Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV1963
2006-05-19 12:12:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

Tags:  IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 001963 

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 001963

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. Upcoming Visit of PM Olmert to Washington


2. Iran

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

In its lead story, Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday,
the US published a draft of a new international treaty
that would forbid the production of fissionable
materials for use in nuclear weapons, overriding
Israel's objections to the proposed document. The
draft, which was presented to the UN Disarmament
Commission in Geneva, aims to "freeze" existing stocks
of fissionable materials worldwide in order to keep
them from expanding. Although Washington sent messages
to Israel assuring it that it has nothing to fear from
the treaty, Jerusalem is worried by any move that might
erode its policy of nuclear ambiguity and generate
future pressure on it over its nuclear program. As a
result, Israel made a last-minute effort to persuade
the U.S. not to submit the draft for discussion.
Ha'aretz wrote that Washington has also rejected
Israel's request for an upgrade in its civilian nuclear
status. The newspaper reported that Israel was hoping
that it could cut a deal similar to the agreement the
US signed with India. However, Ha'aretz said that the
US administration asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert not
to raise this issue during his visit to Washington next
week because the issue requires thorough study by
administration professionals first.

Maariv reported that the GOI is conducting informal
talks with the Palestinians in order to reach an
understanding with PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud
Abbas bypassing Hamas. The newspaper wrote that
Justice Minister Haim Ramon and top Abbas aide Saeb
Erekat are involved in the contacts. Maariv also
reported that talks took place in Europe. Yediot
reported that Abbas, FM Tzipi Livni, and Vice PM Shimon
Peres will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday. Ha'aretz
printed an AP story quoting EU officials as saying
Thursday that the EU is hoping that the US will
persuade Israel, during Olmert's visit to Washington

next week, to resume peace talks with the Palestinians
instead of conducting a unilateral pullout from the
West Bank.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Olmert as saying this week in
a private conversation that his convergence plan will
involve the removal of fewer than 70,000 settlers, the
figure most widely quoted in the media.

Israel Radio and other media quoted Olmert as denying
in an interview with The New York Times that there was
any Palestinian "humanitarian crisis," and that he was
prepared to buy medical supplies for the Palestinians
with USD 50 million in tax revenue that Israel is
withholding. Olmert told The New York Times that
Israel "will pay if necessary out of [its] own
pockets." Yediot quoted Olmert as saying in the
interview that he thanks God for America and President
Bush every morning.

Leading media reported that an Israeli couple was
wounded last night in a probable ambush near the
northern West Bank settlement of Tapuah. Leading media
reported that the Karni crossing was closed on Thursday
due to terror warnings. Israel Radio reported that 8
Qassam rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip
Thursday and that the IDF responded with artillery
fire.

Yediot quoted Abbas as saying privately that the Hamas
government will soon collapse and that new elections
will be held in the PA in three months. Yediot quoted
Israeli defense sources as saying that the Palestinian
economy is collapsing. Some media said that a state of
civil war was already prevailing in the PA. Israel
Radio quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as
saying Thursday that she hopes that the internal
Palestinian situation will calm down and that the US
believes that Abbas should be able to exercise his
responsibilities.

Maariv reported that on Thursday, FM Livni rebuked Chen
Yonglong, the Chinese Ambassador to Israel, over
meetings between some of his aides with Hamas members
in the territories, which Livni reportedly said might
lead to the imposition of restrictions to the freedom
of movement of Chinese diplomats in Israel and possibly
to their expulsion from Israel. Other media reported
on Livni's summons.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the US-backed Iraqi
government sent an official representative to this
week's meeting of the Arab Boycott Office in Damascus,
prompting criticism from members of Congress and the
Bush administration. The Jerusalem Post reported that
Tom Casey, a spokesman for the State Department, told
the newspaper that Washington was unhappy with
Baghdad's action and was raising this issue with the
Iraqi government. The newspaper reported that
according to figures released this week by the Israel
Export Institute, there has been a 46 percent rise in
Israeli sales to Iraq (valued at USD 320,000),with 27
exporters active in that market primarily with the US
military.

Maariv reported that around two weeks ago, a
representative of former Greek-Orthodox Patriarch
Irineos rented a building in central West Jerusalem to
Tanzim member Imad Awad, an Abbas associate, and his
men. The newspaper, which said that on Wednesday, the
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court issued an order against
their presence there, quoted associates of current
Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III as saying that
Irineos, who is supported by Israel, is trying to
create links with the Palestinians and that that such
incidents are due to the fact that Israel is delaying
its recognition of Theophilos.

