Yediot Aharonot believes that „The Turkel Commission was born as a fig leaf; the goal was to cover the American administration’s move to prevent the establishment of an additional Goldstone-style commission of inquiry into the flotilla affair,” and adds that „From the Israeli Government’s point-of-view, the Commission finished its work on the day it was established.” The author says that Justice Turkel’s request, and reported threat to resign if his request was not met, had been crafted in advance.
Ma’ariv suggests that „People do not like being made fun of and older people are more sensitive to this than others,” because „They do not owe anything to anyone and their good name is important to them.” The author adds that Maj-Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland’s IDF report on the seizure of the Mavi Marmara, which is due to be completed early next week, may prove surprising in its conclusions and recommendations.
Yisrael Hayom asserts that „From the outset, there was no reason to establish any other commission apart from the professional evaluation group led by Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland, but the international pressure did its work,” and believes that the Turkel Commission will be granted the expanded powers that Justice Turkel has requested.
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Nana10 complains that not only do the textbooks in Palestinian Authority schools „not contribute to peace, they only push the two peoples further apart,” and declares that „The Israeli Government must remind the world that in 2007, Palestinian Media Watch, led by Itamar Marcus, issued a report on the new 12th grade textbooks in the Palestinian Authority, some of which are funded by the Belgian government, and which depict a world without Israel, portray the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as an Islamic struggle and which encourage students to see Israel, the US and the West as enemies.”
The Jerusalem Post discusses the internecine tensions that exist today both among Israeli Jews between themselves, and between Israeli Jews and Jews in the Diaspora. Recent sociological studies show a marked decline, at all ages, in the level of American Jewish identification with Israel and a rise in discomfort with the idea of a Jewish state and that younger, non-Orthodox, American Jews were less identified with Israel. The editor notes that steps are being taken to bridge this decline, and states that „one of the most effective ways of achieving this goal is by facilitating a visit to Israel.” The editor feels that „By simply meeting with Israelis and seeing up close their unique challenges, American Jews gain a better understanding and return home with closer ties to Israel, whether or not they agree with the policies of the government of the day.”
Haaretz discusses the State Comptroller’s report on the sensitive issue of the use of wiretaps in criminal investigations, and calls on the agencies concerned to „implement the report’s systemic recommendations, which come on top of both previous comptroller’s reports and the recommendations of a parliamentary commission of inquiry.”
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