APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday November 23, 2014

Quote of the day:

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Front Page News:

Haaretz

• Weinstein oppose vote on nation-state bill: It will make democracy shallow
• Netanyahu formulating bill to revoke rights of terrorists and people incite - and their families
• Obama pardoned five million illegal immigrants
• Day to end of round of nuclear talks in Vienna: Possibility of extending talks by a few months being examined
• Because of Operation Protective Edge and the increasing of the deficit: Fitch lowers Israel's credit rating
• Disgusting performance // Haaretz Editorial

• Today: Battle over nation-state bill - AG Weinstein: Inappropriate for government to support bill
• Unnecessary law at an explosive period // Daniel Friemann
• (Female) Judge: It's my right not to file a complaint on rape - Said police officer she met on dating website raped her in her home
• No entry for Druze - He helped rescue the Golani Brigade commander during Operation Protective Edge, but at a pub in Carmiel he was an unwanted guest. Pub: Entry for members only
• The new Yehuda Poliker: 40 kilos less
• Sakhnin, 19:45 - Border Police, SWAT team, cavalry and a helicopter: All this is not because of a security incident, but because of a soccer game
• Not an optimistic forecast - How serious really is the lowering of Israel's credit rating // Sever Plocker
• Smoke dispersing - Israeli study examines what is good and bad in medicinal cannabis

• Netanyahu: Revoke rights of terrorists and their families
• (Attorney General) Weinstein opposes government's nation-state law: "Making democracy shallow"
• The race for an agreement - Appears that Iran nuclear talks will be extended
• Teheran: We supplied Hezbollah with advanced missiles that reach Dimona
• "If Eizenkott is not appointed to the position of (IDF) chief of staff - there will be an earthquake" - said security source ahead of delayed announcement
• Yellow card for Israeli economy // Yehuda Sharoni

• "Nation state of the Jewish people" - Nation-state bill goes to government vote today; Livni: "a non-Zionist bill"; Attorney General: "Opposes"; Netanyahu: "Bill vital to Israel"
• Between Doha and the law: Calm down // Dan Margalit
• Remind everyone: Jewish state // Haim Shine
• Negotiations with Iran: In Israel, following it with concern
• (Female) judge did not file complaint (about being raped), the policeman was not interrogated
• Trust of public in danger // Prof. Aviad Hacohen
• Climactic tension ahead of soccer game between Sakhnin and Beitar
• Yellow card for economy and Lapid: Global credit rating company Fitch lowered Israel's credit rating
• Congratulations: First son for Eyal Golan and Ruslana Rudeina

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News Summary:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu brings his controversial 'Jewish nation-state bill' to a government vote today, which the Attorney General slammed as harming Israel's democracy, and the premier also calls for revoking the rights of E. Jerusalemite Palestinians found guilty of terror - and of their families, and has the support of the Interior Minister, who wants to revoke their rights to live in the city, and the support of Jerusalem's mayor, Iran nuclear talks get stuck and are expected to be extended, Fitch lowers Israel's economic outlook, and tensions are high ahead of a soccer game tonight between the Arab Bnei Sakhnin soccer team and the Beitar Jerusalem team, the latter whose fans are infamous for racist attacks, making top stories in today's Hebrew newspapers.

Also, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Israelis not to turn the conflict into a religious war, Arabic media reported that Netanyahu planned to secretly meet with Abbas and discuss Jerusalem tensions, but the meeting was postponed due to the Jerusalem synagogue attack, and Israel moved forward with plans to demolish homes of Palestinian attackers in Jerusalem, despite five major European Union states saying it would only escalate tensions and Human Rights Watch saying it was collective punishment and a war crime.
 
Meanwhile, numerous cases of violence took place around the country between Arabs and Jews in recent days:

Quick Hits:

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Features:

Israeli harassment curtails access to education for Hebron girls
The first part in a series about the lives of Palestinian women affected by the Jewish settlements of Hebron's Old City. Having grown up in Hebron's Old City, Aisha was used to dealing with Israeli soldiers and their questions on a daily basis. (Maan)

Commentary/Analysis:

