ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000546 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. U.S.-Israel Relations -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Major media (banner in HaQaretz) reported that yesterday the police national fraud squad announced that it had enough evidence to recommend indicting PM Ehud Olmert for fraud and breach of trust in the investment center case. Investigators said the probe's findings reveal Olmert had "deep" conflicts of interest as industry, trade and employment minister, because he did not disqualify himself from making decisions on projects represented by his associate, attorney Uri Messer. The investigators were also quoted as saying that Olmert did not report his conflicts of interest or his relationship with Messer before making decisions on these projects. HaQaretz quoted the attorneys of Morris (Moshe) Talansky, an American Jewish businessman who testified against Olmert, as saying yesterday that Israel did not honor its promises to him. The attorneys were quoted as saying that an investigation of Talansky in the U.S. was being conducted based on material provided by the Israeli authorities, despite assurances that this would not happen. Yediot reported that Talansky demands that the file against him be closed before he returns to Israel. The Jerusalem Post quoted a Qwell-placed political source confirming long-standing speculation that Shas made a deal with Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent Kadima leader Tzipi Livni from forming a coalition in October. In return for forcing the February 10 elections, Netanyahu promised Shas Chairman Eli Yishai the Interior Ministry and 2 billion shekels (around $550 million) worth of allowances, according to the source. The Jerusalem Post reported that demands by the five government coalition partners now total nearly 10 billion shekels (around $2.5 billion). Israel Radio quoted Labor Chairman Ehud Barak as saying that Netanyahu has not seriously suggested that he join the government. Pressing socio-economic problems continued to engage the Israeli media. Netanyahu was quoted as saying in an interview with Yediot that he will not allow dismissals of workers and that he will rescue enterprises. HaQaretz reported that Avigdor Lieberman, who emerged yesterday as the most likely candidate to replace Tzipi Livni as Israel's foreign minister, intends to demand that Netanyahu grant him "full autonomy" in the new post. HaQaretz quoted a source involved in talks between Yisrael Beiteinu and Likud said that "Lieberman wants to make sure that Netanyahu doesn't let another minister receive tasks that belong to the Foreign Ministry." The source was quoted as saying that "Lieberman wants to ensure that Netanyahu doesn't let [former FM] Silvan Shalom handle negotiations with Syria in order to placate Shalom." The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Secretary Clinton proposed holding a regional conference on Afghanistan on March 31 that would likely include Iran. The newspaper reported that former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski maintained, in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that the U.S. faced more of an existential threat from the Soviet arsenal when he was in the White House, in the 1970s, than Israel does now, and that deterrence proved effective in that case. Leading media reported that yesterday Ambassador to the U.S. Sallai Meridor tendered his resignation to Netanyahu and FM Tzipi Livni. The Jerusalem Post quoted Meridor as saying that he was concerned about his influence waning under Netanyahu. HaQaretz reported that in mid-August, during DM Ehud BarakQs visit to Washington, Meridor was not invited to Barak's meeting with the U.S. National Security Adviser. In a sharply worded letter to Barak, copies of which were sent to Livni and PM Olmert, Meridor said the Defense Minister's conduct had "greatly impaired Israel's ability to impact processes in the U.S. capital." This week, during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Israel, Meridor was asked to leave the room where Clinton was meeting with Netanyahu. HaQaretz reported that one name rumored to replace Meridor is Netanyahu's strategic adviser, Ron Dermer, who until about a year ago served as Israel's economic attache in Washington, and who has accompanied Netanyahu on all his trips to the United States in recent years. For its part, Yediot reported that former ambassador to the UN Dore Gold and former consul-general in New York Alon Pinkas are candidates for the post. All media reported that two police officers were lightly wounded in Jerusalem yesterday afternoon when a Palestinian bulldozer driver who resided in east Jerusalem overturned their police car and rammed it into a bus, before being shot by police and a taxi driver. He later died of his wounds. Yediot reported that following pressure by Livni, Italian FM Franco Frattini canceled a scheduled trip to Iran. Major media reported that relations between Israel and Turkey have thawed, following a meeting between FM Livni and Turkish FM Ali Babacan at NATOQs Brussels HQ yesterday. The media reported that yesterday Palestinians fired an anti-tank missile at an IDF patrol in central Gaza. Leading media reported that yesterday Palestinians fired five Qassam rockets and three mortar shells at Israeli communities. A Grad rocket landed in the empty courtyard of a Netivot synagogue. HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post reported on a new initiative by members of the U.S. Congress seeking to condition the transfer of the $900 million for the Palestinians on an end to rocket fire on Israel from Gaza, and the release of Gilad Shalit. Leading media reported that next week ShalitQs family will erect a protest tent outside the PMQs Residence. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli defense officials expressed satisfaction yesterday with news that Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton., U.S. Security Coordinator in the PA, would be staying on in his position for an additional two years. Maariv reported that a 32-year-old computer programmer from Beersheva was arrested yesterday on suspicion of planning, together with others to blow up American embassies around the world. The suspect was angry at the U.S. administrationQs support for Israel during QOperation Cast Lead. Maariv reported that HamasQs security apparatus arrested Ahmad Salah, a Hizbullah envoy. The newspaper said that the Hamas regime is trying to show Hassan Nasrallah who is the boss in Gaza. Israel Radio reported that the Council of the Chief Rabbinate has decided to allow non-Jewish couples to marry in Israel. The arrangement will not be valid for mixed couples. If the religious partiesQ representatives accept the proposal, the Chief Rabbis and the representatives of the Council of the Chief Rabbinate will ask to meet with Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman in order to convince him to accept their position. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QIt was enough to hear U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say that the demolition of houses [in east Jerusalem] is clearly Qnot in keeping with the obligations entered into under the RoadmapQ to understand that the Jerusalem Municipality is pulling Israel onto a collision course with the new U.S. administration. Jewish affairs writer Anshel Pfeffer wrote in HaQaretz: QThe major Jewish organizations' policy of supporting Israel's democratically elected government while remaining loyal to their home countries could be sorely tested in the coming months. Liberal Hebrew University Professor of Political Science Zeev Sternhell wrote in HaQaretz: QThe danger of the break-up of democracy lurking behind a Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu-National Union government is far greater than the pull to the right that Kadima would risk in a Benjamin Netanyahu-Tzipi Livni government. Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "DonQt Demolish Houses" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (3/6): QYesterday's bulldozer attack shows that the level of tension and rage among Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank has not abated.... Ostensibly, the claim that [88] homes [in the village of Silwan that the Mayor of Jerusalem has instructed to destroy] are illegal seems well-founded. However, when the city does not grant building permits because of the lack of a master plan, or halts the construction of new buildings for political reasons, it pushes Palestinians, who for decades have owned the land on which they want to build, to break the law.... It was enough to hear U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say that the demolition of houses is clearly Qnot in keeping with the obligations entered into under the RoadmapQ to understand that the Jerusalem Municipality is pulling Israel onto a collision course with the new U.S. administration. II. "Hillary Is Around" Shmuel Rosner wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (3/6): QSecretary ClintonQs visit conveyed mixed messages. ON one hand, a tough approach vis-`-vis Hamas that is not substantially different that the outgoing Bush administration. On the other hand, a promise to pour into Gaza huge sums that might help the miserable Palestinians but would annoy Israel: Next time it attacks [Palestinian] targets, it might have to check twice before it destroys projects with the money of the American tax-payer. III. QObama-Brown versus Netanyahu-Lieberman Jewish affairs writer Anshel Pfeffer commented in HaQaretz (3/6): QObama and team are going to be bullish about pressing Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and the Golan. This new tune is being taken up by other governments that portray themselves as friendly to Israel. The major Jewish organizations' policy of supporting Israel's democratically elected government while remaining loyal to their home countries could be sorely tested in the coming months. The problem is likely to be exacerbated by Netanyahu's foreign minister -- who is likely to be Avigdor Lieberman. He would be the first senior Israeli minister whom most of the American and European Jewish leadership will shun -- passively, at least. If the Obama-Clinton team succeeds in preserving its Israel-friendly image by getting tough on Iran, while pressuring Israel on the Palestinian and Syrian issues, and if the Netanyahu-Lieberman coalition steadfastly maintains its current positions, we could see an increasing number of Jewish leaders breaking ranks. Forced to choose between an increasingly isolated Israeli leadership and an administration aggressively pushing for peace, it will be interesting to see which ties are looser. IV. QKadima to DemocracyQs Rescue Liberal Hebrew University Professor of Political Science Zeev Sternhell wrote in HaQaretz (3/6): QThe danger of the break-up of democracy lurking behind a Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu-National Union government is far greater than the pull to the right that Kadima would risk in a Benjamin Netanyahu-Tzipi Livni government.... [Avigdor] Lieberman, [far-Right Knesset Member Michael] Ben Ari, and Shas leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef at Netanyahu's side are the most destructive lineup Israeli politics has ever known.. Israeli society must not be allowed to become accustomed to a reality in which its face is that of Lieberman and Ben Ari. Instead of relating to them and their people as legitimate partners in government, we must brand a mark of shame on their forehead. This is not a matter of our image abroad and relations with the United States, but rather of our children's souls. -------------- ¶2. Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: Qthe longer Obama takes to crystallize his policy, the harder it will be to stop the Iranian bomb. No wonder [IranQs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei feels optimistic. Block Quotes: -------------- "Optimism in Tehran" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (3/6): Q[On Wednesday, in his address to the Fourth International Conference for Support of Palestine in Tehran, IranQs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei professed to be in an optimistic mood following the Qamazing military and political defeatsQ Israel suffered in the Second Lebanon War and more recently in Gaza. Still, he was bitter about what the QZionist criminalsQ did - Qimpaling of infantsQ for instance. Fortunately, he noted, Qadvances in technologyQ (read Al-Jazeera) have exposed the QmagnitudeQ of Israel's atrocities.... This week, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal urged the Arabs to come together in the face of the QIranian challenge.Q Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told Iran to stop interfering in Palestinian affairs. While the Arabs fret about the instability wrought by Tehran in Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan they, like Europeans and Africans, are hedging their bets. So the longer Obama takes to crystallize his policy, the harder it will be to stop the Iranian bomb. No wonder Khamenei feels optimistic. -------------- ¶3. U.S.-Israel Relations: -------------- Summary: -------------- Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QIn BushQs time, the burden of proof rested completely upon the Arab side. In ObamaQs period, the burden of proof will be placed to a large degree on the shoulders of IsraelQs prime minister. Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in Yediot Aharonot: QMs. ClintonQs smiles notwithstanding, Israeli officials understand full well that we can expect a hard time with the new U.S. administration. Block Quotes: -------------- "A Different Us" Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (3/6): QSince the elections, [outgoing Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Sallai Meridor] has been explaining to his interlocutors in Washington that the government that will be formed is not necessarily what they think.... PR is one thing and trust another. Meridor decided to vacate his seat for whomever should win the trust of Netanyahu and his new foreign minister, whether it is Lieberman or someone else. There is not a bit of protest in his act: he does not think that ambassadors have the right to protest against their governments.... Israel will face a different Washington. The talk about the eternal alliance with Israel will be as warm as in the past, but something basic will change in the order of priorities, the gut feelings, and the public atmosphere. In BushQs time, the burden of proof rested completely upon the Arab side. In ObamaQs period, the burden of proof will be placed to a large degree on the shoulders of IsraelQs prime minister. II. "Echelon and Rank" Military correspondent Alex Fishman wrote in Yediot Aharonot (3/6): QThe central message that the new U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to convey after the Sharm el-Sheikh conference was clear: The U.S. would not permit a single dollar to enter the Gaza Strip if Salam Fayyad of the PA did not head the unity government between Hamas and Fatah and were not in charge of the Gaza rehabilitation process. This is a ridiculous attempt to square the circle, but more than this, it is another sign that the Obama administration may adopt a naove Middle East policy, to say the least. Israeli officials did not know whether to laugh or cry when they read the reports sent by the Americans after the meeting held by Acting Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman with the Syrian ambassador to Washington. The Americans explained to us that this meeting was not intended to embrace the Syrians.... In general, Israeli officials have not yet recovered from the messages that Democratic Senator John Kerry sent after his visit to Gaza. He wrote there explicitly: with all due sympathy for the State of Israel, it is impossible to ignore what you have done in the Gaza Strip. There is no choice, you will have to pay for it. In Israel, for some reason, reports were published that the senator complained about pasta shipments to the Gaza Strip that Israel was holding up. This was an underhanded attempt to diminish the SenatorQs message, in order to make it look as if the relations between us and the Americans were being conducted as usual.... Ms. ClintonQs smiles notwithstanding, Israeli officials understand full well that we can expect a hard time with the new U.S. administration. CUNNINGHAM