Yediot Aharonot says that „The Israeli media, and it would seem the international media as well, has been serially issuing these past weeks a really boring, uninteresting notice: Equador recognized the Palestinian state. Argentina recognized the Palestinian state. And Brazil. And Bolivia. And… oy, also Uruguay. What’s going on here? It’s the same boring notice all the time; they’re only switching the name of the country. Big deal. Who is Uruguay anyway? Bolivia, nu really! Brazil, okay, we by Pharaoh, we’ll get by Brazil. Argentina? Have they figured out yet what to do about Maradona?
A reminder: In 1947 the UN appointed a committee [United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP)] to investigate the goings-on in British Mandatory Palestine, and that committee decided on the partition. The same decision that lead to the establishment of the State of Israel. No less. And who was on that committee? [Professor Enrique Rodriguez] Fabregat from Uruguay, [Dr. Jorge Garcia] Granados from Guatemala (and there are streets named after them in a number of cities). Ladies and gentlemen, a diplomatic danger is at our doorstep. That’s how it starts, and it’s liable to envelop the world, which will recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, without demilitarization, without territorial exchange. To this day we proudly commemorate the evening of the 29th of November, the same night on which the United Nations decided on the country’s partition, which, as I already mentioned, led to the establishment of the State of Israel. We took to the streets dancing in celebration then. Please take note: We are quickly approaching the Palestinians’ 29th of November.”
Ma’ariv notes that „While Arab rulers remained silent when the youth took to the streets, everyone understands that if Tunisians saw fit to embark towards a better fate, the opposition will reach them as well.”
Yisrael Hayom calls for legislation, not investigation: „We do not need an investigation committee whose conclusions would be construed as sullied by political considerations. We need balanced legislation which would allow us to judge subversive elements.”
The Jerusalem Post criticizes last week’s decision by the Supreme Court to significantly reduce the sentences meted out almost a year ago to two defendants involved in a 2008 hit-and-run that left one victim dead and another doomed to life in a wheelchair, and states that „The Supreme Court’s message, intentional or otherwise, is that judges ought not attempt to deter future potential miscreants nor register their abhorrence, but instead aspire to sentence according to the average customary for a given crime.” The editor notes that that the three Supreme Court panel members seem to prefer the form rather than the spirit of the law, and concludes: „This affects the safety of us all and chips away at our trust in the system. Justice not only has to be done; it has to be seen to be done for the public to maintain faith in its functioning.”
Haaretz criticizes the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block the demolition of two homes in the illegal outpost of Givat Hayovel in the settlement of Eli, which according to the paper were built on stolen land. The editor calls on the attorney general „to deliver to Netanyahu a copy of a warning notice he sent to Nir Barkat, after the Jerusalem mayor intervened in the implementation of an order to evacuate and seal Beit Yonatan in Silwan, and adds: „He needs to make clear to the prime minister the importance of the separation of powers in a democracy.”
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