|
Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press
Today’s issues: Turkey’s vendetta against the Kurds, taking Jerusalem off a non-existent negotiating table, the Iranian drama, it was Germany, not Poland, and demonizing the Donald.
The Jerusalem Post discusses the Turkish offensive in northwest Syria aimed at clearing the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the area that began on January 20, and states: “The offensive marks an escalation in the already complex and deadly conflict, risks creating a rift between Washington and Ankara, and opens a new front line that further complicates attempts to resolve the Syrian war.” Noting the similarity of the Turkish operation to Israel’s in Gaza and the West Bank and against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the silence of both the EU and the UN, the editor contends: “The international community should subject Turkey to the same standards, monitoring closely any civilian casualties and also examining the role of any extremist elements among the Syrian rebels in the operation. Border security m ust not be an excuse for a wide-ranging new conflict in northern Syria against Kurds who have helped defeat ISIS.”
Haaretz argues that by declaring at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland, that the United States has removed the issue of Jerusalem from the negotiating table, U.S. President Donald Trump “resembles a magician whose trick didn’t work the first time and so tries it again.” The editor asserts: “Unilaterally determining diplomatic policy, threatening the Palestinian Authority with a withdrawal of aid and a significant funding cut for the UN Relief and Works Agency are the tools Trump is using to bury the diplomatic process,” and declares: “Through his incomprehensible, aimless conduct, Trump is letting Israel alone absorb the destructive consequences of his policy. A responsible Israeli government must understand the danger the U.S. president is laying at its doorstep and immediately come up with an appropriate and acceptable diplomatic plan.”
Yediot Aharonot discusses Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s apparent agreement to let the army and Revolutionary Guards start privatizing their businesses and assets, a move that will for the most part benefit the middle class, and adds: “The protests that rocked Iran in recent weeks were against the corruption of the ‘regime,’ but were mainly directed at the Revolutionary Guards and the religious clerics who support them. The leader’s willingness to consider changing the current situation and reducing the Guards’ power indicates he is beginning to understand that the internal battle in Iran has been decided. The Islamic Republic will have no right to exist if it ignores the middle class’ desires and aspirations, and especially the desire for welfare, development and a focus on internally improving the situation in Iran.”
Israel Hayom reflects on the intense Polish sensitivity to attempts to transfer responsibility for the industrial extermination camps from Germany to Poland, but argues: “Poland wasn’t responsible for the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a German crime.” The author believes that Germany has an obligation to step in and preserve the past, and declares: “Rather than funneling money to left-wing organizations that slander Israel, instead of investing immense sums in the Palestinian Authority that has proven time and again that it clings to its hatred of Jews and Israel, and instead of investing in initiatives whose contribution to humanity is doubtful, the German government could fund the Marches of the Living, along with the trips to Poland, and encourage young Israelis and young Germans to meet and talk about what links them.”
Globes examines US President Trump’s first year in office and reflects that while on the whole there is much to applaud, the not-yet-passed budget is set to make the fiscal situation substantially worse. The author states: “Mr. Trump has three more years to go. He has actually started out well, despite the legions of ill-wishers and his own manifest personal failings,” and warns: “if the fiscal issue is not vigorously confronted, as it is not at present, his administration will go down in history as the third of three successive irresponsible administrations that turned the country that at the turn of the 21st century was the richest and most powerful in the history of the world into a pathetic bankrupt weakling.”
[Ori Goldberg, Eldad Beck and Norman Bailey wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Israel Hayom and Globes, respectively. |
