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Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press


 MFA Newsletter 

Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

Today’s issues: Blood libel, shifting towards ultranationalist isolationism, the emperor’s nakedness, and the giant crack in the UK.

The Jerusalem Post attacks Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his refusal to meet with President Rivlin last week when both were in Brussels and for his subsequent libelous statement in his address to the European Parliament that Israeli rabbis are ordering their disciples to murder Palestinians, and contrasts it with the outlook of President Rivlin, who, when addressing the same forum, stated: “We will not be able to build trust between us if we do not begin to speak directly and to look at what we can do and what can be done and not at what cannot be done. Direct talks are the only possible way to build trust and to resolve the conditions for a peace perspective between Palestinians and Israelis. There are no shortcuts, no detours in the Middle East.”

Haaretz compares British isolationism to Israel’s, and states: “The ultranationalist and isolationist undercurrents that separated Britain from Europe are flowing in Israel as well, and they do not remain below the surface.”  The editor adds: “The ultranationalist isolationism that Israel flaunts is not a defensive wall against international boycotts and sanctions, but rather a wall of paper,” and asserts: “Britain’s decision must not be seen in Israel as a model for emulation by those who believe the state can exist as an island. The ultranationalist right must not be allowed to turn Israel into a state imprisoned in a solitary confinement of nations.”

Yediot Aharonot comments on the attempts by Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev to coerce artists to perform in West Bank settlements by threatening to withhold state funding if they do not, and is doubtful of the ploy’s eventual success. The author notes that “Most artists aren’t especially political. They care about making a living, and only a small minority are so opposed to the occupation that they would be willing to punish hundreds of thousands of people who chose to build their homes at a comfortable price on robbed land,” and declares: “From a utilitarian standpoint, it would have been better for the government to ignore the lone noisemakers. It doesn’t do so because of its need to prove to its right-wing voter base that its representatives are making sure to avenge the insults it suffers at the hands of others.” The author wonders why don’t they just let the small number of rebellious artists be, and argues that the reason is “the doubt that keeps bubbling up in the loud rightists’ stomachs. The institutional and popular violence is allegedly meant to silence the rebellious, but it is in fact a bit of noise that’s meant to quell internal doubts. The emperor knows, in his heart of hearts, that he is without clothes. He fears the moment when the child’s cry will be heard throughout the land, and he will be forced to contend with the lie he told himself.”

Israel Hayom comments on what the author terms “A giant crack in the EU,” and states: “Unless resources are redistributed and gaps are visibly reduced, what happened in the U.K could recur elsewhere.”

Yaron London and Denis Charbit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom, respectively