During the week of Sukkot, News Nosh will be published intermittently. Wednesday, Erev Sukkot, there will be the short Friday-style version. Thursday, Sukkot holiday, there will be no News Nosh and Friday News Nosh will return in its usual Friday version. On Sunday you will receive updates about next week.
Quote of the day:
"With all due respect to the president of Egypt and the prime minister of Israel, without US president
Jimmy Carter the peace treaty between the two countries would not have been signed."
--Maariv commentator Ron Maiburg writes about his conclusions after reading "Thirteen Days in September,"
the detailed account of the 1978 Camp David Summit, by Lawrence Wright.**
Front Page News:
Haaretz
- Interior Minister acting to expand Holot (detention) facility in contravention of High Court ruling
- Pinpoint changes won't heal the damage in the law // Aeyal Gross
- At least two killed in Iran in explosion near secret military facility in Parchin
- ISIS moves towards another conquest despite attack against it [main photo: refugees)
- The White House criticizes Netanyahu: "His words seem odd, our values financed Iron Dome (anti-missile battery)"
- (Education Minister) Piron's new reform: Students of teaching will teach with the teachers in the classrooms
- Researchers who discovered the navigating system of the brain won the Nobel Prize
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Medal of courage to the Navy commandos (Shayetet)
- Mysterious explosion at heart of Iranian nuclear project
- The Teheran you don't know - Luxury lifestyle, sex and alcohol
- (Shas leader) Der'i: We don't have any commitment to Netanyahu
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links)
- Explosion at central military facility of Iran's nuclear program
- Damage or mishap? // Yossi Melman
- As usual, Israel remains silent // Gen. (res.) Eliezar Merom
- Trajtenberg: Gaps in prices are a danger, Berlin is appealing to young Israelis
- Government of survival - The budget Netanyahu has no faith in // Yehuda Sharoni
- Hugging the injured of Operation Protective Edge
Israel Hayom
- Mysterious explosion
- Today: marathon cabinet meeting to approve budget
- (Hamas leader) Al-Zahar: Hamas' goal - Conquering Israel and establishing an Islamic caliphate
- (Public Security Minister) Aharonovitch: Next police commissioner will come from the police
- The secret medal of courage of the Navy commandos (Shayetet)
- Exchange of barbs between the White House and Netanyahu over "American values"
- Leaving the sukkah: Guide to events during holiday
- Defeated his ex: (Former Maccabi Tel-Aviv coach David) Blatt and Cleveland humiliated Maccabi Tel-Aviv 107:80
News Summary:
A mysterious explosion at the Parchin nuclear military facility in Iran - and whether Israel was behind it was the top story in today's Hebrew papers. Israel has not commented on the incident.
Meanwhile, the White House responded to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's remark on US criticism of the construction over the Green Line in Jerusalem were 'un-American' values, saying that Netanyahu's remark was 'odd' and that "it’s American values that led to this country’s unwavering support of Israel" and the financing of Iron Dome. The US bemoaned the fact that Netanyahu "seemed to ignore our concerns."
Israel also protested to Sweden over its prime minister's announcement that it would recognize Palestine as a state and said that it could make peacemaking difficult. The British parliament will hold a symbolic vote on recognizing the Palestinian state later this month, amid growing disenchantment with Britain's policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the Gaza war.
Without any official negotiations and without any dramatic announcements or signing of a document, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt have agreed on the beginning of the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, Yedioth's Alex Fishman reported on page six. As part of the agreement, next week the 40,000 employees of the Hamas government in Gaza will finally receive their salaries. The money will be paid by Qatar, which committed to transfer $15 million every month. [This is fascinating because the Israeli government and some of the media have been calling Qatar a terror country and it had opposed any money being transferred to these civil service workers, but now Israel approves the transfer and by none other than Qatar. - OH] After a four month transition period, the Palestinian government and the European Union will decided whether it is necessary to continue to employ 17,000 people or to save the money and the money will be paid through the Palestinian government. And within a month, construction materials will begin entering the Strip to build homes for the 50,000-60,000 whose homes Israel destroyed in Operation Protective Edge. Israel and the Palestinian Authority already agreed upon 300 contractors in Gaza who will be allowed to build in the private sector under European supervision. Before Rosh Hashanah, Israel agreed in Cairo to allow 500 Gazans travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank daily. Implementation began over the weekend, on Eid al-Adha. Moreover, as per the Egyptian ceasefire draft, Israel agreed to ease economic sanctions and allow exports of Gaza fruits and vegetables to the West Bank. Israel estimates that the rehabilitation of Gaza will cost between $5 billion to $8 billion dollars and take many long years. The US told Israel and the Palestinian Authority that immediately after the US congressional elections, US Secretary of State John Kerry will make another attempt to renew negotiations between the two sides.
