Hebrew media review

The lioness, the minister and the wardrobe model

Heroism on the part of a Ra’anana woman wins the front page, and a politician and model in trouble round out the news

Joshua Davidovich is The Times of Israel's Deputy Editor

Police officers stand over Mahmoud Faisal Bisharat, a Palestinian who entered Israel illegally and stabbed three people in Ra'anana on December 19, 2015. (Screen capture: Facebook)
Police officers stand over Mahmoud Faisal Bisharat, a Palestinian who entered Israel illegally and stabbed three people in Ra'anana on December 19, 2015. (Screen capture: Facebook)

Sometimes there’s a quote that manages to sum up a story so well that editors at more than one paper immediately see it and say “Yes, slap that across our front page. That’s the story, right there; tells it way better than we can in our own words.”

The morning after a terrifying string of stabbing attacks in the placid bedroom community of Ra’anana, that quote was apparently “He stabbed me,” which makes its way to the front pages of both tabloids Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom, albeit in slightly different versions.

“He stabbed me in the kitchen, I yelled and shoved him,” read the front page of Israel Hayom, quoting Dikla Dvir, whom it crowns as “Heroine of the day.”

Who even knew there was such a title.

She comes off even fiercer in Yedioth, where she’s quoted as saying, “The terrorist stabbed me. I shoved him outside. I protected my children like a lioness.”

A lion – effing — ess.

Perhaps Dvir should be hired to protect the women who work with Interior Minister Silvan Shalom, who, according to reports in all three papers, is in a heap of trouble over accusations he sexually harassed a number of women who worked under him.

“He told me how the moment he saw me he fell in love, how I always did that. I laughed politely and got up to leave. Shalom walked me to the door and right before I left kissed me on the lips and tried to use his tongue,” one complainant is quoted saying in Yedioth Ahronoth.

Haaretz reports that the police are expected to recommend the attorney general open a criminal probe against Slippery Silvan, which Yehuda Weinstein is likely to do after a much-hyped meeting Sunday evening, even though Shalom is quoted denying all allegations.

Though allegations have surrounded Shalom for years, they have mostly met a brick wall over his accusers’ unwillingness to go to the police. Haaretz’s Yaniv Kubovich, writing as a commentator, calls on new police chief Roni Alsheich to break his silence over the matter (apparently unaware that the police weighing in on a yet-to-begin investigation publicly could throw that whole investigation into jeopardy.)

“The many accounts flowing into the press leave no choice. Since as of today none of the women have found the strength to file an official complaint against the minister, Alsheich needs to stand in front of the cameras and send them a clear message that they need to come forward, and they have backing,” he writes.

In Israel Hayom, Dan Margalit writes that commentators are already saying that Shalom should abandon all hope of escaping the affair with any political life left, but says that’s not even the biggest battle facing the possibly soon to be former minister. It’s putting a muzzle on his wife.

“His wife Judy Shalom Nir Mozes is fighting like a lioness to defend him… But even with the understanding due her situation, an ear needs to be lent to [Meretz head] Zehava Galon’s allegation that there is a threatening tone in her pronouncements regarding the women accusing her husband. That is liable to muddy the investigation,” he writes.

(Update: The allegations against Shalom were not substantiated and the investigation was subsequently closed.)

But what’s a sexual harassment scandal at the highest echelons of power when Israel’s most own Bar Refaeli may soon find herself behind bars over some naughty tax evasion.

In Yedioth Ahronoth, Ra’anan Shaked wonders why Refaeli, one of the most recognizable faces in Israel, would leave herself open to such a silly offense.

“Refaeli of all people – who goes around with butter on her head in the glare of thousands of cameras – should have expected this, and acted accordingly,” he writes, employing a Danish proverb that approximates to girls without underwear shouldn’t climb trees, or work in Silvan Shalom’s office. “To represent herself, to be an example. Or in another word: to model. Because we see you. All the time. Every day, in every corner. Even when you think we’re not. And everything does not go. Certainly not on those heels.”

Not only is Refaeli being watched, but so is the army, as the debate over Breaking the Silence continues its slog through the press.

Right-leaning Israel Hayom reports that 600 officers are against the veterans group, which has found itself at the center of a rumpus over its place in Israeli society.

Columnist Haim Shine has no qualms about where he stands, writing that Israel has lost its way its giving any backing to the group.

“When the president is prepared to appear on the same stage with representatives of the group and Amiram Levin – a hero of Israel for a different era – gives them backing, it’s a clear sign that Israeli society is going down a deep hole. IDF fighters, who stand guard in a difficult fight against a terrible enemy, are forced to fear informers and arrests in Europe, and even spokespeople for NGOs are turning into heroes in the eyes of the media, leftist politicians and with a wide swath of Israel haters.”

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