ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002315 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 Please note: There will be no Tel Aviv Media Reaction report on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, due to the Sukkoth holiday. -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All mainstream media reported that riots among Jewish and Arab residents erupted in the northern town of Acre (Akko) on the eve of Yom Kippur on Wednesday. The riots, some of the worst the city has seen in years, began after an Arab resident of the Old City of Acre drove his car into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in eastern Acre, where he said he lived. Jewish teens at the scene said the Arab man was deliberately making noise and smoking cigarettes. The teens attacked the man and shortly afterwards, a group of Arab teens arrived at the scene, igniting a riot. Police faced off against hundreds of Jewish rioters who were chanting "death to Arabs" and trying to block the city's main thoroughfare. The clashes resumed Thursday evening at the conclusion of the holiday. The media cited diametrically opposed views about the riots, as expressed by right-wing Knesset members and Israeli Arab MKs. Maariv reported that a HAMAS detainee had warned Shin Bet hours before the abduction of Gilad Shalit, but that the IDF claimed that the information lacked precision. HaQaretz reported that outgoing PM Ehud Olmert has said in private conversations in recent weeks that it is a mistake to link the issue of Shalit's release to the cease-fire in Gaza. According to the daily, Olmert has told officials in meetings on the matter that Israel must choose between moving ahead on Shalit's release by applying massive pressure to Hamas -- which might lead to a breakdown of the cease-fire and a renewal of Qassam fire on the Negev -- and a freeze on the Shalit release and quiet in Sderot and the communities close to Gaza. HaQaretz quoted sources close to Olmert as saying that as long as things are quiet, HAMAS has no incentive to move ahead on releasing Shalit. The sources have also criticized DM Ehud Barak, who pushed for a cease-fire at any cost, saying the cease-fire perhaps should have been delayed until progress was made on Shalit's release. The Jerusalem Post quoted the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera as saying that Imad MughniyahQs successor as HizbullahQs chief military commander is Muhammad Riza Zahdi, a.k.a. Hassan Mahdawi, who in the late 1980s served in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. Major media reported that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko suggested yesterday that Moscow will not sell advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. The Jerusalem Post reported that senior diplomatic officials in Jerusalem expressed satisfaction at the news. Makor Rishon reported that, as Israel is seeking an alternative to the dwindling Egyptian gas, Israel has suggested that Russia provide it with gas through a pipeline. The media reported that the first meeting between the negotiating teams of Labor and Kadima will take place today. The media expect a rapprochement between the parties. Maariv reported that Shin Bet has decided to pardon Zecharia Zubeidi, the most famous wanted man in the territories. HaQaretz reported that the number of Israeli Arab recruits to the IDF has increased dramatically in the first nine months of 2008. The rise in the Bedouin recruitment rate is attributed to Bedouin's difficulty in finding well-paid jobs outside the military and problems with the local authorities. The IDF has also improved its treatment of Bedouin army veterans and is helping them find employment. The army refused to provide accurate figures, but the number of recruits is estimated to have increased by 50 to 100 from the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of recruits in 2008 to some 300. The rate of non-Bedouin Arabs' recruitment has also increased in recent years, and an officer in the IDF's Human Resources Branch said he hoped that by next year their recruitment figure will reach 350, equaling the 2003 rate. Another significant increase in recruitment is expected next month. Yediot reported that the government will decide on Sunday to name a national site after the late cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi, who was assassinated by Palestinian activists in 2001. Zeevi publicly advocated the transfer of 3.3 million Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza to Arab nations. HaQaretz (Hebrew Ed.) bannered the collapse on Wall Street and reported that the U.S. administration is considering nationalizing banks. -------------- Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QThe most constructive step the next Israeli government can take -- once it is finally in place, and preferably before the next [U.S.] president is inaugurated -- would be to announce where Israel draws its Qred lines. Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: QOnly if Livni turns out to be a weak leader who has difficulty making decisions, and if she disappoints her supporters, will people perhaps go back to voting Labor. Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: QThe world financial crisis is playing in [LivniQs favor]. It is impossible to continue playing around with [government] coalition contacts as if there were no collapse around them. Ha'aretz editorialized: Q[Israel] must exercise its authority to maintain public safety and repair the [Church of the Holy Sepulcher], taking great care not to intervene or take a stand in the fundamental dispute between the [Ethiopian and Egyptian (Coptic)] churches. Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Four More Weeks" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (10/10): QThis American election was always bound to hinge on domestic, not foreign policy, issues.... That said, it remains hugely important to all Israelis that the next American president be personally empathetic and diplomatically supportive to our cause. The Bush administration has requested $2.55 billion in security assistance for Israel -- part of a new 10-year $30 billion security package. Whatever the issue -- Iran, Hamas, or Hizbullah -- Jerusalem needs a friend in the White House. Fortunately, both candidates define themselves as pro-Israel. Frankly, we hope Obama clarifies his attitude toward borders and settlements to reassure us that an Obama administration would never pressure Israel back to the 1949 Armistice Lines. We'd also value hearing a similar message from John McCain. Of course, we can't ask more of Obama or McCain than from our own government. The world knows where the Palestinian Authority stands -- intransigently in our view -- on the issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem. So the most constructive step the next Israeli government can take -- once it is finally in place, and preferably before the next president is inaugurated -- would be to announce where Israel draws its Qred lines. II. "Time Is Running" Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (10/10): QThe global economic crisis is threatening to destroy the lifestyle to which we have been accustomed over the past decade. On the other hand, it may hasten the formations of the Livni government -Q even with Likud. If this goes on at the current pace, a focused call on Benjamin Netanyahu to harness attempts to draw water from the sinking ship could fall on attentive ears.... The world financial crisis is playing in [LivniQs favor]. It is impossible to continue playing around with [government] coalition contacts as if there were no collapse around them, and to leave the Israeli economy to the mercy of [Finance Minister] Roni Bar-On Q- with all due respect. III. "Requiem for the Labor Party" Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (10/10): QThe Labor Party is fast advancing toward the end of its historic role and its descent from Israel's political stage.... The Ashkenazim and the rich who fled Labor because of Amir Peretz into the open arms of Kadima and the PensionersQ Party have meanwhile fallen in love with Livni and do not want to return. Labor has nothing to offer them.... In the Israel after Olmert's resignation, Barak is the one who can anoint kings, and he has to coose between Livni and Netanyahu, between the inxperienced star and the ideological rival. Whichever way he chooses, he will be able to remain defese minister, but he will sacrifice his party. Lbor has only one chance left to be saved from poitical burial. Only if Livni turns out to be a wek leader who has difficulty making decisions, and if she disappoints her supporters, will people perhaps go back to voting Labor. IV. "Saving Christianity from Itself" Ha'aretz editorialized (10/10): QIsrael's responsibility for the holy places in Jerusalem sometimes involves it in disputes and power struggles between religious communities. There is no better example than the centuries-old dispute between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church over the control of the Deir al-Sultan Monastery on the roof of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City.... Due to the [material] risk to the lives of the monks and visitors and the danger to one of the world's holiest sites, the government must not neglect the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It must exercise its authority to maintain public safety and repair the building, taking great care not to intervene or take a stand in the fundamental dispute between the [Ethiopian and Egyptian (Coptic)] churches. CUNNINGHAM