373
Ma’ariv analyzes the situation in Syria and Lebanon. The author, a retired diplomat, suggests that "If a Sunni government takes power in Damascus, it is reasonable to assume that its relationship to [Shi’ite] Hizbullah will change completely," and adds, "The organization understands this; therefore, it is planning to solidify its grip on Lebanon, even though it is doubtful if such a step can replace its dependency on Damascus." The paper urges the government to publicly commend the anti-Assad rebels and says that any new government in Syria could not be worse than the current regime, which is allied with Iran and Hizbullah.
The Jerusalem Post writes: "Speaking on Wednesday in Gaza to a crowd of 350,000, Hamas’s leader Ismail Haniyeh praised the popular demonstrations that spread across the region for helping bring to power Islamists," and comments that "while the Arab Spring’s direction is a cause for celebration for Hamas, Westerners – including Israelis – have a bit more difficulty agreeing that the protests are ‘changing the world for the better.’ Unfortunately, it is unclear how the West can counter the trend toward Islamization spreading across the region."
Yediot Aharonot discusses the issue of discrimination against women. The author, Tanya Rosenblit, who refused to sit in the back of an Ashdod-Jerusalem bus last Friday when pressed to do so by certain ultra-orthodox male passengers, asserts that "Eliminating freedom of choice and the right to dignity under the guise of sanctity is the true provocation here. How can it be that Israeli society, in 2011, still hasn’t internalized this basic idea?"
Haaretz comments on the incident, saying that "this was proof that it is possible to stand up to fanatical elements who are trying to forcibly impose their discriminatory norms on the public. Discrimination against women, and efforts to push them into traditional roles, constitutes just the tip of the iceberg in a process by which Israel is being transformed into a backward, fanatic and unenlightened country. PM Netanyahu did well to denounce those who accosted Rosenblit. But this denunciation does not suffice: The prime minister, his cabinet ministers and the entire public sector must mobilize to defeat extremist religious bullying. If they do not, they will be lending support to a dangerously anti-democratic trend."
Yisrael Hayom lauds former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who passed away yesterday, as "an intellectual who knew how to convert literature to pragmatism and who successfully moved from the poet’s chair to the statesman’s office."
[Tanya Rosenblit, Omer Lachmanovich and Eli Avidar wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]