A mysterious explosion at the Parchin nuclear military facility in Iran - and whether Israel was behind it was the top story in today's Hebrew papers. Israel has not commented on the incident.
Meanwhile, the White House responded to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's remark on US criticism of the construction over the Green Line in Jerusalem were 'un-American' values, saying that Netanyahu's remark was 'odd' and that "it’s American values that led to this country’s unwavering support of Israel" and the financing of Iron Dome. The US bemoaned the fact that Netanyahu "seemed to ignore our concerns."
Israel also protested to Sweden over its prime minister's announcement that it would recognize Palestine as a state and said that it could make peacemaking difficult. The British parliament will hold a symbolic vote on recognizing the Palestinian state later this month, amid growing disenchantment with Britain's policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the Gaza war.
Without any official negotiations and without any dramatic announcements or signing of a document, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt have agreed on the beginning of the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, Yedioth's Alex Fishman reported on page six. As part of the agreement, next week the 40,000 employees of the Hamas government in Gaza will finally receive their salaries. The money will be paid by Qatar, which committed to transfer $15 million every month. [This is fascinating because the Israeli government and some of the media have been calling Qatar a terror country and it had opposed any money being transferred to these civil service workers, but now Israel approves the transfer and by none other than Qatar. - OH] After a four month transition period, the Palestinian government and the European Union will decided whether it is necessary to continue to employ 17,000 people or to save the money and the money will be paid through the Palestinian government. And within a month, construction materials will begin entering the Strip to build homes for the 50,000-60,000 whose homes Israel destroyed in Operation Protective Edge. Israel and the Palestinian Authority already agreed upon 300 contractors in Gaza who will be allowed to build in the private sector under European supervision. Before Rosh Hashanah, Israel agreed in Cairo to allow 500 Gazans travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank daily. Implementation began over the weekend, on Eid al-Adha. Moreover, as per the Egyptian ceasefire draft, Israel agreed to ease economic sanctions and allow exports of Gaza fruits and vegetables to the West Bank. Israel estimates that the rehabilitation of Gaza will cost between $5 billion to $8 billion dollars and take many long years. The US told Israel and the Palestinian Authority that immediately after the US congressional elections, US Secretary of State John Kerry will make another attempt to renew negotiations between the two sides.
Quick Hits:
- "Cell that tried to enter Israel was from the Lebanese army" - Contrary to predictions, an IDF source said that the cell did not belong to Hezbollah, as initially thought. It's not clear yet what was the purpose of the cell. Head of Upper Galilee Regional Council to Defense Minister Ya'alon: "I call on you to cancel the (planned) decreasing of (military people posted here) before a security incident occurs in (this) region." (Maariv)
- Dozens of olive trees destroyed in West Bank in run-up to harvest - Trees destroyed in two locations in northern West Bankin suspected price tag attacks; Hebrew graffiti discovered at one site; settler leader: This is blood libel by far-left groups trying to frame us. (Ynet)
- Palestinian cabinet to hold first meet in Gaza to discuss reconstruction - Gaza meeting comes three days before international donor conference, where Palestinian government will seek $4 billion in aid. (Agencies, Haaretz)
- Palestinian Authority ordered to compensate Israeli family over deadly attack - Palestinian Authority transferred weapons, money used by terrorists who carried out attack that killed 3 members of the same family in 2001. (Agencies, Ynet)
- Author of IDF ethics code: Show compassion, as long as it doesn’t risk Israelis - Comparing numbers of dead in Gaza-Israel war is ‘conceptual error,’ Asa Kasher writes in Jewish Review of Books. (Haaretz)
- Wiping out Israel would be easier from West Bank, Hamas official says - "[Some] have said Hamas wants to create an Islamic emirate in Gaza," says senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar tells Palestinian news outlet Al-Ayyam. "We won't do that, but we will build an Islamic state in Palestine, all of Palestine." (Israel Hayom)
- IDF honors naval commandos for successful missions in enemy territory - 'Shayetet 13 doesn't shy away from any mission,' says Gantz, who praised the elite unit's initiative and modesty. (Ynet and Israel Hayom)
- (Israeli) West Bank academics skip London meet rather than hide identity - Ariel University describes event, in which they were asked not to reveal their affiliation with their school, as hypocritical and absurd. (Haaretz)
