In a Jewish state of mind

A flare-up of coalition tensions over the “Jewish state” bill on Wednesday — as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the proposed legislation and critics lashed out — has the Hebrew papers on Thursday gazing at the coalition as if it were a slow-motion car wreck, anticipating record-high tensions next week as the bill goes to a vote.

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports on Israeli and US efforts to prevent an international Geneva Conventions summit on the situation with the Palestinians, and Yedioth Ahronoth offers a peek at an upcoming interview with Pope Francis.

All three national dailies spotlight the previous days’ stormy Knesset session but highlight different aspects of address. Israel Hayom emphasizes the prime minister’s critique of the left-wing parties – or rather words that he puts in their mouth: “If you haven’t evacuated [settlements], you haven’t done anything,” in its headline. Yedioth’s headline pits that same remark by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside opposition leader Isaac Herzog’s retort: “You’ve cleaned out the citizen’s refrigerators,” in reference to the high cost of living. And Haaretz focuses on the prime minister’s insistence on ultimately passing his version of the bill through.

Elections are not far from the press’s mind, with Israel Hayom referencing it in its lede and Haaretz tacking on to its coverage of the Knesset session the rumors of Netanyahu’s behind-the-scene efforts to get the ultra-Orthodox parties on his side.

Israel Hayom reports: “At the beginning of the week, the coalition let out a sigh of relief after the postponement of the vote on the Jewish state bill, but the fact that in the past few days there have been no meetings on the subject has made the coalition parties tense once again, and [has created] an atmosphere of crisis which is likely to explode next week, when the vote is set to take place. At this point, it seems that elections are imminent and proof of that is the discussion in the Knesset yesterday.”

Meanwhile, Haaretz focuses on the prime minister’s reassurances that the final bill will be his own, toned-down version of the current drafts, but notes that he “did not mention his controversial demand that the coalition members first support the radical ‘Jewish state’ bills by Ze’ev Elkin, Yariv Levin, and Ayelet Shaked.”

But the Yesh Atid and Labor parties are fiercely opposed to backing those bills “even if they are later frozen,” it reports.

Haaretz leads its Thursday coverage with a report on Israeli and US efforts to block a 200-nation gathering in mid-December which would discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The report quotes Western and Israeli diplomats, who say that the Palestinians and Arab states are urging Switzerland toward a confab, and say invitations will go out to the various countries shortly.

“The Swiss proposal is for a three-hour conference at an ambassadorial level, with few speeches and no media coverage except for a statement to the press to be released at the end.

“’We made it clear we didn’t want a political event or debate club, or a conference that would blame or criticize one of the sides,’ a Swiss diplomat said,” according to the report.

As Israel and the US frantically try to prevent the conference from assembling, with the assistance of Canada and Australia, “the Israeli efforts look bound to fail. Israeli and Swiss diplomats predict that the Swiss government will in the coming days announce the holding of the summit,” it reports.

Over in Yedioth, the paper touts a preview of an exclusive interview with Pope Francis, set to be published over the weekend, which has the pontiff declaring: “Anti-Semitism is a sin.”

“You cannot be a true Christian if you don’t recognize your Jewish roots. One must always remember that Christianity sprang from Judaism,” the pontiff tells the paper, pointing to Jesus’s Jewish heritage.

“Francis uses his sense of humor to illustrate the special connection between Judaism and Christianity. In conversation with religious clergy he tells them about a group of anti-Semitic priests who sat in a room and spoke against the Jews, while on the wall, a painting of Jesus and Mary is hanging. ‘And then, suddenly, Jesus climbs out of the picture and says: ‘Mother, let’s go, even here they don’t love us.’”

The pope condemns the Har Nof attack last week, saying he denounces “all violence [perpetrated] in the name of God.” He says that he is following with “concern” the developments in the region, and calls for a peace arrangement between Israelis and Palestinians.