APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday December 1, 2014
Quote of the day:
"In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned."
--Graffiti neatly spray-painted on the wall of a Tel-Aviv synagogue a day after the Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem was set on fire.**
--Graffiti neatly spray-painted on the wall of a Tel-Aviv synagogue a day after the Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem was set on fire.**
Front Page News:
Haaretz
- Netanyahu to meet with Ministers Lapid, Livni and Bennett in last effort to salvage coalition
- Druze leadership opposes (Jewish) nation-state law
- Government unanimously approved new amendment to 'anti-infiltration' law - asylum seekers will sit in detention for 20 months
- Despite Lieberman's opposition, a politician convicted of moral turpitude will be kept out of office for 14 years
- Two bothersome questions about the appointment of Eisenkot as Chief of Staff // Aluf Benn
- Government decided to purchase (only) another 14 F-35 fighter jets
- Egyptian operation expands - Disconnect Gaza from Sinai: Egypt evacuated 1000 families from the Rafah border within days
- Israel examining reports that citizen fell captive to ISIS
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Reconciliation or explosion - At Lieberman's initiative, PM will meet with Lapid, Livni and Bennett in last attempt to prevent elections
- Golan gave up in advance - Gen. Yair Golan told Netanyahu he is not ready to be chief of staff and he recommended Eisenkot
- "All I have left is to write to you" - Since Captain Omri Tal was killed in Operation Protective Edge, his girlfriend can't stop writing him
- Worried about Jill - Friends of the Israeli fighter Jill Rosenberg were horrified by reports that she fell captive to ISIS in Syria
- Paper APC - Despite the disaster in Shujaiyeh: IDF rejected acquiring protected APCs because "no money"
- Defense and Finance Ministries fighting, hi-tech companies are reluctant, and the transfer of IDF bases to the Negev is in danger
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Reconciliation or elections - Prime Minister's associates: Lapid tried to oust Netanyahu without elections
- "Netanyahu closed a full deal with the ultra-Orthodox"
- Was the Israeli fighter caught by ISIS?
- Rabbi David Yosef: The massacre at Har Nof - because of evil (Finance Minister Yair) Lapid
Israel Hayom
- Last effort - Reconciliation or elections? Netanyahu: "We cannot continue this way"; Will meet today with Lapid
- Yaalon against Lapid: "Stopping transfer of IDF to Negev"
- There are reasonable solutions - but it's not clear if there is a will to avoid elections // Dan Margalit
- The trust was mortally wounded, how can we rebuild it? // Mati Tuchfeld
- Unverified report: "Israeli woman fell captive to ISIS"
- Shame of incitement - Police to probe: Who is behind the campaign of photos showing President and other senior officials in SS uniforms?
- Gasoline dropped under 7 shekel a liter: Price of oil dropped 18%, so why was our gasoline price only lowered by 15 agorot?
- Solution to the lack of space at Jerusalem cemetery: burial inside caves
News Summary:
Will this fractured government coalition collapse or not following a meeting today between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid was the big question and the top story of the Hebrew newspapers today along with the unverified reports that an Israeli-Canadian woman who volunteered to fight against ISIS was taken captive by the organization. Also in the news were the reactions to the burning of the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu is meeting with faction leaders today in an attempt to prevent the collapse of his government over the nation-state bill, the state budget as well as other bills. Yesterday, Lapid called Netanyahu 'dysfunctional' and blamed him for harming relations with the US, to which Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon accused Lapid of being responsible for the crisis with US. Netanyahu's associates told Maariv that Lapid tried to oust Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Maariv reports that Netanyahu has already closed a deal to form a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties after new elections. Netanyahu said yesterday that if the government can't run properly, "We will come to conclusions."
**The arson at the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem brought visits not only by ministers and MKs, (including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, (settler) Housing Minister Uri Ariel, Education Minister Shai Piron, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barekat), but also by students from other schools in the capital, including religious Jewish schools, to show their support and solidarity with the students of the Bi-Lingual School. The arsonists put the books in the First Grade classroom in a pile and set them on fire, reported Maariv in the cover story of its magazine supplement, which ran in addition to an article in the news section. Parents and children expressed fear that they could become targets, but they all returned to school the day after the arson. Ynet reported that the day after the arson, students were forced to understand the meaning of a hate crime. And in what many think was a reaction to the arson, burned books were placed outside a Tel Aviv synagogue and the words 'In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned,' were spray-painted neatly on its wall.
