Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV5426
2005-09-06 11:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

061101Z Sep 05
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 005426 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD

WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
NSC FOR NEA STAFF

SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA
HQ USAF FOR XOXX
DA WASHDC FOR SASA
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019

JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION


--------------------------------
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
--------------------------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 005426

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD

WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
NSC FOR NEA STAFF

SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA
HQ USAF FOR XOXX
DA WASHDC FOR SASA
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019

JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION


--------------
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
--------------


1. Hurricane Katrina


2. U.S.-Israel Relations


3. Syrian-Lebanese Track


4. Israeli Arabs

--------------
Key stories in the media:
--------------

Ha'aretz notes that the international community is
putting pressure on Israel to allow the Palestinians
freedom of movement between Gaza and Egypt via the
Rafah crossing. The newspaper quoted a senior
diplomatic official as saying that no one in the world
will recognize Israel's withdrawal from Gaza without a
solution for Rafah, and that the problem should be
solved before PM Sharon leaves for the UN General
Assembly, if he wants an enthusiastic welcome there.

During the weekend, all media prominently featured the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Leading media reported
that Israel is sending 80 tons of humanitarian aid to
the disaster victims. On Monday, Yediot reported that
a delegation of Defense Ministry and Health Ministry
staff was leaving that evening for the U.S., in order
to coordinate with the U.S. administration the Israeli
aid for victims of the hurricane. Yediot reported that
top U.S. administration officials have asked Israeli
Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon for tents,
blankets, pillows, food, beds and medical equipment.
Yediot writes that the Americans also need generators,
plastic sheeting, wheel chairs, bedding, K-rations,
first aid kits, cleaning materials, shaving kits,
pillows and water containers. Various organizations
have called on Israelis to donate funds. Yediot
reported that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has
instructed the IDF to prepare for the dispatching of a
large military delegation comprising Home Front
personnel, divers, psychologists, public health
specialists, and victim identification specialists.
The newspaper reported that some American sources favor
such help, but that others are opposed. On Sunday,
Jerusalem Post reported that Tel Aviv University's
school of medicine is offering slots to medical

students unable to attend classes at Tulane University
in New Orleans. Leading media reported that an
Israeli man and an AmCit of Israeli origin are missing.

Ha'aretz reported that GOI and security sources denied
reports that appeared on Monday, according to which
3,000 new housing units were to be built in the West
Bank town of Ariel. The sources said that last month,
Mofaz approved the marketing of only 117 new units.
Education Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) was quoted as
saying in interviews with various media that Israel has
paid a hefty tribute during the disengagement and that
Israel should build the E-1 area between Jerusalem and
Ma'aleh Adumim even at the cost of as confrontation
with the U.S. Ha'aretz cited a portion of the State
Comptroller's annual report that says that the
authorities turn a blind eye to land grabs in the
territories.

Maariv reported that the Israeli Embassy in Washington
has asked the GOI not to remove its assistance request
from the U.S. from the agenda, despite the heavy cost
of Hurricane Katrina to the USG. Maariv cited an
Israeli Embassy estimate that disengagement-related
U.S. aid to Israel will amount to hundreds of thousands
of dollars over two years.

Jerusalem Post quoted diplomatic officials as saying
that a trilateral meeting headed by Quartet envoy James
Wolfensohn to deal with the Rafah crossing issue that
was scheduled for Monday was postponed because of
"scheduling problems" and will be held before the end
of the week. The meeting was to include Mofaz,
Wolfensohn and a PA minister. Leading media reported
that on Monday, for the first time, Palestinian
officers visited Gush Katif areas that were evacuated.

On Sunday, leading media reported that PA Chairman
[President] Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday called to resume
the peace talks with Israel immediately after the IDF
completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and that
he hoped that a Palestinian state would be established
by next year.

All media quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying Monday that
it is "quite likely" that President Hosni Mubarak will
come to Israel in November for ceremonies to mark the
10th anniversary of former prime minister Yitzhak
Rabin's assassination. Israel Radio cited an official
Egyptian denial of the report. Leading media reported
that Jordan's King Abdullah II canceled his visit to
Israel and he will meet Sharon only at the UN General
Assembly next week in New York. On Sunday, various
media cited a statement by the Pakistani Foreign
Ministry that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will
not meet with Sharon when the two are in New York later
this month. The media cited the possibility of Sharon
meeting Abbas during or after the UN General Assembly
convention.

