Editoriais de terça, 9 de maio *

Haaretz comments: "In recent years, politicians have often spoken with understanding about the children of foreign workers who grow up in our midst. But when it comes to formulating policy, they display an inexplicable pettiness. There is no disputing the fact that the State of Israel should formulate an immigration policy that suits its needs, rather than open its gates to all. Employment agencies and farmers should not be entrusted with the task of determining the number of foreign workers allowed into the country. There should be tight controls on the number entering the country. A more restrictive policy should only be implemented on future arrivals; anyone who has already entered the country and settled here should be entitled to remain."

The Jerusalem Post writes: "So far, the core opponents of unilateral withdrawal have concentrated on raising the physical, political, and emotional price of carrying out this policy. This strategy has failed so far, and is unlikely to succeed in the future - while at the same time maximizing the rift between the state and what was formerly among its most patriotic sectors. An alternative strategy would be to hold Olmert to the two related conditions that he has rightly set: that disengagement deliver a concrete shift of the diplomatic landscape in Israel's favor and that it be done by consensus and persuasion rather than force. There is some possibility that the people of Israel will understand and even sympathize with a conditional opposition to "convergence," as Olmert has dubbed his plan."

Hatzofeh comments on the recent evacuation of Beit Shapira in Hebron and says that the debate over Beit Shapira "was accompanied by hatred for the Jewish residents of the City of the Patriarchs." The editors assert that, "The one-sided position that the government is taking in the confrontation with the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria does not attest to a policy designed to promote Israeli unity and love of the people and Land of Israel; one can only regret this."

Yediot Aharonot suggests that the war of accusations between State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss and Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander "is symptomatic of two ills plaguing the Israeli public: a lack of leadership and citizens' sense of weakness."