Will this fractured government coalition collapse or not following a meeting today between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid was the big question and the top story of the Hebrew newspapers today along with the unverified reports that an Israeli-Canadian woman who volunteered to fight against ISIS was taken captive by the organization. Also in the news were the reactions to the burning of the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu is meeting with faction leaders today in an attempt to prevent the collapse of his government over the nation-state bill, the state budget as well as other bills. Yesterday, Lapid called Netanyahu 'dysfunctional' and blamed him for harming relations with the US, to which Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon accused Lapid of being responsible for the crisis with US. Netanyahu's associates told Maariv that Lapid tried to oust Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Maariv reports that Netanyahu has already closed a deal to form a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties after new elections. Netanyahu said yesterday that if the government can't run properly, "We will come to conclusions."
**The arson at the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem brought visits not only by ministers and MKs, (including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, (settler) Housing Minister Uri Ariel, Education Minister Shai Piron, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barekat), but also by students from other schools in the capital, including religious Jewish schools, to show their support and solidarity with the students of the Bi-Lingual School. The arsonists put the books in the First Grade classroom in a pile and set them on fire, reported Maariv in the cover story of its magazine supplement, which ran in addition to an article in the news section. Parents and children expressed fear that they could become targets, but they all returned to school the day after the arson. Ynet reported that the day after the arson, students were forced to understand the meaning of a hate crime. And in what many think was a reaction to the arson, burned books were placed outside a Tel Aviv synagogue and the words 'In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned,' were spray-painted neatly on its wall.
Quick Hits:
- Settlers get 30 months in prison for arson in Palestinian village - 2 Jewish settlers sign plea bargain after admitting to torching vehicles, spray-painting wall in Palestinian village in the West Bank. (Ynet)
- Israelis attack Palestinian at tram stop near Jerusalem Old City - Majdi Majid Najib, 26, told Ma'an he was trying to buy a ticket to go to work in West Jerusalem when five Israelis attacked him and started to beat him. He said Israeli security guards were present in the area but did not intervene or arrest the attackers. (Maan)
- Molotov cocktails thrown at Israeli homes in West Bank settlement - Three Molotov cocktails were thrown at homes in the Israeli settlement of Beit El in the Benjamin region located in the central West Bank. There were no reported injuries or damages. (Ynet)
- Influential (extreme) right-wing rabbi moving to East Jerusalem - After 39 years as chief rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Dov Lior decides to move to isolated Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Orot in order to strengthen the Jewish settlement in the city. (Ynet)
- Right-wing Israelis enter Aqsa compound - Witnesses said that about 50 right-wing Israelis stormed the compound through the Moroccan Gate and tried to provoke Muslim worshipers, who responded by chanting "Allahu akbar," or "God is the greatest." (Maan)
- Police stand firm on banning Yehuda Glick from Temple Mount - Out of hospital after attempted hit on his life, religious activist appeals against condition of his release after August arrest over alleged assault at holy site. (Haaretz+)
- 3 charged in plot to attack MK Feiglin on Temple Mount - According to the indictment, the three east Jerusalem residents had planned to stay in Al-Aqsa mosque the night before Likud MK Moshe Feiglin and Jewish activist Yehuda Glick visited the Temple Mount and to attack them with stones and firecrackers. (Israel Hayom)
- Abbas accuses U.S. of blocking creation of Palestinian state - PA president also 'regrets' U.S. lawmakers' recommendation to cut aid. “They see me as the one responsible for the violence while the head of internal security in Israel has said clearly and openly that this is not the case. I don’t incite either overtly or covertly...” Also said Egyptian help will be essential for security in future Palestinian state. (Haaretz+)
- Hamas: Palestinian unity gov't has expired - Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a news conference in Gaza City that the unity government's six-month term had expired, and that dialogue should be resumed on a national level to discuss the future of the government. (Maan and Ynet)
- Fatah: Unity gov't not confined to 6 months - Faisal Abu Shahla said unity government assigned to carry out a number of tasks, including holding elections, "within at least six months," but that it was never agreed that government term would end if it did not complete those tasks within that time frame. (Maan)
- Palestinian soccer chief calls on FIFA to punish Israel over raid - Jibril Rajoub says three armored cars turned up at his office last week; incident was protested by FIFA head Blatter. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Israeli court releases woman jailed while visiting husband - An Israeli magistrate court in Beersheba on Sunday decided to release Nihal al-Ghawadra, 30, a Palestinian woman from Jenin who was detained last Thursday while visiting her jailed husband in Eshel prison. (Maan)
