Two papers discuss the new referendum law, which will require either a Knesset super-majority or a national referendum in order to hand over any annexed territories as part of a future peace deal:
Yisrael Hayom ventures that the referendum law „is nothing to get excited about and not so terrible.” The author contends that „To turn to the High Court of Justice against the Referendum Law after it has already passed would be the biggest mistake peace supporters could make. It cannot be claimed that it is anti-democratic or that it invalidates the Knesset. More than a few democracies utilize referendums, especially when concerning substantial issues and sometimes on matters which are less substantial (Have we mentioned Switzerland?). Furthermore, since I believe that a referendum would approve any peace agreement that a legitimate Government in Israel would propose, embedded within it is the widest possible legitimization for this type of agreement in the eyes of minority groups opposing the accord.”
Haaretz declares that „On Monday the government joined forces with the most right-wing parliament ever witnessed in the history of the state, for the purpose of handcuffing the political leadership’s moves in the peace process.” The editor adds that the new law „is another act of expectoration smack in the face of the international community,” and concludes: „It remains only to hope that the new law will face the test of public and legal scrutiny, and be erased from the country’s legal corpus.”
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Yediot Aharonot asserts that Prime Minister Benjamin „Netanyahu has already crossed the Rubicon. The moment that he declared two states for two peoples – he has no way back.”
Ma’ariv conjectures that „Tehran is watching the situation of the North Koreans with yearning. Nuclear capabilities would provide Iran – practically an enlightened country compared to North Korea – an insurance policy. Its ability to irritate would become unlimited.”
The Jerusalem Post discusses the alleged crimes and misdemeanors of the senior management of the Meuhedet public health fund, as detailed in a report issued last week by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, and notes that „The entire edifice of corruption allegedly involves dozens of managers, goes back for a decade or more and apparently constitutes a loss to Meuhedet of hundreds of millions of shekels.” The editor opines that „health insurers should be required by law to have independent corporate boards of directors rather than the puppets and representatives of vested interests who sit in Meuhedet’s boardroom now. And members should have a say in how the health funds are run.”
BreuerPress-info
