ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000241 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. Final Winograd Report ¶2. Mideast ¶3. U.S.-Israel Relations -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media led with the final Winograd report, which will be made public this afternoon after 17 months of work. Banners: in Yediot: "The Moment of Truth"; Maariv: "In the Eye of the Storm"; Ha'aretz: "Panel [Winograd Commission] Shocked by IDF Performance"; The Jerusalem Post: "Winograd to Issue Final Report Today; Harsh Judgment, No Sanctions Expected Regarding Second Lebanon War Errors; Makor Rishon-Hatzofe: "Storm Climaxing"; and Israel Hayom: "Day of the Report," which can also be read as: "Judgment Day." Ha'aretz reported that the press conference announcing the release will be broadcast live on all the nation's radio and TV stations at 6 p.m. to ensure the largest possible audience. Yediot quoted a senior source within the Winograd Commission as saying that the commission will expand on the deep social processes experienced by Israel over the past few years, including touching the "national Israeli ethos itself." Leading media reported that Finance Minister Roni Bar-On told Kadima supporters in Tiberias on Tuesday that PM Ehud Olmert is determined that Winograd report will not lead to new elections. Bar-On was further quoted as saying that Kadima "is not at the employ" of Defense Minister and Labor Chairman Ehud Barak. This morning Israel Radio quoted a senior Palestinian official involved in the Israeli-Palestinian talks as saying that the peace process needs a stable government in Israel and the continuation of PM Olmert's rule. The Jerusalem Post reported that Egypt has issued an ultimatum to Hamas to pull back dozens of Gaza gunmen who are reported to have crossed into Egypt over the past week. Citing security officials in Ramallah, the paper says that 300-500 gunmen from Hamas and Islamic Jihad have sought refuge with Bedouin tribes and are refusing to leave the Sinai. In the past few days, Egypt has detained and returned over 100 armed Palestinians. Leading media reported that after more than a week of negotiations over a UN Security Council presidential statement on the current Gaza crisis, the effort was abandoned on Tuesday following the failure to reach a consensus. The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that the U.S. prevailed over the Arab countries on the issue. The Jerusalem Post added that other council members also urged a more balance statement. Ha'aretz quoted Israeli sources as saying on Tuesday that PM Olmert is examining the possibility of building a fence along the Israel-Egypt border. However, the newspaper quoted some officials as sayng on Tuesday at a meeting with Defense Minister Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and other security officials that there is no money left in the budget. Ha'aretz and Israel Radio quoted Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem as saying on Tuesday that his organization is prepared to discuss a prisoner swap with Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that the organization UN Watch has urged UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to clarify a recent endorsement of the Arab Charter of Human Rights, which it said "contains several provisions that promote classically anti-Semitic themes." The Jerusalem Post quoted officials from the Shas party as saying on Tuesday that PM Olmert pretended to receive a special blessing from Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in an effort to boost himself politically on the eve of the publication of the Winograd report. The Jerusalem Post quoted sources in the IDF as saying on Tuesday night that the disturbing allegations of soldiers' abuse of Palestinian detainees that were first reported on Tuesday on Israel Radio were already under investigation by the Military Police, and that the IDF viewed the incident as "extremely serious" and "extremely unusual." Leading media reported that on Monday Attorney General Menachem Mazuz filed an indictment against Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, charging him with incitement to violence and racism in a speech he made last year protesting the archaeological dig carried out at the Old City's Mugrabi Gate. Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) was quoted as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz that only Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain will ensure that Iran remains without nuclear weapons. Media reported on the experiences of Israeli high school students during their participation with Arab youth in a model U.N. exercise in Qatar. Yediot quoted one of the young Israelis as saying that youth should be given a chance and they will bring peace. An Israeli TV station reported that members of the Lebanese delegation refused to shake hands with the Israelis. Maariv reported that on Tuesday the English-language Iranian newspaper Tehran Times reprinted an article by far-left Israeli academic Ilan Pappe, originally published in the British paper The Independent, in which Pappe called IDF soldiers "killing machines." Yediot reported that the Foreign Ministry is considering granting the title of "cultural ambassador" to well known Israeli artists who are also famous abroad to improve Israel's image. Among the names cited: the author Amos Oz and the popular composer Zvika Pik, who wrote the song Diva performed by Dana International, which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. He also wrote songs for several other Eurovision contestants Ha'aretz quoted John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, who is visiting Israel, as saying that the American giant is looking for local technology startups to acquire. Major media reported that Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai sent a letter to PM Olmert on Tuesday, asking him for urgent state aid for the "growing distress, on the verge of becoming a humanitarian crisis," of the city's growing African refugee population. There are now about 2,000 such refugees, 700 of who arrived recently. In Yediot and Israel Radio, Deputy Tel Aviv Mayor Yael Dayan recounted the efforts she and others have made for the refugees. The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that on Monday in Jaffa the popular American pop star Pink, celebrated the 20th anniversary of Peace Child Israel, an organization that teaches Jewish-Arab coexistence. Leading media reported that on Tuesday the official exchange rate for the U.S. dollar was set at 3.639 shekels, the dollar's lowest point against the shekel in 11 years. -------------- ¶1. Final Winograd Report: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "With or without Winograd, no miracle has happened to us. We have no way of winning the war, neither against Hizbullah nor against Hamas in Gaza -- not at the prices we are supposed to pay." Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote on page one of the independent Israel Hayom: "[Ehud Olmert] is the archetype of disrupters of public processes.... Olmert must go." Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the popular, pluralist Maariv: "Both of them, Olmert and Barak, are responsible for the fiasco in Gaza, only a hint of which has reached the media over the past few days. How intelligence again fell asleep at the wheel, how once more no one issued a warning, and how someone decided to lay his heavy hand on the light switch." Deputy diplomatic correspondent Uri Yablonka wrote in Maariv: "The international community wishes for one single option, in which the main protagonist -- Olmert -- survives the Winograd test." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "No Miracle Happened to Us" Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/30): "A year and a half have passed since the war. The IDF carried out its inquiries, drew conclusions, put the regular and reserve brigades through an intensive series of training exercises, improved the combatants' equipment and replaced commanders. Despite this, if Hizbullah should decide one day that it is tired of being quiet, the situation will not be much different: A deluge of rockets will land on the Galilee, the Air Force will do its job by bombing targets deep inside Lebanon.... With or without Winograd, no miracle has happened. We have no way of winning a war, against Hizbullah or against Hamas in Gaza -- not at the prices we are supposed to pay.... The immense passions invested in the media campaign wreaked havoc with the discussion on the failures of the war. Whoever felt animosity towards Olmert on other issues saw the entire war through this prism, the prism of their hatred for Olmert. That is a shame. The committee members went to such trouble to draw up their report, and in the end it will be examined not by its content, but as a reality TV program. The tribal council will convene for a dismissal meeting: Who will survive; who will be granted immunity; and who will be banished -- temporarily -- to the isle of the dead." II. QOlmert Blinked During the War and Disrupted the Investigation" Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote on page one of the independent Israel Hayom (1/30): "[Ehud Olmert] is the archetype of disrupters of public processes. [One example of this is] his refusal to resign after the embarrassing failure, like in any democracy.... I will be proud of one word in all my articles since the war: 'blinking.' Olmert blinked; the commanders saw this; the war squeaked; and the peace efforts crumbled. UN [Security Council] Resolution 1701 is a total bluff because Hizbullah is trickling into southern [Lebanon] and the Syrian-Lebanese border is a conduit for missiles from Iran to Hassan Nasrallah.... Olmert must go." III. "Moment of Truth" Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the popular, pluralist Maariv (1/30): "What will Olmert do [after hearing the conclusions of the Winograd Commission]? In truth, he has already done it all. This evening he will convene the Kadima faction for a demonstration of unity and support which was orchestrated beforehand. He has already relayed all the messages: Tzipi [Livni], if she makes a peep, will be out like a missile. No resignation, no ultimatum, no election date, no nothing. Let's see what you do to me. This is the facade. Inside, the tension is great and the hustle and bustle around the Prime Minister on Tuesday reached new heights. There is no stone that Olmert has left unturned in an attempt to prevent it from being thrown at him over the weekend.... If it weren't so sad, it could have been funny. Because both of them, Olmert and Barak, are responsible for the fiasco in Gaza, only a hint of which has reached the media over the past few days. How intelligence again fell asleep at the wheel, how once more no one issued a warning, and how someone decided to lay his heavy hand on the light switch.... But in the meantime, we have Winograd." IV. "Concerned About Annapolis" Deputy diplomatic correspondent Uri Yablonka wrote in Maariv (1/30): "The chances that moderates in the Palestinian Authority will prevail over the extremists in the PA are minimal, even according to the most optimistic scenario, Therefore, the international community wishes for one single option, in which the main protagonist -- Olmert -- survives the Winograd test.... As far as the international community is concerned, the rational alternative to the Olmert government would be its agreed-upon replacement by the current Knesset. This is also the swiftest solution -- and that could guarantee to the world that Kadima or Labor would lead the next government.... The most popular alternative to the present regime is the Likud Party under Netanyahu. What would then happen to the Annapolis declarations?" -------------- ¶2. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Far-left Palestinian affairs correspondent Amira Hass wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The breach of the wall is a clear manifestation of the conception and temperament of a popular resistance among the Palestinian people, which for various reasons, were dormant in recent years." Block Quotes: -------------- "Finally, a Popular Uprising" Far-left Palestinian affairs correspondent Amira Hass wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (1/30): "The fall of the Rafah wall was a fitting combination of planning and the precise reading of the social and political map by the Hamas government, mixed with a mass response to the dictates of the overlord, Israel.... The leadership and public of Gaza, as two elements of the occupied people, were partners in the courageous and necessary step of breaking the Israeli rules of the game. The breach of the wall is a clear manifestation of the conception and temperament of a popular resistance among the Palestinian people, which for various reasons, were dormant in recent years.... [Furthermore,] the longer the delay in direct talks between the two leaderships [in Ramallah and Gaza] over practical ways of lifting the siege of Gaza, the greater the concern that indeed, as Hamas officials argue, the Ramallah government listens to the United States and to Israel -- but not to the will of its own people." -------------- ¶3. U.S.-Israel Relations: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "Racist attacks against a black American candidate could cause Israel and American Jews a great deal of damage." Block Quotes: -------------- "Obama and the Jewish Question" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (1/30): "The U.S. elections are important to Israel because of the two countries' special relationship and America's support for Israel, whose value cannot be overstated. There is a major contradiction between this fact and a smear campaign against a candidate with a Muslim name, which risks causing many Americans, and especially blacks, to feel alienated from Israel and Jews. Obama is sensitive to Israel's security needs.... Racist attacks against a black American candidate could cause Israel and American Jews a great deal of damage -- not to mention shame and disgrace. Obama has been forced to defend himself over things such as nonexistent ties with elements hostile to Israel, an appearance at an event at which [the late Palestinian-American intellectual] Edward Said spoke, and praying at one church rather than another. Great damage has already been caused because Obama announced that an ugly campaign was being waged against him in the Jewish community. That alone ought to be enough at least to make Israel's leaders say something about Jews who preach against anti-Semitism while employing similar tactics against other minorities." MORENO