Schlaglicht Nr. 18/13 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 05. – 18. November 2013

1. Freispruch für Avigdor Lieberman The greatest threat to Israeli democracy "From the outset, legal experts raised doubts about Nachdem Avigdor Lieberman, Parteivorsitzender whether Liberman’s alleged actions were even a von Israel Beitenu, am 6. November vor Gericht von criminal offense. Liberman’s acquittal puts 17 years dem Vorwurf des Betrugs und des Vertrauensbruchs of defamatory leaks by state prosecutors in stark, freigesprochen worden war, wurde er einige Tage frightening perspective. It was a legal witch-hunt. später erneut als Außenminister vereidigt. Er hatte […] dieses Amt im Dezember 2012 aufgrund der Ankla- The legal fraternity’s use of selective prosecution of geerhebung niedergelegt. political and other national leaders has brought Lieberman war vorgeworfen worden, einen Diploma- about a situation where people the legal fraternity ten befördert zu haben, der ihm Informationen über consider threats to their unchecked powers find Korruptionsermittlungen gegen ihn zugespielt hatte. themselves under a cloud of criminal suspicion, and In ihrem Urteil werteten die Richter, Lieberman habe often removed from office and in the dock." "unangemessen, aber nicht illegal" gehandelt. Caroline Glick, JPO 07.11.13 In den israelischen Medien wurde der Oberstaats- anwalt kritisiert. Er habe Anklage Lieberman 1, Israel 0 in einem Fall erhoben, der nicht zu gewinnen gewe- "Both the decision to drop the charges in the far sen sei, jedoch schwerwiegendere Korruptions- more serious case and to pursue the much lesser vorwürfe fallengelassen. Gegen Liebermann war case empowered Lieberman and the values he seit Jahren ermittelt worden. represents, while diminishing the legal system and the values it is meant to represent. […] Weinstein go home During the period when Menachem Mazuz was "Never, it seems, has an attorney general received attorney general and David Cohen was police com- such a well-prepared case, of such supreme im- missioner, there was a powerful struggle launched portance, one that could set new public norms and against public sector corruption and organized serve as a clear warning to every public figure. But it crime. […] By contrast, under Weinstein and Police appears that prosecutors, unnerved by the mountain Commissioner Yohanan Danino, the rule of law has of documents and other evidence, decided to turn it turned listless. It doesn’t dare confront those with into a molehill rather than exploring and conquering real power or the true centers of power. […] it. […] The attorney general’s disgraceful failure in the Do we know more now about the convoluted shell Lieberman case casts a huge pall over Israeli de- companies, the hidden accounts, the mysterious mocracy. Today we know that Israel has no serious consulting fees and what befell the witnesses – who system of laws, norms, or values." died, committed suicide or lost their memory? […] Ari Shavit, HAA 07.11.13 If that is the outcome of long, futile years of investi- gatory efforts and obstruction, then the attorney When a minister becomes sinister general has no choice but to resign." "The old-new foreign minister must have a-lot of HAA 07.11.13 Editorial chutzpah pretending nothing happened. […] The judges said it was not their job to punish public officials for shirking their duties and violating basic 1 norms unless they clearly break the law. The court's ly, like he did during his previous term as foreign job was to apply a narrow interpretation of the law minister. […] because the presumption of innocence trumped the It was interesting to see top minister's wel- likelihood of guilt; but it is up to society to enforce its coming Lieberman's acquittal on Wednesday. The ethical code of conduct. acquittal was a fatal blow to their plans to run for Unfortunately, though, in Israel, if a state court says leadership of the right-wing camp after Netanyahu your conduct as a public official was faulty and leaves politics. The moment after blessing Lieber- doubts your fitness for office, what do you do? De- man, these well-wishers probably began working clare victory and get your old job back as if this was diligently to defeat him." some minor misunderstanding. […] Mati Tuchfeld, IHY 07.11.13 The Knesset should approve a law mandating that a public servant who was on trial must go through a The next prime minister vetting process upon returning to high office." "Israel deserves Lieberman as prime minister, and Erez Linn, IHY 15.11.13 he deserves to lead its government. […] His acquit- tal demonstrates the corruption running rampant in The organized loathing of Yvett Israeli society, where an elected official can make "This time, left-wingers direct their sneers at Attor- millions through his daughter and chauffeur, avoid ney-General Yehuda Weinstein. […] being put on trial, and not even have to forfeit his Nowhere is there a shadow of acknowledgement political career. A society that accepts Lieberman, that the only impetus for the