The Jerusalem Post supports the release of Jonathan Pollard, charged with spying for Israel, incarcerated since November 1985 for life without parole: "No matter how one regards Pollard, there’s a rare broad consensus within Israel’s public opinion and body politic that his inordinately protracted ordeal should be ended. By any reasonable measure, Pollard has more than paid for what he did. Continuing to hold him captive, as he grows old and frail, seems vindictive. We hope President Obama will feel it appropriate to intervene."
Yediot Aharonot refers to outgoing Mossad Director Meir Dagan’s reported remark that "Iran will not have a military nuclear capability until 2015 at least," and says that if true, "It means that Iran will never have a nuclear bomb." The author believes that a combination of cooperation by various national espionage agencies and international sanctions have turned Iran’s, "military nuclear program into a burden too heavy for the Iranian economy and society to bear." The paper calls on the international community not to give in to Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s bluster and not to relax sanctions for the time being.
Haaretz comments on the same issue: "Even if Dagan is correct, the period until 2015 is not in Israel’s favor. Israel should seize the window of opportunity to make progress on the peace track via an accord with Syria and an improvement in relations with Washington, the sobered-up Palestinian leadership and moderate Arab states. Peace must remain on the horizon – the right place for Iran’s nuclear project."
Yisrael Hayom suggests that there is a broad consensus among the major Zionist parties – Likud, Kadima, Yisrael Beteynu and Labor – that, "Before we consider additional concessions, a formula must be found that will ensure that a future Palestinian state will be demilitarized and will not become a platform from which the Iranians will be able to open a new assault against us." The author calls on Israel’s major parties "to issue a unanimous declaration in favor of our right to defensible borders."
Ma’ariv dismisses the proposal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will submit to the Cabinet today on ultra-orthodox young men and the draft as mere "spin" that will not only not lead to a more equitable sharing of the burden but will entrench existing injustices. The author declares that, "Real change will come here only when we understand the magnitude of the problem and proceed to a genuine format in which there are no exemptions, no tricks and no gimmicks…This is exactly what the Government has no intention of doing. Given the structure of the current coalition, it is impossible to expect more than this." The paper concludes, "This is how it is when Benjamin Netanyahu is the hostage of Shas and United Torah Judaism."
419