Recycling doesn’t pay

Sara Netanyahu’s recycling habits are the story that unifies all three front pages on Sunday’s Hebrew papers. But as with any political scandal, the story has snowballed and a new dimension has been added: the possible political cover-up.

Haaretz gives the scandal top billing, accusing Netanyahu and the state comptroller, Yosef Shapira, of being in cahoots. Shapira denied that he made an agreement with Netanyahu’s lawyer to delay releasing the report, which was prepared in August, until after the March elections. Shapira’s report will be given to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who will then decide whether to open an investigation into the affair or not.

Israel Hayom offers a different narrative to the whole affair, saying that the money never even got to Sara. Victor Sarga, the former driver for Sara Netanyahu, said that she never touched the money, but it was he who was in charge of the returning the bottles and handled the money. The money, he said, was used as the petty cash fund for the Netanyahu household and its employees.

Yedioth Ahronoth gives another angle to its coverage of what it calls “The bottle storm.” It quotes Tzipi Livni who attacked not the recycling of bottles, but the spending of 100,000 shekels (about $25,000) over two years on alcohol. “That’s 4,200 shekels (about $1,065) a month of public funds spent on alcohol, which is the same as one month’s salary for one million Israeli workers,” she said. Netanyahu’s office responded to Livni’s attack, saying that actually the sum was much less and that often the Netanyahus split the cost of hosting events.

Will anyone listen?

The controversy surrounding Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to a joint session of Congress refuses to calm down. After the papers went back and forth deciding if it was appropriate for Netanyahu to speak, now it seems not everyone will be listening to the speech.

Haaretz reports that the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said that Democrats may not attend the speech. While not saying that Democrats would outright boycott the speech, she seemed to leave the possibility open by responding, “I don’t know,” when asked if Democrats would attend. Pelosi also said that if Netanyahu wanted to discuss Iran, he has many opportunities to do so and doesn’t need to address a joint session of Congress.

One of the controversies around the speech is that it would affect the Israeli elections just two weeks after Netanyahu’s speech. But Israel Hayom’s top story is how left-wing groups are organizing with one goal, “Replace Netanyahu.” It takes aim at the V15 group, which hired an official from Obama’s 2012 campaign and is campaigning for a change of government. Why should people worry about this group? Israel Hayom writes, “This isn’t just some left-wing activists who founded a Facebook page and create viral campaigns that spread on social media. This is an organization with headquarters, with dozens of people on salary, hundreds of volunteers and a total estimated cost of tens of millions of dollars.” The Likud doesn’t think the group is kosher and has filed a complaint with the elections commission to bar the group, but no decision has been announced yet.

Working together

There has been a lot of political bickering over the past weeks between the US and Israel, but a new report on the 2008 assassination of Hezbollah terrorist mastermind Imad Mughniyeh shows that when it counts, the two are best friends.

Yedioth reports on the Washington Post article which reveals more details about the assassination that had previously been known. The attack was previously thought to be the work of the Mossad, but the article alleges that it was actually a joint CIA-Mossad operation. The article headline highlights the cooperation, “The CIA reported: Mughniyeh is approaching the car; in Tel Aviv they pressed the button.” The CIA had agents on the ground trailing Mughniyeh, and the bomb used to kill him was developed and tested in the United States. However, when it came time to push the button, Israel had the final say.

Israel Hayom columnist Yoav Limor writes that the operation that was once thought to be “Blue and white is now Stars and Stripes and blue and white.” The operation shows that the two countries not only have close ties but also undertake extensive, complex operations together. He also discounts that the report was released to help repair relations frayed over the Netanyahu speech: “this is unlikely, since work on a story like this would have begun long ago.” He also says the report embarrasses America, as now Hezbollah knows that it took part in it, making Americans targets.

Over in Haaretz, columnist Amos Harel writes about the current situation with Hezbollah and that now is the time for speeches, not action. Harel reinforces the idea that, for now, there won’t be any other open conflict between the two groups. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke on Friday saying that they had avenged their fallen comrades who were killed in the Syrian Golan Heights in a strike attributed to Israel. Nasrallah illustrated his point by comparing the two strikes: two vehicles were hit, both using missiles, and at the same time of day.

Harel draws two conclusions from the speech, the first being that in Nasrallah’s mind, Lebanon and Syria are now one front. The other is that Syria, Hezbollah, and Iran are united. Hezbollah didn’t try to hide the fact that an Iranian general was with its forces, and the presence of an Iranian delegation at the speech also signifies that Iran agrees that Hezbollah’s response is adequate as well.