To provide greater exposure to primary Israeli news sources and opinions in order to become better informed on the issues, and to gain a better understanding of the wide range of perspectives that exist in Israeli society and politics. Issue 1039 • January 13, 2017 • 15 Tevet 5777

YAIR LAPID LEADS PACK TO REPLACE NETANYAHU, BENNETT airport compound near Damascus and ambulances were rushed to the area, SECOND (JPost 1/12/17) without giving details. The public sees Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid as the most appropriate The airport southwest of the capital, located some five kilometers away from leader to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a poll conducted for President Bashar Assad's palace, had been a base used to fire rockets at The Jerusalem Post has found. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist former rebel-held areas in the suburbs of Damascus. Union) came in dead last among the various politicians proposed, and did not even reach the 4.5% margin of error of the poll. MATTIS, TRUMP PICK FOR PENTAGON, NAMES TEL AVIV AS ISRAELI Trailing Lapid were Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett at 13%; followed CAPITAL (JPost 1/12/17) by senior Likud MK Gideon Sa’ar at 10%; former defense minister and Likud Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon defended US policy in support of a MK Moshe Ya’alon at 8%; Yisrael Beytenu chairman and Defense Minister two-state solution and named Tel Aviv as Israel’s seat of government in Avigdor Liberman at 7%; and Herzog at 4%. testimony before the Senate on Thursday. The survey was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday by the Rafi Smith In his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, James Institute on a sample of 500 Jewish Israeli adults, against the background of Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, told senators that Tel Aviv is the the police’s ongoing corruption investigation into the prime minister regarding nation’s capital as far as he is concerned. allegedly illicit gifts he may have received as well as his alleged dealings with “The capital of Israel that I go to, sir, is Tel Aviv, sir, because that’s where all Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes. their government people are,” Mattis told Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Nineteen percent of respondents said Lapid was the person best suited to Carolina. As a military figure, Mattis added, he would “stick with the US take over from Netanyahu as prime minister. policy” that does not recognize Jerusalem as its capital until elected officials Herzog was not even the preferred candidate among those who voted Zionist change that policy. Union in the last election in 2015, with 26% saying Lapid would be the most Graham asked Mattis whether he would support moving the US Embassy fitting replacement for Netanyahu, and 15% opting for Herzog. from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President-elect Trump has repeatedly promised However, fully 39% of all respondents answered that none of the proposed to relocate the embassy shortly after entering office. politicians was fitting to replace Netanyahu, or did not have an opinion. “I’d defer to the nominee for secretary of state,” Mattis replied. Among Likud voters, 22% said that Bennett would be the best choice to serve Asked whether he supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian as prime minister out of the options proffered, followed by Liberman at 14%, conflict, Mattis said, “I do if that brings peace to the Middle East,” and Ya’alon at 8%, and Sa’ar at 10%. suggested that such a peace is Israel’s only path forward. “If there’s another A poll similar to the Post’s conducted last week by Channel 2 put Lapid with solution, I’d be happy to hear what it is.” 22% support, Bennett 14%, Sa’ar 10%, Ya’alon 7%, Kulanu chairman and A two-state solution would provide greater stability for the wider Middle East, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon 6%, Liberman 5%, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) 4%, and Herzog 4%. Israel Report is a Student Publication of Despite Lapid’s first place showing in the survey, a recent Walla poll found that Netanyahu is still the public’s first choice for prime minister in a head-to Daniel Zolty, Editor-in-Chief head competition with Lapid. Yonatan Kurz, Moshe Davis, Alex Ostrin and Yoav Zolty, Editors We are proud to be distributed by these institutions, though they do not necessarily support or condone But the same poll gave Lapid’s Yesh Atid party 27 Knesset seats should an any of the material published: election be held now, compared with 24 seats for Netanyahu's Likud. Anshei Chesed Cong., Boynton Beach, FL Hillel at Brandeis University Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies Hillel at California State University - Long Beach Boca Raton Synagogue, FL Hillel at Columbia University SYRIAN ARMY ACCUSES ISRAEL OF ATTACKING STRATEGIC Carmel School, Hong Kong Hillel at Johns Hopkins University MILITARY AIRPORT NEAR DAMASCUS (Ha’aretz 1/13/17) Cong. Agudath Achim, Bradley Beach, NJ Hillel at Yale University Cong. Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, NJ Hillel High School, Deal NJ Syrian army command said on Friday that Israel struck a major military Cong. Ahavath Achim, Fairfield, CT Jewish Center of Teaneck, NJ airport west of Damascus, the capital. Syrian state television quoted the army Cong. Anshe Shalom, Jamaica Estates, NY Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi, Cedarhurst, NY Cong. Anshe Sholom, New Rochelle, NY Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, MD as saying several rockets were fired from an area near Lake Kinneret in Cong. Beth Aaron, Teaneck, NJ Mizrachi Shul, Johannesburg, SA northern Israel just after midnight which landed in the compound of the Cong. Beth Shalom, Monroe Twp, NJ North Shore Hebrew Academy HS, NY Cong. Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, NJ airport, a major facility for elite Republican Guards. Cong. Etz Ahaim, Highland Park, NJ The Learning Shul, Columbia, SC "Syrian army command and armed forces warn Israel of the repercussions of Cong. Ohr Torah, Edison, NJ Woodsburgh, NY Minyan the flagrant attack and stresses its continued fight against (this) terrorism and Cong. Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ Young Israel Bet Tefilah of Aberdeen, NJ Cong. Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, NJ Young Israel of Brookline, MA amputate the arms of the perpetrators," the army command said. Cong. Sons of Israel, Allentown, PA Young Israel of East Brunswick, NJ The statement did not disclose if there were any casualties, but said the Cong. Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, NJ Young Israel of Fort Lee, NJ Cong. Zichron R. M. Feinstein, Brooklyn, NY Young Israel of Hancock Park, CA rockets caused a fire. Delray Orthodox Synagogue, Delray Beach, FL Young Israel of Holliswood, NY Video footage downloaded on social media showed large volleys of fire East Denver Orthodox Synagogue, CO Young Israel of Houston, TX Flatbush Park Jewish Center, Mill Basin, NY Young Israel of New Hyde Park, NY engulfing several areas in the military airport's compound with a huge plume Harvard University Library Young Israel of North Woodmere, NY of smoke from the airport area seen from a distance in several Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, NY Young Israel of New Rochelle, NY Hillel at Baruch College Young Israel of Sharon, MA neighborhoods of the capital. YI Shomrai Emunah, Silver Spring, MD Earlier, state television said several major explosions hit Mezzah military We encourage our readers to subscribe to our sources on the internet. For more information or to subscribe by e-mail, reach us at [email protected] 2 he added. “Peace in that area serves in our vital interest,” he said. “Israel is a intelligence top-classified information, clandestine modus oprandi and fellow democracy, and I think Israel’s security is very, very important to the sources, which have been exposed to the American intelligence community United States.” over the past 15 years, to Russia – and from there to Iran. Mattis’s comments stand in contrast to the positions of other top figures in the The cause of concern are the suspicions of unreported ties between the president-elect’s team, who have already declared Jerusalem as Israel’s president-elect or his associates and the Kremlin, whose agents are also capital and that the US Embassy will soon move to the city. associated with intelligence officials in Tehran. Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has questioned These fears, which began upon Trump’s election, grew stronger following a the viability of a two-state solution and has long supported in word and in meeting held recently between Israeli and American intelligence officials (the deed Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank. date of the meeting is not mentioned to protect the sources of the report). During the meeting, according to the Israelis who participated in it, their FUTURE SECRETARY OF STATE: ISRAEL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT American colleagues voiced despair over Trump’s election, as he often US ALLY IN MIDDLE EAST (Israel Hayom 1/12/17) lashes out at the American intelligence community. The American officials Israel is the most important ally the United State has in the Middle East, U.S. also told the Israelis that the National Security Agency (NSA) had “highly secretary of state-designate Rex Tillerson stated Wednesday during his credible information” that Russia’s intelligence agencies, the FSB and GRU, confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. were responsible for hacking the Democratic Party (DNC) servers during the Testifying before the committee, Tillerson underscored the importance of elections and leaking sensitive information to WikiLeaks, which hurt U.S.