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Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: Israeli Arabs in the Start-Up Nation, the old Avigdor Liberman is back, the freedom to marry, the differing streams of religious Zionism, and Mobileye as a magnet for investment in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post discusses the successful initiatives in recent years to integrate Israel’s Arabs into the hi-tech sector, and states: “The rise in the number of Arab Israelis enrolled in computer sciences and engineering is a sign that more are seeing hi-tech, not just medicine and pharmacology, as a feasible career option. But more needs to be done to break down cultural barriers where possible. Unrealized potential is a tragedy for those whose talents are left uncultivated and for the society at large, which loses out on benefiting from its human capital.”
Haaretz comments of Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman’s about face from expressing moderate opinions on volatile issues to Monday’s Facebook post calling for the transfer of Israel’s Arab citizens from sovereign Israeli territory to another country because of their ethnic affiliation, and in effect conveying “to the state’s Arab citizens that they aren’t wanted by the State of Israel and that their citizenship is temporary and conditional.” The editor contends that Liberman knows that the right of those born here to maintain Israeli citizenship is no less than that of a Jew who is naturalized by way of the Law of Return, and adds: “It’s not only that the idea of creating an Israel ‘cleansed’ of Arabs is warped, but that even raising it as an option is unacceptable. Yes, even if the goal is to use this idea to carve a path back into Likud in order to grab hold of its leadership after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retires.”
Yediot Aharonot is enraged by the official requirement that in order for a Jewish marriage to obtain state recognition, it must be officiated through the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate, and states: “Hundreds and thousands of couples who are unable to choose otherwise must surrender to the predatory corruption of the Rabbinate—because it’s cheaper. They pay and unwittingly support a system that in the year 2017 still sees women as chattel and a couple’s relationship as a system that eliminates a woman’s liberties.”
Israel Hayom focuses on the controversy surrounding Rabbi Yigal Levinstein’s provocative remarks and sharp criticism of the military regarding integration of women into combat roles, and points out that “The Zionist religious sector has undergone a process of polarization over the last few decades, as evidenced in the increasing disputes and absence of common sentiments on many aspects of life.” Detailing the rifts in the religious Zionism community, the author states: “Instead of focusing on Levinstein, it is time to point the cameras at what’s happening in this space. The flashes and fireworks that occasionally come out of this community invite the question of whether we can still speak in terms of ‘religious Zionism’ or ‘the sector.’ Or perhaps it is just a collection of subgroups that have less and less in common.”
Globes is pleased by the 15 billion dollar acquisition of the Israeli company Mobileye by electronics giant Intel for, and predicts: “The stream of global venture capital investment in Israel’s auto-tech industry will now reach huge proportions.”
[Sharon Banian, Kimmy Caplan and Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Israel Hayom and Globes, respectively. |
