Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 21/08 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 25. November – 06. Dezember 2008 1. Hausräumung in Hebron Am 4. Dezember räumten Kräfte der israelischen Armee und Polizei ein Haus in der Stadt Hebron, in dem sich radikale Siedler verschanzt hatten. In einem Disput um das Gebäude – das von den Siedlern als„Friedenshaus“ bezeichnet wird – zwischen dem palästinensischen Besitzer und Siedlern, die behaupten es legal erworben zu haben, hatten Staat und Oberster Gerichtshof die Räumung beschlossen. In Erwartung der Evakuierung waren hunderte, hauptsächlich jugendliche Radikale in das Haus und die Umgebung geströmt, um die Räumung zu verhindern. Kurz nachdem Verteidigungsminister Barak sich mit Vertretern der Siedler getroffen hatte, wurde das Haus jedoch früher als erwartet innerhalb weniger Stunden geräumt und versiegelt. Junge Siedler randalierten daraufhin in der Umgebung, griffen Palästinenser an und beschädigten deren Eigentum. Die Armee erklärte Teile des südlichen Westjordanlandes zum geschlossenen Militärgebiet. In Hebron liegt eine der wichtigsten heiligen Stätten des Judentums, die Höhle der Patriarchen. In der Stadt leben einige hundert jüdische Siedler der radikal sten Strömung unter hunderttausenden Palästinensern. It’s only one house “It is[…] important to remind ourselves that if the settlers are evicted[…], Hebron will continue to be a place that embodies the worst of Israel's occupation policies. Hebron will still be a place where Palestinians are prevented legally from walking on their own roads, a city with sections that have become virtual ghost towns as a consequence of Israeli policies.[…] None of this is to say that eviction of the settlers from the‘House of Peace’ is unimportant.[…] We must pressure our government to enforce the law and evacuate these illegal settlers. But when the day comes and thousands of soldiers and policemen arrive to do just that, we must keep in mind that nothing major is happening. Surely, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and fellow politicians will talk about the victory of democracy. They will boast about how the rule of law has prevailed yet again.[…] That is why we will remind them and ourselves that the occupation is only becoming more permanent. For every settler house that is demolished, dozens more are being built. We must remember that the Palestinians of Hebron will still be deprived of basic human rights, because they were born in a city where the lives of settlers are worth more than theirs. Finally, we must remember that as Israelis, we have a long struggle ahead of us, one that involves hundreds of‘houses of peace.’ We cannot call ourselves a society that upholds the values of human rights and democracy until we deal with these bigger issues, instead of focusing on just one house.” Michael Manekin, JPO 03.12.08 Standing up to Jewish terrorism “For a long time now, settlers in Hebron and other areas of Judea and Samaria(and East Jerusalem) have engaged in unruly behavior whose only goal is to violently threaten the Palestinians while undermining Israel`s sovereignty. By any official standard recognized worldwide, this is terrorism that sows fear and disrupts the proper management of a state.[…] Under the hypocritical umbrella of‘national unity’ and the self-righteous threat of‘a rift in the nation,’ the rampaging has become the norm, a daily routine. The settlers utter profanities, spit, beat, sow ruin and destruction, while the army turns a blind eye in the best-case scenario and takes part in the worst. The House of Contention is therefore the 1

culmination of a dangerous progression of events, and the widespread public protest that should have arisen among the sane portion of society after these events has not materialized because the heart of Israeli society has been desensitized for quite some time.[…] This week, Israel has reached the point of no return, which will also determine who controls the state: the justice system and a government elected by democratic means, or Jewish terrorism.” HAA 04.12.08 Playing with fire “Though no one was gravely wounded, the violent evacuation of Beit Hashalom, and the events leading up to it, again exposed the depth of the chasm that divides our society.[…] Many of those responsible for the Hebron violence, both yesterday and in recent weeks, are out-ofcontrol youths who gravitated to this trouble-spot encouraged by their spiritual authorities and political mentors.[…] There’s an irreconcilable disconnect between those who would engage in or rationalize settler violence and mainstream Israel; between those who have disengaged from our- admittedly imperfect- Zionist enterprise, its army and polity, and the majority who want the rule of law upheld even when, to borrow from Dickens,‘the law is an ass.’