Mofaz the victorious, Rehovot in mourning

Shaul Mofaz was elected chairman of the Kadima party in Tuesday night’s primaries, upsetting the incumbent Tzipi Livni. Initial exit polls put the former chief of staff and defense minister 20 points above the current leader of the opposition, a far greater advantage, says Maariv, than had been expected in the weeks leading up to the elections.

Mofaz’s victory makes him Kadima’s fourth party leader since its inception by Ariel Sharon in 2005. In the last party elections in 2008, Livni eked out a victory against Mofaz by the smallest of margins — a mere 431 votes. Tuesday’s contest was not nearly as close.

Israel Hayom calls Mofaz’s win an “Earthquake in Kadima,” while Yedioth Ahronoth employs wordplay, saying “Forward [the literal meaning of Kadima], Mofaz.” Haaretz offers a more sober announcement: “A Mofaz victory in counting most of the Kadima votes.” Maariv comments on “what is certain — the Kadima of today will not be the same Kadima.”

Mofaz hailed his triumph over Livni and is quoted in Israel Hayom saying that “Kadima will set a new course as an alternative rule to the bad government of Netanyahu.”

The poll results in the Israeli papers are generally uniform: Israel Hayom, Maariv and Yedioth Ahronoth give Mofaz 62% of the vote, Haaretz tacks on an additional point to his margin. Only 40% of the registered voters turned out for this year’s primary elections, down from 55% in the 2008 primaries.

Matti Tuchfeld remarks in Israel Hayom that “Livni didn’t lose; rather, she was driven out by her friends with sticks.” He reasons that the cause of her expulsion was the absence of a clear stance on security, economic and social issues when she was at the helm. In the past few weeks, writes Tuchfeld, Livni tried to cast the blame for that shortcoming on everyone else. The blame is hers, he says, “there was no course of action she couldn’t have passed.”

Speculation in the press as to whether Livni will remain in the party began immediately after her defeat. Maariv writes that senior members of Kadima refused to comment about Livni’s intentions. Kadima MKs said that they do not intend to leave the party now that Mofaz is the skipper.

Yedioth Ahronoth, however, cites sources in Kadima saying that because of overwhelming opposition against her, Livni is considering abandoning the party, or maybe politics altogether.

Sima Kadmon writes in Yedioth Ahronoth that Livni has no will or intent to serve Mofaz: “She doesn’t believe in him, she doesn’t respect him.” If she cannot lead, she will resign, Kadmon writes, calling this election result the harbinger of “the end of the Livni era.”

Livni’s loss, however, is Labor and Lapid’s gain. Kadima voters who support her and scorn Mofaz will likely vote for those alternatives in the next national elections, Kadmon writes.

Livni herself did not comment prior to the primaries on her intentions should she lose, nor has she made any statements to that effect now that she has.

Haaretz, surprisingly, offered no commentary about the changing of the guard at Kadima.

The inferno tragedy

Disaster struck a family in Rehovot when a fire broke out in their home, killing all five children and their father who tried to rescue them. The sole survivor, Avivit Shire, is now a widowed and childless woman. The headlines in Israel Hayom and Yedioth Ahronoth summed up her horrible fate: “Alone.”

Her family was laid to rest on Tuesday, their parallel graves like gaping wounds on Israel’s front pages. Hundreds attended the funeral in Rehovot, but that was of little solace to the grieving woman. “I have no husband, I have no children,” she said. “I have nothing worth living for.”

Maariv reports that the police believe the fire was started by a mobile phone charger that overheated. Old mattresses ignited, filling the room with smoke which suffocated the children within minutes. The parents, who were next door visiting the grandparents, heard a cry and saw the smoke. The father, Guy Shire, 38, rushed into the house to try to save his children but was overcome.

Avivit’s tragedy is eerily reminiscent of Eva Sandler, the widowed, childless mother of the Toulouse shooting victims. Sandler consoled Shire on the radio, Yedioth Ahronoth reports, hoping that “God will lend her a hand.”

Battle of authors

Haaretz reports that the Jerusalem District Court ruled on Tuesday that Israeli author Naomi Ragen must pay Sarah Shapiro NIS 233,000 — including NIS 40,000 in damages —  for plagiarizing the latter’s work. After four and a half years of legal battles, the court found that Ragen knowingly copied portions of Shapiro’s “Growing With My Children: A Jewish Mother’s Diary” and published them her novel “Sotah.”

Shapiro’s lawyer remarked that “this is a significant achievement which will encourage writers and artists to protect their copyright.”

Ragen will appeal the court’s decision, and she told Haaretz that the small amount of damages she must pay Shapiro proves that the Supreme Court will rule in her favor. “Instead of a million shekels she’s getting NIS 40,000, which we will get back when we take it to the Supreme Court,” she said, and called the whole affair “a scandal.”

“I wanted to be judged by someone who had read my book, but this judge didn’t read it,” Israel Hayom quotes her saying.