ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001163 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 CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 JERUSALEM ALSO ICD LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL PARIS ALSO FOR POL ROME FOR MFO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. Mideast ¶2. Iran ¶3. IRAQ -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Leading media reported that Defense Secretary Robert Gates ended his short visit to Israel on Thursday with a meeting with PM Olmert and FM Tzipi Livni. Ha'aretz said that the meeting focused on Syria and the Iranian nuclear program. Ha'aretz and Maariv reported that Olmert told Gates that Israel had no intention of attacking Syria and warned against a "miscalculation" that might lead Syria and Israel into a WAR no one wanted. Ha'aretz quoted Secretary Gates as saying that he shared his hosts' concerns. Ha'aretz quoted Defense Secretary Robert Gates as saying during his visit to Israel that Washington has decided to sell Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs to Saudi Arabia. Ha'aretz wrote that a recent discussion in Washington raised the possibility that Jerusalem would ask the US not to sell the satellite-guided smart bombs to the Saudis, but it was decided to reject this request. The IAF itself has purchased the high-accuracy JDAMs, and used them against Hizbullah targets during the Second Lebanon War. Defense Minister Amir Peretz expressed Israel's opposition to the sale of the weapons to Saudi or other Persian Gulf states during his visit to the US a few weeks ago. Peretz said Israel was concerned the weapons might fall into terrorist hands. Israel also argues that the presence of such weapons in the Arab countries undermines Washington's pledge that Israel will enjoy a qualitative edge in the region -- attained mainly by the possession of advanced weaponry. Articles by Arab security experts in the Western and the Arab press recently have argued that Israel's opposition to the sale of advanced arms to the Arab states has placed the country in a strategic contradiction, due to the need to achieve deterrence in the face of the Iranian threat. The Jerusalem Post and Yediot reported that, in the face of Iran's race to obtain nuclear weapons, the Israel Air Force has expressed newfound interest in receiving the F-22 -- a US-developed fifth generation stealth fighter jet -- and has asked that the Defense Ministry present the request on its behalf to the Pentagon. The Jerusalem Post wrote that, while the sale or transfer of F-22s to Israel did not come up in talks on Wednesday between Defense Minister Peretz and US Defense Secretary Gates, defense officials told the newspaper that Israel would ask to receive the aircraft in order to retain its "military edge" in the Middle East. Yediot noted that the "astronomical" cost of each F-22 is USD 150 million. Hatzofe reported that, despite its "bitter criticism" of the decisions made at the Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo on Wednesday -- according to the Prime Minister's Office -- the US has asked Israel to respond positively to the decisions. Hatzofe quoted associates of PM Ehud Olmert as saying that he acceded to the US demand, and that Israel made an official announcement about its "positive answer in principle." The Arab FMs' DECISION empowers Egypt and Jordan to conduct contacts with Israel on behalf of the Arab League. Maariv reported that King Abdullah II of Jordan is considering delivering a speech to the Knesset. Maariv said that PM Ehud Olmert invited him to visit Jerusalem soon so that he can convince the Knesset to endorse the Arab peace initiative, and that Knesset Speaker and Acting President of Israel Dalia Itzik, who headed a delegation of Knesset members to Amman, transmitted the invitation to King Abdullah. Yediot wrote that it was Itzik who invited King Abdullah. Maariv cited concerns that the exposure of the visit to the media might cause its cancellation. Ha'aretz reported that on Thursday the King told the visiting Knesset members that "we are in the same boat, we have the same problem. We have the same enemies." Abdullah reiterated the comments a number of times, which those at the meeting said referred to Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas. The King also emphasized that he spoke not only for Jordan but for a group of states in the region. He asked at one point: "Do you want Iran on the banks of the Jordan River?" Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli delegation was impressed with Abdullah II's frankness regarding the Arab peace initiative but that it said he demands too high a price. The Jerusalem Post quoted Itzik as saying that King Abdullah is "very dedicated" to the Arab peace initiative. The Jerusalem Post quoted the Knesset members as saying that the monarch sounded flexible on the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and that the members of the delegation told him that all Israelis reject it. Hatzofe reported that King Abdullah II requested of the Knesset members that Israel avoid taking unilateral steps. The Jerusalem Post reported that a high-ranking officer in the IDF Central Command warned on Thursday that, having failed to establish a military force in the West Bank parallel to the one it has in the Gaza Strip, Hamas is instead working to infiltrate its operatives into the official PA security branches. Hatzofe reported that Hamas is trying to take over the PLO's political apparatus. All media reported that the High Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that the Winograd Commission probing the Second Lebanon WAR will release the partial testimonies of PM Olmert, Defense Minister Peretz, and former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz no later than two weeks after issuing its interim report at the end of April. However, the court advised the commission to release the testimonies as soon as possible, "even sooner than two weeks" after submitting the report to the cabinet. The court issued its ruling following a request by Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On. Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that OC Central Command Yair Naveh has decided to allow setters to march to the ruins of the settlement of Homesh on Independence Day (Tuesday). The IDF conditioned its agreement on the organizers leaving the West Bank ruins after a few hours. The Jerusalem Post and Hatzofe reported that, at a closed event, Naveh criticized the disengagement and the weakness of Israeli leaders on the ground. The Jerusalem Post reported that three powerful US congressmen -- Howard Berman (D-CA),Joseph Crowley (D-NY),and Mike Pence (R-IN) -- sharply criticized Saudi Arabia following a report in Monday's Jerusalem Post that the desert kingdom is breaking its pledge to drop the Arab League boycott of Israel. The Jerusalem Post quoted an official from the US Trade Representative's Office as saying that continuing the primary boycott of Israel would not be consistent with Saudi Arabia's commitment to abide by WTO rights and obligations. Yediot reported that Qatar has invited Israeli students to study at the Doha branch of the prestigious Georgetown University. On Thursday IDF Radio reported that right-wing activists plan an extensive ad campaign calling for the release of Yitzhak Rabin assassin Yigal Amir. The campaign, sponsored by a group called the Committee for Democracy, is the brainchild of an anonymous American-Jewish millionaire. Yediot reported that, for the first time in over 20 years, negative immigration was recorded in Israel. Five thousand more people will leave the country this year than will immigrate. Other media reported on a trend among Israelis to consider emigration. Ha'aretz devoted its lead story to the suffering of Sudanese refugees in Chad, where it dispatched a special correspondent. Ha'aretz cited the British Jewish weekly The Jewish Chronicle as saying last week that Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth's youngest child, will be the first member of the British royal family to come to Israel on an official visit (in September). Ha'aretz noted that just a year ago the British Ambassador to Israel stated that there would be no official state visit by a member of the British royal family until there was peace. Yediot reported that the "reputable" New York Magazine is recommending short vacations in Tel Aviv due to local restaurants and the night scene. The American periodical reportedly placed Tel Aviv on a list of four favorite short-break destinations in the world. Maariv reported that 42-year-old Israeli-born Nati Meir, whose parents came to Israel in 1951 and who immigrated to Rumania in 1996, intends to run for the Romanian presidency following the Bucharest Parliament's impeachment of incumbent President Traian Basescu. Ha'aretz (English Ed.) featured a documentary -- "A Hero in Heaven" -- telling the tragic tale of Michel Levin, an American-born IDF soldier who fell during the Second Lebanon War. The Jerusalem Post noted that Americans and Israelis starkly differ in their handling of security in the aftermath of mass murder. The newspaper said that Americans are more lenient. The Jerusalem Post reported that Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz will spend the 2007-8 academic year at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. Hatzofe wrote that Reform Jews in the US "are trying to be more American and less Jewish." The newspaper said that they condemn the US Supreme Court's DECISION to limit the number of abortions and support Democratic leaders who demand immediate negotiations with Syria and Iran. Yediot presented the results of a Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll conducted among registered Labor Party members: In a runoff vote for party leadership, former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon would get 44 percent of the votes -- and former PM Ehud Barak 43 percent. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn and Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Olmert's new willingness to talk with Abbas about the 'diplomatic horizon' can be read in two ways." Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: "Apparently, the neo-conservatives have not learned that in the Middle East, a problematic regime's removal can lead to the emergence of an infinitely more problematic one. Like Abrams, Olmert wants to dictate the composition of his opposing team." Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in Ha'aretz: "Paradoxically, Israel and Hamas share more common ground than is apparent at first glance." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Diplomacy on the Horizon" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn and Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/20): "Olmert's new willingness to talk with Abbas about the 'diplomatic horizon' can be read in two ways. The one identifies a relinquishing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon's ironclad principle of not talking about diplomatic matters before the Palestinians extirpate terror and 'become Finns,' in the words of former advisor Dov Weisglass.... Nonsense, says the counter-version. Olmert, considering his shaky position in the public-opinion polls, does not have public backing for a dramatic diplomatic move, and if he attempts one, he will risk the breakup of the coalition with Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman's party and Shas. Abbas can talk and talk, but he's not in a position to reach an agreement and certainly he cannot implement one. In these circumstances, Olmert is only trying to placate American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the lowest price possible. Therefore he agreed to the bi-weekly meetings with Abbas and to employ fine phrases like 'diplomatic horizon.' In any case, before anything else, Olmert has to bring Gilad Shalit back from captivity and then endure the inevitable criticism that will accompany the release of terrorist murderers. Only then, and if he gets through Winograd unscathed, will Olmert really be able to think seriously about the diplomatic horizon." II. "A Peace or WAR Initiative?" Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (4/20): "Arming the Palestinian Presidential Guard is part of Elliott Abrams' plan to bury the Mecca agreement, the basis of the national unity government. Abrams, Deputy National Security Advisor to US President George W. Bush and an acknowledged expert in the language of force, related in a closed-doors briefing that non-Hamas cabinet ministers would resign and that Abbas would dissolve the government and announce new elections. Apparently, the neo-conservatives have not learned that in the Middle East, a problematic regime's removal can lead to the emergence of an infinitely more problematic one. Like Abrams, Olmert wants to dictate the composition of his opposing team, the rules of the game, and when it starts and finishes.... The momentum the Arab peace initiative received at the Riyadh summit presents Israel and America with new conditions that constitute a package deal.... The days of land for no peace -- and of no war, no terrorism and no abductions -- are running out." III. "From Radical Jihad to the Politics of Compromise" Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in Ha'aretz (4/20): "It's not surprising that the Mecca agreement and the Palestinian unity government that arose in its wake are thorns in Israel's side.... [But] paradoxically, Israel and Hamas share more common ground than is apparent at first glance. The chance of a final status agreement emerging from a direct dialogue with the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas, is close to nil. When this becomes clear, and Israel starts searching for a way to return to the idea of withdrawal from the West Bank, it probably won't find a worthier partner than Hamas. Hamas, like Israel, is not ready for the compromises entailed by a final status accord. But a long-term interim agreement is possible only with it, and not with the PLO.... The United States is winning the WAR for Arab democracy, but paradoxically, it is declining to reap the rewards because the new image of Islamic political pluralism does not match the illusion of liberal democracy in whose name America sought to change the face of the Middle East.... A dialogue with political Islam, in the form of Hamas, for instance, is an unavoidable necessity. Ostracism and banning is a recipe for disaster, as the example of Algeria shows. Creating a space for legitimate political activity by Islamic parties, including recognition of their right to govern, is the way to encourage moderation. The challenge therefore is not to destroy the only Islamic movements that can claim authentic popular support in the Arab world, but rather to solidify their fragile transition from radical jihad to the politics of compromise." -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Editor-in Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/20): "This is the challenge that faces Israel as it turns 59.... We need to do everything we can to help galvanize the necessary international will to avert the [Iranian nuclear] threat before it is too late." The Jerusalem Post editorialized: "There was an anomaly in Bush's speech [on genocide at the Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday], which matched an anomaly in Jewish activism: the lack of focus on the genocidal threat from Iran." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Israel's challenge at 59" Editor-in Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/20): "This is the challenge that faces Israel as it turns 59: As the first but by no means the only target of Iran's murderous ambitions, we cannot afford to stand heroically in the line of Tehran's fire, so as to give the rest of the world breathing space to belatedly regroup and take action. We need to do everything we can to help galvanize the necessary international will to avert the threat before it is too late. It is an uphill struggle, maybe even a lost cause, given our lack of international credibility and standing -- but Israel needs to shine the light nonetheless.... And if all else fails, we need to stand firm, behind a leadership of real moral clarity, and protect ourselves." II. "Iran and Sudan" The Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/20): "The Jewish people should be proud of its role in sounding the alarm regarding a major humanitarian crisis [Darfur]. Jews, indeed, have an obligation not to remain silent, and have not been. Yet there was an anomaly in Bush's speech [on genocide at the Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday], which matched an anomaly in Jewish activism: the lack of focus on the genocidal threat from Iran. There is no doubt that the Jewish world is concerned about Iran.... Why, however, has there been no community-wide effort to convince major US states to divest the billions of dollars their pension funds have invested in companies working in Iran? How is it that Iranian officials can still travel the world without meeting protests at every turn, as Soviet officials experienced during the campaign to free Soviet Jewry? Why has the USHMC's [US Holocaust Memorial Council] Committee of Conscience not called for indicting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for inciting genocide, a crime under the Genocide Convention? The Jewish world should not trim its activism on Sudan one iota, but its campaign on Iran should be even more insistent, urgent, visible and concrete." -------------- ¶3. Iraq: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If withdrawal is interpreted by the Arabs as a sign of American defeat, we can look forward to a radical Arab shift that will strengthen all the extremists around us." Block Quotes: -------------- "It Looks As If the Victory Won't Be American" Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/20): "The assumption that there will be no American victory in IRAQ is growing stronger. On the other hand, a Shi'ite victory over the Sunnis seems likely. If there is such a victory, it will have a profound effect on the region, Israel included.... A Shi'ite victory would ... affect Israel's security. The growing Iranian influence in a Shi'ite-controlled IRAQ could be detrimental to Israel and the same holds true for a Shi'ite Iraqi pact with Hizbullah. Meanwhile, it seems that an American pullout will not end the hostilities in IRAQ because the Sunnis are fighting for their lives. If withdrawal is interpreted by the Arabs as a sign of American defeat, we can look forward to a radical Arab shift that will strengthen all the extremists around us." JONES