Yediot Aharonot maintains that "There is a significant gap between what the White House says about what is happening in Syria and about what will happen the day after Assad, and the worrying picture that the CIA is painting. As far as the Americans are concerned, the day after Assad is liable to bring with it unpleasantness and strategic difficulties. As far as Israel is concerned, the day after Assad is a critical matter. Muslim Brotherhood on the Egyptian border, Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, Muslim Brotherhood on the Syrian Border, Hizbullah on the Lebanese border – that is the nightmare which is liable to crystallize."
Yisrael Hayom notes that "Israeli experts are convinced that the announcement by the [Syrian] rebels that they have already appointed a team of experts to deal with the chemical weapons that will fall into their hands, is in answer to American efforts; a kind of reassuring message. But Israel is not at ease. Ehud Barak, while being interviewed simultaneously by two television stations Friday evening, alluded to a casus belli without actually declaring it officially, hinting on the possibility of an IDF attack without obligating: Israel will not allow these weapons to pass into the hands of Hizbullah. Assad knew this and never considered doing it, but what will happen in the expected unrest during the change of regime? That is the critical stage. But even if Israel succeeds in preventing the transfer of chemical weapons to Hizbullah – the level of danger threatening it will only be known when the character of the next regime! is clear."
Ma\’ariv professes that "The strengthening of the dollar and current security tensions prove that Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer\’s foreign currency reserve management policy was correct. Today there is no doubt that it is good that Israel is entering the period of slowdown (with the possibility of recession) with $75 billion in reserves. If, heaven forbid, we find ourselves caught in a severe security problem, the dollar reserve is the best guarantee of our economic wellbeing. The Governor has once again proved that he is the most important economic asset that the country has."
The Jerusalem Post comments on the Finance Minister\’s proposal to raise the retirement age: "The danger is that instead of enjoying the best of all worlds we’d impose a worst-case scenario on all of society’s components. If older citizens are required to work for more years, they’ll per force deny younger applicants jobs. More likely, though, is that as employees age, they’ll be sacked because long tenure inevitably makes them expensive to their employers. As long as our proportion of young to old isn’t as dire as in Europe, we need to use the time to safeguard older employees from discrimination and to remove rigid strictures that would leave open the option of continuing to work into ripe old age without being coerced to do so."
Haaretz writes: "The Israel Broadcasting Authority\’s leadership has decided that journalist Keren Neubach\’s current affairs program on Israel Radio, "Seder Yom" ("Agenda" ), will now feature guest coanchors. As an anchor Neubach is tough, assertive and frequently critical of the government. The IBA has been managed in recent months by people identified with the government. Placing limitations on Neubach seem to be another attempt by the prime minister to take control of an island of independence in the sphere of public broadcasting."
[Alex Fishman, Yehuda Sharoni and Dan Margalit wrote today\’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma\’ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]