- Woman caught smuggling illegal Palestinian workers inside car - Officers apprehend Petah Tikva resident caught with 3 illegal aliens inside trunk of car, one in back seat; large amount of Clonex also found hidden in vehicle. (Ynet)
- Pleasant surprise: Uninvited Reuven Rivlin to speak at youth's Rabin memorial - President of Israel decides to attend ceremony so he can talk to the next generation about repercussions of assassination of prime minister. (Haaretz)
- Head of cost-of-living panel: Prices in Israel ridiculously high - Manuel Trajtenberg, who was tasked with proposing economic reforms after the 2011 socio-economic protests, says Israelis are paying too much at the counter. "It is just mind-boggling," he says, blaming partial implementation of his suggested programs. (Israel Hayom)
- U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether passports can list `Jerusalem, Israel' - U.S. does not recognize one country as sovereign over the city, so passports of Americans born there say only `Jerusalem.' (Haaretz)
- Pollard's release date erased, changed to 'life' - Bureau of Prisons spokesman says the change from "Nov. 15 2015" is merely 'administrative,' but for Pollard's wife the change comes as a blessing, she says. (Haaretz)
- Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket system a slow sell abroad - Despite being an unrivalled operational success, the Iron Dome anti-rocket system has yet to prove a hit with buyers abroad, due to the uniqueness of the threat it was designed to mitigate and Israeli curbs on potential buyer pool. (Israel Hayom)
- Two Brits among 180 Islamic State militants released by Turkey in prisoner swap - Turkey released 120 Islamic State militants in exchange for 46 Turkish consular workers and their families kidnapped by the Islamic State in Mosul in June. (Haaretz)
Features:
The long road from Gaza to Jerusalem's Lions Gate
Greeted by dates, coffee and long-lost relatives, 1,500 Gazans visit Jerusalem, with message for Israelis: We want to live. (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+)
**Peacemaker
A new book coming out 41 years after the Yom Kippur War, makes clear once and for all: With all due respect to the president of Egypt and the prime minister of Israel, without US president Jimmy Carter the peace treaty between the two countries would not have been signed. "Thirteen Days in September" by Lawrence Wright describes in exact detail the 13 days of the peace summit held in Camp David in 1978, from the viewpoint of Carter, without whose religious belief and sense of mission, including at the expense of his second term and and incredible focus on foreign affairs at a difficult time for internal issues, the summit would have ended as an echoing failure and continued in the cycle of violence. The book is one of those embarrassing types of incidents in which a significant event in the history of Israel receives successful journalistic treatment by a US journalist, not an Israeli one. (Ron Maiberg, Maariv Weekend 'Mosaf' Supplement, p. 12)
A talk with a common Yosef, Tamar and Mohammed on the street
Israel’s list of most common baby names has sparked controversy, so Haaretz has given a voice to people with the most popular names. (Haaretz+)
Teheran 90210
Good morning to Iran that you never knew. Behind the nuclear project, the rigid laws on modesty and the calls for "Death to America,' hides a Beverly Hills version of Teheran. Extravagant wealth, sports cars, sex, alcohol, girls wearing revealing bikinis who only want to enjoy life. The pictures will change everything you though you knew about the state of the ayatollahs. (Daniel Batini, Yedioth '24 Hours' supplement, cover)
Israeli computer science geeks prepare to - finally - don IDF fatigues
A group of university friends gather just before Yom Kippur to mark their upcoming enlistment with beer, meat, and a semi-lit fire. (Haaretz+)
The Storytellers
You won't believe this sweet group of ladies, but all of them were courageous fighters in the Zionist underground in Iraq. They were recruited when they were young girls, sat in jail and battled the regime and defeated it. In the inspiration of the film, 'Farewell, Baghdad,' we heard from then how they smuggled weapons under their dresses, what happened when they were injured in action, and how they saved a secret arms cache using orange juice. They'll tell their stories as part of the Storytelling Festival on October 13th at the Givatayim Theater in an event called, "Heroism of Women - The women of the Zionist underground in Iraq." (Danny Spector, Yedioth's '24 Hours' supplement, pp. 10-11)
Commentary/Analysis:
Greeted by dates, coffee and long-lost relatives, 1,500 Gazans visit Jerusalem, with message for Israelis: We want to live. (Jack Khoury, Haaretz+)
