The Jerusalem Post discusses the recent survey that portrays a significant increase in racism in Israeli society on the backdrop of the Knesset’s marking of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Citing Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich’s much publicized campaign promoting racial discrimination, the editor asserts: “Smotrich is a constant reminder that there is still a lot of work needed to eliminate bigotry and racism in Israel.”
Haaretz criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nostalgic desire for a revival of the IDF military parades which were once an integral part of Israel’s Independence Day celebrations, and asserts: “Like the clumsy efforts by Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev to wrap herself in the flag, Netanyahu is keen on basking in the glory of the IDF, whose prestige has been maintained, certainly compared to political institutions.” The editor concludes: “If Netanyahu so wishes a military parade, so be it. Let him do his job and seek peace, after which the IDF will march out of the territories.”
Yediot Aharonot asserts that the sole reason behind Labor and Zionist Union Leader MK Isaac Herzog’s “pathetic” attempts to join the Likud-led coalition is based on a sense of self-preservation, and declares: “It wasn’t long ago that Herzog said that no decent person would enter Netanyahu’s government. It would be interesting to know how he perceives himself today.”
Israel Hayom examines recent op-eds published in popular pan-Arab websites by a well-known Palestinian intellectual, which delve “into the dialogue Israeli officials are allegedly holding with jailed Fatah terrorist Marwan Barghouti, supposedly with aim of naming him the next Palestinian leader,” and notes that the Palestinian author warns that “Barghouti, as other opportunistic individuals before him, seeks only to use the Palestinian people as pawns. The potential leader has nothing to offer other than a doctrine of violence that would turn the West Bank and east Jerusalem into disaster-stricken areas through a series of moves Israel will clearly never allow.”
[Sima Kadmon and Reuven Berko wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom, respectively.