prosecution to pursue acquitted or not, is a corrupt society." the so-called minor case was fear of a leftist back- Gideon Levy, HAA 07.11.13 lash. Abandoning the full set of increasingly dubious charges against Liberman was sure to unleash a Because he's different merciless onslaught by the remorseless and vindic- "The real story of the Lieberman affair is the story of tive Left-dominated press. […] the premise we had here, that Lieberman is a so- The victim wasn’t just Liberman individually but our phisticated criminal, a Russian mobster, a blood- entire society. Our shared agenda was hijacked and thirsty racist. […] held hostage by self-appointed guardians of our Is there a person who deserves this iniquity? Is collective conscience who openly bayed for the there an honest person who can say now that the blood of a political rival." investigation Lieberman went through does not Sarah Honig, JPO 14.11.13 border on persecution? […] Lieberman emerged innocent […], but the law en- The Liberman lesson forcement system emerged guilty of one of the most "The public’s trust in our state prosecution system serious, prolonged and cruel delays of justice this has been seriously undermined. Dragging out a State has ever seen. […] case for so long is itself a transgression. […] And together with the legal system, we should re- When the suspect whose case is delayed for so long member that all of us are largely to blame for our happens to be a public figure and political leader, inability to accept the other." the damage caused is not just to the individual but to Hanoch Daum, JED 07.11.13 the wider public. Voters had a right to a speedy legal process so that Liberman’s innocence, or guilt, could 2. Verhandlungen um das iranische be determined and an educated decision could be Atomprogramm made on whether to vote for him." JPO 07.11.13 Editorial Anfang November ist Bewegung in die Verhandlun- gen um das iranische Atomprogramm gekommen. Quiet in the coalition, for now Da hochrangige Vertreter der beteiligten Staaten, "Lieberman will once again become foreign minister. darunter US-Außenminister John Kerry und sein […] And already for quite some time, he has not iranischer Amtskollege, an den Unterredungen teil- hidden his true goal: to become the leader of the nahmen, schien ein Abkommen in greifbare Nähe zu Right. […] rücken. Letztlich kam es in dieser Verhandlungsrun- Lieberman needs time to re-establish himself. […] de jedoch nicht so weit. Laut westlichen Diplomaten His immediate interest is to return to a key leader- hatte der Iran nicht genügend konkrete Zusicherun- ship position […] and act responsibly and moderate- gen gegeben. Medienberichten zufolge hatte Frank- 2 reich außerdem auf strengeren Auflagen als die Iran's nuclear sites. Third, Iran must stop enriching anderen Länder bestanden, unter anderem auf uranium to 20 percent […]. And fourth, Iran must einem Baustopp des Arak-Reaktors. stop building the reactor in Arak. […] Der israelische Premierminister Benjamin Netanya- The Iranians have no choice but to capitulate be- hu betrieb indes weiter Lobbyarbeit gegen ein Ab- cause they so badly want a deal." kommen, das keinen vollständigen Stopp der Uran- Boaz Bismuth, IHY 18.11.13 anreicherung vorsieht. Bei einem Treffen mit Kerry sagte er sogar, Israel würde sich einem solchen Time to squeeze Iran Abkommen nicht verpflichtet fühlen. Einen Kompro- "To truly freeze its nuclear program, Iran would have miss hielte er für einen "historischen Fehler". Neta- to not only halt construction of the heavy-water nyahus Bemühungen stießen in den USA auf nur plutonium production reactor and stop installing new wenig Verständnis und führten zu erheblichen centrifuges, but it would also have to cease all ura- Spannungen zwischen den beiden Staaten. nium enrichment activities, which is something that it has refused to do. Under any deal that permits Iran First we'll take Washington to continue enriching materials for nuclear weapons "Israel […] was correct in presenting the Iranian while negotiations continue, Iran's nuclear program threat as a threat against the whole world and not would not really be frozen. […] just against Israel. If it had not been for the rhetoric If Iran is already today refusing to dismantle its cen- of violence and the threat of an attack on Iran, it’s trifuges and plutonium reactor or halt its enrichment possible the sanctions that were imposed on Tehran activities, why would it agree to do so after the pres- would have stalled rather than reached their current sure on it is eased? […] level. […] This is, in fact, just the time to squeeze Iran. If the Netanyahu’s success made him believe he could P5+1 nations do this, it would lead to an agreement continue dictating the international approach, decide that would peacefully put a final end to Iran's nuclear the nature of the sanctions on Iran, and even force program. This would keep Iran from becoming a an international consensus behind the military option nuclear threshold state and among those who would as a live one. […] have to