- 2 Palestinians to be detained without trial for 6 months - Amjad Al-Natsheh, 20, from Anata, was detained four days ago as a result of a Facebook post in which he wrote he wished to die as a "martyr." Abu Asab said that Israeli interrogators accused him of planning a terror attack as a result of his post. Sadeq Ghaith was detained last Tuesday with his brother Adnan Ghaith, who is the secretary-general of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem. (Maan)
- Israeli forces raid homes in Tuqu east of Bethlehem - Israeli forces on Friday raided the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqu, forcing their way into several homes and firing large amounts of tear gas in clashes that subsequently broke out. (Maan)
- Fatah leader sentenced to 5 months without trial -
- Israeli authorities on Sunday decided to jail Ahmad Gheith, the secretary-general of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem, for five months without trial. (Maan)
- Australian capital gets its first official rabbi - Rabbi Alon Meltzer is the first rabbi to lead the 63-year-old Jewish community in Canberra. (JTA, Haaretz)
- Rivlin demands Iran and Syria compensate expelled Jews - President speaks at first ceremony commemorating expulsion and exile of Jews from Arab countries and Iran, calling on Arab nations to compensate them for lost property. (Ynet)
- Police to probe Facebook page featuring Israeli politicians in Nazi uniforms - President Reuven Rivlin, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Finance Minister Yair Lapid are among the public figures shown in SS uniforms. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli security guard mistakenly identifies 'terrorist' in Belgium - Assistant to head of security for Israeli embassy in Brussels mistakenly identifies young man carrying cricket bat covered in sweatshirt as possible terrorist yielding gun, causing man and his family to be expelled from country. (Ynet)
- Israel looking into reports that Canadian-Israeli Gill Rosenberg was captured by ISIS - Sites affiliated with ISIS report militant group managed to capture several Kurdish fighters, among them Gill Rosenberg, who joined Kurdish troops in northern Syria. (Haaretz)
- Middle East Updates / Muslim Brotherhood leaders jailed for insulting court - Amnesty: 1,165 forcibly evicted from northern Sinai; Egypt court declares ISIS a terror group; Pope ends Turkey trip in Orthodox feast, meeting with refugees; Iran hospital manager attacked with acid. (Haaretz)
- Khamenei tells Iran armed forces to build up 'irrespective' of diplomacy - 'Peacetime offers great opportunities for our armed forces to build up on preemptive capacities,' supreme leader says, while Revolutionary Guards chief promises 'The range of (our) missiles covers all of Israel today, that means the fall of the Zionist regime, which will certainly come soon.' (Ynet)
Features:
East is east: A series of articles on the processes that led to the outbreak of violence in Jerusalem
Article 2: The Israeli authorities are foolishly ignoring an approach by activists that puts urban improvements before Palestinian nationalism. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
'The Wave' sparks questions among Arabs and Jews in Israel
Munich-based theater group arrives in Israel with play about a classroom experiment that went too far, as students become swept-up in Nazi-style ideolog. Jewish, Arab students watching play realize that 'No one is better than the other, we are equal. We are the same, with the same God, living in the same land.' (Ynet)
Lebanese singer Fairuz is finally fashionable in Israel
The Israeli mainstream is opening up to Arab music, whether sung by musicians from the Arab world or by local ‘The Voice’ competition winner Lina Makhoul. (Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Article 2: The Israeli authorities are foolishly ignoring an approach by activists that puts urban improvements before Palestinian nationalism. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
'The Wave' sparks questions among Arabs and Jews in Israel
Munich-based theater group arrives in Israel with play about a classroom experiment that went too far, as students become swept-up in Nazi-style ideolog. Jewish, Arab students watching play realize that 'No one is better than the other, we are equal. We are the same, with the same God, living in the same land.' (Ynet)
Lebanese singer Fairuz is finally fashionable in Israel
The Israeli mainstream is opening up to Arab music, whether sung by musicians from the Arab world or by local ‘The Voice’ competition winner Lina Makhoul. (Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Someone would rather burn my son's school than let Jews and Arabs coexist (Ilene
Prusher, Haaretz+) The graffiti on the Jerusalem school will be washed away, and classes will go
on; the students' own message will live on: We refuse to be enemies.
Strategic failure - Between Operation Protective Edge and the Temple Mount (former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, Yedioth/Ynet) The green light given to Jewish settlement in Arab neighborhoods after Operation Protective Edge gave Hamas a unique opportunity to shake off the burden of its defeat in the Gaza conflict and instigate serious riots both in the capital and the West Bank.
Ex-Military Intelligence chief: No need to fear for Israel’s future (Amos Yadlin and Uri Sadot, Haaretz+) Contrary to the ex-Mossad head’s dire assessment of Israel’s position, Zionism is not at all on the decline, and Israel is more secure and prosperous now than ever in its history.
