Summary of editorials from the Izraeli Hebrew press
BreuerPress
Yediot Aharonot discusses the controversy over US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent remarks in which he „hinted that Israelis will be hit in the pocket,” if there is no peace agreement. The author asserts, „Kerry was incautious in his remarks,” and adds, „While there are many reasons to criticize us for our conduct toward the Palestinians, our American friends would do well to come to us with more convincing arguments than threats of the kind Kerry hinted at.”
Haaretz writes: „U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement at the Munich Security Conference, that Israel will face boycotts should negotiations with the Palestinians fail, is a level-headed view of reality that the Israeli government chooses to continually ignore. Instead of welcoming Kerry as an ally, Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly quarrels with him and hints that the secretary of state is trying to pressure Israel to “give up essential interests.” Netanyahu refuses to understand that Israel’s most essential interest is ending the conflict, and that Kerry is a fair, dedicated, mediator who needs the support of all parties in order to complete this complex process.”
Yisrael Hayom notes that an official Iranian source hastily denied reports that Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had condemned the Holocaust and had spoken of the possibility of eventually recognizing Israel. The author reminds his readers that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khameini, recently declared that, „The Zionist regime is a cancerous growth that must be excised,” and concludes, „Iran hasn’t really changed.”
The Jerusalem Post comments on the recent complaint by a 12th grade student to Education Minister Shai Piron that a teacher had expressed extreme left-wing positions in the classroom: „Ideally, while a teacher can and should deal with controversial issues, particularly in civics class, he or she should do so without presenting personal political opinions in the classroom. Because students are a captive and impressionable audience, a teacher can easily exploit his or her position of power and intellectual superiority to sway opinions. The job of the teacher is to create intellectual space and an open atmosphere for students to embark on their own unique paths and reach their own tentative conclusions.”
Ma’ariv notes that January 2014 was one of the driest on record. The author says that, „The good news is water will flow from our taps tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. While intensive desalination is inflating our water bills, it is also the Israeli economy’s insurance policy against a genuine drought. The bad news is everything else: In the absence of a reasonable quantity of rain, agriculture and nature will pay a heavy price.”
