Yediot Aharonot discusses the recent incident in which the British band Coldplay featured a pro-Palestinian
Yediot Aharonot discusses the recent incident in which the British band Coldplay featured a pro-Palestinian song and an accompanying „tendentious and one-sided,” video on its website. The author believes that „A film, protest song, book with social messages, computer game or comic book created by a pro-Palestinian web surfer are much more influential than an Israeli spokesman – as polished as he may be – being interviewed on CNN,” and asserts that „Israeli public diplomacy must continue to quickly adapt itself to the new situation that has been created, while developing and creating additional ‘soft public diplomacy’ tools.” The paper also calls on the Government to triple its „approximately NIS 50 million” public diplomacy budget and to furnish ordinary Israelis and Diaspora Jews alike with „innovative tools, based on the Internet and the social media, that will encourage a range of responses, creative means and public diplomacy to present Israel in a balanced way.”
Ma’ariv says that „The story of Ilan Grapel looks like an old Egyptian movie that someone is trying to remake,” and suggests that it stems – inter alia – from „The desire of the generals’ regime to throw a victim to Egyptian public opinion.” The author suspects that „Hatred of Israel remains the lowest common denominator for supporters and opponents of the regime,” and adds that „Just as the youths of Tahrir Square knew to treat information issued by Mubarak or Tantawi with a high degree of skepticism, one must expect them to show an active criticism of the information that they are being exposed to from around the world regarding the detention of Ilan Grapel.” The paper concludes that „To a large extent, the reof the ‘Egyptian street’ on the Internet is curious and will show the future of the peace between us and Egypt more than any other event that has occurred since last February.”
Yisrael Hayom refers to a recent spate of violent crimes in the Israeli Arab sector. The author notes that „It is claimed in the sector that the police solve fewer murders in the Arab sector than in other parts of the population in our country and it seems that there is something to this criticism,” but adds that „It must be recalled that the tranquil populations in these communities know that the main reason for the disappointing result is that a considerable segment of Israeli Arabs do not cooperate with the police.” The paper asserts that „There can be no rule of law without an abundance of credible witnesses.”
The Jerusalem Post discusses “The spy ‘scandal’ that wasn’t” – the arrest in Egypt of 27-year-old American-Israeli student Ilan Grapel on the “delusional” charge he was a Mossad spy – and is concerned by “the ease with which such blatantly anti-Israel claims can be concocted and spread and believed by a captive Egyptian public regularly bombarded with anti-Israeli propaganda.” The editor states: “If the Grapel scandal is an indication of where the Arab Spring’s winds of change are headed, the portents are dismal indeed.”
Haaretz, in its special Israel Book Week edition, dismisses the philosopher Plato’s concern 2,500 years ago of the damage which would be caused “if information was kept in libraries instead of the minds of students,” and notes that “Modern research has shown that reading sharpens the memory and ensures the accumulation of knowledge.”
BreuerPress-info
