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Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: Cruel and unusual, Netanyahu must be investigated, it’s not about the submarines – it’s about Netanyahu’s lawyer, and Putin’s window of opportunity.
The Jerusalem Post strongly criticizes the US justice system for imposing unjust and draconian parole terms on Jonathan Pollard after serving an unprecedented 30 years in jail, and states: “there is one person who could end this sad saga at last in a timely manner: President Barack Obama. Amid the endless speculation of what he might do vis-à-vis Israel in the interim before handing over his office to Donald Trump, there is one act Obama could do that would at least partially redeem his administration in the eyes of the Jewish people everywhere: let Pollard spend the rest of his days in Israel.”
Haaretz contends that the representation of PM Netanyahu as well as the state by lawyers who are his relatives “constitutes tangible evidence of the rot in Netanyahu’s g overnment, where there is no separation between his family, his party and the state,” and urges Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit to accelerate his inquiry into all the affairs involving Netanyahu: “The public needs to know whether Israel’s government is headed by a corrupt politician, or not.”
Yediot Aharonot comments on the scandal surrounding the purchase of submarines from Germany in which the prime minister and his personal lawyer and cousin David Shimron are embroiled, and asserts: “A commission of inquiry must be appointed now, today rather than tomorrow, and it must not look into the submarines that Netanyahu believed were necessary for Israel’s security, but into the ties with the empire represented by the Molcho-Shimron law firm. What did Netanyahu know and what was concealed from him is not a question that should be directed at the media. It is a question that should be directed at the prime minister himself.”
Israel Hayom comments on the unprecedented breadth and aggressiveness of the Russian military presence in Syria, but notes that “Putin is displaying strength, but behind this strength is a country dealing with significant economic difficulties.” The author believes that “The Russians are counting on their ability to deter the enemy from confrontation, and thereby force them to give in,” and adds: “Trump may say he is willing to cooperate with the Russians, but once in the White House, he may choose to show Putin that there is only one boss, and he resides in the White House, not the Kremlin.”
[Shimon Shiffer and Eyal Zisser wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom, respectively |
