Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press
Yediot Aharonot reminds its readers that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was murdered five years ago today, presumably at Syrian behest, and recalls that the assassination was followed by an outpouring of anti-Syrian sentiment, both in Lebanon and elsewhere, that temporarily curbed Damascus’s influence in Lebanon. However, the author says, „Only five years have passed and Syria has returned to Lebanon through the back door, slowly, determinedly, unhindered,” and adds that, „Apparently, the Lebanese memory has been erased.” The paper believes that, „From our standpoint, Lebanon has gone back to being Damascus’s trump card. Ahead of the resumption of negotiations, Syria will hold the Lebanese President and Prime Minister by their throats to prevent them from embracing a separate agreement between Beirut and Jerusalem.” The author asserts that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been acquiescent to Syria because he knows full well that „At any given moment, it is possible to turn his country upside down and get rid of anyone who causes trouble,” and concludes that Israel is well aware that regarding quiet on the Lebanese border, „it is worth talking to the Syrians.”
Ma’ariv suggests that „The new electric car only transfers the polluting emissions from the cities to the power plant smokestacks,” and believes that „Presenting it as a magic green solution is a gross exaggeration.”
Yisrael Hayom refers to Liberal Democrat Baroness Jenny Tonge’s call on the IDF and the Israel Medical Association to investigate allegations that the IDF medical team in Haiti harvested organs for transplant and notes that Liberal Democratic leader MP Nick Clegg was quick to dismiss her from her frontbench position. However, the author is astonished that Clegg said that he did not believe that Baroness Tonge was, „anti-Semitic or racist,” and asks „Why else would she call to investigate the IDF mission?” The paper reminds its readers that Baroness Tonge was similarly dismissed from a frontbench position in 2004 after she expressed sympathy for suicide-bombers and avers that she „has openly declared her racist character.”
Nana10 discusses the current regime in Iran and asserts that „Its survival has become more and more dependent on the armed forces.” The author fears that the regime may seek to rally support by „mobilizing the people for a war over national honor,” and cautions that „It is unlikely that sanctions will deter it from continuing its headlong rush towards achieving a nuclear military capability.” The paper believes that „Statements by Iran’s leaders attest to neither sagacity, long-term thinking nor to strength. On the contrary, they attest to weakness and fear. Of course, this is good news for those in Israel and in the international community who believe that it is possible to deal with Iran and that we have not yet crossed the point-of-no-return, after which the only recourse left to the world will be to countenance a nuclear Iran. At the same time, it is important to note that the hysterical behavior only pushes the Iranian regime to become more irrationally extreme, which in any case jibes with its basic worldview and the main tenets of its faith. Such a regime, therefore, must be stopped at all costs before it gets its hands on nuclear capabilities that will strengthen its position and give it the confidence to continue promoting its ideology.”
The Jerusalem Post wonders if Iran is about to get the bomb, and if so, will it use it against Israel? The editor notes that even our intelligence chiefs „are hard-pressed to come up with definitive answers” to this question, despite the fact that their response frustrates the political leadership, which „one day soon now, may have to make one of the most fateful decisions in the history of modern Israel.”
Haaretz commends the Supreme Court for revoking the law prohibiting suspects from being present at hearings on extending their remand, even when the charges are security-related, as this „undermines what Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch describes as a ‘fundamental element’ of the right to due process enshrined in the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom.” The editor notes that „The way Israel combats terrorism must be in line with former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak’s observation – that democracies often have to fight their battles ‘with one hand tied behind their backs’, and concludes: „In this outlook lies the secret of a democratic state’s strength, a fact lawmakers must not ignore.”
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