SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002021 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: SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- Visit of U.S. Special Envoy Sen. George Mitchell to Israel, PA -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli diplomatic officials as saying yesterday that it was unlikely that todayQs meeting between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell would lea to any declaration of a U.S.-Israel agreement o the settlement issue, but rather to a further "arrowing of the gaps" that might enable the resumpton of diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinins. The officials stressed, however, that whethr or not Netanyahu, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, nd President Obama met on the sidelines of next eek's U.N. General Assembly was not up to Israel, since Jerusalem had already said it was willing to start talks immediately. Rather, the officials said, the PA would have to decide whether it would come to the negotiating table even though Israel would not agree to a total settlement freeze. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement saying "a meeting has not yet been set to launch the diplomatic process." The bureau said that it was prepared for all eventualities, including the possibility of traveling to New York earlier, in the event that a meeting with Abbas was set. The Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli diplomatic official as saying that the search was still on for a framework that would enable the resumption of talks. The official made clear that complete agreement on all issues was neither expected nor necessary, and said that what was needed for the meeting to take place was "enough common ground." Mitchell, following his talks with Netanyahu, is scheduled to meet directly with Abbas and continue trying to forge that common ground. Abbas has until now been adamant that he will not reenter negotiations until there was a total settlement freeze. The media reported that Netanyahu told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday that there would be no absolute freeze, since the building already underway in the settlements -- some 2,500 housing units -- would continue, and that Israel would keep on building public structures such as schools, health clinics, kindergartens, and synagogues to enable normal life in the settlements to continue. HaQaretz reported that President Shimon Peres and lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat held a secret meeting last week in Jerusalem in an effort to ease the way toward a three way Netanyahu-Abbas-Obama meeting at the U.N. General Assembly on September 23. Peres reportedly told Erekat to stop the PAQs boycot of talks with PM Netanyahu. HaQaretz said that Erekat is AbbasQs point man with Israel and the U.S., following Ahmed QureiQs removal from the position of chief negotiator several months ago, due to Fatah infighting.. Yediot reported that on October 1, U.S representatives, headed by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, will hold a QhistoricQ meeting with official representatives of Iran. The Jerusalem Post reported that the talks will involve the five permanent members of the Security Council, Germany, and Iran. Yediot also reported that yesterday the IAEA named Japanese diplomat Yukia Amano as its Director-General. The Jerusalem Post quoted senior defense officials as saying yesterday that increased intelligence-sharing among Israel, the U.S., and European countries has succeeded in exposing cargo ships carrying weaponry from Southeast Asia to Hamas in Gaza since the IDFQs Operation Cast Lead earlier this year. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday a Justice Ministry official told the KnessetQs Law Committee that Palestinians have filed 500 lawsuits against the state for physical injuries or property damage allegedly caused by IDF soldiers since the beginning of the second Intifada, and that many more such suits are expected. The media continued to highlight the death of Capt. Assaf Ramon and his burial next to his father, first Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon. HaQaretz quoted IsraelQs Ambassador the U.S. Michael Oren as saying yesterday: "The heroism and tragedies of the Ramon family are reminiscent of those of the Kennedys. The Ramon family, like the Kennedys, demonstrated commitment to their state from birth, but all too often, this ends in tragedy." The Israeli Embassy in the U.S. is mourning the Ramon's family loss, said Oren. Media reported that the State Department also extended its condolences to Israel and to the family. "The Ramon family will always have a special connection to the United States, because of what we endured together during the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy," said a State Department spokesperson. Media quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying: QWe offer our deepest sympathies to Rona Ramon, the Ramon family, and the people of Israel on the loss of their son, brother, and compatriot, Assaf. So as the Israeli people mourn this terrible loss today, we in the United States mourn with them, and hope that the memory of Assaf's dedicated and honorable service to his country tempers their grief." NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston also expressed its condolences, adding: "We will always consider Ilan, Rona, Assaf, Tal, Yiftach, and Noa to be a part of our office and the NASA family." HaQaretz and Maariv quoted Steve Lindsey, chief of the Astronaut Office, as saying: "Many of us knew Assaf well. He was a wonderful, mature young man who really stepped in to take care of his family after the Columbia tragedy. He went on to follow in his father's footsteps and selflessly served his nation. It was our privilege to know him and we will miss him." The Jerusalem Post quoted a U.S. Embassy spokesman as saying that Special Envoy George Mitchell wanted to attend the funeral to express solidarity with the family and with Israel. Leading media reported that, in a newly released audiotape, al-Qaida leader Usama bin Ladin warned the American people over their government's close ties to Israel. Media quoted a militant group claiming links to al-Qaida as saying yesterday that it was behind the rockets fired into northern Israel last week. All media reported that yesterday commando troops in Somalia -- reportedly Americans -- killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan believed to be involved in the 2002 bombing in Mombasa that claimed the lives of 15 people, including three Israelis, and in the attempted downing of an Israeli airliner on the same day. