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Yediot Aharonot notes that "This week we mark 30 years since the First Lebanon War – the first war that was limited and not all-out, the first that was a \’war of choice\’ and the first that was waged against an organization (the PLO) and not against a state." The author maintains that "The most important lesson is the need to recognize that in contemporary wars there exists a large gap between military capabilities and the expectations of politicians, the media and the public."
Ma\’ariv comments that "Despite reports of increasing involvement of [migrant] infiltrators in crime, there is no data indicating as such in Israel. Around the world, paradoxically, the figures are worrying."
Yisrael Hayom discusses Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein\’s decision to prosecute Haaretz journalist Uri Blau for his role in the Anat Kam affair. The author says that he was "shocked, and perhaps I am not alone in this feeling, due to the decision of the Attorney General to prosecute journalist Uri Blau on the suspicion of illegally possessing highly classified documents. The shock was not due to the erroneous decision, in our opinion, to prosecute Blau, but rather due to the vociferous expressions from journalists following the decision." The paper adds, "Journalists\’ remarks following the Attorney General\’s decision completely distorted the reality of freedom of the press and expression in Israel. In many instances, these remarks bordered on hysteria.
The author asserts that "Israel and its citizens enjoy freedom of the press and expression with few parallels in democratic countries," and adds: "As a journalist, I am proud of my country, which has been in an emergency situation for 64 years, in the heart of a conflagration, and nevertheless does not send journalists to jail wholesale like Erdogan\’s Turkey."
Haaretz sharply criticizes Sunday’s decision by the Population and Immigration Authority to begin enforcing an amendment to the anti-infiltration law, which states that any African migrant who infiltrates into Israel will be imprisoned without trial for up to three years, and declares: “This draconian measure won\’t solve the problem of migration to Israel, but it will further erode Israel\’s image as a humane country that abides by international law.”
The Jerusalem Post examines the upheaval in Syria, and is concerned that Syrian WMDs may fall into the hands of extremist groups and thus pose a threat “not just to Israel but to the entire Western world.” The editor asserts that alongside sanctions and strenuous diplomatic campaigns, “more efforts need to be made to locate Syria’s WMD caches,” and declares: “If they cannot be destroyed, they should at the very least be contained. The safety of many people depends on it.”
[Giora Eiland, Ben-Dror Yemini and Yaakov Ahimeir wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma\’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]