(Government Press Office)
Haaretz criticizes the large increase in kollel students who will begin their studies this year, and declares that this stems directly from the thwarting of the Tal Law, which was supposed to integrate ultra-Orthodox men into the military and economy. The editor calls on the government to declare that it will drastically reduce support of these students, and hopes that the kollels will then return to nurturing rabbis and religious scholars, and not serve as a refuge from military service and work.
The Jerusalem Post notes the beginning of the moth of Ramadan, which marks the handing down of the Koran, and states that Ramadan may be an appropriate time for Muslims to reflect on the challenges of faith and modernity. "Only when Muslims who aspire to live in harmony with those who do not share their faith are able to triumph over the fanatics will peace between civilizations become a reality".
Yediot Aharonot opines that "The maximum that an Israeli Government (any Government) can offer the Palestinians (and survive politically) is much less than the minimum a Palestinian regime (any regime) will be willing to accept (and survive politically). The real gap between the sides is enormous and is only growing, not contracting. Furthermore, if you compare conditions which existed eight years ago to those which exist today, one sees that the conditions today are much worse". The editors offer two conclusions: First, a permanent settlement based on the premises of two states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – Israel and Palestine, "is not possible in the foreseeable future. Second, the time has come to consider other solutions as well. One of them is a return not to the 1967 borders, but rather to the reality which existed in 1967, when Jordan controlled the West Bank".
Ma'ariv comments on the debacle over the firing of Police Commander Uri Bar-Lev by Public Security Minister Avi Dicter. The editors criticize both Commander Bar-Lev and Minister Dicter for their handling of the affair.
Yisrael Hayom comments that "After the Olmert era, what we want from politicians is not only to refrain from shady dealings, but to propose something new: A debate on values".
[Giora Eiland, Ofer Shelah and Izie Liebler wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]