Leading media quoted Samir Geagea, a former head of
Christian Phalanges in Lebanon, as saying in an
interview that will appear Saturday in the Lebanese
daily As-Safir that four Iranians -- three diplomats
and a journalist -- missing in Lebanon since 1982 were
killed by Phalangist militiamen. Iran had claimed that
Israel had either killed or detained the four.
Ha'aretz noted that the Iranian claims had been made
repeatedly in an effort to justify and explain the lack
of willingness of its Lebanese surrogates, Hizbullah,
to reveal any information on the fate of the captured
Israel air force navigator Ron Arad. Ha'aretz said
that Geagea's confirmation is unlikely to have any
effect on Iran and Hizbullah regarding Arad.

Leading media quoted former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe
Ya'alon as saying at Haifa University Thursday that the
decision-makers in the disengagement process should be
investigated.
Maariv reported that 31-year-old Israeli draft resistor
Dan Tzahor has been lecturing on American campuses on
behalf of a Muslim student organization, comparing the
IDF to the Nazi army. The newspaper cited a cable sent
by Consul for Communication and Public Affairs at
Israel's Consulate-General in Los Angeles Gilad Milo,
which reported that Tzahor also addressed three US
soldiers who refused to serve in Iraq.

Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday, High Court of
Justice President Aharon Barak denied having predicted
that the court would overturn the Citizenship Law if
the Knesset were to extend it again.

The Jerusalem Post cited a study first reported in The
New York Sun this week, according to which US citizens
who have ties to Israel or an Israeli-American dual
citizenship encounter difficulties in obtaining
security clearance from the Pentagon and are dealt with
in a manner similar to that of Americans who have ties
with hostile nations.

Citing AP, Ha'aretz quoted Israeli and British
officials as saying Thursday that Israeli authorities
have been detaining Ayez Ali, a British citizen, since
May 9, and that they are holding him for questioning on
an unspecified security-related matter.

Ha'aretz (Hebrew Ed.) reported that the American Jewish
Committee (AJC) pledged this week to help shoulder the
potential costs involved in fighting attempts to
boycott Israel. The newspaper wrote that the AJC has
set aside USD 10,000 to relaunch its anti-boycott fund.
The move follows the recent announcement of a planned
academic boycott of Israel by the UK's National
Association of Teachers in Further and Higher
Education.

Yediot reported that in December 2005, Swiss
intelligence thwarted an attempt to blow up an El Al
airliner at Geneva Airport.

Yediot disclosed American documents proving that Israel
and South Africa conducted a nuclear test off the
Antarctic coast in September 1979. The newspaper wrote
that then-US President Jimmy Carter whitewashed the
affair.

Yediot reported that on Thursday, an Israeli-
Palestinian team reached the summit of Mt. Everest.

Yediot displayed the picture of a painting by Israeli
artist Zigi Ben-Haim, which was commissioned by NASA.
The work depicts the Columbia shuttle disaster.

Israel Radio reported that Yitzhak Ben-Aharon, a
veteran Labor Party politician and a leading mentor of
Israeli Socialism, died this morning in his kibbutz,
Givat Haim Meuhad, aged almost 100. The radio cited
eulogies of Ben-Aharon by President Moshe Katsav, PM
Olmert, and Vice PM Peres.

Ha'aretz (Hebrew Ed.) reported that this week, the
Overseas Vote Foundation, a nonpartisan initiative
aimed at increasing participation among American
expatriates, released data according to which Israel
ranks eighth in the world in the number of overseas US
voters who have already registered for the November
2006 elections.





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

1. Upcoming Visit of PM Olmert to Washington:
-------------- -

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

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea, at this time a research
fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at
the Brookings Institution, "addressed" Prime Minister
Olmert from Washington in mass-circulation, pluralist
Yediot Aharonot: "Mr. Prime Minister.... Weak or
strong, George Bush is the only president you have."

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The
President is now in 'listening mode'.... [However],
questions are expected to be raised."

In popular, pluralist Maariv, senior columnist Dan
Margalit imagined Prime Minister Olmert's ideal
comments to President Bush: "In the absence of
international support for [the convergence plan], the
number of evacuated settlers might drop to about
20,000."

Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "[For the United
States], the Middle East is the lead region, but within
it Israel and its disputes have become secondary."

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in Maariv:
"Olmert must only leave the White House after Bush
understands ... the scope of the [Iranian] threat [to
Israel]."

Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "[The
convergence plan] won't be discussed during Olmert's
Washington visit, since President Bush has aligned
himself with the Europeans' line."