For Israel's gatekeepers, writing an op-ed is not enough (Akiva Eldar, Haaretz+) Those who were partners to the policies that deepen the occupation are not at liberty to criticize the government and go on with their lives.
Has Netanyahu stopped functioning or is it all an act? (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister has had enough of his partners, and has had enough of the rules of the game. He has entered a state that psychologists may define as close to manic depression.
How easy it is to prevent escalation in Jerusalem (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Palestinians are generous when they attribute Israel’s policies to the stupidity of its leaders.
Business as usual with UNRWA (Elliott Abrams, Israel Hayom) It is shocking, but not surprising, that the State Department has signed a framework for cooperation with UNRWA that mentions nothing of its ties to Hamas.
Despair is driving me towards BDS (Maya Wahrman, Haaretz+) A year ago I would have condemned any boycott of Israel, not least on my own Princeton campus. But now, despite my reluctance and reservations, I can’t reject it out of hand.
The government has reached its end (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Lieberman's peace plan and the Likud's hysterical reactions to Lapid's comments about Netanyahu point to the fact that the government is walking on thin ice.
The moment Israel turned right on the road to oblivion (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) We should have spotted where Israel was headed back in November 2012, when Likud dropped three proponents of democracy from its slate. It’s been downhill ever since.
Nation-state law and pushing away the Jews - Am I my brother's keeper? (Yaron London, Yedioth) The nation-state bill not only harms minorities, it harms Diaspora Jews whose representatives have already expressed their concern over its significance, which perpetuates the rule of one faction of the people...
The Tahrir scrapbook (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Hosni Mubarak's acquittal almost completely negates the Tahrir revolution.
Mubarak acquittal: Symbol of return to same decades-long tyranny (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The 'trial of the century' ended up being anything but, with former Egyptian president found not guilty of ordering police to kill protesters in 2011 revolution.
Strategic failure - Between Operation Protective Edge and the Temple Mount (former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, Yedioth/Ynet) The green light given to Jewish settlement in Arab neighborhoods after Operation Protective Edge gave Hamas a unique opportunity to shake off the burden of its defeat in the Gaza conflict and instigate serious riots both in the capital and the West Bank.
Ex-Military Intelligence chief: No need to fear for Israel’s future (Amos Yadlin and Uri Sadot, Haaretz+) Contrary to the ex-Mossad head’s dire assessment of Israel’s position, Zionism is not at all on the decline, and Israel is more secure and prosperous now than ever in its history.
For Israel's gatekeepers, writing an op-ed is not enough (Akiva Eldar, Haaretz+) Those who were partners to the policies that deepen the occupation are not at liberty to criticize the government and go on with their lives.
Has Netanyahu stopped functioning or is it all an act? (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister has had enough of his partners, and has had enough of the rules of the game. He has entered a state that psychologists may define as close to manic depression.
How easy it is to prevent escalation in Jerusalem (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Palestinians are generous when they attribute Israel’s policies to the stupidity of its leaders.
Business as usual with UNRWA (Elliott Abrams, Israel Hayom) It is shocking, but not surprising, that the State Department has signed a framework for cooperation with UNRWA that mentions nothing of its ties to Hamas.
Despair is driving me towards BDS (Maya Wahrman, Haaretz+) A year ago I would have condemned any boycott of Israel, not least on my own Princeton campus. But now, despite my reluctance and reservations, I can’t reject it out of hand.
The government has reached its end (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Lieberman's peace plan and the Likud's hysterical reactions to Lapid's comments about Netanyahu point to the fact that the government is walking on thin ice.
The moment Israel turned right on the road to oblivion (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) We should have spotted where Israel was headed back in November 2012, when Likud dropped three proponents of democracy from its slate. It’s been downhill ever since.
Nation-state law and pushing away the Jews - Am I my brother's keeper? (Yaron London, Yedioth) The nation-state bill not only harms minorities, it harms Diaspora Jews whose representatives have already expressed their concern over its significance, which perpetuates the rule of one faction of the people...
The Tahrir scrapbook (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Hosni Mubarak's acquittal almost completely negates the Tahrir revolution.
Mubarak acquittal: Symbol of return to same decades-long tyranny (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The 'trial of the century' ended up being anything but, with former Egyptian president found not guilty of ordering police to kill protesters in 2011 revolution.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.
Front Page News:
Features:
APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday December 1, 2014
Quote of the day:
"In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned."