-Israel relationship, condemned the Obama administration's decision not Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. to veto U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which denounced the Judea The American officials further added that they believed Russia President and Samaria settlement enterprise as an obstacle to the Israeli-Palestinian Vladimir Putin had “leverages of pressure” over Trump – but did not peace process, and criticized outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry's elaborate. They were apparently referring to what was published Wednesday Mideast vision speech, which warned that Israel's settlement policies placed about embarrassing information collected by the Russian intelligence in a bid the two-state solution in "serious jeopardy." to blackmail the president-elect. Tillerson vowed complete support for Israel and stressed the importance of The Americans implied that their Israeli colleagues should “be careful” as of Washington asserting its commitment to Jerusalem, as Israel "is, was, and January 20, Trump’s inauguration date, when transferring intelligence always has been our most important ally in the region." information to the White House and to the National Security Council (NSC), Speaking of the Security Council, the future secretary of state said Resolution which is subject to the president. According to the Israelis who were present 2334 was "not helpful" and in fact "undermines" the Israeli-Palestinian in the meeting, the Americans recommended that until it is made clear that negotiations. He further described Kerry's speech as "quite troubling." Trump is not inappropriately connected to Russia and is not being extorted – Commenting on the Mideast peace process, Tillerson noted that the Israel should avoid revealing sensitive sources to administration officials for Palestinians must show they are serious about pursuing peace talks with fear the information would reach the Iranians. Israel before any further progress can be made. If Israel’s secrets are indeed not kept confidential, this is a serious danger to He criticized the Palestinian Authority's failure to stop incitement and prevent the state’s national security: Since the early 2000s, the cooperation between violence as a key cause for the stalled negotiations. the Israel and US intelligence communities has been intensified. It was led by "I would say in the case of the Palestinian leadership, while they have the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN) at the time, renounced violence, it is one thing to renounce it and another to take Aharon Ze’evi Farkash (who even received a citation from the NSA Chief concrete action to prevent it. ... I think until there is a serious demonstration General Michael Hayden), late Mossad chief Meir Dagan and his successor, on their part and they are willing to do more than just renounce violence, Tamir Pardo, who served earlier as the commander of one of the secret [until] they are willing to do something to at least interrupt it or interfere with it operational units that cooperated with the Americans. -- it is very difficult to create conditions at the table for parties to have any Most of the joint operations between the two countries’ intelligence productive discussion." communities were directed, according to reports, against Iran, and a small Criticizing what he described as Israel and the Palestinians' inability to make part of them – against Hezbollah and Hamas. The ties became even tighter the compromises and take the risks necessary to reach an agreement, he in the previous decade on the backdrop of Primes Ministers Ariel Sharon and said, "There have been many opportunities for the parties to sit down and Ehud Olmert’s close relations with US President George W. Bush. work things out. ... Leadership certainly have not seized those opportunities." In 2008, the intelligence cooperation between Israel and the US received a Tillerson stressed the two-state solution "has to be a shared aspiration of all sort of authorization in the form of an official agreement for comprehensive of us [and] it's the State Department's role to try and create an environment cooperation and exposure of sources and methods of action, which was that brings parties together that want to find a way forward. I can tell you that defined by a senior state official as “complete mutual striptease” between under the conditions today, it's extremely challenging to do that." Bush and Olmert. The deep cooperation, which went on for years, led to He also pledged to fight the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions impressive results, including the disruption of the Iranian nuclear program. movement, saying he would make it a State Department priority. These operations were led, according to the media outside of Israel by Countries that support BDS "need to understand that it does shape our view Operation Olympic Games, which included the creation of computer viruses of them," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. such as Stuxnet, which badly damaged the Iranian nuclear program. Non- Tillerson also said the new administration would "undertake a full review" of Israeli media outlets even reported that the Mossad and the CIA collaborated the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, to ensure Tehran is unable to develop nuclear in the assassination of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyah in Damascus weapons. in 2008. When the secret talks between the US and Iran over a nuclear agreement US INTEL SOURCES WARN ISRAEL AGAINST SHARING SECRETS began in 2013, President Barack Obama put an end to any offensive activity WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION (YNet 1/12/17) against Iran. However, this did not stop the depth of Israel’s intelligence Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration as the next president of the United exposure vis-à-vis the US. A leakage of some of these secrets could cause States is causing Israeli intelligence officials to