Israel Update

Israel and the Middle East News Update

Friday, November 4

Headlines:

 Ex-Shin Bet Chief: Iran Has 25,000 Fighters in Syria  EU Declares Israel Boycott Protected as Free Speech  Pro-Israel Alliance Prepares for 2017 Anti-Israel Campaign  Lieberman Appoints new IDF deputy, Air Force Commander  IDF Prevented US Diplomats from Visiting Jordan V. Pal.  Israeli Exit Poll: Trump 49%, Clinton 44%  David Duke: Jews Dominate Media, International Banking  Report: Israel's UN Ambassador Made Secret Visit to Dubai

Commentary:

 Yedioth Ahronoth: “Rabin, The Leader Who Taught Me Everything”  By Moshe (Bogie) Yaalon, former IDF chief of staff and Minister of Defense  Al Monitor: “Can battle over public broadcasting bring down Netanyahu?”  By Ben Caspit, Senior Columnist at Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse.

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor

News Excerpts November 4, 2016 Ynet News Ex-Shin Bet Chief: Iran Has 25,000 Fighters in Syria Iran now commands a force of around 25,000 Shi'ite Muslim militants in Syria, mostly made up of recruits from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the former head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency has told a visiting Swiss delegation. Avi Dichter, chair of Israel's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told members of the Swiss parliament the Iranian-backed force was focused on fighting Sunni rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, not ISIS. "This is a foreign legion of some 25,000 militants, most of whom have come from Afghanistan and Pakistan," Dichter told the delegation, according to details provided by his office. "They are fighting in Syria only against the rebels and not against ISIS." See also, “Israeli official: Iran commands 25,000 fighters in Syria” (Times of Israel)

Times of Israel EU Declares Israel Boycott Protected as Free Speech The EU’s foreign policy chief recently affirmed the right of EU citizens to boycott Israel, citing freedom of expression and rebuffing claims by Jerusalem that such measures amount to banned anti-Semitic activity. While upholding the right of the anti-Israel BDS movement to blacklist the Jewish state, Federica Mogherini also noted that the EU itself opposes efforts to boycott Israel. “The EU stands firm in protecting freedom of expression and freedom of association, including with regard to BDS actions carried out on this territory,” Mogherini said in a written reply to a query by an Irish member of the European Parliament last month. “Freedom of expression is also applicable to information or ideas ‘that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population.’”

Jerusalem Post Pro-Israel Alliance Prepares for 2017 Anti-Israel Campaign A European organization dedicated to rallying support for Israel announced Thursday it would confront a massive anti-Israel campaign anticipated in 2017 with an initiative of its own. Speaking at an event at the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv, Swiss MP Corina Eichenberger-Walther said she had “reliable information that a network has been building itself since the middle of the past year already, a network planning a campaign throughout Europe and having started the necessary funding for that.” The goal, she said, was to malign Israel during the year of the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, in which the IDF captured E. Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights.

Ynet News Lieberman Appoints new IDF deputy, Air Force Commander Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday approved a series of appointments of high-ranking IDF commanders to new positions, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement. The highlights are the appointment of Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi as the new deputy chief of staff of the Israeli military, and the appointment of Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin as Israel’s new Air Force commander. The appointments, all recommended by Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, will take effect during 2017. After interviewing all the candidates, Lieberman accepted Eisenkot’s recommendation that Kochavi be named the army’s second-in-command. 2

Reuters IDF Prevented US Diplomats from Visiting Jordan V. Pal. The Israeli army on Thursday prevented American consular diplomats from entering an area in the northern Jordan Valley where a Palestinian shepherds' encampment was recently demolished and a new and illegal settler outpost is being built. The diplomats were scheduled to visit the area of Tel al Hema with activists from the all-female Machsom Watch group, which monitors army checkpoints. On arrival at the Al-Auja region, just north of Jericho, the two diplomats and a large security detail were informed by the Israel Defense Forces that Tel al Hema was a closed firing zone, currently hosting army training exercises. Residents from Tel al Hema who spoke with Haaretz said they did not see or hear any army training in the area. See also, “Settlers Build New Illegal Outpost on Private Palestinian Land - With Israeli Authorities' Knowledge” (Ha’aretz)