--Graffiti neatly spray-painted on the wall of a Tel-Aviv synagogue a day after the Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem was set on fire.**
--Graffiti neatly spray-painted on the wall of a Tel-Aviv synagogue a day after the Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem was set on fire.**
Front Page News:
Haaretz
- Netanyahu to meet with Ministers Lapid, Livni and Bennett in last effort to salvage coalition
- Druze leadership opposes (Jewish) nation-state law
- Government unanimously approved new amendment to 'anti-infiltration' law - asylum seekers will sit in detention for 20 months
- Despite Lieberman's opposition, a politician convicted of moral turpitude will be kept out of office for 14 years
- Two bothersome questions about the appointment of Eisenkot as Chief of Staff // Aluf Benn
- Government decided to purchase (only) another 14 F-35 fighter jets
- Egyptian operation expands - Disconnect Gaza from Sinai: Egypt evacuated 1000 families from the Rafah border within days
- Israel examining reports that citizen fell captive to ISIS
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Reconciliation or explosion - At Lieberman's initiative, PM will meet with Lapid, Livni and Bennett in last attempt to prevent elections
- Golan gave up in advance - Gen. Yair Golan told Netanyahu he is not ready to be chief of staff and he recommended Eisenkot
- "All I have left is to write to you" - Since Captain Omri Tal was killed in Operation Protective Edge, his girlfriend can't stop writing him
- Worried about Jill - Friends of the Israeli fighter Jill Rosenberg were horrified by reports that she fell captive to ISIS in Syria
- Paper APC - Despite the disaster in Shujaiyeh: IDF rejected acquiring protected APCs because "no money"
- Defense and Finance Ministries fighting, hi-tech companies are reluctant, and the transfer of IDF bases to the Negev is in danger
Maariv This Week (Hebrew links only)
- Reconciliation or elections - Prime Minister's associates: Lapid tried to oust Netanyahu without elections
- "Netanyahu closed a full deal with the ultra-Orthodox"
- Was the Israeli fighter caught by ISIS?
- Rabbi David Yosef: The massacre at Har Nof - because of evil (Finance Minister Yair) Lapid
Israel Hayom
- Last effort - Reconciliation or elections? Netanyahu: "We cannot continue this way"; Will meet today with Lapid
- Yaalon against Lapid: "Stopping transfer of IDF to Negev"
- There are reasonable solutions - but it's not clear if there is a will to avoid elections // Dan Margalit
- The trust was mortally wounded, how can we rebuild it? // Mati Tuchfeld
- Unverified report: "Israeli woman fell captive to ISIS"
- Shame of incitement - Police to probe: Who is behind the campaign of photos showing President and other senior officials in SS uniforms?
- Gasoline dropped under 7 shekel a liter: Price of oil dropped 18%, so why was our gasoline price only lowered by 15 agorot?
- Solution to the lack of space at Jerusalem cemetery: burial inside caves
News Summary:
Will this fractured government coalition collapse or not following a meeting today between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid was the big question and the top story of the Hebrew newspapers today along with the unverified reports that an Israeli-Canadian woman who volunteered to fight against ISIS was taken captive by the organization. Also in the news were the reactions to the burning of the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu is meeting with faction leaders today in an attempt to prevent the collapse of his government over the nation-state bill, the state budget as well as other bills. Yesterday, Lapid called Netanyahu 'dysfunctional' and blamed him for harming relations with the US, to which Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon accused Lapid of being responsible for the crisis with US. Netanyahu's associates told Maariv that Lapid tried to oust Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Maariv reports that Netanyahu has already closed a deal to form a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties after new elections. Netanyahu said yesterday that if the government can't run properly, "We will come to conclusions."
**The arson at the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem brought visits not only by ministers and MKs, (including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, (settler) Housing Minister Uri Ariel, Education Minister Shai Piron, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barekat), but also by students from other schools in the capital, including religious Jewish schools, to show their support and solidarity with the students of the Bi-Lingual School. The arsonists put the books in the First Grade classroom in a pile and set them on fire, reported Maariv in the cover story of its magazine supplement, which ran in addition to an article in the news section. Parents and children expressed fear that they could become targets, but they all returned to school the day after the arson. Ynet reported that the day after the arson, students were forced to understand the meaning of a hate crime. And in what many think was a reaction to the arson, burned books were placed outside a Tel Aviv synagogue and the words 'In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned,' were spray-painted neatly on its wall.
