Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

Today’s issues: Room for worship, the failures of the chairman of the opposition, the drums of war can be heard, and Hamas’ path to self-destruction.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Jerusalem Post is pleased by Sunday’s cabinet decision allocate an area of the Western Wall to allow all streams of Judaism to worship there, in effect acknowledging that there is more than one way to be a religious Jew, and declares: “For a Jewish state which for too long has deferred to the Orthodox Jewish establishment on all sectarian as well as religious matters, it represents a symbolic victory for pluralism and a more dynamic form of Jewish religious expression.” The editor feels that “The State of Israel should be a place where all forms of Jewish expression are encouraged and given the freedom to grow and fl ourish,” and points out that  “Just as free and open markets are a boon to economies, so too will a freer religious environment encourage more vibrant Jewish religious expression. Where else should this happen but in the world’s only Jewish state?”

Haaretz criticizes opposition head and Labor Party chairman Isaac Herzog’s right-wing stance, symbolized by his recent call to launch a preemptive strike to destroy the tunnels Hamas is building from Gaza, and states: “Judging by his battle cry, it can be assumed that if Herzog’s wish to dig a tunnel into the Netanyahu cabinet and to smuggle himself into the foreign minister’s office were to come true, he would be that government’s right flank.”

Yediot Aharonot disregards current intelligence reports, and predicts that war is likely this coming summer or even before. The author notes similar situations in Israel’s history, and states: “if you think it’s doubtful, or trust in the security establishments’ assessments, think back to what everyone was saying before the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars.”

Israel Hayom comments on the militant behavior of Hamas in Gaza, which, despite the heavy losses it sustained in its last round of fighting with Israel, “is again investing most of its gross national product in tunnels instead of rehabilitating Gaza’s infrastructure and rebuilding homes exposed to the harsh winter weather.”   The author quotes Albert Einstein, who defined insanity as repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results, and states: “Every passing day hurts Hamas. If, in its weakness, it decides to attack Israel, it will again be routed. If it invests more time and money in its underground infrastructure, it will go broke and find itself, as before, trying to extract water from a bombed out and dried up well. Meanwhile, the Jewish mind will continue coming up with solutions for us. Will Israel attack or not? That is the question Hamas should be most worried about at the moment.”

[Eitan Haber and Reuven Berko wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot and Israel Hayom, respectively.]