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


I. "Ehud, Fasten Your Seat Belt"

Senior columnist Nahum Barnea, at this time a research
fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at
the Brookings Institution, "addressed" Prime Minister
Olmert from Washington in mass-circulation, pluralist
Yediot Aharonot (5/19): "In two days, Mr. Prime
Minister, you will get on the plane on the way to
Washington.... Weak or strong, George Bush is the only
president you have. In the next two and a half years,
during which, as you see it, the convergence plan will
either rise or fall, he will be the tenant at the White
House. It will, therefore, be only natural, if and
when you go out to meet the media, that you will heap
compliments on Bush's leadership, on his courage, on
his determination. You will say that never before has
Israel had such a steadfast friend, so outstanding, in
the White House.... [Ariel] Sharon forged an
intriguing relationship with Bush. It began with
mutual deterrence, continued with suspicion and
ultimately became one of sweeping support. The turning
point for Bush was the September 11 terror attacks.
Sharon was convinced that Bush's next step would be
conciliation with the Arab world at Israel's expense.
On October 4, 2001, less than a month after the terror
attacks, Sharon lashed out against the Bush government
with the most serious possible accusation: the
Americans had sacrificed Israel just as Chamberlain
sacrificed Czechoslovakia. Bush was insulted to the
depths of his soul. It is the irony of history that
Sharon's mistake was one of the smartest acts of his
life. The insult brought him respect: Bush was
convinced that Sharon was a real man, and that he would
not hesitate to confront the President of the US for
the existential interests of his country."

II. "Capitol Gains"

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (5/19): "The
President is now in 'listening mode' -- ready to hear
about Olmert's grand
convergence/consolidation/withdrawal plan, yet far from
being in a position either to endorse or reject it....
[However], questions are expected to be raised....
Olmert is not expected to have all the answers, though
experts agree that in order for the convergence plan to
succeed, the Israeli PM will have to be given much more
than Sharon got for Gaza -- some international gesture
of support and formal recognition, at least from
America, of the legality of the new temporary borders
he is going to set."

III. "The Washington Speech"

In popular, pluralist Maariv, senior columnist Dan
Margalit imagined Prime Minister Olmert's ideal
comments to President Bush (5/19): "Israel is seriously
handling ... the convergence plan -- not instead of the
Roadmap, but only as a bench warmer. Israel may have
to evacuate 40,000 or 50,000 settlers as part of a
difficult, painful step accompanied by an intra-Israeli
struggle. In the absence of international support for
that measure, the number of evacuated settlers might
drop to about 20,000. The convergence plan is based on
the assumption that we won't have a Palestinian partner
for peace, but we will have an international body
headed by America to verify that move and back it up."

IV. "From Convergence to Submergence"

Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/19): "The Bush
administration made a serious blunder and allowed Hamas
to take part in the elections, on the basis of a
complacent supposition that Hamas would not win -- a
mistake that has left the Israeli-Palestinian process
completely stuck. Until its consequences are
overturned -- which will not happen quickly -- Israel
is being asked not to be a nuisance.... Israel's place
according to the American approach has changed. Until
about 15 years ago, the Middle East was a secondary
region (with respect to the confrontation with the
Soviets, which centered in Europe),but within it the
Israeli-Arab conflict played a leading role. Now the
Middle East is the lead region, but within it Israel
and its disputes have become secondary. Israel's
mission within the framework of the alliance headed by
Bush is not to interfere with the main effort."



V. "The Ahmadinejad Code"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in Maariv
(5/19): "Olmert will tell [Bush], 'The Iranian
nuclearization is a real existential threat to Israel.'
He shouldn't say it publicly. In any case, talk that
Israel pushed America into the Iraqi quagmire is
growing. But Olmert must only leave the White House
after Bush understands ... the scope of the threat."

VI. "A Courtesy Visit"

Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (5/19):
"The 'convergence' plan prepared by Prime Minister
Olmert is very similar to the withdrawal plan prepared
by the State Department in the wake of the Six-Day
War.... At this point, it won't be discussed during
Olmert's Washington visit, since President Bush has
aligned himself with the Europeans' line.... But the
warm handshake between Prime Minister Olmert and
President Bush is in itself important. We can only
congratulate Mr. Olmert with the traditional blessing:
'Go in peace and return in peace.'"

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

2. Iran:
--------------

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

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The signs [that
the US is on the way to offering the Iranians talks]
are accumulating."

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

"Good-Bye to Pressure"

Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/19): "The signs
[that the US is on the way to offering the Iranians
talks] are accumulating.... The question of whether
there has been a shift with respect to talks with Iran
is very important, truly crucial. 'If the Americans
start going in the direction of direct dialogue, it
could be that this will be the end of the process as we
know it, and perhaps with this it will be possible to
say goodbye to pressure on Iran,' explained a source in
Jerusalem this week. Israelis who are following the
developments are identifying innumerable obstacles on
the way to such talks, above all the question of
whether 'the Iranians want to talk at all.'"

JONES