be thanked would be Prime Minister Benja- But the resolution of the crisis has passed into the min Netanyahu, for his vigilance and alertness." hands of the major powers, and Israel is not one of Gilad Erdan, IHY 17.11.13 them. The prior consensus behind a punitive ap- proach is waning while the new consensus, the Let's deal with the reality diplomatic one, is taking its place. Netanyahu’s "As United States negotiators have made clear […] ranting is making Israel irrelevant, an insufferable any potential economic relief for Iran should be nuisance, and it is causing a fissure in relations with limited, reversible and come only after real and its greatest friend." verifiable initial concessions by Iran on the most Zvi Bar'el, HAA 13.11.13 concerning aspects of its nuclear program. No one inside […] the administration, is arguing to The French connection reduce sanctions in exchange for a mere change in "France remains Israel's last hope for an acceptable direction of the negotiations. […] There should be no deal. understands that, at the end of the mistake: Legislating new sanctions at this time day, France still wants to sign a deal […] where would undermine President Rohani's standing and diplomacy trumps the military option. […] leeway vis-a-vis hardliners in Iran. […] So, even if they haven't admitted it yet, officials in With the precise contours, terms and mechanisms of Jerusalem have been hard at work with France and a first step agreement impossible to know—because other partners to minimize damage in the next it does not yet exist— […] opponents of the admin- round, especially if the sides come close to inking a istration’s efforts conveniently assert that they will be deal. The most important thing to Israel now is se- unacceptable." curing a deal that is slightly less bad. […] Dylan Williams, HAA 17.11.13 We can see four likely French conditions for signing off on a deal with the Iranian negotiators in Geneva. Iran, at high noon First, Iran must transparently prove that its nuclear "The problem is that Netanyahu is unable to focus program is not for military purposes. […] Second, on one conflict. Every declaration he and his minis- there must be international inspectors monitoring ters make about settlement construction sabotages 3 his ability to convince foreign leaders to toughen up wavering, the French might be interested in on Iran." strengthening relations with Saudi Arabia and other Nahum Barnea, JED 16.11.13 Arab nations in the Persian Gulf that face big securi- ty threats if Iran goes nuclear. […] US is sick of us Whatever the motivation, the French were right on "The deal between the P5+1 […] and Iran is im- target." portant because of the existence of a channel of JPO 17.11.13 Editorial negotiations. The precise formula is less important – after all, the moment that formula is reached, Netan- Netanyahu’s miscalculations yahu will warn of deception and breach of trust by "Netanyahu [sees] the Iranian nuclear drive as the the devious Iranians. prime threat to Israel, thus focusing the country’s The American voters, who have had it with wars in partners’ attention almost solely on it. […] [But] Iran the Middle East, are prepared to give diplomatic may limit its drive toward nuclear weapons while dialogue a chance. And if Netanyahu insists on tacitly gaining a free hand in its subversive opera- standing in the way of the steamroller, he will find tions worldwide. […] himself underneath it." Netanyahu may have miscalculated Iran’s willing- Amir Oren, HAA 17.11.13 ness to address the nuclear topic and by doing so he provided Israel’s partners with an easy way out of US-Israel feud helps Iran action. "Netanyahu’s failure to understand that Washington Should Iran engage in any kind of long-term talk, has other vital strategic interests – and a political Europeans and American leaders would find an interest in avoiding yet another war the American excuse to limit their efforts in regard to the threat people don’t want and can’t afford – could open the posed by Tehran policies. For this, Israel should biggest rift in decades between the two allies. […] engage in a renewed communication effort which He is about to squander his achievement by an ill- sets Iran’s expansionist policy and Hezbollah’s ter- advised, near-hysterical confrontation with Israel’s rorist networks as global threats both to Israel’s most important ally and the only leader of the inter- security and to Western states." national campaign to keep Iran out of the nuclear Riccardo Dugulin, JED 06.11.13 club. […] He seems intent on increasing Israel’s isolation. 