Commentary and Analysis
• A big thumbs up to HonestReporting reader Debbie Levison, of Trumbull, Conn. In a very nice Connecticut Post op-ed, Levison recalls helping out the IDF as a Sar-El volunteer four years ago, and applying her observations to today’s situation.
• NY Times columnist David Carr doesn’t like that Israel targeted Hamas media people, or that innocent reporters were caught up in the violence. Funny, but when Israel restricted the press from Gaza during the last war, the media’s main argument was “We’re big boys, and we know the risks.” Alex Margolin further fisks Carr’s ignorance of Al-Aqsa TV as a Hamas mouthpiece.
• A Times of Israel analysis argues that Israel, Hamas and Egypt actually share an Iranian foothold in Gaza. Frida Ghitis made a somewhat similar argument in a CNN column. Ghitis elaborated in a video.
• Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl: Because of Arab Spring realities and Islamic Jihad lurking in the background, smashing Hamas wasn’t Israel’s best option. But the war clearly weakened the Islamists.
• For more commentary/analysis on the statehood bid, see Douglas Murray (Wall St. Journal, via Google News) and Robert Barnidge (also Wall St. Journal via Google News).
Iranian Atomic Urgency
• Lebanese president Michel Sleiman blames Tehran for Hezbollah’s drone adventure. The Jerusalem Post writes:
Sleiman slammed Iran for failing to inform the Lebanese government about the drone operation, and said Tehran had disregarded all diplomatic norms in its dealings with Lebanon.
“This step is an utter disregard of the feelings of the Lebanese and their commitment to national sovereignty,” Al Mustaqbal cited Sleiman as writing in his letter to Ahmadinejad.
• You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Fear Iran, But It Helps
Arab Spring Winter
• Egyptian unrest over Mohammed Morsi’s power grab continues. An Irish Times analysis aptly connects it to the Gaza ceasefire:
Morsi’s fall from grace was swift. Last Wednesday he was acclaimed by them as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement to which he belongs, for brokering a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. He also reasserted Egypt’s regional leadership by compelling reluctant Arabs to send foreign ministers to Gaza to proclaim solidarity as Israeli bombs fell on the narrow coastal strip.
He has been reviled for using this triumph to claim sweeping powers to “protect the revolution”, fire the public prosecutor and declare himself immune to judicial review until a new constitution is ratified. Since the draft is in hot dispute, this could take many months . . .
Since the Brotherhood is Egypt’s best organised and most influential political force, revolutionaries feared it would snatch power once Mubarak had gone. The Brotherhood attempted to reassure them by pledging it would not stand for more than one-third of the seats in the lower house, field a presidential candidate or seek to dominate the drafting of the new constitution.
It reneged on all three promises. Consequently, revolutionaries and many other Egyptians deeply distrust the movement and its man in the presidential palace.
• For more coverage, see the Washington Post.
• Reuters: Jihadis bombed a number of Egyptian security installations in the Sinai.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• Media reports indicate that Jerusalem and Ankara renewed reconciliation talks. An Israeli apology remains the big snag.
• Tony Hall was named the BBC’s new director general. The appointment drew praise, but as everyone points out, Hall has a lot of work to do. Variety rounds up the reactions.
(Image of Morsi via YouTube/AlJazeeraEnglish)
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
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