Will this fractured government coalition collapse or not following a meeting today between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid was the big question and the top story of the Hebrew newspapers today along with the unverified reports that an Israeli-Canadian woman who volunteered to fight against ISIS was taken captive by the organization. Also in the news were the reactions to the burning of the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu is meeting with faction leaders today in an attempt to prevent the collapse of his government over the nation-state bill, the state budget as well as other bills. Yesterday, Lapid called Netanyahu 'dysfunctional' and blamed him for harming relations with the US, to which Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon accused Lapid of being responsible for the crisis with US. Netanyahu's associates told Maariv that Lapid tried to oust Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Maariv reports that Netanyahu has already closed a deal to form a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties after new elections. Netanyahu said yesterday that if the government can't run properly, "We will come to conclusions."
**The arson at the Jewish-Arab Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem brought visits not only by ministers and MKs, (including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, (settler) Housing Minister Uri Ariel, Education Minister Shai Piron, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barekat), but also by students from other schools in the capital, including religious Jewish schools, to show their support and solidarity with the students of the Bi-Lingual School. The arsonists put the books in the First Grade classroom in a pile and set them on fire, reported Maariv in the cover story of its magazine supplement, which ran in addition to an article in the news section. Parents and children expressed fear that they could become targets, but they all returned to school the day after the arson. Ynet reported that the day after the arson, students were forced to understand the meaning of a hate crime. And in what many think was a reaction to the arson, burned books were placed outside a Tel Aviv synagogue and the words 'In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned,' were spray-painted neatly on its wall.
Quick Hits:
- Settlers get 30 months in prison for arson in Palestinian village - 2 Jewish settlers sign plea bargain after admitting to torching vehicles, spray-painting wall in Palestinian village in the West Bank. (Ynet)
- Israelis attack Palestinian at tram stop near Jerusalem Old City - Majdi Majid Najib, 26, told Ma'an he was trying to buy a ticket to go to work in West Jerusalem when five Israelis attacked him and started to beat him. He said Israeli security guards were present in the area but did not intervene or arrest the attackers. (Maan)
- Molotov cocktails thrown at Israeli homes in West Bank settlement - Three Molotov cocktails were thrown at homes in the Israeli settlement of Beit El in the Benjamin region located in the central West Bank. There were no reported injuries or damages. (Ynet)
- Influential (extreme) right-wing rabbi moving to East Jerusalem - After 39 years as chief rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Dov Lior decides to move to isolated Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Orot in order to strengthen the Jewish settlement in the city. (Ynet)
- Right-wing Israelis enter Aqsa compound - Witnesses said that about 50 right-wing Israelis stormed the compound through the Moroccan Gate and tried to provoke Muslim worshipers, who responded by chanting "Allahu akbar," or "God is the greatest." (Maan)
- Police stand firm on banning Yehuda Glick from Temple Mount - Out of hospital after attempted hit on his life, religious activist appeals against condition of his release after August arrest over alleged assault at holy site. (Haaretz+)
- 3 charged in plot to attack MK Feiglin on Temple Mount - According to the indictment, the three east Jerusalem residents had planned to stay in Al-Aqsa mosque the night before Likud MK Moshe Feiglin and Jewish activist Yehuda Glick visited the Temple Mount and to attack them with stones and firecrackers. (Israel Hayom)
- Abbas accuses U.S. of blocking creation of Palestinian state - PA president also 'regrets' U.S. lawmakers' recommendation to cut aid. “They see me as the one responsible for the violence while the head of internal security in Israel has said clearly and openly that this is not the case. I don’t incite either overtly or covertly...” Also said Egyptian help will be essential for security in future Palestinian state. (Haaretz+)
- Hamas: Palestinian unity gov't has expired - Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a news conference in Gaza City that the unity government's six-month term had expired, and that dialogue should be resumed on a national level to discuss the future of the government. (Maan and Ynet)
- Fatah: Unity gov't not confined to 6 months - Faisal Abu Shahla said unity government assigned to carry out a number of tasks, including holding elections, "within at least six months," but that it was never agreed that government term would end if it did not complete those tasks within that time frame. (Maan)
- Palestinian soccer chief calls on FIFA to punish Israel over raid - Jibril Rajoub says three armored cars turned up at his office last week; incident was protested by FIFA head Blatter. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)