3. Organisierte Kriminalität Relations with Washington can be patched up in time, but it won’t be so easy with the Europeans. Innerhalb von zwei Wochen ist es zwischen Ende If Netanyahu is seen there as the major obstacle to Oktober und Anfang November zu drei Bombenat- any deal with Iran, European support for the sanc- tentaten gekommen, die rivalisierenden kriminellen tions could quickly erode and other nations could Gruppen zugeschrieben werden. Im letzten Fall soon follow, giving Tehran the relief it seeks without richtete sich der Anschlag gegen das Auto eines having to curtail its nuclear program." Staatsanwalts, der in die Gerichtsverfahren gegen Douglas Bloomfield, JPO 13.11.13 mehrere Mafiafiguren involviert war. Als Reaktion auf die steigende Gewaltbereitschaft in Vive la France! der organisierten Kriminalität kündigte der Minister "The French are to be praised for demonstrating für Öffentliche Sicherheit, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, leadership. […] Netanyahu’s harsh criticism of the Maßnahmen an. So will er ein Gesetz einreichen, purported deal turned out not to be a lone voice. […] dass es ermöglichen soll, Mafiamitglieder in Admi- America seems to be less than willing to maintain nistrativhaft zu nehmen – also ohne Gerichtsverfah- pressure on Iran. […] ren ins Gefägnis zu bringen. It is in this geopolitical context that Paris has stepped in to ensure that a serious deal is offered Organized crime equals terror the Iranians. A number of motivations might be "Terror is raging these days across Israel. Criminal behind the French decision. France, as one of the organizations are intimidating innocent citizens who few nations with nuclear weapons, wants to retain its happen to run across mutual assassinations. The exclusive status and tactical advantage via anti- assassinations – executed in broad daylight without proliferation policies. […] As part of a larger strategy any fear of the police forces – are turning the lives of to increase its influence at a time when the US is many of us into a nightmare. […] 4 […] The steep escalation in the daring and sophisti- Fighting organized crime cation levels of the criminal organizations obliges "Experts agree that the rise of the Israeli brand of lawmakers and courts to […] enact laws […] which organized crime is the nearly inevitable result of will enable law enforcement authorities to do their Israel’s burgeoning economy. […] job efficiently, swiftly and with maximum ingenuity Like all sectors of Israel’s economy, organized against the terror organizations. […] crime, too, has enjoyed a major boom. And with the Finally, and most importantly, the Israel Police must increased level of revenues and potential for riches, focus their efforts on the investigation of crimes competition has become fiercer than ever as has the which lead to casualties, instead of allotting huge violence. resources to the investigation of corruption cases In Israel more than in other places, the extent to which fail to yield a conviction at the end of the day." which military-issued arms and explosives are avail- Ilan Bombach, JED 12.11.13 able to be stolen seems to make the police’s job even harder. And with Israel devoting so many re- The police vs. human rights sources to the fight against terrorism, police can "Administrative detention, the arrest and detention of easily be overlooked and under-funded. […] individuals without trial, is meant to be used in ex- Considering Israel’s objective limitations and unique treme emergencies, when the subject poses a clear challengers, it is difficult to imagine organized crime and immediate danger to state security or public disappearing any time soon. The best to be hoped safety. for is more stringent enforcement that will curtail the It must be used sparingly and as a last resort becau- phenomenon and make our streets a little safer." se it entails a fundamental breach of civil rights. […] JPO 05.11.13 Editorial But civil rights don’t interest Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, whose purview includes the Organized crime won’t go away on its own Israel Police. […] "The government has been neglecting the police for He and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino are years. While the military has an outrageously large advancing a number of bills […]. The most promi- budget, the police barely receives enough to cover nent would allow members of criminal organizations its salaries. […] There are not enough policemen, to be placed in administrative detention. […] Crimi- not enough police cars, which means that at the end nal rings must be dealt with firmly, but administrative of the day there is little deterrence. […] detention is not the answer. Casting off the rule of Only recently have the government and the police law is more dangerous than the crime organizations begun treating the mob assassinations as terrorist themselves." attacks on civilians. […] HAA 14.11.13 Editorial [But] as intelligence that is gathered needs to be admissible in court, the police fails to gather enough Police impotent as organized crime rules information to back up its cases. […] "The police are the ones who are supposed to fight To overcome these issues, a dedicated police sys- crime organizations […]. But our police force is too tem needs to be established to deal with country- ailing and limited to fight criminal organizations, wide criminal terror. This system needs proper legal which operate professionally and methodically. […] support