Haaretz comments on the bill put forward by MK Dichter entitled ‘Basic Law: Israel – the Nation-State of the Jewish People’: Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, while "claiming that the bill does not contravene the essential definition of Israel as a democratic country, did, however, express his objections to the bill, which states that Israel’s democratic regime would be subordinate to the state’s Jewish identity, and which drops Arabic as an official language." Haaretz concludes: "The bill may very well meet the technical requirements for submission to the Knesset, but it is a very risky venture. If it passes, it would be a watershed for Israeli democracy. It is liable to totally breach the dividing line between the principles of a democratic regime and the categorical, indisputable preference for the Jewish majority that will only deepen the growing distrust that Arab citizens have for the state. MKs and ministers who object to Dichter’s bill must therefore make an extraordinary effort to battle it using all legitimate means."
The Jerusalem Post comments on the changing priorities of the Jewish federations of North America: "Perhaps the demand by Jewish federations for a funding shake-up is also the result of changing relations between Israel and US Jewry. Once upon a time, Israel was dependent on US Jewry’s largesse. But this is no longer the case. If anything, the two countries now share mutual economic interests. The Jewish state has become a strong, prosperous nation with a high standard of living, a good quality of life and an innovative business sector. Israel’s economy actually managed to weather the financial crisis better than the US’s. The proposed overhaul in the way Jewish federations give to Israel should be seen as part of a larger reevaluation of the changing relations between an increasingly vibrant and robust Israel and an America that is looking increasingly challenged domestically and abroad."
Yediot Aharonot comments on Israeli ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor’s meeting with controversial French politician Marine Le Pen – daughter and successor of the notorious Jean Marie Le Pen – in New York last Thursday and says that it could undercut Israel’s cooperation with the French Jewish community in the latter’s struggle against anti-Semitism in France. The author, a former Israeli Ambassador to France, says, "It could be that Marine Le Pen is different from her father. It could be that she not only wants to shake off the extremist image, but that she really is less of an extremist. Maybe. But the burden of proof is on her. She must rid her party of anti-Semites and Holocaust-deniers, and mainly disavow the past statements of her father, who founded her party. She must do this in a loud and clear voice, and then perhaps there will be something to talk about. Until then we would do well not to help pave her path to success in the coming elections for the French presidency."
Ma’ariv reminds its readers that this past Saturday evening, many members of the Likud Central Committee and other Israelis, received a recorded telephone message from a four-and-a-half-year-old resident of the illegal settlement outpost of Migron against its slated evacuation. The author asserts that, "The use of a four-and-a-half-year-old girl for propaganda purposes is deplorable. It is demagoguery," and says that such young children are incapable of forming and expressing their own opinions. The paper does not belittle the trauma that settlement outpost evacuations and home demolitions have on children, but believes that "responsibility for the children’s fate is on their parents, who decided to live in such a combustible place," and wonders if the parents are showing sufficient sensitivity on the issue. The author hints that the settlers are hurting their own cause and says that they would do well "to leave their children outside of the game."
Yisrael Hayom says that whatever the reason behind the fact that the IDF, ISA and Mossad external websites were down for an extended period yesterday, there should have been reserve systems available for immediate back-up. The author calls on the Government to see to it that enough money is budgeted for this purpose.