Az izraeli lapok vezércikkeiből angolul

Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

Today’s issues: Kickback nation, the right to be parents, Netanyahu’s cynical tactic, and thanks to the Left.

The Jerusalem Post lists the cascade of corruption accusations against government ministers from the top down, and states: “There is no other democratic nation whose former prime minister, finance minister, interior minister – and not to forget former president and former chief rabbi – have all been sent to prison. While on obvious moral levels this is a shameful record, in terms of what they call public diplomacy it is a rather spectacular example of that familiar, but not often fulfilled, mission of being a light unto the nations.” The editor points out that for observers from the side this may seem like a list of shame, but adds: “thankfully, we can rest assured that the same system of justice that sent the nation’s highest secular and religious leaders to prison before will not shirk in pursuing justice as our heritage teaches.”

Haaretz comments on the ways in which Israel discriminates against members of the LGBT community, assertions to the world about its purportedly positive attitude toward them notwithstanding, and declares: “the Social Affairs Ministry should make it clear to all social workers that an individual’s gender identity does not disqualify a person from being a parent. A policy of equality should be adopted on this matter and on all matters related to gender identity.”

Yediot Aharonot   discusses the disparagement, lies and hatred in the prime minister’s speech at last week’s Likud rally, which caused a large portion of the public to feel that Netanyahu was not their prime minister , and states: “ A person in Netanyahu’s situation should have bowed his head and kept silent. He definitely shouldn’t have organized an Erdoğan-style rally for himself. He should have waited quietly for the attorney general’s decision. Instead, Netanyahu chose war.”

Israel Hayom comments on Wednesday’s demonstration of solidarity with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the investigations into his alleged acts of corruption, and finds similarities between the prime minister’s predicament and that of US President Donald Trump. The author contends that what the two have in common – even if they don’t seem to realize it – is that they are being bolstered by the very forces working tirelessly to take them down, and attests that the “ludicrous belittlement of leaders doing their duty discredits the detractors and instills fear among those enemies with the will and means to annihilate whole populations of innocent people. Rather than commiserating over their shared victimization at the hands of the ‘Left and the media,’ Netanyahu and Trump should be grateful for the help.”

[Sima Kadmon and Ruthie Blum wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom, respectively.