- Israeli court releases woman jailed while visiting husband - An Israeli magistrate court in Beersheba on Sunday decided to release Nihal al-Ghawadra, 30, a Palestinian woman from Jenin who was detained last Thursday while visiting her jailed husband in Eshel prison. (Maan)
- 2 Palestinians to be detained without trial for 6 months - Amjad Al-Natsheh, 20, from Anata, was detained four days ago as a result of a Facebook post in which he wrote he wished to die as a "martyr." Abu Asab said that Israeli interrogators accused him of planning a terror attack as a result of his post. Sadeq Ghaith was detained last Tuesday with his brother Adnan Ghaith, who is the secretary-general of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem. (Maan)
- Israeli forces raid homes in Tuqu east of Bethlehem - Israeli forces on Friday raided the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqu, forcing their way into several homes and firing large amounts of tear gas in clashes that subsequently broke out. (Maan)
- Fatah leader sentenced to 5 months without trial -
- Israeli authorities on Sunday decided to jail Ahmad Gheith, the secretary-general of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem, for five months without trial. (Maan)
- Australian capital gets its first official rabbi - Rabbi Alon Meltzer is the first rabbi to lead the 63-year-old Jewish community in Canberra. (JTA, Haaretz)
- Rivlin demands Iran and Syria compensate expelled Jews - President speaks at first ceremony commemorating expulsion and exile of Jews from Arab countries and Iran, calling on Arab nations to compensate them for lost property. (Ynet)
- Police to probe Facebook page featuring Israeli politicians in Nazi uniforms - President Reuven Rivlin, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Finance Minister Yair Lapid are among the public figures shown in SS uniforms. (Haaretz+)
- Israeli security guard mistakenly identifies 'terrorist' in Belgium - Assistant to head of security for Israeli embassy in Brussels mistakenly identifies young man carrying cricket bat covered in sweatshirt as possible terrorist yielding gun, causing man and his family to be expelled from country. (Ynet)
- Israel looking into reports that Canadian-Israeli Gill Rosenberg was captured by ISIS - Sites affiliated with ISIS report militant group managed to capture several Kurdish fighters, among them Gill Rosenberg, who joined Kurdish troops in northern Syria. (Haaretz)
- Middle East Updates / Muslim Brotherhood leaders jailed for insulting court - Amnesty: 1,165 forcibly evicted from northern Sinai; Egypt court declares ISIS a terror group; Pope ends Turkey trip in Orthodox feast, meeting with refugees; Iran hospital manager attacked with acid. (Haaretz)
- Khamenei tells Iran armed forces to build up 'irrespective' of diplomacy - 'Peacetime offers great opportunities for our armed forces to build up on preemptive capacities,' supreme leader says, while Revolutionary Guards chief promises 'The range of (our) missiles covers all of Israel today, that means the fall of the Zionist regime, which will certainly come soon.' (Ynet)
Features:
East is east: A series of articles on the processes that led to the outbreak of violence in
Jerusalem
Article 2: The Israeli authorities are foolishly ignoring an approach by activists that puts urban improvements before Palestinian nationalism. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
'The Wave' sparks questions among Arabs and Jews in Israel
Munich-based theater group arrives in Israel with play about a classroom experiment that went too far, as students become swept-up in Nazi-style ideolog. Jewish, Arab students watching play realize that 'No one is better than the other, we are equal. We are the same, with the same God, living in the same land.' (Ynet)
Lebanese singer Fairuz is finally fashionable in Israel
The Israeli mainstream is opening up to Arab music, whether sung by musicians from the Arab world or by local ‘The Voice’ competition winner Lina Makhoul. (Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Article 2: The Israeli authorities are foolishly ignoring an approach by activists that puts urban improvements before Palestinian nationalism. (Nir Hasson, Haaretz+)
'The Wave' sparks questions among Arabs and Jews in Israel
Munich-based theater group arrives in Israel with play about a classroom experiment that went too far, as students become swept-up in Nazi-style ideolog. Jewish, Arab students watching play realize that 'No one is better than the other, we are equal. We are the same, with the same God, living in the same land.' (Ynet)
Lebanese singer Fairuz is finally fashionable in Israel
The Israeli mainstream is opening up to Arab music, whether sung by musicians from the Arab world or by local ‘The Voice’ competition winner Lina Makhoul. (Haaretz+)
Commentary/Analysis:
Someone would rather burn my son's school than let Jews and Arabs coexist (Ilene
Prusher, Haaretz+) The graffiti on the Jerusalem school will be washed away, and classes will
go on; the students' own message will live on: We refuse to be enemies.
Strategic failure - Between Operation Protective Edge and the Temple Mount (former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, Yedioth/Ynet) The green light given to Jewish settlement in Arab neighborhoods after Operation Protective Edge gave Hamas a unique opportunity to shake off the burden of its defeat in the Gaza conflict and instigate serious riots both in the capital and the West Bank.
Ex-Military Intelligence chief: No need to fear for Israel’s future (Amos Yadlin and Uri Sadot, Haaretz+) Contrary to the ex-Mossad head’s dire assessment of Israel’s position, Zionism is not at all on the decline, and Israel is more secure and prosperous now than ever in its history.
