Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV1178
2006-03-24 11:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TEL AVIV 001178 

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 10 TEL AVIV 001178

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. Mideast


2. US-Israel Relations

--------------
Election polls:
--------------

A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll held this
week:
-"Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom
would you vote?" (Results in Knesset seats -- in
brackets, results of last week's poll.)
-Kadima 36 (39); Labor Party 21 (19); Likud 14 (15);
Shas 11 (11); Yisrael Beiteinu 11 (10); National Union-
National Religious Party 9 (8); Arab parties 7 (8);
Meretz 6 (4); United Torah Judaism 5 (6).
-Yediot says that 35 percent of the public do not
intend to cast their votes.

Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling
Institute survey:
-"Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom
would you vote?" (Results in Knesset seats -- in
brackets, results of last week's poll.)
--Kadima 37 (39); Labor Party 21 (20); Likud 14 (15);
National Union-National Religious Party 11 (8-9);
Yisrael Beiteinu 10 (8); Shas 9 (9-10); Arab parties 7-
9 (9); United Torah Judaism 5 (5); Meretz 5 (6).

The Jerusalem Post published the results of a Smith
Institute poll conducted for the newspaper:
-"Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom
would you vote?" (Results in Knesset seats -- in
brackets, results of last week's poll.)
-Kadima 34 (36-37); Labor Party 19-20 (18-19); Likud 15
(15); Shas 11 (9-10); Yisrael Beiteinu 10-11 (9-10);
National Union-National Religious Party 10 (9-10); Arab
parties 9 (9-10); United Torah Judaism 5-6 (5-6);
Meretz 5 (5);

Hatzofe printed the results (in Knesset seats) of a
poll conducted for the newspaper by Prof. Yitzhak
Katz's Maagar Mohot Institute:
-Kadima 34; Labor Party 20 ; Likud 15; Shas 8; Yisrael
Beiteinu 1; National Union-National Religious Party 7;
Meretz 6-7; Pensioners' Party 2.;

Maariv reported that an internal Likud poll conducted
among 450,000 "historical" Likud members registered
since 1992 found that most of them will vote for
Kadima, Shas, and various right-wing parties in

Tuesday's elections.

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

The Jerusalem Post reported that next Wednesday, Deputy
US National Security Advisor Elliott and Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch

SIPDIS
are scheduled to arrive in the region for three days of
talks in Israel and the PA. The Jerusalem Post quoted
US diplomatic officials as saying that now that the
elections were coming to a close, the visibility of the
US diplomatic role would increase. The Jerusalem Post
reported that James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's special
Middle East envoy, is scheduled to arrive Monday for
three days of meetings.

The Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday, the
Defense Ministry met with a team of US defense
officials for a round of strategic talks based on a
memorandum of understanding signed between Israel and
the US in 1987. The newspaper wrote that the talks
take place once a year and focus on cooperation in arms
development and production.

All media (leading stories in Yediot and Ha'aretz)
quoted Acting PM Ehud Olmert as saying on Thursday that
FM Tzipi Livni will become deputy prime minister should
Kadima win next week's elections. Olmert was also
quoted as saying that Livni could retain the foreign
ministry portfolio should she want to do so. Speaking
on Israel Radio this morning, a senior Kadima member
said that Shimon Peres would play an important role in
the government's foreign policy if Kadima won the
elections.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Likud Chairman MK Binyamin
Netanyahu as saying Thursday at a campaign rally that
the Right could still win enough support to prevent
Olmert from forming a coalition. His remarks came
after Olmert limited Kadima's prospective coalition
partners to parties that accept his plan to withdraw
unilaterally from most of the West Bank. However,
Minister-without-Portfolio Tzachi Hanegbi, who is
considered Kadima's most rightwing candidate, was
quoted as saying in an interview with The Jerusalem
Post that even the Likud would end up joining a
government led by Olmert, and that he did not think
Olmert had veered from the path that PM Sharon had
intended to follow. Maariv quoted Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,
the Shas party's spiritual mentor, as saying that
Israelis voting for Kadima will "go to hell." The
newspaper cited a response from Kadima that Rabbi
Yosef's remarks will cause Shinui voters to move to
Kadima. Israel Radio cited a denial by Yosef
associates.

PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as
saying Wednesday in an interview with Ha'aretz that a
peace deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas was quoted as saying that he had proposed to the
US to open covert negotiations for a final status
settlement. The talks would be spearheaded by
President George Bush, after the new Israeli government
is set up. Abbas was quoted as saying that he had also
raised the idea at a meeting with Shimon Peres (Kadima)
two weeks ago in Jordan. However, Ha'aretz quoted a
senior Palestinian source as saying that Bush had not
responded to Abbas's suggestion to pressure the new
Israeli government to abandon its unilateral policy and
resume the peace process. Abbas was quoted as saying
that the Hamas government would not stop him from
negotiating with Israel and that if both sides reached
an agreement, he would be the one to sign it and if
necessary, would even put it to a referendum. He was
quoted as saying that he would act to moderate Hamas
and that at least one Hamas minister told him he would
be ready to talk to Israel on ministerial issues.
Abbas reportedly said he feared Israel was not
interested in negotiations and was avoiding them under
the pretext of having no Palestinian partner.
Addressing the Israeli voter Abbas reportedly said,
"These are historic times. I can assure you that you
have a peace partner. Perhaps this is the last chance
to give both our nations the right to live safely. The
future generations would not forgive us if we pass it
up."
The Jerusalem Post reported that FM Livni phoned Paul
Wolfowitz, Wolfensohn's successor as president of the
World Bank, and asked for the bank's involvement in
encouraging poultry growers in Gaza to immediately
destroy their infected fowl. The newspaper said that
Livni's call came amid growing Israeli concern that
without international intervention -- both in
compensating the farmers and physically helping them
destroy the poultry -- the necessary steps to stop the
spread of bird flu would not be taken. Israel Radio
cited suspicions raised by Agriculture Minister Zeev
Boim that cases of bird flu broke out in the PA several
weeks ago, but that the PA pretended that those were
occurrence of Newcastle disease. Yediot cited the
concern of the Agriculture Ministry that if the
Palestinians do not destroy enough fowl, the virus
could break out again in Israel. Israel Radio reported
on full Israel-PA cooperation on the matter of bird flu
at this time. The radio reported that bird flu has
reached Jordan. Israel Radio reported that FM Livni
asked UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to help eradicate
bird flu in the PA.

Ha'aretz reported that the regime of restrictions on
movement imposed by Israel on the Palestinians has
divided the West Bank into dozens of closed or
partially closed enclaves isolated from each other
despite their geographical proximity. The newspaper
wrote that permanent and mobile checkpoints, along with
physical barriers of various kinds, fenced-off main
roads, and limitations on Palestinian traffic on east-
west and north-south arteries, have cut off direct
transportation links between areas of the West Bank.
The newspaper concluded that a new geographic, social
and economic reality has emerged in the West Bank.

Israel Radio reported that two Qassam rockets were
fired at the western Negev last night. There were no
injuries or damage.

Ha'aretz reported that Harvard University has decided
to remove its logo from a study by Professor Stephen
Walt of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and
Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago
that denounces the pro-Israel lobby's impact on
American foreign policy, in order to distance itself
from the study's conclusions. Ha'aretz also wrote
that Harvard University appended a more strongly worded
disclaimer to the study, stating that it reflects the
views of its authors only. The former disclaimer said
merely that the study "does not necessarily" reflect
the university's views.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Ernst Uhrlau, President of
the German Foreign Intelligence Service, as telling an
American Jewish Committee delegation in Berlin on
Thursday: "More than ever, Israel and Europe are a
single risk area caught in the crosshairs of
international terrorism."

Yediot reported that the PA's Hamas government will be
sworn in on Monday.

Yediot cited a delegation of Jews of Libyan origin as
saying, following talks in Tripoli with Libyan cabinet
ministers, that Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi will
provide compensation to the Jews who fled Libya, and
that negotiations on the matter will begin in one
month. Yediot quoted Rami Kahlon, the President of the
Israel-based World Organization of Libyan Jews, as
saying that recent talks with Libyan officials are
meant to please Europe and the US.