lose sleep as well. great damage. Israel is not just afraid of Russia – but also of Iran. Discussions held in closed forums recently raised fears of a leakage of Israeli In their meeting with their Israeli colleagues, the American intelligence 3 officials were able to point to information included in the Snowden documents study it. Therefore, he insisted, it is imperative to add on another year to about specific highly secret American operation in Iran. The Americans are study what he described as "heavenly matters." convinced that Edward Snowden handed the information over to the Russian Bennett went on to implore the students to study even after completing their intelligence – as part of the deal for receiving political asylum – and that parts military service, and to study for their entire lives in order to uphold the values of it were handed over to Tehran as part of Putin’s policy to increase Iranian of the Torah. "I (study Torah) every week, and it's a positive thing," Bennett dependence on Moscow, all aimed at serving one final purpose: To restore stated before warning that an absence of Torah study could result in the Russia’s position as the influential world power in the region. decline of moral values. "Our day to day lives have a strong hold on us— you're students, you'll have to take your kids to school, you'll have to make a IDF EXPOSES HAMAS 'HONEY TRAPS' TO HACK SOLDIERS' PHONES living, etc. But if you don't make time to study Torah, you'll lose your sense of (Israel Hayom 1/12/17) morals and fly off into the wind." Using photos of young women and Hebrew slang, Hamas has been able to chat up dozens of Israeli soldiers online and insert malware onto their mobile IDF OFFICIAL: HAMAS IS TO BLAME FOR GAZA POWER OUTAGES phones to collect information, an IDF spokesman said Wednesday. (Arutz-7 INN.com 1/13/17) Stressing that no sensitive information was compromised in the scheme, the Major General Yoav Mordechai, the Coordinator of Government Activities in spokesman said Hamas had used social media, mainly Facebook, to set up the Territories (COGAT), told the Palestinian Authority-based Ma’an news fake online profiles of young women, featuring photos found on the internet, agency that Hamas is responsible for the electricity crisis in Gaza. to lure soldiers. His comments came as thousands of Gazans demonstrated in the enclave In one exchange presented at the briefing, a "woman" wrote to a soldier: against the power outages in the region in recent days. The protest was the "Just a second, I'll send you a photo, my dear." latest in a series of demonstrations, as Gaza residents have in recent weeks "OK," the soldier replied, before a photo of a blonde woman in a swimsuit been suffering from repeated power shortages. popped up. The "woman" then suggested that they both download "a simple Hamas accuses the Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah of being app that will let us have a video chat." responsible for the power outages due to the fact that it failed to provide The cellphone application proved to be spyware. It gave Hamas access to diesel for the sole power plant in Gaza. the information stored on the device, including the soldier's list of contacts, Mordechai told Ma’an that Israel provides 122 megawatts of electricity to text message and call history, photos, and the device's location. It also Gaza on a regular basis, and noted that when one of the power lines allowed for remote access, enabling files and applications to be downloaded malfunctioned several days ago it was fixed immediately. to or removed from the phone by a third party, essentially turning the infected In addition, Mordechai said that the Egyptians provide between 20-30 phones into instruments of espionage. megawatts and that the power plant in Gaza provides 60 megawatts. The officer said most of the soldiers were low-ranking and that Hamas was He clarified that Israel does not prevent the entry of fuel to Gaza, and apparently mostly interested in gathering information about Israeli military supplies 350 million liters of diesel fuel to the power plant through the maneuvers, forces and weaponry in the Gaza Strip area. pipelines at Kerem Shalom. Israel is ready to supply 700 million liters a day if The IDF discovered the scheme when soldiers began reporting other it is economically viable, he stressed. suspicious online activity on social networks and uncovered dozens of fake The electricity crisis in Gaza is the fault of its Hamas terrorist rulers, added identities used to target the soldiers, he said. Mordechai. “Hamas’s leaders enjoy electricity 24/7. In contrast, the people of The complaints led the IDF's Information Security Directorate to investigate Gaza get only three hours of electricity a day. Also, Hamas uses the funds the issue, with the duped soldiers' help. The soldiers were also ordered to collected through the electricity bills for personal interests and any military reformat their phones, as this was the only sure way to remove the malware. equipment,” he told Ma’an. The IDF said all officers have been instructed to remind their soldiers of In addition, Mordechai said that Hamas provides electricity to its underground information security and social media use guidelines. terrorist tunnels on a regular basis, and each tunnel has a running generator Current military guidelines