(Government Press Office)
Haaretz - http://www.haaretzdaily.com
Ma'ariv - http://www.maariv.co.il
Yediot Aharonot - http://www.ynet.co.il
Globes - http://www.globes.co.il
Jerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.com
Hazofeh - http://www.hazofe.co.il
Haaretz comments: "As it has in other similar disasters far from its borders, tiny Israel has found itself involved in events to an extent that belies its size and its place in the world - both in its justified concern for the lives of its individual citizens, who leave no corner of the globe untrodden, and in its massive, and at times ostentatious, mobilization to give aid and assistance. Because of its unique experiences, it seems that Israel sometimes views itself as holding the global portfolio for security and rescue services, alongside being an expert in vengeance and retaliation for every attack on its citizens. But disasters of the magnitude of the current one, for which it is impossible to call anyone to account, put the pursuit of absolute existential security - a goal in which Israel has invested more than any other nation - into its proper proportions."
The Jerusalem Post writes: "In the end, despite Shinui's acceptance of the Gaza evacuation, [Yosef] Lapid still has the best claim to serve as opposition leader – at least inside the Knesset. There are plenty of other significant issues on which Shinui will legitimately disagree with this government's policies. Indeed, it has already started, voting against the government on Tuesday on a bill extending the law allowing the IDF to call up combat reservists older than 41 for special duties. We call only wish that Lapid, who in the past has resorted to language that is excessively demagogic, will exercise proper judgment and restraint in his role as opposition leader."
Yediot Aharonot asserts that, “The ‘Next Generation’ program, in which senior officers are sent to schools in order to raise morale and the desire to be drafted, is fundamentally mistaken,” and adds that, “The very wording of the project’s goal smacks of the indoctrination done in dark places.”
Hatzofeh contrasts the different approaches of Magen David Adom and Zaka, and congratulates Zaka for being creative and taking the initiative in its mode of operation.
[Ofer Shelah wrote today’s editorial in Yediot Aharonot.]