The Jerusalem Post is disturbed by the “US president’s apparent willingness to reach a compromise with the Iranians that would allow them to become a threshold nuclear state,” and calls upon the Obama administration to coherently define its policy in the region. The editor believes that “Articulating [President Obama’s] vision of a Middle East in which Iran is afforded a central role would at the very least facilitate discussion, criticism and, ultimately, it is hoped, refutation,” but avers: “Unfortunately, the US president has chosen to operate secretively, knowing that a lack of clarity is a good defense against dissent.”

Haaretz is angered by PM Netanyahu’s “gross intervention in procedure of appointing judges to Israel Prize,” and states that it “gives the harsh impression of fearing ‘other’ opinions on the one hand, while blatantly ignoring the norms of how a cultural institution in a democracy is meant to act on the other”. The editor adds: “Netanyahu’s move, whatever his reasons, detracts from the status of the prize itself,” and concludes: “It leaves intellectually honest people no choice but to refuse to serve on the jury of the Israel Prize for Literature, and even to refuse the prize if it is awarded to them by a tendentious jury.”

Yediot Aharonot believes that PM Netanyahu’s decision to address a joint session of Congress on the subject of the Iranian nuclear talks is ‘a serious error of judgment,” and points out that “The principal supporters of harsher sanctions from both parties in Congress have announced they will discuss the issue only towards the end of March, so Netanyahu's Washington trip is not a matter of urgency, and appears to be only an election ploy to the accompaniment of meetings with Republicans in an effort to undermine Obama.” The author asserts that addressing a half-empty Congress, with Vice-President Biden and Democratic leaders of both houses absent, “will cause further damage to the Iran issue and Israel-US relations,” and concludes: “Since Netanyahu claims that there is no link between the election in Israel and the timing of the address, the best option is to cancel the address entirely, or at least postpone it until after the Israeli election.”

Yisrael Hayom comments on motions seeking to bar parties or individuals from vying for the Knesset, and states that it is merely “An exercise in futility.” The author asserts: “Democracy is tested not by its willingness to hear melodious voices, or accept acts that fall within the consensus, but rather by its willingness to tolerate strident voices, and actions that make one cringe,” and concludes: “It is time to set aside this despicable practice, and leave the voters to express their opinions on election day.”

Globes discusses the ongoing clash between PM Netanyahu and Noni Mozes, publisher of Yediot Aharonot, and declares that above all, the fight between Netanyahu and Mozes “is about power and influence.” The author contends that the two adversaries are actually “on the same side, shoulder to shoulder, in their unending struggle for legitimacy, power, and survival,” and notes that the Israeli public has been relegated to the stands, which “is exactly where they want us to stay.”