and access to relevant intelligence and The police force’s diminished power to enforce pub- technological capabilities." lic order in entire regions signals not only an erosion Lior Akerman, JPO 07.11.13 of its ability to enforce the law of the land, but also the transfer of power to the hands of the criminal War can be good organizations. If they so desire, they will aim their "What is wrong with the current wave of assassina- explosives at one another. If they so desire, they will tions among crime families? Why should the police aim them at mayors and council members, judges in try to step in and stop it? What's so bad about this small towns, and helpless police officers. The road war? from here to anarchy seems frightfully short. And On the contrary. The police should actually give all who among us will say that there are no signs of this sides more guns and help the henchmen. […] All already today? […] this on condition, of course, that they kill only each There are no easy solutions. There is only the need other, without, heaven forbid, harming innocent to do a better job.” civilians. If they abide by this one condition, the Yuval Azulai, GLO 04.11.13 police should not get in their way. Because, with all 5 due respect to the Israel Police, the organized crime them will not leave any traumatic scars on either families are doing what the police have so far failed side. […] to do -- get rid of organized crime. […] For Netanyahu, the talks are a paradise of buying It is a lot like the civil war in Syria: Let them kill each time. Tzipi Livni is busy. The Israeli demand to con- other, and the more they kill the better." tinue construction has received American- Gonen Ginat, IHY 08.11.13 Palestinian approval. Despite the protests, with each stage Israel announces further construction. Habayit 4. Medienquerschnitt Hayehudi is happy, Lieberman is happy, the coali- tion is kicking, and Bibi receives a decoration of Die Vielfalt der in Israel relevanten Themen kann in valor for both talking about peace and building." einem Medienspiegel nicht umfassend wieder- Alex Fishman, JED 10.11.13 gegeben werden. Um den deutschen LeserInnen dennoch einen Einblick in das breite Themen- What if the talks fail? spektrum, das in den Medien behandelt wird, zu "Palestinian demands for independence and free- gewähren, veröffentlichen wir in dieser Schlag- dom will not disappear. Israel’s need for real security lichtausgabe wieder eine kleine Auswahl an weite- will not be answered by the absence of an agree- ren Themen, die in den vergangenen zwei Wochen ment. Most likely Palestinian nationalistic demands die israelische Gesellschaft bewegten. will increase, as will Israeli security needs. […] So everything must be done to mitigate violence. Über Antisemitismus in Deutschland: […] For one, we must ensure that the Palestinian econ- The truth about anti-Semitism in Germany omy will not collapse. […] It is important not to mis- "Two weeks ago German public television broadcast read this – Palestinians are not interested in a bet- a film titled Anti-Semitism today […]. The film re- ter, more prosperous occupation. […] vealed some shocking details about German society The conflict is not going anywhere – neither are the that should indeed have raised a discussion. Anti- Israelis nor the Palestinians. Semitism, it showed, is by no means only a problem The solution that answers the national interests of among poorly educated, socially disadvantaged both sides and their aspirations will remain the two- right-wing extremists in East Germany. states for two-peoples solution – that will also not Anti-Semitism, as sad as it sounds, is fairly common change – it will only become more difficult to and widely accepted in many parts of German socie- achieve." ty. […] A new survey conducted among Jews of nine Gershon Baskin, JPO 18.11.13 European countries has just found that one in five Jewish citizens experienced an anti-Semitic attack in the past 12 months. 29 percent have already con- sidered emigrating due to increasing hostility. So, deductively one could say that the situation in HAA = Haaretz; JED = Jedioth Ahronoth; JPO = Jerusa- France, the UK and other EU countries is not much lem Post; IHY = Israel HaYom; TOI = Times of Israel; better than in Germany. GLO = Globes Hatred is hatred, prejudice is prejudice. Anti- Semitism is anti-Semitism, regardless of the country. Veröffentlicht im: November 2013 But still, in Germany, it hurts a bit more." Stephanie Bilges, JPO 11.11.13 Verantwortlich: Dr. Werner Puschra, Über die festgefahrenen Verhandlungen zwischen Leiter der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Israel Israel und den Palästinensern: Redaktion: Kerry, give it a rest Maike Harel "If an intifada breaks out, it won't happen because Judith Stelmach the current round of talks between Israel and the Palestinians fails. The level of expectations from Homepage: www.fes.org.il these talks is so low on both sides, that freezing Email: [email protected]

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