[…] Let's not, meanwhile, lose sight of two other fundamentals. First, the vast majority of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria are law-abiding patriots. Secondly, in any and all circumstances, Jews must be guaranteed access to the Cave of the Patriarchs. The contemptible behavior of settler radicals does not negate this right. For long before Christianity and Islam came on the scene, Hebron was already a cornerstone of Jewish civilization.” JPO 04.12.08 Who is scared of Daniela Weiss? “Religious rightists are uncomfortable about blatantly speaking out against reckless settlers, because then people will think that we are leftist too, and at this difficult time it is not nice to join the leftist media wave. So once the seasonal attack on the settlers starts, everyone enters the bunker. This is a mistake, of course. One can be in favor of the right of Jews to hold on to the House of Peace in Hebron, yet at the same time be outraged by the thuggish behavior of the youths there. One can see the injustice inherent in the court ruling, yet continue the fight without going crazy.[…] There are some people who will never get it, yet normal rightists know how to distinguish between appropriate, wellsupported positions and a violent and crazed style adopted by 16-year-olds. Indeed, for every blow that a soldier sustains, the religious Zionist camp and its love for the Land of Israel sustain two blows.“ Uri Orbach, JED 06.12.08 Is the worst yet to come? “It is not over yet. The disputed house in Hebron was indeed evacuated, yet the struggle is far from being over. The dangerous and volatile part is still ahead of us. Hundreds of members of the radical settler camp have spread around the hills in Judea and Samaria and from there they are infiltrating Palestinian communities and roads in order to exact what they euphemistically refer to as a‘price tag.’ The meaning of this term in less euphemistic terms is pogroms against the Palestinians, and possibly harassment of Israeli security forces, at as many sites as possible, with the declared aim of creating major conflagration in Judea and Samaria. This mayhem is meant to create the kind of trauma in Israeli public opinion that would prevent further evacuations in the future.[…] We should assume that the anger and frustration caused by the evacuation among the settlers, and particularly among radical rightists and the‘hilltop youths,’ will prompt hundreds of them to get out there. Some of them already vowed to return to the building that was the focal point of the confrontation.[…] These are difficult days for the Israeli government, for security forces, and also for the established leaderships of the settlers in Judea and Samaria. If they are unable, through cooperation, to contain the riots and curb them, not only will Israeli democracy be undermined; the whole State of Israel could end up facing chaos and possibly, heaven forbid, a civil war.” Ron Ben-Yishai, JED 05.12.08 2. Primaries der Arbeitspartei In Vorbereitung auf die Knessetwahlen im Februar hat die Arbeitspartei Primaries abgehalten, um ihre Kandidatenliste zusammenzustellen. Der Parteivorsitzende Ehud Barak erhielt den reservierten ersten Platz, auf den zweiten und dritten Platz wurden Sozialminister Isaac Herzog und der Knessetabgeordnete Ophir Pines-Paz gewählt. Da der Arbeitspartei in Umfragen schlechte Ergebnisse vorausgesagt werden, könnte es sein, dass Parteiveteranen wie Yuli Tamir oder Amir Peretz, die 2

weiter hinten auf der Liste stehen, um ein Knessetmandat bangen müssen. Überschattet wurden die Primaries indes von einem technischen Fehler: Die Wahlen, die erstmals per Touchscreen stattfinden sollten, mussten nach wenigen Stunden abgebrochen werden, da aus allen Wahllokalen von Funktionsfehlern berichtet wurde. Die Primaries wurden dann zwei Tage später – diesmal per traditionellem Wahlzettel – wiederholt. Dennoch war die Wahlbeteiligung mit 50% von 60,000 zugelassenen Wählern höher als zunächst erwartet. Change Labor’s path “The Labor primary is taking place in the shadow of polls predicting that the party will be only the fourth or fifth largest party in the 18th Knesset.[…] It will thus become either a minor coalition partner or a medium-to-small opposition party. Concerns about the Labor Party go beyond party hacks' fears for their seats in the Knesset and cabinet. In light of the right's meteoric rise, it is doubly important that there be a strong, stable political bloc that supports solving the unending conflict between Israel and its neighbors. In light of the severe economic crisis, there is a need for a party that will look out for the weaker segments of society and work to reduce the gap between rich and poor.[…] Today, those Labor members who seek their party's welfare and believe that it has not yet finished its role must steer clear of‘deals’ and cheap hacks.