BBC Monitoring Quotes from Israel's Hebrew Press 31 Oct 06.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials published in 31 Oct editions of Hebrew-language Israeli newspapers available to BBCM.

Avigdor Liberman

Ha'aretz [left-of-centre, independent]

An important point escaped the stormy public discussion surrounding Avigdor Liberman's joining the government: the step's significance for over one million Israelis from the former Soviet Union. We are not talking just about the implications for the Russian-speaking electorate of adding the Yisrael Beytenu chairman to the government. The step also has a profound influence on the entire community, and therefore, on all of society, not only due to the legitimacy granted to the party's racist agenda, but also to the symbolic significance of the position its leader will hold. This is …