Ma’ariv suggests that Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman "is, in the end, correct: Should war break out between Israel and Syria, the Assad family will lose their regime within minutes." However, the author believes that Syria’s dictator stands to lose as much in peace as it would in war, because "he understands today that the minority Alawite regime rests only on a warlike stance against Israel." Thus, the author concludes that Assad "wants neither a genuine peace nor war; he is interested only in a peace process, which helps legitimize him in the eyes of the world, and in the threat of war, which only aids him in bolstering his regime.
Yisrael Hayom ventures that official Washington is finally waking up to the gravity of the Iranian nuclear threat and says "Better late than never." The author cites recent statements by Sen. Joe Lieberman, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, all to the effect that "There is nobody to talk to and nobody to rely on, sanctions must be tightened and military force must be threatened afterwards." The paper suggests that Europe will follow the Americans and hopes that Russia and China will too.
The Jerusalem Post comments on what it terms "[Arab League Secretary-General] Amr Moussa’s missed opportunity," and feels it is regretful that Moussa’s abhorrence of Israel prevents him from navigating his organization in the direction of genuine reconciliation with Israel."
Haaretz criticizes the ban by Ministry of Education officials on teaching a sexually explicit poem in 12th grade Hebrew literature classes, and states that "Seventeen-year-old students at a secular high school can handle terms and concepts that are part of their lives when the concepts are taught through literature."