Ha’aretz Israeli Exit Poll: Trump 49%, Clinton 44% Though early voting in Israel has reportedly gone in Donald Trump's favor, support for the Republican Party has taken a serious, almost unprecedented hit, early exit poll data presented on Thursday suggested. According to so-called exit polls conducted by iVote Israel – a right-leaning group that helps American expats vote in Israel – Trump won 49 percent of the Israeli-American vote, while Democratic nominee Clinton claimed 44 percent, ahead of Election Day on November 8. In the 2012 presidential matchup between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the GOP carried 85 percent of expats in Israel, while Obama got only 14 percent – indicating a drop of over 35 percent in support for Republicans in the Jewish state. In 2008, Obama won 24 percent and Republican John McCain got 76 percent. See also, “Absentee-voter exit poll: Trump wins Israel by 65 points less than Romney did” (Jerusalem Post)

Times of Israel David Duke: Jews Dominate Media, International Banking White supremacist David Duke, a US Senate hopeful in Louisiana, suggested that Jews control the American media and international banks. “There is a problem in America with a very strong, powerful tribal group that dominates our media and dominates our international banking,” Duke said Wednesday at a debate at the historically black Dillard University in New Orleans, according to CNN. “I’m not opposed to all Jews. I think there’s a lot of great Jews.” The Republican candidate, a former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, was responding to a question by the moderator about why he had referred to journalists reporting on a tape on which Donald Trump admitted to sexual assault as “CNN Jews.” Duke has endorsed Trump and urged white nationalists to vote for him.

Jerusalem Post Report: Israel's UN Ambassador Made Secret Visit to Dubai Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon earlier this week made a clandestine visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to attend a conference under the auspices of the UN, Channel 2 revealed for the first time Thursday. Danon sojourned to the oil-rich nation to attend a development conference in his capacity as chairman of the UN Legal Committee, an appointment he received in June. The trip was conducted secretly and under tight security measures so as not arouse criticism of the government by local citizens. 3

Yedioth Ahronoth– November 4, 2016 The Leader Who Taught Me Everything By Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon

 Yitzhak Rabin, the man, the warrior, the commander and the statesman, is remembered first and foremost as a leader. Whoever met him was impressed with his special personality, and whoever followed his military and political career, immediately noticed his leadership. He had the ability to make decisions that at times were difficult and could put lives at risk, employing profound thought and vast experience with a long view. A leadership free of invective, the power and force of which came not through empty talk, but rather through quiet and diligent work, a personal and national record that was second to none, and the knowledge that he served something greater and more important than himself—than all of us.

 I served under prime minister and defense minister Yitzhak Rabin at a number of junctures in my capacities as a combat soldier and IDF commander, and in all of them Rabin was for me and my generation reliable, a leader that you could sleep soundly when his hands were on the helm of national security, and from whom you could definitely learn everything.

 We got to know his sensitivity to human life. As someone who lost many friends in Israel’s wars, the awareness that war is the last option, every time, was imprinted in him. As a soldier and a commander, Yitzhak knew how to use force, but he also knew its limits; he pursued peace, but he was also sober-minded; he knew the complex strategic reality facing Israel very well, and he did not follow illusions.

 Yitzhak enlisted for the sake of the country his entire life, and his concern for [the country’s] future and the future of generations to come with him was evident in every step he took. The IDF was the apple of his eye. “I’m proud and happy to have been given the right to serve in the IDF, which is the most wonderful framework ever established by the State of Israel,” he wrote in a farewell letter upon finishing his job as chief of staff.

 I met with Yitzhak for several hours of security meetings and special ops authorizations. When leaving for the enemy front for another mission that he approved, he would pore over maps and aerial photographs with us for hours and even get into the tiniest details. His great, razor- sharp experience would always radiate on us and ask the right questions. He would help us depart with cool heads and with the clear knowledge that there was someone looking out for us at home.

