What’s in a name? 7 things to know for July 7

1. As Israel gears up to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2014 Gaza conflict, Hebrew-language newspapers on Sunday are memorializing the fallen IDF soldiers with touching tributes and personal stories.

• The Yedioth Ahronoth daily leads its paper with a report on children named after an IDF officer killed in a Hamas attack tunnel days before his wedding. Friends and family of Maj. Benaya Sarel recalled that he always wanted a family and children, so after he was killed during the fighting, a handful of Israeli couples named their children Benaya in his memory.
• On the fifth anniversary of the war Israel calls “Operation Protective Edge,” Yedioth brings the group of toddlers named Benaya together for the first time.
• “He was a hero in the war,” says 4-year-old Benaya Chai-Kimchi, whose father went to school with Sarel. “He was daddy’s friend but then he died during the war.”
• “He knows that he’s named after a brave Jewish fighter, and that it’s a huge compliment,” a parent named Meirav said. “He tells all his friends about [his name] very proudly.”

5 שנים לצוק איתן: הילדים שנקראו על שמו של בניה שראל ז"ל כבר גדלו ומתחילים להכיר את הסיפור שמאחורי שמםhttps://t.co/dqz7QPTkwn pic.twitter.com/4uyrU8VWDz

— ידיעות אחרונות (@YediotAhronot) July 7, 2019

2. Yedioth also highlights the plight of the residents of southern Israel in its war anniversary coverage. “The never-ending war,” the daily says in a 2-page spread, showcasing the anger of southern residents who accuse the government of abandoning them to the near-daily arson attacks by Gazans across the border.

3. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces increasing criticism over his handling of the Gaza violence in the wake of the 2014 war, the Israel Hayom daily on Sunday seemingly tries to mitigate some of the bad press.

• The pro-Netanyahu freebie also plays up the anniversary, putting out a special edition on Sunday to commemorate the war. Among the pages of tributes, photos and interviews with bereaved parents, Israel Hayom prominently praises the shaky ceasefire agreement struck earlier this month that aims to end the ongoing border violence and arson attacks.

4. Israel Hayom’s Yoav Limor claims the “assessment in Israel is that Hamas is acting with restraint and is deterred from another military confrontation.” Limor does not give any details about the Israeli evaluation, only claims vaguely that the unofficial Egyptian-UN brokered truce is “yielding the hoped-for results.”

• Unlike the other major media outlets, Haaretz on Sunday makes no mention of the anniversary of Protective Edge, perhaps waiting until official anniversary date on Monday to commemorate the seven-week war against Hamas.

5. As most media outlets praise the heroics of the army and IDF soldiers, Haaretz accuses Israeli government of destroying Palestinian society and actively working to cover up evidence of the 1948 expulsion of Arabs.

• The stinging editorial comes days after Haaretz published an investigation uncovering a decade-long effort by the Defense Ministry to conceal evidence of war crimes in public and private archives.
• “The goal of concealing them is to blur the evidence and strengthen the mendacious Israeli narrative that ‘the Arabs fled of their own free will, encouraged by their leaders,’ Haaretz says, calling on the government to address the country’s history. “Israel at age 71 is strong enough to address the moral failings of its past. The Nakba won’t go away,” the paper says, referring to Palestinians’ dispossession during the 1947-1949 War of Independence.

6. Haaretz on Sunday also reports that when Israel recently returned the fishing boats it confiscated from fishermen in Gaza (part of the vaunted ceasefire deal) the vessels were missing their nets and engines.

• “It’s like getting a corpse without a heart,” Nazer Ayesh, the representative of Gaza fishermen, tells Haaretz. “Without motors or nets, these boats are unusable,” he said, adding that the boats needed around $10,000 in repairs each before they could return to sea.

7. What Hebrew-language papers do have in common on Sunday is the extensive and careful coverage of the shocking case of a young daycare manager from central Israel who was filmed abusing her young charges.

• According to Yedioth, 25-year-old Carmel Mauda admitted to the abuse during questioning, telling investigators that she is a “monster” and “Satan.”
• Mauda was arrested in June, but police only last week released graphic footage of the abuse, including her tying up children, force-feeding once child his own vomit and using blankets to smother toddlers who refuse to fall asleep.
• The release of the security camera footage sparked widespread anger against Mauda and angry protesters gathered outside her home over the weekend. Early Sunday morning, Mauda’s house was set on fire. According to reports, the suspect is related to the parents of a boy who had attended the daycare.