Maariv reported that over the past year, Israel's
Consulate General conducted seminars with students from
Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and San Jose State
University in order to acquaint them with Israeli high-
tech's success stories.

Israel Radio cited the Israeli software security
company Check Point as saying Thursday that it will
withdraw its USD 225-million proposal to acquire
Sourcefire, a smaller US rival. The radio said that
that the USG vetoed the planned deal for reasons of
national security.

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

1. Mideast:
--------------

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

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: " Less than a
week before the elections in Israel, the US seems to
have all but forgotten about them."

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized:
"Anyone who admires the courage demonstrated by Ehud
Olmert ... should vote for Kadima, or for Labor or
Meretz, both of which support an additional
withdrawal."

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in Ha'aretz: "The mistake that was made
before the PA elections, and the criticism of
Washington [by Israeli officials], is spilled milk."

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


I. "No Great Expectations"

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (March 24):
"Less than a week before the elections in Israel, the
US seems to have all but forgotten about them. The
American media hardly mentions the Israeli democratic
process, and the issue is rarely raised in
administration briefings. The election whose results
are likely to lead to Israel making one of his most
historic decisions -- to determine its borders -- is
almost unnoticed in the capital of the free world....
The reason for the lack of interest in Washington is
the sense that these elections won't make much of a
difference. The victory of Hamas in the Palestinian
elections shut the door on any American-led Middle East
peace initiative and buried any remaining Roadmap....
Another reason for American apathy may have to do with
Israel's political leaders not making much of an
attempt to bring either US public opinion or American
Jewish donations into these elections."

II. "Yes, It Is a Referendum"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (March
24): "Binyamin Netanyahu defined the upcoming elections
as a referendum on the future of the West Bank, and
this is indeed how they should be viewed. Anyone who
wants to perpetuate Israel's control over the
Palestinian people should vote for one of the parties
on the right. Anyone who admires the courage
demonstrated by Ehud Olmert, who presented the voters
with his plan for a withdrawal from most of the West
Bank and a corresponding evacuation of settlements, and
even promised that his coalition will include only
parties that promise in writing to support the
withdrawal, should vote for Kadima, or for Labor or
Meretz, both of which support an additional
withdrawal.... Any apathy toward the elections, or any
sense of being above it all, any self-indulgence,
immature attitudes toward democracy or quests for an
unattainable political ideal, could easily lead to
victory for the right, whose voters are more vigilant -
especially when what is at stake is a government
committed to withdrawal."

III. "A Mistake Under US Duress"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in Ha'aretz (March 24): "Israel repeatedly
blames Abbas for the rise of Hamas, but Israel has a
part in it; although it wanted Fatah to return to
power, it provided the movement with only minimal
assistance. The Hamas victory has led to another
phenomenon -- harsh criticism of the US administration
on the part of senior political figures who are
speaking on condition of anonymity. And much criticism
is also coming from professional entities such as
[Israel's] intelligence services. They are speaking
angrily about capitulation in the face of the
Americans, who adopted a tone of issuing a directive.
In meetings that were held, US representatives said
that President George W. Bush's instructions were to
allow anyone who wanted to participate in democratic
elections to do so, 'and this directive will be
followed!' Now, they are saying that it's a shame that
Israel did not find the courage to reject the American
'advice.' The critics should recall that neither
Israel nor Washington uttered any criticism when Abbas
promised Hamas members to include them in the elections
under their terms, and even promised that when it came
to the issue of the refugees, he would support the
Hamas demand that they be allowed to return to their
homes and their property. The agreement to a period of
calm was a heady elixir for Israel, too.... The mistake
that was made before the PA elections, and the
criticism of Washington, is spilled milk. Now we have
to reduce the damage and examine the various
possibilities. Washington is not pleased with the Hamas
victory either, and wants to bring about a change in
the situation, in spite of the fact that it was
determined through democratic elections."

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

2. US-Israel Relations:
--------------

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

Columnist Tom Segev wrote in independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz: "One gets the impression that [American
Professors Stephen] Walt and [John] Mearsheimer attack
U.S. support for Israel because they don't like
President Bush."

Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist
Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post: "On the eve of Israel's
elections, Israelis should be deeply concerned about
the state of our relations with the United States."

Daniel Levy, the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva
Initiative, who served as a negotiator with the
Palestinians, wrote in Ha'aretz: "Defending the
occupation has done to the American pro-Israel
community what living as an occupier has done to Israel
-- muddied both its moral compass and its rational self-
interest compass."

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


I. "The Protocols of Harvard and Chicago"

Columnist Tom Segev wrote in independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz (March 24): "What begins as an attack on
Israel and its lobby, soon turns out to be part of a
domestic debate: One gets the impression that [American
Professors Stephen] Walt and [John] Mearsheimer attack
U.S. support for Israel because they don't like
President Bush. One can understand them. Apparently,
they won't be angry if the Israel lobby decides that
Bush is bad for Israel, and works against him. Nor
would they be opposed if someone were to convince the
administration to force Israel to withdraw from the
territories. They are right: Had the United States
saved Israel from itself, life today would be better.
Therefore, the authors are also correct in the most
important argument in their essay, which unfortunately
is too incidental: The Israel lobby in the US harms
Israel's true interests.... Now there is great
excitement there in America on account of this essay,
but maybe not really. Israel's influence is based on
an ancient anti-Semitic myth about the Jews who rule
the world. This is a myth that is self-fulfilling as
long as the world believes in it: If you shatter it,
you have eliminated Israel's influence. From that
point of view, Walt and Mearsheimer are doing the
Israel lobby a good service."

II. "The Jewish Threat"

Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist
Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative,
independent Jerusalem Post (March 24): "On the eve of
Israel's elections, Israelis should be deeply concerned
about the state of our relations with the United
States.... If it does nothing else, [American
Professors] Walt and Mearsheimer's screed proves the
absolute stupidity of the claim that Israeli land
giveaways and expulsions of Israelis from their homes
increase international sympathy and support for Israel.
Their article not only gives Israel no credit for
coming to the brink of civil war this summer when it
ethnically cleansed Gaza of Jews in the hopes of
appeasing international opinion, it claims that Israel
intended to bring about Hamas's electoral victory in
January in order to force the US to continue to support
it..... Finally, Walt and Mearsheimer's decision to
publish their essay points to Israel's desperate need
for a leader who understands international politics
generally and American politics specifically.... Today
there is only one Israeli leader capable of rebuilding
Israel's standing in the international community
generally and in American society particularly. We
have only one leader who is capable of bringing about a
renewed delegitimization of views like those expressed
in Walt and Mearsheimer's essay. His name is Binyamin
Netanyahu."

III. "So Pro-Israel That It Hurts"

Daniel Levy, the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva
Initiative, who served as a negotiator with the
Palestinians, wrote in Ha'aretz (March 24): "The new
John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt study of 'The Israel
Lobby [AIPAC] and US Foreign Policy' should serve as a
wake-up call, on both sides of the ocean.... Defending
the occupation has done to the American pro-Israel
community what living as an occupier has done to Israel
-- muddied both its moral compass and its rational self-
interest compass.... Avoidance of candid discussion
might make good sense to the Lobby, but it is unlikely
to either advance Israeli interests or the U.S.-Israel
relationship. Some talking points for this coming
debate can already be suggested: First, efforts to
collapse the Israeli and neoconservative agendas into
one have been a terrible mistake.... Second, Israel
would do well to distance itself from our so-called
'friends' on the Christian evangelical right.... Third,
Israel must not be party to the bullying tactics used
to silence policy debate in the US and the McCarthyite
policing of academia by set-ups like Daniel Pipes'
Campus Watch.... Fourth, the Lobby even denies Israel a
luxury that so many other countries benefit from: of
having the excuse of external encouragement to do
things that are domestically tricky but nationally
necessary.... In short, if Israel is indeed entering a
new era of national sanity and de-occupation, then the
role of the Lobby in U.S.-Israel relations will have to
be rethought, and either reformed from within or
challenged from without."

JONES