Roasted Turkey and an MK no longer in the gravy

Is anybody surprised that two Knesset backbenchers might be scumbags? Is anybody shocked that Russian planes flying sorties over Syria tangled with another country, possibly paving the way to World War III?

Perhaps the only thing that’s astonishing is that it took this long for it all to happen.

Yet despite the fact that you could see all three stories coming from a mile away — MK Yinon Magal accused of hitting on underlings and then some, MK Oren Hazan accused of mocking a handicapped MK and Turkey downing a Russian plane – they are all front and center in Israeli press coverage Wednesday morning.

Though the Knesset members’ dirty deeds have local currency, Turkey gobbles up prime front page real estate over its shooting down of a Russian fighter near the border with Syria in two of three main papers.

Israeli ally US may have sided with NATO ally Turkey, but Israel Hayom seems to say my friend’s friend is not my friend, calling the incident “A Turkish slap at Russia.”

The headline writes a check that the paper’s reporters and commentators can’t cash, though, as they simply note the competing claims, bemoaning the heightened confusion in Syria and saying it was the last thing the world needed right now. In a sign that the tryptophan make have kicked in early, the histrionics usually running rampant over stories like these are replaced by a generally sober and realistic view of how things will likely play out.

“The incident yesterday was extremely serious, but if you compare it to the Cold War, then there were also incidents, including the shooting down of planes on both sides. Putin’s Moscow doesn’t want to escalate the situation against Turkey, since it will just complicate its own war to prop up Assad, and the target of NATO is Islamic State and not Russia. Thus, the Turkish initiative to push Russia away likely won’t succeed.”

In Haaretz, though, Zvi Bar’el warns that Turkey, which has been poking the bear for several months, just gave it a full-on shove, and is about to get stuffed, or carved, or whatever Thanksgiving pun you want.

“It seems to me that [that Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan was lying in wait for an opportunity to show leadership. I have no doubt that Turkey will pay the price for it,” Bar’el quotes a Turkish source saying.

However, Bar’el adds that it’s unlikely Russian President Vladimir Putin will take it too far, seeing as he relies on Ankara for too much.
“The question now is whether Moscow will make do with economic punishments – which, incidentally, hurt Russia as well, since it uses Turkey to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over its meddling in Ukraine – or whether it will also take other steps. On Tuesday, for instance, it announced an end to military coordination with Turkey,” he writes. “Russia’s problem is that it needs Turkey not just economically, but also diplomatically, to implement its plan for ending Syria’s civil war. Turkey has significant influence over the rebel militias, since it gives them economic and logistical support. Thus if Turkey opposes Russia’s plan, diplomatic efforts to end the war are likely to fail.”

Death to smoocher

Yedioth, which is alone in placing the twin MK scandals front and center, does so with gusto, plastering word “embarrassment” across its front page, with pictures of both Magal and Hazan.

Most of the coverage is focused on Magal, who wasn’t just classless but possibly criminal in grabbing girls’ asses and trying to smooch them, on top of other debauchery.

While the story broke open with the Facebook posts of two former colleagues at news site Walla, the paper goes a step further and collects a number of quotes from former underlings who worked with Magal when he was editor there, and the word “flirt” comes up a lot, with some indicating that the sleaziness crossed the line into harassment, making him out to be closer to Ted Bundy than Al Bundy.

“He would flirt and that was well known,” one former worker tells the paper. “That was the atmosphere all the time. Harassment, flirting, there were shameful looks and unfitting words. Everyone knew about it and talked about it.”

Another former worker says at his goodbye party he gave her “a really tight hug, said ‘what a hottie’ and something along the lines of ‘now I’m not your boss, so…’”

Commentator Sima Kadmon writes that the only possible outcome is for his head to roll like an unpardoned butterball.

“His political career ended with the first word typed out by [Racheli] Rottner on Facebook. By the law, he does not have to quit. He can stay a Knesset member until the next elections. But it seems to me he would do a big favor to himself, his family, and those who brought him into politics if he announces his resignation,” she says.

In Israel Hayom, Aviad Hacohen notes that the line between joking around and harassing is so thin, it’s probably best to not go near it with a 10-foot selfie stick.

“What seems like a joke to the speaker could be heard by the listener – and often listeners — as hurtful, shameful and degrading. That’s why there’s the adage ‘wise men, be careful what you say.’ Any place where’s a doubt – there’s no doubt, and it’s best to keep from saying anything,” he writes. “Nobody has ever been prosecuted for something he didn’t say.”