already bar soldiers and officers in certain units, which is used solely by Hamas. as well as officers holding the rank of lieutenant colonel and above, from disclosing any information about their service on social media. Following the WHY NATIONALIST AND JEWISH ORTHODOXY ARE TAKING OVER recent events, it is expected that the directive will be expanded to include ISRAEL (Carlo Strenger, Ha’aretz 1/12/17) more units, as well as officers holding the rank of major. An interesting debate has been taking place in Haaretz on “what has gone wrong with secularism” and “why is Israel becoming more religious?” The BENNETT URGES STUDENTS TO POSTPONE IDF DRAFT FOR 1 trigger is largely Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s transformation of the YEAR’S TORAH STUDY (YNet 1/12/17) national education system into a clone of the religious-Zionist system, Speaking to a room full of hundreds of high school seniors, Education replacing civics with Jewish indoctrination and introducing ever more religious Minister Naftali Bennett advised the students to postpone their military Jewish content. services for at least a year to study Torah in a Yeshiva or another pre-IDF Two interesting answers have been offered on why secularism is becoming Torah learning center. less interesting for Israelis. Rami Livni has argued that secularism is Bennett's remarks were made during a conference dubbed 'Living the committing suicide mainly because “Israeli secularism has discarded the Mission of the Torah' held at the Bnei Akiva center. He added that he is Israeli-Hebrew culture that was miraculously created here: from singer- saddened by students' decision to draft to the IDF directly after high school, songwriter Arik Einstein to poet Lea Goldberg; from performer Achinoam Nini and advised the gathered students not to make the same mistake. to the children’s song cycle ‘The 16th Sheep’; from novelist A.B. Yehoshua to "I don’t regret a lot of things in life, but one of the only things I do regret was songwriter and columnist Eli Mohar.” enlisting into the IDF straight out of high school." As opposed to this, Shlomo Avineri has argued that Israeli secularism's "The first thing I recommend," the Bayit Yehudi leader said, "as my personal failure stems from its emptiness; it has retreated to highly specific issues like recommendation—to spend at least a year studying Torah." women’s and gay rights, and women’s right to pray at the Western Wall. Bennett suggested that Torah studies in schools are not pure since they are Avineri claims that only a return to Labor Zionism’s reinterpretation of done to pass the matriculation exams, rather than out of a genuine desire to Jewishness as social justice, equality and solidarity can stop the dwindling 4 attractiveness of Israeli secularism. JERUSALEM IS UNDIVIDABLE (Yifat Erlich, YNet 1/12/17) I disagree with both Livni and Avineri, and let me start with the latter. Israel’s Voices of despair were heard this week. Voices calling for the construction of left has tried for decades to win elections by deemphasizing security and a separation wall in Israel’s capital. Unintentionally, these voices seek to give emphasizing social justice, equality and solidarity, but this has largely failed terror a sweet victory. Where the knife, or the murderous truck, passes – that for the last 40 years, particularly when it was led by leaders with a strong is where the border will pass. That is the meaning of their proposal. social agenda like Amir Peretz and Shelly Yacimovich. In the past, the guideline was different: The border will pass where a In a conflict zone like Israel, the right focuses the political agenda on security community is established. But today, we are afraid to hold on to the land and and national identity, and no amount of social-democratic emphasis can like to escape, leave our problems behind a fence or a wall and create a change this. Even the social-justice protests of 2011 have hardly made a virtual reality for ourselves. We did so in Lebanon, which turned into dent in Israel’s march toward the religious-Zionist revival, hence Avineri’s Hezbollahland; we did so in Gaza, which turned into Hamastan; we did so in idea simply does not fit historical facts. Judea and Samaria, which turned into Fatahland (before returning to Israel Livni’s emphasis on the miraculous Israeli secular culture from Lea Goldberg security control in Defensive Shield). Now they want to copy this failed model to Arik Einstein is attractive, but it fails for a reason that brings us to the crux to Jerusalem, and build a wall in the heart of the city. Divide Jerusalem. of the matter: Israel has indeed brought forth a rich and vibrant secular With the wall, these voices also seek to revoke the identity cards and culture, but for most Israelis this is not enough to sustain their identity and National Insurance allowance of hundreds of thousands of citizens of the need for meaning. state, Jerusalem’s Arab residents. It’s unthinkable that people carrying an There is a deep cause for this development. Empirical research in existential Israeli identity card will be able to walk around freely and carry out attacks psychology has shown that humans have a tremendous need to connect undisturbed, say those who support the separation. Why keep 22 villages their identity to cultural and religious