Ha'aretz cited an official announcement by the Foreign
Ministry of the United Arab Emirates denying reports
that Israel has diplomatic envoys in Dubai, saying they
are "false rumors." Leading media reported that Israel
is continuing to reap diplomatic benefits in the Arab
and Muslim worlds from the Gaza pullout. Hatzofe
reported that two senior Foreign Ministry officials
have recently made a secret visit to Morocco to explore
the possibility of renewing relations with that
country.

During the weekend, leading media quoted Hizbullah
leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah as saying on Friday that
he would consider disarming his organization in return
for certain international, but not American,
assurances.

Citing AP, Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday that a
U.S. district judge in New York upheld three lawsuits
Friday accusing the Jordan-based Arab Bank of promoting
Palestinian suicide attacks by funneling Saudi money to
bombers' families.

On Sunday, Jerusalem Post cited the U.S. Congressional
Research Service's annual report, according to which
Egypt has become the largest buyer of weapons in the
Middle East over the last four years.

All media reported that President Bush has nominated
John Roberts to be chief justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court.

Ha'aretz reported that Israel, the EU, and the European
Space Agency will sign an agreement today allowing
Israel to join the European alliance's Galileo space
program.
Ha'aretz published the results of a Dialogue Institute
survey conducted Sunday and Monday among Likud party
members, which shows that support for MK Binyamin
Netanyahu in the party is lessening:
-"If party primaries were held tomorrow, whom would you
vote for as party chair?" Sharon: 36 percent;
Netanyahu: 24 percent; "chief rebel" Knesset Member Uzi
Landau: 19 percent; and Moshe Feiglin (far-Right Likud
faction): 8 percent.

--------------

1. Hurricane Katrina:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
"In the painful weeks ahead for the American people and
its leadership, Israel should concentrate on offering
its finest in the search and rescue field and providing
disaster assistance for the refugees."

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "This is ... an opportunity [for
Israelis] to skip over the administration in Washington
-- to connect for the first time, with the people,
without mediation, without politicians."

Novelist and contributor Yitzhak Laor wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The vision of
Robinson Crusoe has been reborn: a society in which no
one is responsible for anyone else.... What about the
poor? Let them die."

Veteran columnist Yaron London wrote in mass-
circulation Yediot Aharonot: "America is determined to
spread democracy, but it denies life, as simply as
that. Perhaps now its eyes will open."

Block Quotes:
--------------


I. "Helping America"

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized
(September 6): "[Global financial] burdens do not
diminish the American interest in showing support for
Israel, including in the form of military and economic
assistance. Such support remains integral to advancing
American values and strategy, all the more so in the
context of the global struggle against militant
Islamism and the extraordinary risks and sacrifices
Israel has just taken for peace. In the longer term,
U.S. assistance for Israel is still in America's
interest. But in the painful weeks ahead for the
American people and its leadership, Israel should
concentrate on offering its finest in the search and
rescue field and providing disaster assistance for the
refugees. Even superpowers, especially this
superpower, deserve a helping hand in their hour of
need."

II. "Friends in Time of Need"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv (September 4): "For over 30 years, the
U.S. has been the primary, often vital, support for our
existence here.... Now, the American taxpayer needs us.
True, the help we can offer is insignificant. The aid
we can offer is symbolic. The Americans must see and
realize that people in Israel are attentive to them,
and that their souls reach out to them in their
distress. We must open our hearts, our pockets, and
our souls. This is the time and this is the test of
whether we can prove that beyond disputes, arguments,
and outposts, there is an eternal covenant, a covenant
of blood between the Americans and us. This is also an
opportunity to skip over the administration in
Washington -- to connect for the first time, with the
people, without mediation, without politicians. Heart
to heart, people to people, because friends are
measured in times of distress, and the distress is
here."

III. "No Noah's Ark in New Orleans"

Veteran columnist Yaron London wrote in mass-
circulation Yediot Aharonot (September 4): "The
disaster in the southern states of the U.S.
reverberates not only because it is the most terrible
of natural disasters to occur in recent years, but
because it is taking place in the most developed county
in the world.... Few doubts remain as to the link
between the caprices of nature and the effect of
greenhouse gases. America is the main reason that we
do not do enough to curb their emission into the
atmosphere. Its citizens, who number no more than 3
percent of the world's population, consume a fifth of
the energy used by humanity and are unwilling to
curtail their greed. America is determined to spread
democracy, but it denies life, as simply as that.
Perhaps now its eyes will open."

