Creeps, bleeps, and sweeps

Take Radiohead’s phenomenal concert last night in Tel Aviv after the band very publicly refused to bow in to BDS pressure not to perform in the Jewish state, add to that the increasing Palestinian pressure over the Israeli government’s placement of metal detectors on the Temple Mount, doused with either the new developments in investigations or scandals allegedly involving the prime minister, and you’ll get the messy salad of bold articles clumsily boxed together on the front pages of today’s main Hebrew-language newspapers. But with so many potentially attention-grabbing stories to choose from, it’s easy to understand why the editors couldn’t make up their mind and opted to just lead with all of them, even at the price of sometimes including only minimal details about each.

Yedioth Ahronoth’s Radiohead coverage consists of the words “a beautiful creep” stylistically stamped over a photograph of singer Thom Yorke, and, in case readers might have missed the reference, includes a blurb explaining that the Israeli crowd was especially responsive when the British rock band performed the song “Creep.” In Israel Hayom, the headline alongside Yorke’s picture reads “Yalla,” a quote from last night by the performer who addressed fans with the oh-so-Israeli Arabic slang word, which loosely translates as “come on” in this context. In Haaretz, writer Avi Pitchon correctly notes that the members of Radiohead, despite dismissing calls by BDS activists spearheaded by Pink Folyd front man Roger Waters to skip the show in Israel, veered away from pushing any political message during the concert, and instead stressed that they were simply interested in playing music.

Complementing Pitchon’s theme is the paper’s illustrator Amos Biderman, who in his on point daily cartoon draws a guitar-wielding Yorke smashing through a wall — like the one from the epic Pink Floyd album — manned by Waters. “I lost myself,” Pitchon writes of his experience as the band closed off with its hit “Karma Police.” “I mean that as a compliment.”

Back in Yedioth, the daily offers an “exclusive” look into Israel’s involvement in the purchase of German submarines by Egypt, claiming that a document recently obtained by the paper indicates that the Europeans had previously waited for the approval of the Jewish state before moving forward with such a deal. In what is known as “Case 3000,” authorities are investigating alleged corruption and bribery involved in multi-billion-shekel naval deals with the German shipbuilding company ThyssenKrupp. Yedioth explains that despite the fact that when asked about Case 3000 yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently denied that Israel had ever authorized a German sale of submarines to Egypt, the documents indicate that in 2009, during a separate deal, that was exactly the case. Meanwhile, Israel Hayom quotes IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot as saying that any army official who was involved in any unlawful activity surrounding the submarine affair should not serve in the country’s security forces. The top IDF official further stressed that he would fully comply with the investigations into the matter.

Haaretz covers Netanyahu’s meeting in Budapest with the leaders of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, during which the prime minister admitted to a series of previously unconfirmed Israeli strikes on Hezbollah weapons convoys in Syria. The Israeli leader also heavily criticized the European Union for conditioning its support for the Jewish state on the enactment of certain policies regarding Palestinian rights. “Russia doesn’t demand from us any political conditions and neither do [countries in] Africa,” the prime minister said. “Only the European Union does so, that is crazy and against the interests of Europe.” If these comments seem extreme, that may be because they weren’t intended for the public’s ear, and were accidentally broadcast to journalists outside the room via their headsets.

Writing on the same topic, Yedioth contributor Shimon Shiffer, who himself was born in Hungary, lashes out at Netanyahu for his comments in Budapest and urges the prime minister not to provoke Israel’s allies. “If there is one thing Netanyahu must memorize in his relations with heads of state in the world, it is the understanding that he must return to his true dimensions,” Shiffer writes. “He is not the head of a superpower, he stands as the head of a government of a small country, which while saturated with many talented people is still dependent on Europe and other states.”

On a personal note, Shiffer adds that the prime minister missed an opportunity to take a firm stance against anti-Semitism, which is rampant in Hungary. “Netanyahu preferred the cheap option, the pretend friendship with the right wing government in Hungary,” he concludes. The Hungarian government is headed by Viktor Urban, who has recently been accused by Jewish group’s of playing up anti-Semitic tropes during the country’s election campaign.

In Haaretz, the left-wing paper’s editorial voices an unpopular opinion in the country, and urges the Israeli government to rethink its steps regarding security on the Temple Mount. “The police demand to tighten security checks at the entrance to the compound is legitimate [in light of the terrorist attack last week in which two Israeli Border Policemen were killed], but it would be appropriate if the police and government understood that such steps can’t be forced unilaterally,” the editorial reads. “The rage over the past days in Jerusalem, in the West Bank, and in the rest of the Arab world regarding the developments on the Temple Mount is rising, and with it rises the violence. The lessons of the past suggest that if there is one issue that can unite the Arab world against Israel and bring to bloodshed, it is the Temple Mount.”

Haaretz ends with a plea to Israel’s authorities to walk back the decision to place metal detectors at the entrance to the compound and come to an agreement with Palestinian representatives on the measures that should be taken in order to ensure the security of all on the Temple Mount.