Summary of Editorials from the Izraeli Hebrew Press
Yediot Aharonot analyzes the differing US and European approaches to Hezbollah in the wake of Bulgaria’s finding that Hezbollah was responsible for the 18 July 2012 bombing in Burgas in which five Israelis and one Bulgarian were murdered. The author says that „Whoever is looking for the dividing line between the continents regarding the Middle East will find it here – in the definition of terrorism; not in the approach to Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians, but in the attitude toward the armed militias in the Arab world. The Europeans look at the Middle East and see an expanse of cultures. The Americans look and see many dangers. The Bulgarian Interior Minister’s statement last week about Hezbollah being responsible for the bombing puts the Europeans in a – healthy, from Israel’s point-of-view – dilemma, and moments like these cause Foreign Ministry personnel to rub their hands in glee: The Europeans themselves need to! decide what to do with the results. Is it possible to accuse Hezbollah of planning and perpetrating terrorism without defining it as a terrorist organization?” The paper concludes: The European trap is an Israeli opportunity.”Ma’ariv reminds its readers that Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, a Shi’ite, was subjected, by all accounts, to a pointed scolding – over Iran’s role in Syria, the treatment of minority Sunnis in Iran and issues dating back to the founding of Islam – at his recent joint press conference at the Sunni Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The author says: „This was not the only embarrassment for the Iranian President during his visit to Cairo, which was held pursuant to a meeting of the Islamic Conference, not an invitation from the Egyptian government. Ahmadinejad’s visit was met by mass demonstrations and even – how not? – a thrown shoe.” The paper says that Egypt’s current Islamist regime is incensed at ongoing Iranian-sponsored Shi’ite missionary activity in Egypt and concludes: „The public humiliation that Ahmadinejad suffered at the most important Islamic institution in the world revealed how the Sunni-Shi’ite rift is an alive-and-kicking political issue. In the past, Islamic and Arab leaders knew h! ow to cover the burning hatred and deep-seated differences of opinion under a layer sweet rhetoric and talk about unity. Now they cannot even pretend anymore.”
Yisrael Hayom discusses the coalition negotiations and says that there is widespread concern in the Likud leadership that Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid and Jewish Home’s Naftali Bennett have formed a de facto alliance aimed at keeping Shas out of the next government. The author speculates that one factor working in Lapid’s favor is the, „American and European pressure to strengthen the coalition with elements that are more interested than the religious and ultra-orthodox are in resuming the diplomatic process with the Palestinians. While Tzipi Livni is important, she is not enough. The West wants to see Lapid at the Cabinet table.” The paper suggests that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon find „that a hot potato has been dropped in his lap – choosing between Yesh Atid (and perhaps Jewish Home as well) and Shas.”
The Jerusalem Post eulogizes Rabbi David Hartman, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 81, and states that Rabbi Hartman represented an approach to Judaism that emphasized “individuality and searching out personal paths to God, while rejecting the need for spiritual intermediaries, religious authorities or institutions.” The editor concludes: “As much as Hartman was a catalyst for spiritual change in Israeli society, he and his thought process are a reflection of a post-modern era characterized by new, innovative and more egalitarian forms of religious expression.”
Haaretz comments that in an interview given by Yair Lapid before the election, the leader of the Yesh Atid party responded in the negative to a question if he had ever smoked marijuana. This remark was later proved to be incorrect. The editor feels that “As the leader of the second-largest party in the Knesset, as a candidate for finance or foreign minister in the next government, and as someone who has preached about ‘new politics,’ Lapid’s credibility has suffered a blow,” and asks: “Why did Lapid deny that he’d smoked and risk being exposed to the public? Why in 2013 can’t an Israeli politician just say he smoked marijuana when he was young but that he stopped long ago and opposes it now?”
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