Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

The Jerusalem Post reflects on the declining fortunes of Christian Arabs living in the territories controlled by the Palestine Authority, and states: “World Christian leaders who remain silent about the plight of Palestinian Christians blithely ignore one of the favorite slogans of the true target of ‘Palestinian resistance’: ‘First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.’”

Haaretz censures the Ministerial Committee for Legislation for approving a bill, “both benighted and ridiculous,” which aims to make it more difficult for businesses to remain open on Shabbat.  The editor notes that if Israel’s secular residents tried to force the religious people who live here to work on Shabbat, it would obviously constitute coercion and argues that the bill “is also coercion, as it forces ‘rest’ on those who aren’t interested in that kind of rest.”

Yediot Aharonot warns that recent events have raised the likelihood of a new conflict on the northern front, and states that “As far as Israel is concerned, it’s important to stick to one principle: If and when hostile activities begin from Lebanese territory, they should lead to a war between the State of Israel and the state of Lebanon.” The author explains that while the international community cares little of the fate of Hezbollah (or of Israel, for that matter), it will not remain indifferent to the possibility of Lebanon’s destruction, and will therefore create pressure to end the war much sooner than had Israel been fighting Hezbollah alone. The author points out that Israel can allegedly decide on the right strategy only when the conflict begins, but that was precisely the big mistake of 2006, and calls on the government to take the crucial step and “explain to the world, and especially to the US, the policy you are planning to take in advance and in a clear manner.”

Israel Hayom discusses the controversy surrounding testimonies of alleged IDF misdeeds presented by the Breaking the Silence organization, and, speaking from personal experience, states: “The IDF does not order its soldiers to be cruel to a civilian population for the sake of satisfying some sadistic urge. And when morally questionable orders are given, there is always someone to turn to who can rectify the situation in real time.”

Globes reflects that Israel has no choice but to deal with the unsavory regimes of the region, but warns of the considerable downside of renewing ties with Turkey. The author argues: “The bottom line is that dancing with tyrants can and often is risky and dangerous, but it can as often be advantageous,” and adds that with Israel being the only democracy in the entire region, “the only informal or formal allies we can have, will not be democracies. QED.”

[Giora Eiland, Michael Maoz and Norman Bailey wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Israel Hayom and Globes, respectively.]