ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Iran


2. Mideast


3. U.S.-Israel Relations

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Key stories in the media:
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Israel Radio reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu called Dr. Michael
Oren to inform him that he has officially been appointed IsraelQs
ambassador to the U.S. Leading media reported that yesterday Oren
told AIPAC that Israel will not let Iran get nuclear weapons.
Israel Radio quoted opposition leader Tzipi Livni as saying that
time is not on IsraelQs side in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The Jerusalem Post quoted her at saying at the conference
that Netanyahu still has no organized plan to present to the
Americans.

Yesterday Maariv speculated that President Shimon Peres will tell
President Obama that Netanyahu will not hesitate to operate against
Iran. HaQaretz reported that Netanyahu has put together a panel of
high-level officials to consider alternatives for action against the
Iranian nuclear threat. The team has been meeting a few times a
week ahead of Netanyahu's trip to Washington. Team members include
DM Ehud Barak, FM Avigdor Lieberman, Strategic Affairs Minister
Moshe Ya'alon, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, National Security
Advisor Uzi Arad, and Mossad Director Meir Dagan. The Jerusalem
Post reported that several senior members of Congress asked
President Obama on Thursday to set a deadline for engaging with Iran
and that he apply strong sanctions if talks do not work.

The Jerusalem Post reported that, while PM Benjamin Netanyahu is
refusing to explicitly endorse a two-state solution to resolve the
Palestinian conflict, participants at the AIPAC Policy Conference
will this week be urging their elected representatives to press
President Obama for precisely that.

Yesterday HaQaretz reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu plans to ask
the cabinet (before flying to the U.S. in two weeks) to approve a
withdrawal from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, which
straddles the Golan-Lebanon border. This move is mandated by UN
Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon
War. HaQaretz quoted a senior political source in Jerusalem as
saying on Saturday that Netanyahu wants to respond to the American
request on the matter. The media also said that the move would be a
goodwill gesture to the government of PM Fouad Siniora ahead of
upcoming Lebanese elections. All Ghajar residents, in both halves,
are Israeli citizens. This move will necessitate security
arrangements aimed at preventing terrorists from infiltrating Israel
via Ghajar while not making life intolerable for the villagers.

All media reported that yesterday the cabinet decided to cut 14
billion shekels (around $3.5 billion) in planned expenditures over
the next two years. The decision was approved by a vote of 20-10,
with all the Labor and Shas ministers opposed. The 10th vote
against came from Education Minister Gideon SaQar (Likud).

The media reported that a fourth case of swine flu was diagnosed in
Israel yesterday. The patient was a 20-year-old woman from Holon
who recently returned from Mexico. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported
that rabbis from Tiberias thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
for the decision to stop the raising of pigs in Egypt.

The media reported that the USG has decided to drop charges accusing
two former pro-Israel lobbyists Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman of
illegally disclosing classified information just weeks before their
four-year-old case was set to go to trial.

Maariv reported that Netanyahu has told Attorney General Menachem
Mazuz that Ofer Dekel, the PMQs former point man on the prisoner
issue, will reveal state secrets (in the memoirs he is planning to
publish).

Over the weekend the media reported that the IAF bombed five tunnel
systems used for smuggling arms and other goods from Egypt into
Gaza. At least two Palestinians died in the raids. The
Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket at the western Negev on Thursday
and launched two more on Saturday. The media reported that an IDF
soldier was stabbed in Ramat Gan yesterday in what is suspected to
have been a terror attack.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
plans to tell the UN today that there has been a 1.5% rise in the
number of Palestinian patents whom Israel has interrogated and
forced to provide information on Hamas or to serve as spies as a
precondition to leaving Gaza for medical care.

Media reported that police have arrested nine Bedouin residents of
the Israeli Arab town of Shfaram on suspicion of planning to carry
out attacks against Israelis.

The Jerusalem Post reported hundreds of Christian supporters of
Israel were to gather last night in Washington with a group of
international lawmakers seeking to further Israel-U.S. ties based on
shared Judeo-Christian values, amid growing concerns of a nuclear
Iran.

