Summary of editorials from the Izraeli Hebrew press
BreuerPress
Yediot Aharonot discusses the ongoing spate of Price-Tag incidents. The author says that „The Border Police unit that has been stationed in Yitzhar is no less than a tourniquet that the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister and the Public Security Minister have placed on the ugly, bleeding sore of Jewish terrorism in the territories,” and calls for more systematic, long-term action by the security services, the State Attorney and the courts. The paper notes the paucity of arrests and convictions and decries the fact that „The Jewish leadership in Judea and Samaria has been silent and the political leadership mouths slogans.” The author suggests: „There is a kind of optical illusion here as if these were minors and anarchists with neither responsibility nor understanding. But they are only the little soldiers, merely the tip of the iceberg. Behind them hide adult inciters, including rabbis. All of them are known, but the arm of t he law is short,” partly because „The Samaria and Judea District, which was established following the massacre perpetrated by Baruch Goldstein at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, is the weakest in the Israel Police.” The paper is concerned that „Nobody intends to deal seriously with Jewish terrorism,” and fears that „We will all continue to look on as this terrorism slides into and inflames relations between Jews and Arabs inside the Green Line – and click our tongues.”
Yisrael Hayom commends the resignation of Home Front Defense Ministry Director General Dan Ronen given that the Government has yet to decide what exactly the ministry’s responsibilities – as opposed to those of the Defense Ministry, the IDF and the Public Security Ministry – will be. The author notes that the ministry was established by the previous government, „in order to make it easier for Ehud Barak to remain in the coalition and appoint Matan Vilnai to the post,” and also commends Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan’s threat to resign as well by the end of next month if the issue is not resolved.
The Jerusalem Post commends the recent provision passed by the US Congress, which states that US citizens born in Jerusalem may request their birthplaces be listed as Israel, even though the provision raises “a serious question about the constitutional power of the president of the US to determine America’s foreign policy.” The editor believes that the time has come to amend US policy regarding the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and is hopeful that the Supreme Court ruling, “which affects tens of thousands of other American Jews born in Jerusalem,” will reflect this simple fact.
Haaretz declares: “it seems that freedom in the State of Israel is a selective matter,” and notes that “at least 23 asylum seekers from Eritrea are still being held in the Holot holding facility in violation of the Interior Ministry’s Population, Immigration and Border Authority’s own criteria.” The editor asserts: “Israel continues to undermine the principle of non-refoulement – a principle it claims to recognize and observe,” and adds: “It is hoped that the petition against the constitutionality of this detention, pending before the High Court of Justice, will soon bring an end to this tragedy.”