 But it seems that on one tough and painful night, in October 1994, his leadership was also expressed in all its greatness to those who had not had the privilege to know him personally or who disagreed with his political path. A few hours after Sayeret Matkal troops broke into a house in Bir Nabala to rescue the abducted soldier Nachshon Wachsman, but unfortunately failed in their mission and returned to base without the late Nachshon and squad commander Capt. Nir Poraz, Yitzhak stood in front of the TV cameras and the grief-struck Israeli public, and he said “I, as prime minister and defense minister, bear responsibility for the decision to carry out this evening’s mission against the terrorists who abducted Nachshon Wachsman, of 4

blessed memory.” With one sentence, Rabin demonstrated an exemplary act of taking responsibility and national leadership. He didn’t pass the buck down, didn’t make excuses, and didn’t hide behind IDF officers and troops in the field. That is leadership in all its greatness.

 Life has indeed gotten back on track since that black Saturday in the public square in Tel Aviv, but Israel has not yet recovered from the assassination. The foundation of the home we grew up in shook with unprecedented force, and our world as we knew it then has did not go back to the way it was. This upheaval obligates us to strictly uphold our values and fight for them, for they are our hope for our continued existence as a people and as a nation and so that we can create a model society here.

 This is our duty to the State of Israel, and our duty to generations to come. And that is one of the main lessons from that bitter night on November 4, 1995.

Moshe (Bogie) Yaalon is former IDF Chief of Staff and Minister of Defense

SUMMARY With one sentence, Rabin demonstrated an exemplary act of taking responsibility and national leadership. He didn’t pass the buck down, didn’t make

excuses, and didn’t hide behind IDF officers and troops in the field. That is leadership in all its greatness. Life has indeed gotten back on track since that black Saturday in the public square in Tel Aviv, but Israel has not yet recovered from the assassination. The foundation of the home we grew up in shook with unprecedented force, and our world as we knew it then has did not go back to the way it was. This upheaval obligates us to strictly uphold our values and fight for them, for they are our hope for our continued existence as a people and as a nation and so that we can create a model society here.

Al Monitor– November 2, 2016

Can Battle over Public Broadcasting Bring Down Netanyahu?

By Ben Caspit

 No one ever imagined that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s irrepressible obsession with everything to do with communications and the media in Israel would lead to a coalition crisis that threatens the very survival of the government. Yet that is exactly the situation as this article is being written Nov. 2. There has been an almost absolute shutdown of communications between Netanyahu and his finance minister, Moshe Kahlon, with both men facing off against each other over an issue that has rocked the Israeli political system over the past few weeks. At the center of their conflict are Netanyahu’s plans to shut down the public broadcasting corporation, which was created by a special law passed by Netanyahu’s own government just a year ago.

 The corporation was supposed to replace the old Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), which will shut down once the corporation begins operation in early January 2017. It took about two years before the legislation bearing the new corporation’s name was finally passed into law. It was supposed to bring Israel into the 21st century in all matters concerning a public broadcasting platform, which would be completely independent and free of political influence. Then, something happened to Netanyahu a few months ago. No one can explain exactly what it was, but suddenly the prime minister began to see the new corporation that he himself founded as a kind of strategic threat to his government.

 Netanyahu lashed out at the nascent corporation in an absolute frenzy, first through his inner circle of confidants — the most prominent of whom was the coalition chairman, Knesset member David Bitan. Then, Netanyahu himself came out of his closet by announcing that he planned to submit his own law to the government to cancel the creation of the new public broadcasting corporation, and that he would do it as early as Nov. 6.

 The only person who can stop him now is Kahlon, a former member of the Likud Party and now the leader of Kulanu, which holds 10 seats in the Knesset. Netanyahu is bandying about a coalition agreement signed by all the factions, in which they commit themselves to cooperating with all of the media and communications reforms submitted by the minister of communication. It should be remembered that Netanyahu holds the Communications Ministry portfolio.

 In response, Kahlon is holding up another coalition agreement, which allows him to veto any decision that would cost the state over 10 million shekels ($2.6 million).The surprising reversal on the public broadcasting corporation, which would stop the new corporation's creation in its tracks and resuscitate the old IBA, is expected to cost the state 370 million shekels a year ($96 million) for 10 years. Kahlon is unwilling to be a part of that.

 On the afternoon of Nov. 2, Netanyahu blinked first. Giving in to Kahlon, Netanyahu decided to postpone the presentation of the law proposal on dismantling the broadcasting corporation for government approval. Instead, he agreed with Kahlon that a joint committee for the

Communications Ministry and the Treasury will examine the issue and present its recommendations within three weeks.

