It’s Sukkot as usual for the Hebrew press

As Israelis enjoy the weeklong Sukkot holiday, the Hebrew-language newspapers stick with their favorite topics: the threat posed to Israel by Iran and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel Hayom leads its front page with the latest warning from Tehran against the imposition of fresh international sanctions, and the abounding speculation over whether Trump will pull the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

With a large red headline above the fold, the free daily calls the days leading up to Trump’s announcement “increasingly tense” and “the height of suspense.”

Its coverage of the latest developments focuses heavily on Netanyahu’s recent talks with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, in which he expressed his concerns over the 2015 nuclear deal he vehemently opposes.

Israel Hayom columnists are less concerned with the Iran drama, and instead tackle everything from the hype surrounding Israeli actress Gal Gadot to Columbus Day to Catalonia’s bid to declare independence from Spain.

According to the paper, Netanyahu has told the White House that canceling or significantly altering the nuclear agreement with Iran would only strengthen America’s standing in the world.

Meanwhile, in its opinion pages, a Turkish Muslim writer and TV presenter takes aim at the boycott movement against Israel in a stinging column.

Adnan Oktar says he does not doubt the sincerity of boycott activists, but argues that the BDS movement “is far from advancing peace and fraternity.”

“Its goal is to exert psychological influence on society through indoctrination,” he writes, saying the entire movement leaves itself to be “exploited by radical Islam.”

Oktar goes on to slam the movement for its “aggressive discourse and destructive propaganda that contributes to the continuation of the conflict.”

Israel Hayom also features an exclusive detailing a a solidarity rally with Raed Salah, the leader of a banned Islamist group in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm.

The event was held in a public building, sparking backlash from NGOs who have begun to call on Israel’s national lottery to ban the group from using its facilities in the future.

Haaretz, Israel’s left-wing daily, chooses to lead its Tuesday paper with remarks by Netanyahu warning of the existential threats Israel faces.

At a Bible study session he hosted at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that the Hasmonean kingdom survived for only about 80 years, and he is working to ensure that modern Jewish state will surpass that and reach its 100th birthday.

Though the article casts the prime minister in a militant light, Haaretz does quote attendees as saying that his remarks were a reflection of the degree to which Israel’s survival preoccupies him.

In its opinion pages, Haaretz columnists don’t miss an opportunity to slam Netanyahu, with Yitzhak Laor calling his interpretation of capitalism in Israel “arrogant.”

Laor argues that Israelis are increasingly paying more out of their pockets for health care, more than in any Western country. But despite this, he argues that capitalism is “running rampant” in Israel under the leadership of the “arrogant Netanyahu government.”

“For decades the Israeli worker has been at the mercy of market forces, with less and less protection, and the spokesmen for market forces get defensive at his expense for ‘the good of the economy,’” he writes.