(Israel Government Press Office)
Ma'ariv asserts that for those who support BDS (boycott, disinvestment and sanctions) campaigns against Israel, "The goal is not eliminating 'the Israeli occupation'; the goal is eliminating the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish People." However, the paper claims that those who support annexing Judea and Samaria are, in effect, working toward the same goal – "the end of the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state." The author says that "In my view, building and expanding settlements (except for the major blocs) is dangerous because it hastens the day when reality compels the State of Israel to become a bi-national state," and dismisses the possibility of large-scale Jewish immigration to Israel to offset the numbers of Palestinians who would become Israeli citizens in any annexation.
Yediot Aharonot discusses the phenomenon of corruption and white-collar crime and argues that prosecutors, however overworked and underpaid they may be, must bring the accused to trial and seek heavy punishments, as opposed to seeking plea bargains on lesser charges, "so that the public can save itself."
Yisrael Hayom commends Labor Party Chairperson MK Shelly Yachimovich's decision to bring forward the party primaries to November and avers that four months is ample time for her rivals "to prepare themselves and their supporters and the party machinery, which in any case is working against Yachimovich." The author believes that "While the Labor party has lost some of its luster, some of its authority and some of its legacy, it is still an important factor on the political scene and stabilizing the leadership is a prudent step – whatever the results are."
The Jerusalem Post comments on the smallish demonstration marking the two-year anniversary of the J14 (July 14, 2011) socioeconomic protests, and notes that while “The turnout paled in comparison to the hundreds of thousands who were mobilized in the summer of 2011,” the socioeconomic protests definitely had a significant impact on Israeli society. The editor believes that “The 2011 protest movement was probably the single most significant development that has taken place within Israeli society in recent history,” and asserts: “The demonstrations rocked the nation, sent the previous Netanyahu government scurrying for damage control and, for the first time in decades, reprioritized Israel’s national agenda to place socioeconomic concerns at a level of importance comparable to security concerns.”
Haaretz strongly criticizes the forceful arrest of a 5-year-old Palestinian boy suspected of throwing stones at cars, as documented in a video clip shot by the human rights group B’Tselem, as well as the hardhearted response by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett who had not even seen the film. The editor declares: “When public officials condemn B'Tselem but are silent about the detaining of a 5-year-old child by Israeli soldiers, it is indicative of a systematic campaign of delegitimization against human rights groups,” and concludes: “It is a government that continues to nurture the occupation and refuses to end the destructive process that benumbs this country’s citizens.”
[Amos Gilboa, Yaron London and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Ma'ariv, Yediot Aharonot and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]