The intimacy which characterized our relationship with the US has disappeared, and the American administration does not hesitate to publically humiliate the Prime Minister of Israel and to lead the camp which insistently calls for a settlement freeze. Even Jerusalem suddenly turned into a ‘settlement.’ Our call to halt the nuclearization of Iran has received a lukewarm response in the world. Nothing symbolizes more our deterioration in world public opinion than the call by an Irish parliamentarian to investigate if the IDF aid mission to Haiti did not exploit the opportunity to steal organs."
Ma’ariv opines that "When reading the criticism on the appointment of Judge [Jacob] Terkel to chair the commission of inquiry, it is impossible not to think that someone is orchestrating a defamation campaign against him."
Yisrael Hayom, following a wave of cancelations by performers scheduled to appear in Israel, provides a directory of excuses for those who wish to cancel their performances in Israel. In summary, the author expresses his "personal thanks to the band, The Editors, who did come to Israel and opened their performance with three words that summarized the most appropriate Zionist reply to our musical situation – F*** the Pixies!"
The Jerusalem Post discusses the Treasury’s new program to solve Israel’s chronic housing shortage by making more land available, but feels that it ignores one serious problem – the shortage of construction workers. The editor says that the only way to solve the problem is for the government to make a concerted effort to encourage Israelis to work in construction, and states that "A return of Israelis to construction will revive a Zionist ideal, and help solve the housing shortage."
Haaretz remarks on the recent High Court decree to abolish the discriminatory policy that allows payment of state stipends to ultra-Orthodox students in yeshivas and kollels, but not to secular university students, and opines that the ruling places the prime minister and his cabinet before an important test. The editor states that "If [coalition members] succeed in pulling the rug from under the court decision, the premier, his finance minister, justice minister, education minister and welfare minister will not only need to explain to the public why they failed to prevent the erosion of the court’s standing, but they will also need to clarify the reasons for their preference of yeshiva students over students who will soon come to represent the pillars of Israel’s economy and academia."
[Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael, Avraham Tirosh and Yehuda Safra wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]
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