[…] They must choose candidates whose characters, activities and messages offer real change, and above all, a return to the worldview and values of the peace camp and social justice. And they must choose people who will be willing to work tirelessly for this even from the opposition benches, not only from a ministerial chair.” HAA 02.12.08 God has no mercy on Labor “There is no question about it: It is apparently impossible to sink any lower. This is the last thing the Labor party needed: Flawed primary elections that turn into a joke and end even before they started, breaking a Guinness record in terms of ridicule and dismalness.[…] Any bad thing that could have happened to the party happened to it. After months of terrible polls, harsh criticisms, and dreadful prophecies, it isn’t difficult to understand the reason for the gloom that took hold of Labor’s members upon the collapse of the primaries. All the energies were directed to this day. Candidates traveled all across the country, and the intention was to wake up in the morning singing a new tune. However, this tune was cut short in the middle of the day, making place for curses, fury, and anger in the face of a collapsing computer systems. We can feel pity for members of the Labor party because this time – and this time only – it apparently wasn’t their fault.” Attila Somfalvi, JED 03.12.08 Sie hat noch eine Chance verdient „Die Arbeitspartei und Barak haben sich einen Teil dieser[schlechten] Behandlung[durch die Medien] in allen Ehren verdient, und sie können sich nur selbst Vorwürfe machen.[...] Man kann sich der Versuchung, auf die Arbeitspartei einzuschlagen, nur schwer entziehen.[...] Aber jetzt ist es an der Zeit, damit aufzuhören. Sie hat es nicht verdient, derart geprügelt zu werden. Die Arbeitspartei und ihr Programm sind noch immer von Bedeutung für die israelische Gesellschaft.[...] Es stimmt schon, dass Ehud Barak Antagonismus erweckt, aber er ist immer noch der Mann, der zwischen uns und einer Großinvasion Gazas steht, die eine lange Reihe von Anschlägen mit sich bringen und die Zahl der Raketen und Katjuschas stark erhöhen würde. Morgen finden Primaries in der Partei statt. Wenn sie eine frische Liste ergeben sollten, mit all den guten Leuten, die kandidieren, dann könnte man die Arbeitspartei wirklich noch als eine legitime und wichtige sozialdemokratische Partei betrachten, nicht als geschlagene und blutende Institution. Gebt ihr noch eine Chance. Und damit auch uns.“ Yael Paz-Melamed, MAA 01.12.08 A tale of two funerals “[T]oday we can direct the[…] question to the Labor party: Well, you can't even run your own primaries, so how will you be running the country? The primaries fiasco Tuesday is merely one verse or chapter in Labor's book of clumsiness and bad luck. In the past year, more than ever, bad luck has been haunting the party that did so much‘for the country.’ Some will argue that the party and its leaders are cursed and that this curse must be lifted. How? People should sit down, think, and create a party that is whole new, with the exception of its old name: Ideology that is adapted to the 21st Century, and worthy leaders. This is a long and painful process, and it cannot be applied ahead of the upcoming elections on 3

February 10th, yet this is precisely the problem of Labor and of politics and politicians in the State of Israel as a whole: They are only thinking about the upcoming elections. Yet right now it is not them who are in trouble; it's us.” Eitan Haber, JED 04.12.08 The party defeated itself “The computerized voting system that crashed yesterday morning immediately after being activated was supposed to have prevented the embarrassing ritual that is an ever-present part of every primary: accusations of fraud, of voting en masse by clans, of people rising from the dead to cast their ballots, of ballot boxes that mysteriously disappear. And from this standpoint, party secretary general MK Eitan Cabel's decision to switch to computerized voting was a good one. He at least tried to change the situation, and had the move succeeded, he would justly have claimed the credit. Now, however, he is obliged to take responsibility for the failure.” Yossi Verter, HAA 03.12.08 3. Anschläge in Indien Die Terroranschläge im indischen Mumbai, die Ende November 172 Menschen das Leben kosteten, waren auch in den israelischen Medien eines der Hauptthemen der vergangenen Wochen. Terroristen hatten unter anderem ein Gemeindezentrum der jüdisch-ultraorthodoxen Organisation Chabad angegriffen und mehrere Israelis als Geiseln genommen. Es wurden bei den Anschlägen fünf Israelis und eine jüdische Mexikanerin, die kurz vor der Auswanderung nach Israel stand, getötet. In den Medien wurde darüber spekuliert, ob das ChabadZentrum ein zufälliges oder sorgfältig ausgewähltes Ziel gewesen sei. Außerdem wurden die Implikationen der Anschläge für den weltweiten Kampf gegen den Terrorismus diskutiert. Terror lesson in Mumbai „The terror offensive in Mumbai must prompt decision-makers and assessment agencies to realize that the common perception regarding terror activity is flawed and anachronistic. The world views terror incidents as sporadic, highprofile, and one-time events. They arouse fury, anger, and pain, yet they do not undermine the power of the state where terrorism takes place.