ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002139 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: -------------- Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Electronic media reported that FM Tzipi Livni hinted this morning during a session of the Kadima faction that PM Ehud Olmert should resign immediately. All media reported that following his defeat in the Kadima primaries, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz declared he was taking a "time-out" from political life. Media cited claims by Mofaz aides that Livni's camp played "dirty tricks." Ha'aretz reported that Kadima is divided after Livni's victory, and that she will try to prevent a "wave of defections." Maariv and other media reported that Livni has started coalition negotiations, as Shas and the Labor Party are raising their political demands. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Livni warned Shas Chairman Eli Yishai that she could form a coalition without him. The Jerusalem Post reported Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Livni to set a date for general elections. Maariv quoted her as saying that would not be afraid of holding elections in January. Israel Radio reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Hillary Clinton, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were among the major world politicians who called to congratulate her. Major media reported that settlers vandalized Palestinian property in several locations yesterday after the IDF evacuated the outpost of Yad Yair in the northern West Bank. The evacuation itself was not violent, but incidences of settler violence elsewhere in the West Bank were apparently a response to the evacuation. Yediot reported that yesterday, following those violent events, DM Ehud Barak ordered the defense establishment to "take off its gloves" and punish more harshly settlers who attack soldiers and Palestinian civilians. The Jerusalem Post reported that President Shimon Peres told the newspaper yesterday that the world should hit Iran where it hurts -- in its economy -- much harder than it does now, and Israel will push the UN to that effect when the General Assembly convenes next week. Ha'aretz reported that Bank Hapoalim lost 25% of its value this week. The media reported that over the past two days, the public withdrew almost 5 billion shekels (around $1.42 billion) from savings funds, reportedly out of panic. Ha'aretz quoted Hamas official Ayman Taha as saying that the fact that Livni is a woman will probably prompt her to take a more hawkish stance than a man would as head of the Kadima Party and the Israeli government, but that generally speaking, Hamas does not see any differences among Israeli decision-makers. In contrast, an adviser to Abbas told Israel Radio that the PA views Livni as a partner for peace talks. Jamal Zakut, a spokesman for PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, told IDF Radio that Livni must decide to put an end to the settlement project. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that PM Ehud Olmert is trying to reach a "non-binding" agreement with the Palestinians before he leaves the stage. The newspaper also says that Livni will try to obtain a paper signed with the Palestinians before she gets to elections. Maariv reported that in the permanent-status negotiations, the Palestinians are demanding that Israel concede the settlements of Ariel and Alfei Menashe. Yediot reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad told an Iranian TV station that his country will never cut his ties to Iran and Hizbullah. Israel Radio reported that the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations decided to cancel a speech by Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin at a demonstration protesting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the UN General Assembly. Senator Hillary Clinton canceled her appearance at the meeting, stating that she was not informed of Palin's intention to address the audience as well. Ha'aretz reported that Dan Ben-David, an economist, will replace Mofaz as Knesset member if the latter leaves the Parliament. Ha'aretz reported that IDF soldiers serving along the border with Egypt told the newspaper that last Sunday five asylum-seekers, including a mother and her two teenage daughters, who tried to infiltrate into Israel, were returned to Egypt in contravention of the accepted procedures. Yediot reported that the managers of the Dimona nuclear reactor find it hard to recruit new engineers because of relatively low salaries and a fear of being contaminated by radioactivity. Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that Democrats and Republicans in Israel are set to hold Israel's first-ever U.S. presidential debate next week in Jerusalem. The debaters will be the parties' Israel representatives -- Sheldon Schorer from Democrats Abroad Israel and Marc Zell from the Republicans Abroad in Israel. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The way Livni tries to form a government will be the first test of her leadership.... If Livni wants to lead and not to be led, she must build a government that reflects her agenda." Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "On the assumption that Barak, if he enters [Livni's cabinet], will sit in the government as a Trojan horse, what is the point of demeaning oneself in humiliating concessions to Shas on [child] allowances?" Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz: "Like prime minister Golda Meir in 1973, Livni will discover that her job requires coordinating diplomatic support, defense assistance, and perhaps an agreement with the U.S. president." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Israel cannot afford a rudderless policy drift, for months on end, as party politics sort themselves out. This is a nation longing for honest, capable and inspiring leadership -- urgently. Can Tzipi Livni provide it? 16,936 of Israel's voters said yes on Wednesday. Now she must persuade the rest." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "First Test of Leadership" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (9/19): "Livni has a mandate to try to form a government because that is the parliamentary system in Israel. The claim that her mandate may be legal but she does not have moral legitimacy is typical of the Israeli political discourse since the Oslo Accords. Anyone who tries to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians is treated similarly.... The way Livni tries to form a government will be the first test of her leadership.... Livni is obligated only to the public she seeks to lead. The selection of Amir Peretz as defense minister because he wanted a job for which he was unsuited, or the selection of Abraham Hirchson [as finance minister] because he was the prime minister's friend, were quickly revealed to have been harmful to the public interest. If Livni wants to lead and not to be led, she must build a government that reflects her agenda." II. "For Whom the Phone Rings" Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/19): "That is what is nice about [Ehud] Barak: There are always surprises. As of yesterday afternoon, he did not want to join Livni's government, but did want to negotiate with her. He is in favor of an emergency government, a code name for a government with the Likud and Lieberman, although he knows it will not be formed. He has several reasons why the Labor Party should not join a government headed by Livni, some good, some less good. He says that if Livni succeeds, the credit will be hers, and the Labor Party will disappear, and if she fails, the Labor Party will be part of the failure. He says that the government has run its course. Livni herself does not intend to keep the government running for more than a few months. What is the point in joining a government that will soon be dissolved. And he says that one does not choose a prime minister by a slim margin of 431 votes. This explanation is captivating at first glance, but annoying at second glance. The Labor Party chairman can disqualify Livni because of her views, her qualifications, or her taste in fashion. But the question of the margin between her and the next in line in her party is none of his concern. The only way to maintain a democracy is to honor a victory in the polls, even if it is by a one-vote margin.... One can argue over the question what is preferable for the Labor Party, to expire slowly in the government or to commit suicide in elections. From a public standpoint, the more important question is whether such a government can function.... What is certain is that [Barak] cannot serve under Livni for a single day.... Livni, who wanted at the start of the campaign to go to elections immediately, has changed her opinion in the meantime. She wants to form a government, and to do so as quickly as possible. It would appear that the coming days will give her an opportunity to think again. The key is not Shas, it is the Labor Party. On the assumption that Barak, if he enters, will sit in the government as a Trojan horse, what is the point of demeaning oneself in humiliating concessions to Shas on [child] allowances?" III. "Welcome to the Club" Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz (9/19): "Four months from tomorrow in Washington a new president will be sworn in, John McCain or Barack Obama, but until January 20, 2009, George W. Bush will remain in the White House. Tzipi Livni must not neglect the relationship with him during a period liable to see a conflagration in Gaza, spreading to the north of the country, and on the eve of fateful decisions, possibly a confrontation with Iran. Livni must keep one eye on American while her other eye is on forming a government.... An Israeli prime minister must develop a network of alliances -- first and foremost with Washington -- and create conditions to shorten the fighting and reduce casualties, both on the home front and battlefront.... Like prime minister Golda Meir in 1973, Livni will discover that her job requires coordinating diplomatic support, defense assistance, and perhaps an agreement with the U.S. president on a preventive strike or airlift. Without these tools, the Israel Defense Forces will not be able to do the job." IV. "Livni's Challenge" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (9/19): "It is foreign and security policy that will dominate the next prime minister's agenda. Livni must define the path for addressing the Iranian nuclear threat.... Livni needs to tell Israelis where the negotiations with the Palestinians] stand, especially on Jerusalem and refugees.... What's her plan for Gaza, where ever more extreme Hamas factions are solidifying power?.... She will also have the opportunity to take a fresh look at negotiations with Syria; the current approach of indirect talks does not instill confidence.... Israel cannot afford a rudderless policy drift, for months on end, as party politics sort themselves out. This is a nation longing for honest, capable and inspiring leadership -- urgently. Can Tzipi Livni provide it? 16,936 of Israel's voters said yes on Wednesday. Now she must persuade the rest." CUNNINGHAM