The author says that "While I truly do not know who set fire to the mosque, I know that – to my regret – there are those among us who are capable of such acts; people for whom the smell of gasoline in the air brings them to look for not a bucket of water but a match," and adds that "In addition to these few disturbed individuals, there are always several more who will stand beside them, behind them and – occasionally – in front of them in order to say that ‘The freeze is worse.’ How is that relevant?…Will this strange fire thaw the freeze or deepen it? Don’t these arsonists understand that in addition to the despicable nature of the act itself, setting fire to a mosque puts them and their friends, in the wonderful communities of Samaria and Tel Aviv, in mortal danger? Don’t these arsonists, whoever they are, understand that Israel ‘s enemies have enough reasons to hate Jews and the State of Israel, and they do not need to be given any more gasoline to fuel their murderousness, revenge, hysteria and hypocrisy? No, the people with the matches do not understand."
Ma’ariv asserts that "The mosque arsonists – who are apparently Jews – have not only defamed the settlers and entangled the entire State of Israel; they have cracked the illusion, which has been carefully fostered over many years, that when the Jewish People have power – we behave differently." The author declares that "They blacken the struggle over the Land of Israel."
Yisrael Hayom warns that "Any action that strikes at religious interests is liable to ignite the entire region." The author writes that "As an observant Jew, I deplore it when somebody attacks a house of worship. Mosques, churches, synagogues and temples of other faiths must be off-limits in any conflict." The paper calls on the authorities to use an "iron fist against any attempt to ignite a religious fire in the Middle East."
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Nana10 dismisses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks that Syria has dropped its insistence on an Israeli commitment to withdraw from the Golan Heights as a precondition for peace talks and avers that "He and Assad are not even close to the table." The author reminds his readers that the Government is currently pushing legislation that would require a referendum before any renunciation of territory, "which is liable to hinder any peace negotiations."
The Jerusalem Post criticizes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to spend NIS 1 billion to purchase one dose of H1N1 flu vaccine and the anti-viral drug Tamiflu for everyone in the population, and points out that the unused quantities will have to be disposed of in the near future. The money could have been more profitably used to build additional hospitals or modernize the infrastructure of existing ones, says the editor, and adds that "Plainly, the decision on what vaccines and how many doses to purchase should in future rest with a high-level interdisciplinary committee, whose opinions cannot be tilted by politics and concerns about popularity."
Haaretz appeals to the Tel Aviv municipality and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra to save the Mann Auditorium. The editor notes that the building, an architectural gem designed by renowned Israeli architects Dov Carmi and Zeev Rechter, is not only considered one of the 50 top concert halls in the world but has also been singled out by UNESCO as one of 60 of the most prominent buildings in Tel Aviv’s "White City" area, and declares that "The appeals committee must reject the proposed changes, and authorities involved in the matter must prepare a new renovation plan based on stricter rules of preservation, enabling the unique musical experience of the Mann Auditorium to be handed down to the next generation."
[MK Uri Orbach, Avishai Ben-Chaim, Dr. Mordechai Keidar and Prof. Eyal Zisser wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv, Yisrael Hayom and Nana10, respectively.]