For Israel's gatekeepers, writing an op-ed is not enough (Akiva Eldar, Haaretz+) Those who were partners to the policies that deepen the occupation are not at liberty to criticize the government and go on with their lives.
Has Netanyahu stopped functioning or is it all an act? (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister has had enough of his partners, and has had enough of the rules of the game. He has entered a state that psychologists may define as close to manic depression.
How easy it is to prevent escalation in Jerusalem (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Palestinians are generous when they attribute Israel’s policies to the stupidity of its leaders.
Business as usual with UNRWA (Elliott Abrams, Israel Hayom) It is shocking, but not surprising, that the State Department has signed a framework for cooperation with UNRWA that mentions nothing of its ties to Hamas.
Despair is driving me towards BDS (Maya Wahrman, Haaretz+) A year ago I would have condemned any boycott of Israel, not least on my own Princeton campus. But now, despite my reluctance and reservations, I can’t reject it out of hand.
The government has reached its end (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Lieberman's peace plan and the Likud's hysterical reactions to Lapid's comments about Netanyahu point to the fact that the government is walking on thin ice.
The moment Israel turned right on the road to oblivion (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) We should have spotted where Israel was headed back in November 2012, when Likud dropped three proponents of democracy from its slate. It’s been downhill ever since.
Nation-state law and pushing away the Jews - Am I my brother's keeper? (Yaron London, Yedioth) The nation-state bill not only harms minorities, it harms Diaspora Jews whose representatives have already expressed their concern over its significance, which perpetuates the rule of one faction of the people...
The Tahrir scrapbook (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Hosni Mubarak's acquittal almost completely negates the Tahrir revolution.
Mubarak acquittal: Symbol of return to same decades-long tyranny (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The 'trial of the century' ended up being anything but, with former Egyptian president found not guilty of ordering police to kill protesters in 2011 revolution.
Strategic failure - Between Operation Protective Edge and the Temple Mount (former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, Yedioth/Ynet) The green light given to Jewish settlement in Arab neighborhoods after Operation Protective Edge gave Hamas a unique opportunity to shake off the burden of its defeat in the Gaza conflict and instigate serious riots both in the capital and the West Bank.
Ex-Military Intelligence chief: No need to fear for Israel’s future (Amos Yadlin and Uri Sadot, Haaretz+) Contrary to the ex-Mossad head’s dire assessment of Israel’s position, Zionism is not at all on the decline, and Israel is more secure and prosperous now than ever in its history.
For Israel's gatekeepers, writing an op-ed is not enough (Akiva Eldar, Haaretz+) Those who were partners to the policies that deepen the occupation are not at liberty to criticize the government and go on with their lives.
Has Netanyahu stopped functioning or is it all an act? (Nahum Barnea, Yedioth/Ynet) The prime minister has had enough of his partners, and has had enough of the rules of the game. He has entered a state that psychologists may define as close to manic depression.
How easy it is to prevent escalation in Jerusalem (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Palestinians are generous when they attribute Israel’s policies to the stupidity of its leaders.
Business as usual with UNRWA (Elliott Abrams, Israel Hayom) It is shocking, but not surprising, that the State Department has signed a framework for cooperation with UNRWA that mentions nothing of its ties to Hamas.
Despair is driving me towards BDS (Maya Wahrman, Haaretz+) A year ago I would have condemned any boycott of Israel, not least on my own Princeton campus. But now, despite my reluctance and reservations, I can’t reject it out of hand.
The government has reached its end (Shimon Shiffer, Yedioth/Ynet) Lieberman's peace plan and the Likud's hysterical reactions to Lapid's comments about Netanyahu point to the fact that the government is walking on thin ice.
The moment Israel turned right on the road to oblivion (Uzi Baram, Haaretz+) We should have spotted where Israel was headed back in November 2012, when Likud dropped three proponents of democracy from its slate. It’s been downhill ever since.
Nation-state law and pushing away the Jews - Am I my brother's keeper? (Yaron London, Yedioth) The nation-state bill not only harms minorities, it harms Diaspora Jews whose representatives have already expressed their concern over its significance, which perpetuates the rule of one faction of the people...
The Tahrir scrapbook (Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom) Hosni Mubarak's acquittal almost completely negates the Tahrir revolution.
Mubarak acquittal: Symbol of return to same decades-long tyranny (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) The 'trial of the century' ended up being anything but, with former Egyptian president found not guilty of ordering police to kill protesters in 2011 revolution.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.