IV. "Let the Poor Die"

Novelist and contributor Yitzhak Laor wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (September 6): "Ever
since Ronald Reagan became president of the United
States, politics in the West has been flourishing under
the motto attributed to former British prime minister
Margaret Thatcher: there is no society, there are only
individuals.... From within all this, the vision of
Robinson Crusoe has been reborn: a society in which no
one is responsible for anyone else. In the South, where
the struggles for riding on 'integrated buses' marked
the beginning of the struggle for equality in the U.S.,
the world has discovered that there are no buses, there
are no trains, and there are no public services. The
state mechanism, which had been the greatest democratic
achievement of all -- not the army, but rather the
public services -- was depicted in all the temples of
the new religion as one of the attributes of the Devil,
who must be overcome. What about the poor? Let them
die."

--------------

2. U.S.-Israel Relations:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "The shadows are spreading, even
though 'never was our relationship with the U.S. so
good.'"

Block Quotes:
--------------

"Truly a Wonderful Relationship?"

Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv (September 6): "In the same way that
the universe as seen from the telescopes of space
researchers is always expanding, so Israeli governments
throughout the generations describe the relationship
with the U.S. as constantly improving.... It is
therefore only natural that the Prime Minister and his
close team highlight [Sharon's] achievement, which is
real, but sweep the difficulties under the rug....
After disengagement, an American trend is evident of
preferring the chances of Abu Mazen's political
survival to any other political issue. Sharon and
Shaul Mofaz and Dov Weisglass know this, but when an
election year starts, no government wants to hear such
discordant notes, and certainly not inform the public.
If we are indeed a 'mature' people ... then there is a
democratic obligation to provide the public with a
variety of information on the most important and
delicate relationship with the U.S., including any
warning signals. There are still good reasons to adopt
the government's assessment that the relationship that
it has developed with Bush and his administration is a
considerable achievement, but the jubilation over them
for election needs is out of place. The shadows are
spreading, even though 'never was our relationship with
the U.S. so good.'"

--------------

3. Syrian-Lebanese Track:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"Developments in Lebanon and Syria ... could bode well
for the Syrian and Lebanese peoples, as well as for
their southern neighbor. Israel must refrain from any
involvement that would prevent this scenario from being
realized."

Block Quotes:
--------------

"Movement in Syria and Lebanon"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized
(September 5): "Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan
Nasrallah delivered a surprise this weekend when he
declared that his organization would agree to disarm if
it received guarantees of security in Lebanon from an
international party (other than the United States).
Although it conditioned its disarmament on the end of
Israel's occupation of 'Lebanese territory,' that is,
the Sheba Farms, this is the first time that Nasrallah
has made such a declaration. This declaration is
obviously very interesting to Israel, even though it
was not meant primarily for Israel's ears: Hizbullah is
one of the main focuses of the struggle now taking
place in Lebanon.... [Other] developments in Lebanon
and Syria -- the progress in the investigation of
Hariri's murder and the increasing international
pressure on Assad -- could bode well for the Syrian and
Lebanese peoples, as well as for their southern
neighbor. Israel must refrain from any involvement
that would prevent this scenario from being realized."





--------------

4. Israeli Arabs:
--------------

Summary:
--------------

Editor-in-Chief Lutfi Mashour wrote in independent,
moderate Arabic-language Assennara: " What is left for
[the government] to say is that being an Arab you can't
be a victim."

Block Quotes:
--------------

"Killing Them All Over Again"

Editor-in-Chief Lutfi Mashour wrote in independent,
moderate Arabic-language Assennara (September 2): "The
decision [of the interministerial committee headed by a
Defense Ministry official] not to consider the victims
of the Shfaram [terrorist attack] as victims of terror
[under the Victims of Enemy Action Law] is like killing
them all over again. This is a grave assault to our
dignity and legitimacy.... Is the Jew immunized and
infallible from terror? What is left for [the
government] to say is that being an Arab you can't be a
victim.... However, the truth should be told: the Prime
Minister's Office has asked Attorney General Mazuz to
reexamine the committee's decision, which is a good
move that we hope will succeed.... However as I said
before, we can never forget and accept such a hideous
decision and attitude."

KURTZER