**Peacemaker
A new book coming out 41 years after the Yom Kippur War, makes clear once and for all: With all due respect to the president of Egypt and the prime minister of Israel, without US president Jimmy Carter the peace treaty between the two countries would not have been signed. "Thirteen Days in September" by Lawrence Wright describes in exact detail the 13 days of the peace summit held in Camp David in 1978, from the viewpoint of Carter, without whose religious belief and sense of mission, including at the expense of his second term and and incredible focus on foreign affairs at a difficult time for internal issues, the summit would have ended as an echoing failure and continued in the cycle of violence. The book is one of those embarrassing types of incidents in which a significant event in the history of Israel receives successful journalistic treatment by a US journalist, not an Israeli one. (Ron Maiberg, Maariv Weekend 'Mosaf' Supplement, p. 12)
A talk with a common Yosef, Tamar and Mohammed on the street
Israel’s list of most common baby names has sparked controversy, so Haaretz has given a voice to people with the most popular names. (Haaretz+)
Teheran 90210
Good morning to Iran that you never knew. Behind the nuclear project, the rigid laws on modesty and the calls for "Death to America,' hides a Beverly Hills version of Teheran. Extravagant wealth, sports cars, sex, alcohol, girls wearing revealing bikinis who only want to enjoy life. The pictures will change everything you though you knew about the state of the ayatollahs. (Daniel Batini, Yedioth '24 Hours' supplement, cover)
Israeli computer science geeks prepare to - finally - don IDF fatigues
A group of university friends gather just before Yom Kippur to mark their upcoming enlistment with beer, meat, and a semi-lit fire. (Haaretz+)
The Storytellers
You won't believe this sweet group of ladies, but all of them were courageous fighters in the Zionist underground in Iraq. They were recruited when they were young girls, sat in jail and battled the regime and defeated it. In the inspiration of the film, 'Farewell, Baghdad,' we heard from then how they smuggled weapons under their dresses, what happened when they were injured in action, and how they saved a secret arms cache using orange juice. They'll tell their stories as part of the Storytelling Festival on October 13th at the Givatayim Theater in an event called, "Heroism of Women - The women of the Zionist underground in Iraq." (Danny Spector, Yedioth's '24 Hours' supplement, pp. 10-11)
Commentary/Analysis:
Netanyahu’s 'un-American' stink bomb: What was he thinking? (Chemi
Shalev, Haaretz+) White House fumes at PM’s 'American values' statement that echoes malicious
rhetoric of birthers and other crazy Obama-haters.
Parchin blast may be Iran's nuclear smoking gun (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) West will know within days what caused explosion at Iranian military complex. Answer could put Iran in a very uncomfortable position during nuclear negotiations.
The key to understanding whether the explosive blast in Parchin was sabotage is in what is not known (Yossi Melman, Maariv) What ignites the imagination in the present case is the fact that in the past acts of sabotage were carried out against nuclear facilities. Iran's blamed them on Western countries led by the Mossad. On the other hand, it is doubtful whether Iran would dare to continue experimenting on a site that is already in the crosshairs of the international community.
A note to the Swedes (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) It is clear Abbas wants to destroy Israel.
The messianic brothers are doing Israel in (Shaul Arieli, Haaretz+) The power freaks running the government are perpetuating poverty and the occupation while alienating Israel's greatest friends.
Stockholm's syndrome (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Swedish recognition of a Palestinian state could prompt other European countries to follow suit.
The origins and challenges of Israeli democracy (Shlomo Avineri, Haaretz+) The origins of Israel's democracy are anchored in institutional traditions and behavior that originated in the Diaspora. Now those frameworks and traditions are in danger.
Hypocrisy of Israel's right and left wings (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Why do leftists advocate the right to live without strangers only when it comes to Arabs? And why do rightists think they can settle in any Arab neighborhood, but Arabs are not allowed to settle in a Jewish neighborhood?
A history of crusaders and Zionists in Jerusalem (Oudeh Basharat, Haaretz+) With the aid of secret plans, bribes, straw men and taking over houses in the middle of the night, it is possible to bring Zionism to maximum fulfillment.
Netanyahu’s misguided prophecy (Bernard Avishai, Haaretz+) Angry, hungry for the punishment of crime, incapable of managing ambiguity, lacking compassion: in short, missing a critical kind of self-consciousness. Jonah’s message for Israel’s prime minister.
Israel’s ‘combat-service tax’ is a travesty (Moshe Fischer, Haaretz+) Defense officials are well aware of young people’s desire to serve in the army, so they get the parents to share the cost.
Fight for change here, not in Berlin (Hezi Sternlicht, Israel Hayom) Comparing Germany's cost of living with Israel's is not fair.
