Yediot Aharonot contends that "The reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is the most negative development in the chronicles of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which casts doubt on the possibility that a peace agreement will ever be achieved between the two peoples." The author contends that "Abu Mazen sacrificed the chance of diplomatic negotiations for an internal Palestinian achievement. Palestine – like Israel – does not have a foreign policy, only domestic policy."
Ma’ariv writes: "Four transports. Five selections. An operation under full anesthesia in a forced labor camp. He was taken from the Lodz Ghetto to Auschwitz-Birkenau. And survived. He immigrated to the Land. Fought in the War of Independence. Was wounded in the 1956 war. He does not leave the country. Does not board a plane. Does not embark upon a tour of his roots. He always says that, ‘I have seen enough of classical Europe’. He is the most ardent Zionist I know. He does not open doors because – maybe the Gestapo will come. He listens to the news every hour. He does not forget and he does not forgive. He remembers it all. My father."
Yisrael Hayom stipulates that "Each one of us can still pick a Holocaust survivor, listen to his/her life story and inscribe it in our memories. We can commit to memory the person himself, his mouth that told the story, his accent and the look in his eyes." The author asserts that "We must listen and remember so that the next generation, when our children will inquire what happened there – we will know how to acquaint them with a personal experience." He notes that "There are still 200,000 Jews among us that were there. And we are here to listen to them, and to pass on to the next generation."
The Jerusalem Post wonders what motivates so many of the world’s leading statesmen to look favorably upon the rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas “that so obviously undermines chances for peace and risks bringing to power a Palestinian leadership that vows to destroy the Jewish state?” In answer, the editor quotes PM Netanyahu’s statement at last Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting: ‘The important question that must be asked today is: Have we learned the lessons of the Holocaust in the world?’ and continues: “Unfortunately, terribly, the prime minister correctly answered that, ‘To our great regret, the answer is no.’”
Haaretz states that Israelis should study the Holocaust, respect its main moral lesson, and to oppose all views limiting civil liberties and human rights. The editor opines that this lesson should be applied “not only with respect to the memory of the past or as a catch-all response by the country’s leaders to deflect criticism of Israel from abroad. It must also serve as a warning for the future.”
[Dov Weisglass, Chen Kotes-Bar and Lior Alfrovitch wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]