Oct 15-16: Resuming settlement construction in East Jerusalem

The Headlines: Ahmedinijad’s Biggest Fans

> Another day of hysterical coverage of Iranian President Ahmedinijad’s visit to Lebanon. A former general draws [Heb] two conclusions from the visit: Israel should prepare for likely war and retain sovereignty over the Jordan Valley (and if you’re confused: no, it is nowhere near Lebanon or Iran). Ha’aretz is the glaring exception, pointing to the relative unimportance of the visit in itself, and arguing that it might actually damage Hizbullah’s standing in Lebanon, hurting its nationalist credentials by presenting it as a foreign patsy.

> The government is resuming settlement construction in East Jerusalem. On previous occasions, such announcements caused serious damage to US-Israel relations. This time, the administration was updated in advance. According to reports, the Americans even managed to reduce the construction’s scope, to 238 new apartments for now. The pressure to build appears to be coming from Housing Minister Attias (Shas), with Netanyahu being more coy and reluctant (Ma’ariv, Yedioth). Settlers are also planning to evict Palestinian residents and expand a controversial compound at the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in the city (Ha’aretz).

> President Peres will visit [Heb] Morocco, indicating a thaw in its relations with Israel.

> Senior figures in the religious right want the Attorney General to retroactively acquit Margalit Harshefi. Harshefi was convicted and served time in prison, for knowing in advance about the intention to assassinate Prime Minister Rabin in 1995, and doing nothing to stop it.

The Columnists’ Corner: Netanyahu’s Bad Week

> This roundup introduces a new weekend feature: a summary of what the four newspapers’ major columnists have to say.

> Nahum Barnea (Yedioth) says Netanyahu is finding it hard to juggle his attempts to avoid a direct conflict with all of his major pivots: the US, the Palestinians and the Israeli right. His latest stunt (settlement freeze for recognition of a Jewish state) only resurrected concerns about his credibility. Barnea interviews Nobel Peace prize laureate, Elie Wiesel, who disapproves of the loyalty oath initiative, and instead proposes a conference of Jews from around the world to discuss the definition of a Jewish state. Barnea also tackles Israel’s incoherent Gaza policy, and slams Interior Minister Yishay (Shas) for his latest extreme and arbitrary antic: a clash with the Anglican Church.

> Yossi Verter ( Ha’aretz) thinks this was a very bad weak for Netanyahu. President Peres attacked him for putting politics over statesmanship. Defense Minister Barak (Labor) is signaling a possible withdrawal from the coalition, while opposition leader Livni (Kadima) has renewed sharp attacks on the Prime Minister’s policies. Finally, Knesset Chairman Rivlin, from his own party, managed to twist Netanyahu’s hand and force him to forsake a government end-run around parliament.

> Dan Margalit (Yisrael Hayom) claims [Heb] that the difference between Netanyahu and Livni is not about the solution to the conflict. According to Margalit, the solution will elude them both because they do not have a Palestinian “partner”. If the difference is only about conflict management, he argues, Livni should join Netanyahu’s coalition, in order to strengthen Israel’s international legitimacy. He also thinks soldiers who use Palestinian children as “human shields” should not serve in combat units, but should not face criminal sanctions either.

> Ben Caspit praises Livni for rising above politics, when she chose to neither join Netanyahu’s government, nor attack him during the sensitive phase of the negotiations. According to Caspit, Livni, despite machinations from former Defense Minister Mufaz, is in full control of her party. She will not join the coalition without getting a good sense of how far Netanyahu is willing to go in concessions to the Palestinians. Netanyahu is desperate to avoid making the hard choices, but his maneuvering may only draw the country closer to elections. One likely outcome: the final disappearance of Labor, which was the perennial governing party during the first half of Israel’s existence.

The Sidelines: Fascist? Moi?

> An opinion poll: Israelis don’t like the words fascism and nationalism, but 36% of Jews want to take away the voting rights of non-Jews, and 58% want to limit freedom of speech if it hurts non-security state interests (Yedioth, Saturday supplement).

> Defense Minister Barak thinks [Heb] that if Israel does not withdraw from the West Bank, it can be either Jewish or democratic, but not both. He worries about its international legitimacy, and believes that chances for peace are higher than those that prevailed when he tried to negotiate an agreement with the Palestinians in 2000, when he served as Prime Minister.

> A bizarre article claims [Heb] that relations are just fine between the Palestinian residents of Silwan and a tiny group of Jews who have chosen to settle at the heart of the East Jerusalem neighborhood. Tensions supposedly arise only from the provocations of Jewish left-wing activists.

> The Kafkaesque story of the Palestinian village Wallaga, left in limbo near East Jerusalem (Ma’ariv, Musafshabat).

> The settlement of Beit El has decided [Heb] to turn over to the police Jewish boys who throw stones at nearby Palestinian homes.

> The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, will be summoned [Heb] to testify for a second time before the Israeli committee investigating the response to the Gaza flotilla, as the navy prepares for more flotillas. Turkish lawyers want the International Criminal Court to investigate the incident.

> A group of elder statesmen will visit the Middle East, in an effort to promote the peace process.

> Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mayread Maguire, who was recently deported from Israel, speaks [Heb] about her love for both Israel and Palestine.

> Israel and Greece have completed [Heb] a joint air force exercise.

> An explosion in Iranian base appears to have occurred in the storage facility holding long-range ballistic missiles to could reach Israel.

> There are still few [Heb] Arab judges: none in the central district.

> The Israeli dentists’ association is cracking down [Heb] on its Arab members, for insisting that state-funded dental services should only be provided by non-profits.

> A lecturer who made anti-homosexual comments will be reinstated [Heb] after apologizing.

> Welfare Minister Herzog has announced that he will run for the leadership of the labor party.

The Bottom Lines: Left Behind

> Two thousand asylum seekers, including families and children, are being detained in a holding facility, by an arbitrary and brutal system (Yedioth, Saturday supplement).

> The disabled are launching [Heb] a new public campaign, demanding to update their benefits, which have declined to 60% of the minimum wage (Ma’ariv).

> Plans for a new ultra-orthodox city trample [Heb] over the environment and the land reserve of Arab towns in the area.