Bringing apartheid through the back door (Na’aman Hirschfeld, Haaretz+) Conditions are ripe for the racial apartheid that Israel has been gradually imposing on the territories since 1967 to come out in the open – with a public primed to applaud and accept it.
Jewish nation-state law can only cause damage (Daniel Friedmann, Yedioth/Ynet) Proposed basic law will add nothing and solve nothing. In today's explosive situation, it only has the power to worsen Israel's relations with its minorities.
Netanyahu's Israel is neither Jewish nor democratic (Rogel Alpher, Haaretz+) Netanyahu does not know how to solve the paradox between the terrifying reality he has created and the idea of a Jewish state he worships.
Jerusalem must be divided, now (Ariela Ringel-Hoffman, Yedioth/Ynet) Israelis must admit that the dream of a united city has produced bad fruit. Admit and separate. A tall fence might create good neighborly relations.
The future of Dr. A, an Israeli Arab physician, is the future of Israel (Gideon Levy, Haaretz+) When Ashkelon says to fire all its Arab construction workers only because of their origin, the day is coming when the hospitals will dismiss Arab doctors. Some Israelis have wanted to do this for a long time now.
Signs of hypocrisy (Dr. Amir Fuchs, Maariv) Many members of Knesset were quick to define the words of Ashkelon Mayor (to fire all Arabs working at kindergartens) as racist, but what about the anti-democratic legislative bills they raise daily, which fan hatred and discrimination towards the Arab minority?
Fear cannot supplant coexistence (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom) Maintaining normalcy -- however difficult -- is essential in the day-to-day fight for the security of the Jewish people in their homeland.
The eerie similarities between Ferguson and Kafr Kana (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The two towns may be thousands of miles apart, but they are both home to second-class citizens with an unfinished history.
What lies ahead for Israel (Yuval Diskin, Yedioth/Ynet) The Jerusalem Intifada offers a glimpse into the future to which the right-wing is leading us: A bi-national state with mixed populations and a reality of escalating confrontations. This deterioration can be stopped, but the government, in particular our prime minister, excels at doing the opposite. 
If they will it, it is no dream: Iran nuclear deal may be matter of time (Barak Ravid, Haaretz+) After months of negotiations, it seems that only a miracle can produce any agreement at all between Iran and the six world powers. But much greater miracles have already happened.
No one wants to throw Netanyahu a lifeline (Sima Kadmon, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister swung from fanning the flames of election fever on Monday to a somber call for unity after Tuesday's brutal terror attack, but not one political leader in opposition is in the mood to be recruited to his cause. 
When it comes to racism on the football field, the ball is in the court’s hands (Haaretz Editorial) There is no value to a sport, which is supposed to be a symbol of equality and fraternity, when it is used to smash those very values.
IDF's nightmare scenario in danger of coming true (Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet) Escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank brings fear of religious warfare. 'Road attacks' are on the rise. Threats in the north and south demand attention. Meanwhile, the IDF waits for new chief of staff to be announced.
The 1929 massacres -- redux (Yehuda Shlezinger, Israel Hayom) Since the tragedy in Jerusalem this week, Rabbi Yitzhak Rubin has become the main address for worshipers wishing to share their grief. They consult with him, they express their pain, and they seek comfort. "All we have is our faith," he says. 
Israeli government's goal: Returning to 1929 (Uri Misgav, Haaretz+) Netanyahu is leading us to a violent, unbridled national struggle led by irresponsible extremists, inflamed by populist rhetoric and threatening to get out of control.
Israel needs elections now (Shimon Schiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) The person solely responsible for not providing security to Israel's citizens is Benjamin Netanyahu; and just as he judged prime ministers in the past, so must he be judged now.
Terrorism with an Israeli ID card (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom) A look at the absurdity going on in Jabel Mukaber, whose Arab Israeli inhabitants went to the High Court of Justice to ensure that they stayed on the Israeli side of the separation barrier. Now they are trying to have it both ways.
Final round: Netanyahu vs. Mohammed (Nehemia Shtrasler, Haaretz+) The very policy of demolishing homes in East Jerusalem actually proves that Netanyahu and Ariel have succeeded in definitively dividing the city.
Pro and Con: Do home demolitions deter or encourage terror? (Smadar Shir and Merav Betito, Yedioth/Ynet) Two opposing viewpoints on the contentious issue: Terrorists should know their families will pay the price, says Smadar Shir, while Merav Betito argues that defense officials believe that such a move is counter-productive.
Shaking Israel's silent majority (Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz+) What the Palestinian terror and in effect the entire world are trying to explain to Israelis is this: They don't have the right to decide that the status quo is sustainable. 
To fight terrorism, build up Jerusalem (Avi Dichter, Israel Hayom) In Washington, London and Moscow, as in Cairo, Amman and even Ramallah they know -- and do they ever know -- that Jerusalem will never return to its pre-1967 borders. 
If America gets Hillary, Netanyahu may get Albright (Amir Oren, Haaretz+) Madeleine Albright would have the ear of a President Hillary Clinton. The hard-as-nails former secretary of state has plenty of criticism for the likes of Bibi and Barak.
Ashkelon mayor is not racist (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) By suspending the work of Arab laborers near kindergartens, Mayor Itamar Shimoni risked being ostracized to protect children. 
Israel's barren response to terror (Rabbi Gideon D. Sylvester, Haaretz+) Our religious and political leaders are neither willing to separate from the Palestinians in a two-state solution nor to live together with them in dignity. Meanwhile, the death toll is rising.
Israel can only manage the conflict, for it cannot end it (Ben-Dror Yemini, Yedioth/Ynet) Both the left and the right are out of ideas: The Palestinians have rejected peace plan after peace plan, and a heavy hand alone does not work. There is only one way ahead.
Israelis must demand: Equality now (Haaretz Friday Editorial) We must counter the racism of the right and weakness of the left.
The truth must be told: Terror cannot be destroyed (Eitan Haber, Yedioth/Ynet) Even in case of true peace between Israel and the Arab world, there will always be an individual or a group that will take the road of terror. This is our life in this world.
Adelson, Netanyahu and our kingdom of priests and holiness (Yossi Sarid, Haaretz+) The master gambler doesn’t understand that if Israel isn’t democratic, it won’t exist. Yet Bibi listens to his master's voice.
Why Palestinians should demand to be ruled by Israeli law (Khaled Diab, Haaretz+) Current reality demands that Palestinians delay demanding their national rights in favor of protecting their human rights – by supporting right-wing settler legislation to apply Israeli law to all the West Bank.
The Arafat era is back (Guy Bechor, Yedioth/Ynet) Palestinian Authority has returned to the days of pretend condemnation statements, doublespeak and encouragement of terror. Israel must deal with this situation just like it dealt with it then. 
Defusing a ticking time bomb (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom) Avoiding a catastrophic religious war requires MKs to curb provocative statements, stress Israel seeks peace, not war. Rather than focusing on the PA, Israel should turn its attention to Hamas, world jihad groups, which are the truly dangerous elements.
How do you fight off a pack of 'lone wolf' terrorists? (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz+) A look at the updated security warning issued by the American embassy in Israel raises the question: How do you fight 'lone wolf' terrorists who prey on soft targets? 
Sayed Kashua is in a Palestine state of mind (Sayed Kashua, Haaretz+) The writer was determined to distract himself and not keep thinking about home; but it was hopeless. (satire)
The Republicans enter the battle for Jerusalem (Seth Lipsky, Haaretz+) Now is a perfect time for Israel to push Jerusalem’s capital-city status before a new Congress – if Netanyahu is actually prepared as prime minister to prioritize the issue. 
Don't run away from terrorism (Emily Amrousi, Israel Hayom) The forces of terror have overrun Jerusalem and the way to combat them is to assert our sovereignty, not give them sovereignty.
Barricades in Jerusalem will hasten, not prevent, the next intifada (Amos Harel, Haaretz+) The IDF, police, and Shin Bet all oppose imposing collective punishment on the Palestinians. Meanwhile, steps such as roadblocks and barriers in Jerusalem could contribute to the city’s division and underscore the mutual fears of the two populations.
Wars are won quietly (Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, Israel Hayom) The emotions surrounding the question of whether or not an intelligence warning was provided before Operation Protective Edge could have been avoided. 
The vitality of anger (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom) Doing what is needed to improve our personal and national security does not require any apologies. We ought not weakly whimper away.

