Yediot Aharonot refers to the rabbinical ruling, which has been issued by several leading municipal rabbis, forbidding the sale of land to Arabs. "In the eyes of these rabbis, another parcel of Jewish real-estate is Zionism. But the end-result of this perspective will be the loss of Herzl’s Zionism. First we will lose our democratic values and afterwards our independence."
Ma’ariv notes that "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the ‘Saban Forum’ this past Friday in Washington and outlined the main points of the White House’s new policy. It was a focused and profound speech which left no room for doubt. Whoever thought that after the failure of the second freeze contacts, the Americans intend to wash their hands of this vexing problem is mistaken in a big way."
Yisrael Hayom argues that "Whoever does not believe in peace, if it is because he is not prepared to pay the price or whether it is because he is convinced that there is no one to talk with and that any signed agreement would be broken – has no need for Wikileaks. Whoever understands that the conflict is an excuse and not a reason – had no need for these cables. Whoever understands that without a diplomatic accord, Israel will not be able to continue to be Jewish and democratic – will not try to find in everything a reason not to make peace."
The Jerusalem Post discusses the bill, drafted by Israel Beitenu MK David Rotem, which would ensure state recognition of all conversions performed in the IDF and thus rectify the untenable situation in which thousands of conversions performed in the IDF by rabbinical courts affiliated with the Chief Rabbinate are not recognized by many Orthodox rabbis. The editor finds that "the only logical solution is to reduce the state’s direct involvement in the inherently religious question of “who is a Jew?” or “who is a rabbi?” by privatizing the conversion process and opening it up to a wider range of rabbinical organizations."
Haaretz is hopeful that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement last Friday "will rouse Netanyahu from the false complacency of the status quo," and states that "the prime minister would do well to take seriously Clinton’s announcement that Washington will demand that both sides show more flexibility on the core issues of the conflict."
14/10/2024