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Qanti-Semitic blogosphere and many Arab and Muslim media outlets are aflutterQ in recent days over accusations of an international Jewish conspiracy to kidnap Algerian children and harvest their organs. According to the story, first reported by Algeria's Al-Khabar daily, bands of Moroccans and Algerians have allegedly been roaming the streets of Algeria's cities kidnapping young children, who are then transported across the border into Morocco. From the Moroccan city of Oujda, the children are then purportedly sold to Israelis and American Jews, who then harvest their organs for sale in Israel and the U.S. The organs are said to fetch anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000. The source for the Al-Khabar report seems to be a Dr. Mustafa Khayatti, head of the Algerian National Committee for the Development of Health Research. Khayatti reportedly claimed that several Jews were arrested in New York in connection with the trade. He claimed Interpol knew of the situation and was leading the investigation into the abductions. "The arrest of Jewish organ trafficking gangs does not mean that the danger has gone; top officials and specialists in this issue assert that there are other Jewish gangs who remain active in several Arab countries," Khayatti was quoted as saying. Picking up on the Algerian report, the official Iranian news agency PressTV claimed that the Jewish group "is said to be connected to Israeli Rabbi Levi Rosenbaum, who was recently arrested in New Jersey for the direct involvement in importing human organs." The report also ran without scrutiny on certain American news outlets, including the Web site of the California-based American Arab weekly Watan. Maariv reported that yesterday the International Monetary Fund published a report stating that the Palestinian economy is blooming. The Jerusalem Post reported that FM Avigdor Lieberman will leave on Monday on a four-day trip to Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro, countries never before visited by an Israeli foreign minister. The Jerusalem Post reported that Maya Wind and Netta Mishly, two Israeli women who are refusing mandatory army duty, have kicked off a North American tour and plan to take their story to more than a dozen campuses in the next month. The daily cited the worry of campus advocates that this will only fuel anti-Israel sentiment. The media reported that last night QHachsharat Hayishuv,Q the earliest Zionist economic enterprise (now owned by the Nimrodi family),celebrated its centennial. HaQaretz reported that Israel has dropped from 75th to 78th place in the index of economic freedom for 2009, published by the Free the World organization. The newspapers highlighted poverty in Israeli society ahead of the Jewish High Holidays. Visit of U.S. Special Envoy Sen. George Mitchell to Israel, PA Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. QTrying to Outsmart Obama Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/15): QObama has decided to take his position on Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] public, and though many things will surely happen during the next nine months, he is not likely to retract his position during that period. In other words, even if Washington were to accept Netanyahu's compromise position, the confrontation will not have been avoided. That being the case, Netanyahu must consider whether it is not wiser to face Washington on a matter of principle -- the right of Jews to live and settle in the Land of Israel [Israel, including the territories] -- rather than engage in a war of attrition over a compromise formula. Anybody with experience representing Israel in the U.S. will tell him that there, you are better off fighting for a principle than trying to justify a compromise deal.... We know that we can ride out the disagreements. Israel's alliance with the U.S. is based not only on common ideals and values, but also on mutual interests, and even recognition of mutual benefits, despite the vast asymmetry in size between the two countries. When it comes to our most basic rights -- the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel -- the U.S. will defer to Israel. That is, if we stand up for our rights. II. QA Reduction, Not a Freeze The ultra-Orthodox HamodiQa editorialized (9/15): QIt is definitely not simple to say QnoQ to an American president who plans to establish a diplomatic agreement in the Middle East. Despite the fact that his intentions are welcome, his actions are annoying. He believes that [his demand that Israel freeze construction in settlements] will benefit this country. The measly compensation in the form of the construction of several hundred apartments is a poor joke, which Abu Mazen and the U.S. President have brushed off with a jeering smile. III. QOn Secrets, Lies, and Panic Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in Ha'aretz (6/15): QWinston Churchill once said that during wartime the truth is so precious it is necessary to guard it with a wall of lies. But no one has ever said that a person who is supposed to be working toward peace has to surround the truth in a wall of lies. If Netanyahu's trip was so secret, why did they reveal that he had traveled at all? And to whom did they reveal that he had traveled to Russia? If this is such an important secret, why has there been such anguish at the Prime Minister's Office, instead of leaving the secret for the history books?.... A person [Netanyahu] who panics at the age of 50 is still a person who panics at the age of 60 -- even when it is about peace. IV. QThe Price of Survival The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (9/15): QAssaf Ramon, following in the footsteps of his father but remarkable in his own right, represented a tradition of service and commitment that is vital to our very survival. Israel has told the world: The Jews will not turn to others for their defense, and the Jews are not defenseless. We have made that statement knowing there is no alternative and knowing the price, which can come in battle as in a training accident.... [His mother] Rona Ramon's pain is personal and indescribable, but it is also shared in part with all Israelis; her sacrifice was for all of us. CUNNINGHAM