Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

The Jerusalem Post protests the deafening silence that greeted the decision by South Africa’s ruling ANC Party to host a Hamas delegation last week and states that the decision “should have aroused shock and dismay among countries truly committed to achieving a more peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians than is currently the case.”  The author notes: “The international community has established a policy of isolating Hamas, and made financial aid to the Palestinians dependent on three conditions: recognizing Israel’s right to exist, renouncing the use of violence and terrorism, and accept previously negotiated Israeli-Palestinian agreements,” and adds: “South Africa can restore its moral standing among the nations by requiring Hamas to meet these three conditions.&rdquo ;

Haaretz discusses the new proposal for the Basic Law on the Nation-State, which is due to be brought before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, and states that the provocative bill “will exacerbate the issue of dual loyalty of Jews around the world,” and internally “will only accentuate discrimination and inequality directed toward the non-Jewish quarter of the population.” The editor notes that Kulanu chairman Moshe Kahlon conditioned his joining the coalition on obtaining the right to veto this proposed Basic Law, and concludes: “Kahlon bears the responsibility for stopping this government’s dangerous nationalistic gallop, by torpedoing this unacceptable law.”

Yediot Aharonot contends that the media is responsible for exacerbating the populations’ insecurity resulting from the recent spate of terror attacks, and asserts: “It’s time for the electronic media in Israel to reach acceptable rules: You don’t gain ratings at the expense of citizens’ blood, and in terror attacks there should be no competition.” The author adds: “It’s not a media issue, it’s a strategic issue, as terror without the trail of anxiety it seeks to achieve will fade away on its own.”

Israel Hayom reviews the history of Palestinian terror, and declares: “Unlike national liberation movements, Palestinian terrorism has deliberately, institutionally, and systematically targeted Arab and Israeli noncombatants, sometimes hitting combatants.” The author contends that the only way to defeat Palestinian terrorism is by defying political correctness and shifting gears: “instead of chasing individual terroristic mosquitoes, the terroristic swamp needs to be drained,” and declares: “A large-scale, disproportionate, pre-emptive military operation needs to be launched throughout Judea and Samaria and Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Any (U.S. and Israeli) direct or indirect contact with and assistance to the Palestinian Authority needs to be conditioned upon an end to hate education. Families and communities of terrorists need to be severely punished for failing to exercise communal responsibility.”