Thanks to Berlin, which opened our eyes (Tal Schneider, Maariv) The message coming from Germany now is that in order to live in Israel one needs a lot of savings and patience. Instead of being offended by calls to go back and live in Berlin, but we should use the information about cheap prices in the world to open our eyes... You should also note that despite the political statements and Facebook status updates of politicians that occasionally tell how they resolve the mess - these messages have no real meaning to the lives of Israelis. The prices here are still rising, and an Israel who wants to return to live in his country, well, that's what we say sometimes to friends and family we still have in the US: it's better to wait a bit. Maybe the prices will drop one day.
Hamas, Gaza, and the terrorist’s code of ethics (Alexander Yakobson and Yitzhak Benbaji, Haaretz+) Yes, it’s hard to keep military targets away from the civilian population in a densely populated strip of land like Gaza. But any fair discussion of Israel’s combat methods must also take into account Hamas’ contempt for human life.
Will Netanyahu ever see asylum seekers as human beings with human rights? (Mark Hetfield, Haaretz+) Who really threatens Israel’s Jewish and democratic character: African asylum seekers themselves or how Israel’s government has treated them?
Sa’ar forgot what democracy is (Haaretz Editorial) By refusing to accept the High Court ruling against the detainment of asylum seekers, the outgoing interior minister is undermining the rule of law.
Parchin blast may be Iran's nuclear smoking gun (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) West will know within days what caused explosion at Iranian military complex. Answer could put Iran in a very uncomfortable position during nuclear negotiations.
The key to understanding whether the explosive blast in Parchin was sabotage is in what is not known (Yossi Melman, Maariv) What ignites the imagination in the present case is the fact that in the past acts of sabotage were carried out against nuclear facilities. Iran's blamed them on Western countries led by the Mossad. On the other hand, it is doubtful whether Iran would dare to continue experimenting on a site that is already in the crosshairs of the international community.
A note to the Swedes (Dr. Reuven Berko, Israel Hayom) It is clear Abbas wants to destroy Israel.
The messianic brothers are doing Israel in (Shaul Arieli, Haaretz+) The power freaks running the government are perpetuating poverty and the occupation while alienating Israel's greatest friends.
Stockholm's syndrome (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Swedish recognition of a Palestinian state could prompt other European countries to follow suit.
The origins and challenges of Israeli democracy (Shlomo Avineri, Haaretz+) The origins of Israel's democracy are anchored in institutional traditions and behavior that originated in the Diaspora. Now those frameworks and traditions are in danger.
Hypocrisy of Israel's right and left wings (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Why do leftists advocate the right to live without strangers only when it comes to Arabs? And why do rightists think they can settle in any Arab neighborhood, but Arabs are not allowed to settle in a Jewish neighborhood?
A history of crusaders and Zionists in Jerusalem (Oudeh Basharat, Haaretz+) With the aid of secret plans, bribes, straw men and taking over houses in the middle of the night, it is possible to bring Zionism to maximum fulfillment.
Netanyahu’s misguided prophecy (Bernard Avishai, Haaretz+) Angry, hungry for the punishment of crime, incapable of managing ambiguity, lacking compassion: in short, missing a critical kind of self-consciousness. Jonah’s message for Israel’s prime minister.
Israel’s ‘combat-service tax’ is a travesty (Moshe Fischer, Haaretz+) Defense officials are well aware of young people’s desire to serve in the army, so they get the parents to share the cost.
Fight for change here, not in Berlin (Hezi Sternlicht, Israel Hayom) Comparing Germany's cost of living with Israel's is not fair.
Thanks to Berlin, which opened our eyes (Tal Schneider, Maariv) The message coming from Germany now is that in order to live in Israel one needs a lot of savings and patience. Instead of being offended by calls to go back and live in Berlin, but we should use the information about cheap prices in the world to open our eyes... You should also note that despite the political statements and Facebook status updates of politicians that occasionally tell how they resolve the mess - these messages have no real meaning to the lives of Israelis. The prices here are still rising, and an Israel who wants to return to live in his country, well, that's what we say sometimes to friends and family we still have in the US: it's better to wait a bit. Maybe the prices will drop one day.
Hamas, Gaza, and the terrorist’s code of ethics (Alexander Yakobson and Yitzhak Benbaji, Haaretz+) Yes, it’s hard to keep military targets away from the civilian population in a densely populated strip of land like Gaza. But any fair discussion of Israel’s combat methods must also take into account Hamas’ contempt for human life.
Will Netanyahu ever see asylum seekers as human beings with human rights? (Mark Hetfield, Haaretz+) Who really threatens Israel’s Jewish and democratic character: African asylum seekers themselves or how Israel’s government has treated them?
Sa’ar forgot what democracy is (Haaretz Editorial) By refusing to accept the High Court ruling against the detainment of asylum seekers, the outgoing interior minister is undermining the rule of law.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.