Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: The wild anti-Semitic theories floated by public figures, the continued incarceration of a Palestinian parliament member, the withdrawal from Lebanon 15 years ago, and the absence of the Mizrahi narrative in Israel’s school curriculum.
The Jerusalem Post examines the “Wild anti-Semitic theories floated by high-profile public figures and politicians,” that have been making headlines in recent weeks, and asserts: “Hatred of Jews and Israel, particularly the conspiracy theories patterned after The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, prevent those who harbor such prejudice from perceiving the world rationally.” The editor details anti-Semitic espoused by leaders around the globe, and declares: “Jew-hatred blinds people to the facts, undermines the rational process of learning from mistakes and is ultimately self-destructive.”
Haaretz calls attention to the continued incarceration of Palestinian parliament member Khalida Jarrar, terming it “A Kafkaesque perversion of military law,” and declares: “Jarrar, who has been behind bars for two months, is a legitimate parliamentarian chosen in a democratic election.” Contending that she has a clean security record and her trial looks like an attempt to punish her for her political activity, the editor asserts: “The whole indictment against Jarrar should be thrown out, but in any case she should be released from custody immediately.”
Yediot Aharonot believes that former PM Ehud Barak’s decision to withdraw from Lebanon fifteen years ago was the correct one. The author notes that while to this very day, mainly for political reasons, “there are those who believe that the withdrawal was an escape, and that the national dignity was more important than dozens of dead Israeli soldiers in the fighting on the way home or while removing the flag at the Beaufort to the sounds of the national anthem,” and cheerfully contradicts the critics: “that is how two wars ended in one night: The war of narrow-mindedness and the war of impatience.”
Yisrael Hayom discusses the Farhud (pogrom) that took place in Baghdad 74 years ago today, in which “Baghdad’s Jewish community fell prey to the a pogrom that left 200 Jews dead and thousands of others wounded, and saw hundreds of Jewish businesses and homes looted and torched.” The author notes that “despite its significance in modern Jewish history, the Farhud is relatively unknown in Israel, and its events are excluded from the education system’s curriculum,” as is the Mizrahi narrative in general. The author states that “The history of European Jews is studied in Israel as if it is the history of the Jewish people as a whole, and there is borderline criminal neglect in teaching the Sephardi heritage,” and appeals to Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev to change this, and to “introduce the rich culture of Sephardi Jews into the curriculum, as they now make up over 55% of Israelis.”
[Eitan Haber and Edy Cohen wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.] |
