Minister in the middle

They say desperate times call for desperate measures. For Finance Minister Yair Lapid that apparently means holding a press conference to discuss his proposed budget cuts — a first for him since taking office (he prefers to communicate via Facebook). Histadrut labor federation leader Ofer Eini joined the finance minister at the press conference to announce a deal over budget cuts that would avert a general strike.

Yedioth Ahronoth sums up the press conference on its front-page with a paraphrase of the finance minister: “Lapid: We’ve taken from everyone’s pockets.” The story focuses on Lapid, almost ignoring the fact that Eini was at the press conference. There’s a helpful list of the proposed cuts/tax increases along with which sectors of society they will affect. Not surprisingly, the tax on private jets will affect the super rich while a 1 percent increase in VAT will hurt the lower and middle classes.

Other papers remembered Eini‘s presence and gave some ink to the agreement between the Histadrut and the government.

Israel Hayom puts the strike-averting deal front and center: “The Lapid–Eini agreement.” Inside, the paper reports that the Histadrut will forgo until 2015 salary hikes that were to take effect this summer, and will promise to keep from striking until 2015. Lapid pithily underscored the importance of the deal with the Histadrut: “We should remember that if there were a weeklong strike it would cost the economy [NIS] 2 billion per day, and then we would have to double the taxes we’ve [already] imposed.”

Maariv columnist Shalom Yerushalmi writes that Lapid’s deal was a success because it buys him two years of quiet. “If you rely on polls released yesterday on Channel 2, Lapid is facing his first serious political crisis,” Yerushalmi writes, “Nearly one-third of Yesh Atid voters are disappointed in him.” He goes on to quote accusations hurled at Lapid during the press conference that he is just another politician who, despite a populist platform, doesn’t have the interests of the middle class at heart. The piece goes on to say that by defusing the Histadrut crisis, Lapid bought himself some time to work his way out of his predicament and rehabilitate his image. Despite the possible cost of the agreement to Lapid, Yerushalmi concludes, “He won’t have to deal with any strikes. That’s worth every penny.”

New science?

Haaretz reports on the growing academic and cultural boycott of Israel after renowned physicist Stephen Hawking decided not to attend the Presidential Conference out of solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Hawking joins a growing list of notables who are refusing to come to events in Israel, including author Alice Walker, musician Elvis Costello, and film director Mike Lee. Dr. Anat Manar of Tel Aviv University downplayed the significance of Hawking’s decision. “This is a conference with the president; it’s public relations for Israel,” she said. “It’s not clear what choice Hawking would have made had he been invited to a conference of physicists.”

State Comptroller Joseph Shapira released his annual report on Wednesday and Maariv picked up on the scariest bit: hospitalization in Israel can be hazardous for your health. According to the report, “4,000-6,000 people die in each year in medical centers from infection.” The tragedy of the deaths is that in the comptroller’s estimation, 75% of them are preventable. Shapira seems to blame hospital administrations for the needless deaths. “Most hospitals don’t collect data on direct mortality from infections contracted at the hospital, there is no clinical observation of infectious disease specialists, and there is no investigation into the deaths, and the reasons for this is that the Health Ministry doesn’t require it,” he writes in his report

Israel Hayom reports on a different portion of the state comptroller’s report: the way Israeli universities respond to sexual harassment complaints against their staff. The report looked at two cases — one at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan — that it deemed “problematic.” The complaint at Hebrew University was investigated and the claimant paid NIS 38,000 in compensation. However, at Bar-Ilan the picture is more troublesome. A complaint filed in February 2009 was mishandled from the outset. The paper writes, “The commissioner [handling sexual harassment cases] did not prepare an orderly record of the meeting, did not summon the complainant after the complaint was submitted, didn’t get her information in order to investigate, and in fact began investigating the complaint only after the complainant approached the commissioner repeatedly.” Israel Hayom didn’t get responses from the two universities before the paper went to press.

Things that go buzz in the night

The rainy winter in Israel is finally over, which means it’s mosquito time. Israel Hayom reports that this year may be worse that past ones when it comes to the annoying pests. The reason is that budget cuts may mean less resources to fight the bugs. Aside from the annoyance of being bitten, the paper warns that mosquitoes carry other diseases like the West Nile Virus. Hadera Mayor Haim Avitan was upset with the cuts to the Environmental Protection Ministry, lashing out at the Finance Ministry: “It just does not make sense to paralyze the country with this nuisance.” The Finance Ministry didn’t provide the paper with a comment.

Hadera mayors are not the only ones lashing out at the new budget. Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit also adds his two cents to the mix. Having known Lapid for years, he knows what his good qualities are and where he’s lacking — the will to swim against the current. Calling Lapid the “ultimate Israeli,” Shavit attacks the proposed cuts and tax hikes. “This uncreative budget is a budget with no vision, no inspiration and no fraternity. It’s a budget without justice.” However Shavit sees a silver lining in the budget as he looks into the future. “The baptism of fire that Lapid is undergoing this week is a necessary experience for anyone who intends to become the leader of the nation.”