Yediot Aharonot refers to US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman’s recent remarks to a European conference on anti-Semitism in which he – inter alia – distinguished between "traditional" anti-Semitism and that stemming from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said that progress in the peace process "would lead to a huge reduction of this form of labeled ‘anti-Semitism’ in Europe." The author asserts, "It might be possible to understand the American Ambassador’s lack of knowledge about diplomacy" given that he is a political appointee and former Democratic Party fundraiser but adds, "In no way can we countenance his remarks to the effect that anti-Semitism is caused by Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians." The paper deplores "anti-Semitism that hides under the artificial and mendacious label of being ‘anti-Israel’, and finds it odd that Ambassador Gutman, himself the son of a Holocaust survivor, should adopt such an idea.
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The Jerusalem Post comments: Speaking last Friday at the Brookings Institution in Washington, "US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta essentially blamed Israel for its own ‘increasing isolation,’ urging the Jewish state to reach out to its neighbors. He suggested that Israel make diplomatic inroads with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Egypt, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly Islamist and anti-Israel Turkey, and vulnerable Jordan, a country whose leadership has been making concessions to its own Muslim Brotherhood. When asked what operative steps Israel could make to advance negotiations with the Palestinians, Panetta said: ‘Just get to the damn table.’ In other words, Panetta believes that if only stubborn Israel would make more concessions to the Palestinians, regional animosity toward Israel would miraculously evaporate after decades of incitement. It is more than just unfortunate when these views are held by men who have a critical influence on US foreign policy. It is downright scary, especially in light of Israel’s growing need for American support as radical changes sweep the region."
Ma’ariv applauds Great Britain’s recent action in adopting more stringent sanctions against Iran and in expelling Iranian diplomatic personnel from the UK and suggests that "Europe is waking up."
Haaretz writes: "Today, December 6, the Israeli legislature will mark Human Rights Day (scheduled for December 10) ahead of many parliaments in the world with a series of events, meetings and debates. Israel ratified the declaration, however it is hard to say the Knesset members are bound to it or to its spirit and principles, most of which are reflected in the founding document of the State of Israel – the Declaration of Independence. The annual report of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel published at the beginning of the week reveals an alarming acceleration of the process undermining all the issues the UN declaration refers to. It consists of infringing on the freedoms of demonstration, protest and expression; restricting the freedom of political activity, limiting demonstrators’ and activists’ moves, constricting freedom of moment and demonstration in the territories, blatant discrimination against women, eroding social rights and especially savage anti-democratic legislation."
Yisrael Hayom analyzes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to bring forward the Likud Party leadership vote to January 31 and asserts, "It is unreasonable to think that he intends to be elected in January 2012 in order to hold the next Knesset elections [as currently scheduled] in November 2013." The author says that securing a renewed popular mandate would strengthen him ahead of possible tension with the US should President Barak Obama be re-elected and as he deals with the Iranian nuclear issue. The paper believes that one way or the other, "the 18th Knesset will not finish its term."
[Noah Kliger, Lorna Fitzsimmons and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]