Interviews: 
The new generation of Kahane Chai in Jerusalem
The new Kahane group decided to increase its activities in the capital. On the agenda: Infiltrating Arab neighborhoods and even burning homes. L., the new leader of the new Kahane: "If there is another terror attack, "If there is another terror attack, dozens of (Kahane) people will gather in areas where Arabs live and it won't be just burning tires." L. said that fighting all camaraderie between Arabs and Jews is part of the activities. "This means anyone who hires Arabs, including restaurants and coffee shops and organizations that encourage Jewish-Arab cooperation...From now on this city has guards." (Yedioth Jerusalem supplement, 14 November, p. 42)

The children of the Third Intifada
Ynet speaks to Palestinian youths who have chosen to resist Israeli police using stones, tires, and fireworks, rather than attend school. Another boy, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, speaks of a difficult environment. “We feel degraded. There are checkpoints everyday and searches, grenades, tear gas – I have trouble dealing with the situation,” he says. (Interviewed by Hassan Shaalan in Ynet)

France's Jews have had enough
Hidden as a child during the Holocaust, Maurice Rapovich has lived all 76 years of his life in France; but now he says the situation is untenable and he is leaving for Israel - and he is far from alone. (Ynet)

Israel’s bridge to the Arab world: Palestinian natural gas?
Israel needs to see the Palestinians — including the Gazans — as an asset as they strive to join the regional power grid, says the Quartet’s energy adviser, Ariel Ezrahi. (Interviewed by Avi Bar-Eli in Haaretz+)

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