1. US TO NETANYAHU: PLEDGE TO ONE-YEAR SETTLEMENT FREEZE
Senior political source: Israel willing to agree to half-year freeze only. Envoy Mitchell: Only a one-year promise will bring about a breakthrough in the diplomatic stalemate and will allow normalization steps.
2. BARAK AFTER LABOR CONSTITUTION APPROVAL: MUTINEERS IMPOTENT.
3. 12 YEAR-OLD DIES IN HOSPITAL AFTER CONTRACTING SWINE FLU.
Third death from swine flu in Israel.
MA’ARIV
1. Tadiran moving to China. Last air conditioner factory in country closes.
350 WORKERS THROWN OUT
YEDIOT AHRONOT
1. THE FRENCH PRESIDENT'S MADDENING LETTER
Family of terrorist who attempted attack on Rabbi Ovadia asks Sarkozy to assist in his release, like "Gilad Shalit". The President gave in and agreed to press Israel.
2. 10,000 SICK WITH SWINE FLU.
Flu spreading in Israel, 2,000 infected weekly. Fourth victim: 12-year-old boy.
YISRAEL HAYOM
1. LABOR: THEY YELLED, THEY YELLED, THEY COMPROMISED
Barak victorious in convention vote. Netanyahu secures coalition quiet in last minute compromise. Barak's term safe until October 2012. Shelly Yacimovich: Need for comprehensive introspection.
2. THE FLU: 12 YEAR-OLD DIES
Third death from swine flu in Israel.
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SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS
Three papers discuss various issues relating to yesterday's Labor Party convention, at which it was decided – inter alia – that the next leadership contest will be held in October 2012, one year before the next scheduled election, instead of in April 2010, 14 months after the Party did not win the last election:
Yediot Ahronot asserts that since losing power, "the Party has not succeeded in bringing back the public because it has not presented a vision that it believes in and is prepared to fight for," and adds that, "The absence of a vision and the neglect of values have turned Labor into an arena for endless personal duels to the point of exhaustion and a near total loss of public support." The author, a former minister and MK, calls on the party to leave the Government because, "The assumption that Labor could influence from within is an illusion; in reality, it is moral and conceptual bankruptcy." The paper calls on the party to articulate a new vision and new ideas that will shore up its sagging credibility both at home and abroad.
Ma'ariv speculates that Party Chairman Ehud Barak agreed to a leadership contest in October 2012 because, "He knows that there will not be a party by then and, therefore, there will be nobody to run against him." The author avers that, "The one who can sleep quietly today is Benjamin Netanyahu, the big winner of the Labor Party convention. He has Barak for the next three years. What could be bad?"
Yisrael Hayom suggests that, "Labor is acting like a body that has decided to lose its mind. Ehud Barak does not draw from his party the power to succeed in the Government; on the contrary, his activity in the Government provides him with the power to lead Labor. Since he is popular due to his actions in the security field, his rivals have been unable to oust him as party chairman." The author doubts that his party rivals have much of a political future outside the Labor Party and believes that they would do well to press Barak on his plans to revive the Party's fortunes.
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The Jerusalem Post remarks on the US government's approach to H1N1 inoculations as opposed to the Israeli government's approach, which calls for mass inoculation of the entire population, and urges PM Netanyahu "to rethink his plan for mass inoculations at the expense of the expanded health basket."
Haaretz praises President Clinton for his trip to North Korea, and feels that "Policy makers in Israel would do well to learn from Clinton's journey to Pyongyang in advance of the unveiling of the Obama initiative for renewing the diplomatic process here."
[Moshe Shahal, Shalom Yerushalmi and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Ahronot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]
(Courtesy of Israel GPO)