 Ostensibly, this is an economic issue. The essence of the disagreement, however, and the public outcry over the issue is much deeper. It is a struggle over a free and independent press, public broadcasting free of external control and the continuation of Netanyahu’s aggressive seizure of the Israeli media market. As of now, the only person standing between Netanyahu and control of public broadcasting in Israel is Kahlon.

 Netanyahu’s obsession with everything to do with the Israeli media was described in an earlier article right here in Al-Monitor. The article explains that Netanyahu attributes his removal from power after his first term in 1999 to the media’s hostility and to what he calls the “fact” that the media acts in the service of the Israeli left. Netanyahu swore that when he returned to power, he would be in control of his own media platform, and he kept his promise. He now has his own free daily newspaper with the greatest circulation in Israel (Israel Today), he holds the Communications Ministry portfolio and he has disproportionate influence or some form of control over many other media outlets.

 But that is not enough for Netanyahu. Just a few months ago, he was suddenly struck by new insight. The new public broadcasting corporation, which was created following an important reform spearheaded by his confidant, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, suddenly seemed like a threat. Once Netanyahu received information that several people close to his despised nemesis Arnon Mozes, publisher of the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, allegedly hold sway over the new corporation, he was jolted out of his sense of tranquility. So he made a hair-raising U-turn, slammed on the brakes and tried to repeal the law that he himself passed. The old Broadcasting Authority, which over the last few years had become a mouthpiece for the government, would then be rebuilt from the ruins.

 Standing up to Netanyahu are the few independent voices of the Israeli media and political opposition. Yet none of them is able to dissuade Netanyahu from going through with his plans. The only person who can do that is Kahlon. As of now, the fate of public broadcasting in Israel rests on the finance minister’s shoulders.

 According to some political sources, Netanyahu recently said privately that he would have no qualms about calling an election over the dismantling of the public broadcasting corporation. If he can’t break up the public broadcasting corporation, he’ll break up the coalition instead. Kahlon knows this is a hollow threat. The last time Netanyahu dissolved the Knesset and went to elections in December 2014, he was intent on blocking a law against the newspaper Israel Today, which had just passed its initial reading in the Knesset. Israel Today is a free daily paper, funded by billionaire Sheldon Adelson and considered to be his personal mouthpiece. The move did, in fact, put an end to the law. By dissolving the Knesset, the legislative process was terminated.

 In the case of the public broadcasting corporation, however, the situation is the reverse. The law has already been approved and passed, and it is now being implemented. If Netanyahu plunges the Knesset into a new round of elections, he will effectively be ensuring that the new

corporation is established. No one can ensure that Netanyahu will return to the Knesset with 30 seats — as was the case in the 2015 elections — nor can anyone even guarantee that he will win the election again. That is the core of the complex dilemma faced by the prime minister.

 The one person standing up to him over this is a lone politician who has his own doubts. The purpose of Kahlon’s whole life is to reduce housing costs in Israel, and he is currently in the midst of an intense campaign to achieve that. Breaking up the coalition would put an abrupt end to his dream and place his political career at risk.

 Both Kahlon and Netanyahu are intimately familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses. In other words, this will be an interesting duel.

SUMMARY: According to some political sources, Netanyahu recently said privately that he would have no qualms about calling an election over the dismantling of the public broadcasting corporation. If he can’t break up the public broadcasting corporation, he’ll break up the coalition instead. Kahlon knows this is a hollow threat. The last time Netanyahu dissolved the Knesset and went to elections in December 2014, he was intent on blocking a law against the newspaper Israel Today, which had just passed its initial reading in the Knesset. Israel Today is a free daily paper, funded by billionaire Sheldon Adelson and considered to be his personal mouthpiece. The move did, in fact, put an end to the law. By dissolving the Knesset, the legislative process was terminated. In the case of the public broadcasting corporation, however, the situation is the reverse. The law has already been approved and passed, and it is now being implemented. If Netanyahu plunges the Knesset into a new round of elections, he will effectively be ensuring that the new corporation is established. No one can ensure that Netanyahu will return to the Knesset with 30 seats — as was the case in the 2015 elections — nor can anyone even guarantee that he will win the election again. That is the core of the complex dilemma faced by the prime minister.