Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: BDS sanctions, UNRWA’s 65th anniversary, a call to open Gaza crossings, and Israel’s low rate of labor productivity.
Two newspapers discuss the efforts of the BDS movement:
Yediot Aharonot concurs that “The efforts to boycott and isolate Israel are not clean of anti-Semitism, hypocrisy and double-standards,” but disagrees with PM Netanyahu’s statement: ‘”What we do counts for nothing. The struggle against Israel has nothing to do with our actions; it is all about our very existence.”’ The author argues: “What we do matters a great deal – for good and for bad,” and declares: “Without improving our showing in the field of human rights, the current boycott will not go away.”
Yisrael Hayom is convinced that the new anti-Semites are determined tie a financial loop around Israel’s neck and calls on the Jewish people — not only Israel — to respond forcefully. The author declares: “The boycott is not the result of settlement denunciation, but a refusal to accept the Jewish state’s right to exist,” and opines: “the issue of delegitimization of Israel, which aims to wipe it from the face of the earth, is off limits.”
——————————————
The Jerusalem Post confronts one of the UN’s “most deformed, misbegotten offspring – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency” on the 65th anniversary of its creation, and asserts: “There’s no other UN organ in which so many layers of unabashed hypocrisy overlap and contribute so cynically to the perpetuation of misery instead of assisting the cause of peace and prosperity.” The editor reminds readers that UNRWA was established in 1949 to cater exclusively to those deemed to be Palestinian refugees, while all other refugees are looked after by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and adds: “This region would be better off without UNRWA. It’s time to transfer its responsibilities to UNHCR.”
Haaretz discusses the grim humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and calls on the authorities to open Gaza’s crossings, and states: “As the controlling power of some of the crossings, Israel is responsible for the fate of Gaza’s residents.” The editor adds: “the moral imperative should not be the only thing guiding Israel to do all it can to ease their lives. Israel’s security and strategic interests also demand this,” and clarifies: “Any further worsening of the situation of Gaza’s population will lead to anarchy within Gaza’s government, just when Israel and Hamas have a truce agreement. To avoid this and additional international pressure, Israel must open all the checkpoints and enable people to move through them.”
Globes bemoans Israel’s low labor productivity rate, and claims that “the slow growth in per hour productivity in Israel is a direct result of an economic policy that for many years has sanctioned a state of low pay, harmful work contracting, lack of employment security, and negligible investment in professional training.” The author continues: “The reason why productivity is low is that the government budget priorities did not allow rapid infrastructure development, because the money was sent to other places. Productivity is low because social services have become the main source of financing for the defense budget and the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria,” and concludes: “These are not mistakes by governments with good intentions; they are the result of a deliberate policy.”
[Nahum Barnea, Dan Margalit and Avi Temkin wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Yisrael Hayom and Globes, respectively.]
|