[…] However, terrorism upgraded itself into combat units.[…] Al-Qaeda too has shifted from sporadic terror to military terror, and its operations are more complex and integrate more elements.[…] India constitutes a broad testing ground for terror forces aiming to take over a large city while using military terrorism.[…] Therefore, the war on terror’s doctrine must change. […] Today, we see the emergence of a dark, new, and different army, with new branches that include all the components of a military, yet still utilize the terror doctrine.[…] They tie the hands of the responding force, which is the only side subjected to conventions pertaining to human rights, war captives, and the targeting of civilians. Every terror event makes it increasingly clear that the danger to the stability of societies and regimes is much greater than we thought. The Mumbai events must serve as a turning point in the way we address terror armies. This is no longer a conventional war. The war codes formulated in the wake of World War II are no longer relevant. Instead, an international anti-terror force must be created; this force must be specialized, it must study the new threat, and it must be able to provide an immediate response by forces trained especially to that end.” David Altman, JED 29.11.08 The Al-Quaida scapegoat “After more than 170 people were killed in ten coordinated attacks in a city as large as Mumbai, the question immediately arises of who is behind these actions and what can be done. The natural inclination is to attribute such attacks to Al-Qaida, an easy and familiar target.[…] The general conclusion is that this is a matter of Islamic terrorism, part of the worldwide jihad.[…] With all due respect to Al-Qaida, the terror attack in India has its own causes. Pakistan and India have been in conflict since 1947.[…] At issue, therefore, is a war between India and Pakistan, and not between Islam and Hinduism, or Islam and the West. Terrorism in Pakistan and India has a recognized solution, just like terror in our neighborhood. But for that, Indians and Pakistanis, much like the warring parties here, must adopt the expression‘painful compromises.’ They are still not ready, here or there, to[do] so.” Zvi Bar’el, HAA 05.12.08 4

The scourge of terrorism “One thing is plain: Those killed at the Chabad House were murdered because they were Jewish or Israeli. […] All that really mattered was that they were living representatives of Jewish civilization.[…] Israeli officials are right to argue that the civilized world is under attack. This time the assault came in India, next time it will come somewhere else. The enemy is Islamic extremism. Its immediate goal is to vanquish- by any means necessary- Western symbols and values from those parts of the world it claims as Muslim.[…] Anti-civilian warfare is a key tool of Muslim extremists. Terrorism is a cruelty that has become the scourge of modern civilization and changed the way we live.[…] The international community, together with responsible elements in the media, should show zero tolerance for the kind of depravity manifested in Mumbai. And a vital step to confronting it effectively is to recognize terrorism and call it by its name.” JPO 29.11.08 Mumbai is the exception “I was trying to think of the last major international terrorist attack before Mumbai- it was 7/7, the London subway-and-bus bombings, wasn't it?[...] So maybe Mumbai isn't really a‘wake-up call’ about the rising threat of Islamic terrorism, but rather the exception that proves the rule, the rule being that the jihad is failing miserably in its attacks against the world.[….] That's three years and five months between London and Mumbai. Not a bad record for our side. For all the horror and fury and grief of this past week, there should also be a recognition, here and in the rest of the democracies, that the likes of Lakshar e-Taiba and al-Qaida are not, in truth, at the world's throat. The truth is that they're losing badly. Since 9/11, the war on terror has been going amazingly well.[…] The rarity of an attack like the one in Mumbai is a reason for confidence. It's a reason for believing that if we, the enemies of jihad, go on doing more or less what we've been doing for the last seven years, Islamism will eventually collapse of its own weight. […] For its part, the democratic world can hasten the end of jihad by fighting a better war on terror- by balancing military force and diplomacy more wisely, and by avoiding unnecessary provocations to Muslims at large. Ending Israel's occupation would remove one such provocation.” Larry Derfner, JPO 03.12.08 HAA= Haaretz HZO= Ha Tzofe IHY= Israeli HaYom JED= Jedioth Ahronoth JPO= Jerusalem Post MAA= Maariv Der Artikel aus MAA wurde dem Medienspiegel der Deutschen Botschaft Israel entnommen. Veröffentlicht am: 07. Dezember 2008 Verantwortlich: Dr. Ralf Hexel, Leiter der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Israel Redaktion: Maike Harel Anita Haviv Homepage: www.fes.org.il Email: fes@fes.org.il 5