traditions that have historical depth. We around Jerusalem, within the city’s jurisdiction, they ask, and turn Jerusalem all fear death, and we all want to belong to something larger than ourselves into a city where most young people are Arabs? that promises immortality. This is religion’s enormous strength, reflected in Those are good, difficult questions. The answer to these questions is not the fact that about 85 percent of humanity adheres to some form of religion. withdrawing and rewarding terror – because those who know Jerusalem well The need for the promise of immortality increases even more when humans know that there is no way to separate between the different populations living feel threatened in their survival and reminded of their mortality. Unfortunately, together in the city. Today Arabs live inside Jewish neighborhoods like Pisgat Israel is located in one of the globe’s most unstable and violent regions, and Ze’ev and Ramat Eshkol, and residents of Jabel Mukaber work in East Israelis constantly feel under threat. As a consequence, the young Israeli- Talpiot. How can we create a separation in a city where Jews and Arabs live Hebrew culture does not provide enough psychological protection and and work together every day? How can we separate between two Judaism becomes ever more attractive for Israelis. populations that are hospitalized side by side, with Arab and Jewish doctors Israelis are embracing religion because, as political scientist Uriel Abulof has curing everyone? We can’t. shown using existential psychology, Israelis feel deeply insecure, and Whoever says this is possible is selling an illusion which cannot be because they have doubts about the Zionist project succeeding in the long implemented in reality. Jerusalem’s Arabs cannot be denied their freedom of run. Hence they want to connect to 3,000 years of Jewish history and the movement and freedom of choice, and we cannot lead a move of racial- biblical promise that Abraham’s offspring will live forever – that the Messiah based revocation of citizenship. It’s so strange seeing left-wing people, who will come and the world will recognize the Jews as the Chosen People. speak highly of human rights, supporting such an immoral move. We can and Livni also doesn’t realize that while Western liberal secularism is indeed a we must revoke the citizenship of individuals who support terror, but most of powerful value system that has transformed the Western world in the last Jerusalem’s Arabs do not support terror. On the other hand, we must lead an three centuries, it is generally antinationalist and has always been educational revolution in the Arab educational institutions in the city, fight universalist and cosmopolitan. Enlightenment culture that brought forth liberal incitement, implement the sovereignty by enforcing the planning and building secularism has evolved in a network spanning all of Europe for centuries and laws and invest in infrastructures. We must deal with the problems instead of then also the United States. sweeping them under the wall. Liberal secularism can therefore not be specifically Israeli. While Jews like The demographic problem can be solved in the opposite way: Instead of Marx, Freud and Einstein have made a remarkable contribution to world dividing Jerusalem, expanding it and strengthening the Jewish majority in it. culture, and Israel’s scientific and cultural achievements are remarkable, How? Annexing Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem will have a dramatic effect on modernity would not exist without Da Vinci, Galileo, Newton, Kant, Darwin the demography in the city. This is the response to terror. The terrorists and and Picasso, none of whom are Jewish. their supporters who hand out candy wish to see the Jews fleeing Jerusalem This is why Israel’s secular liberals emphasize universal human rights. As a – and instead, Jerusalem will be expanded by Jews joining the city. result, the nationalist and religious political right calls us unpatriotic, and the To all the lovers of Jerusalem, I would just like to say that this is the time to term “cosmopolitan” is used as an insult that implies that secular liberals visit the city and “have no values” because we don’t uncritically accept Jewish tradition and increase the Jewish rabbinical authority, and refuse to see Jews as the Chosen People. presence in it. At the I am therefore afraid that neither Avineri’s return to Labor Zionism nor Livni’s enchanted East Talpiot call to celebrate Israel’s secular culture will bring Israelis back to liberal promenade, in the secularism, which neither provides religious solace nor promises immortality. alleys of the Old City Israel’s secular liberals must realize that we are a minority, that our market, in the cosmopolitan enlightenment ideals do not satisfy the needs of most Israelis, museums, in the cafés and that we are unlikely to shape Israel’s dominant culture and political and cinemas. It’s identity in the foreseeable future. freezing in Jerusalem, Our only choice is to defend the basic tenets of Israel’s liberal democracy, to yet it warms one’s carve out a space where we can live according to our own ideals and values, heart to walk around and to realize that liberal Zionism has lost the battle for Israel’s soul against constructed and united religious-Zionist ideology. Jerusalem.