Maariv cited the Arab Knesset membersQ anger over a speech that
Prof. Sam Solomon, formerly the imam of Khartoum, will deliver at
the Knesset today about the Qdangers of jihadist Islam.

The Jerusalem Post noted that Jack Kemp, the onetime Republican VP
candidate who passed away on Saturday, was known for his affection
and activism for Israel.

HaQaretz reported that Sue Gardner, WikipediaQs leading editor, who
attended the Wikipedia Academy 2009 Conference in Israel this week,
refuted claims by leading Israeli Internet researchers that
WikipediaQs coverage of Israel-related issues is Qproblematic.
Gardener said that the Web site merely reflected public discourse.
QI know that more or less the same mistakes [on Wikipedia] can be
found in The New York Times,Q she was quoted as saying.

Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited a survey conducted by the United Jewish
Federation of New York that found that no more than 100,000 Israelis
live in the U.S., not half a million as previously thought. The
report does not seem to match data published in The Jerusalem Post
and based on the same survey.

Leading media reported that 17-year-old Israeli Itamar Hasson won a
silver medal at the Asian Physics Olympiad in Thailand.

HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post cited the results of an
Anti-Defamation League/ Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at
Bar-Ilan University survey conducted by Maagar Mohot among Israeli
Jews:

Asked about military action against Iran, 66% said they approved of
it, 15% said they were opposed and 19% said they did not know. Among
those who said they approved military action, 15% said they would
change their minds if the United States opposed it, while 75% said
they would not. The rest were undecided.

An overwhelming majority also said they believed close relations
with the United States were essential for ensuring Israel's
security. Sixty percent of the respondents said they had a
"positive" or "very positive'Q attitude toward President Obama.
However, only 38% said they thought his attitude to Israel was
friendly -- in contrast to 73% of respondents in a 2007 poll, who
defined the attitude of the previous president, George W. Bush, as
friendly.

Asked whether reconciliation with the Arab and Muslim world would
come at the expense of Israel's interests, 63% said they believed it
would; 71%, however, said the interests of the United States and
Israel were "similar" or "complemented each other."

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1. Iran:
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Summary:
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Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz: Q[IsraelQs] stuttering ambiguity provides no advantage:
neither a deterrent against Iran, nor pressure on the rest of the
world. The situation needs to be expressed directly and clearly in
Washington.

Jonathan Spyer, a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center,
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: Q[IranQs]
assistance to the Taliban follows the familiar broader pattern of
encouragement of instability across the region.

Block Quotes:
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I. "Option-Shmoption"

Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning
Ha'aretz (5/3): QIn the clash of wills between two rivals, so far it
is Iran's determination to acquire nuclear weapons that is being
accepted as fact. By contrast, there is a lack of Israeli
determination to act against the unique combination of the intention
to eradicate and a willingness to tolerate weapons of mass
destruction. The stuttering ambiguity provides no advantage:
neither a deterrent against Iran, nor pressure on the rest of the
world. The situation needs to be expressed directly and clearly in
Washington, to the administration, to Congress, and to the American
public. President Shimon Peres cannot foment such a change
tomorrow, during his visit with Obama, but then Peres is not in a
decision-making position. In fact, maybe Netanyahu isn't either.

II. "TehranQs Stake in Regional Insecurity"

Jonathan Spyer, a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center,
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (5/4):
Q[IranQs] assistance to the Taliban follows the familiar broader
pattern of encouragement of instability across the region. Iran is
in the business of challenging the U.S.-dominated order in the
Middle East. Preventing an American achievement in Afghanistan, and
keeping NATO forces bogged down in an endless, bloody slogging match
in the country represents a natural expression of this.... The U.S.
administration thinks that Tehran QshouldQ support regional security
and stability. The problem is that the Iranian regime appears to
have a different way of calibrating its interests. In the Iranian
approach, support for violence and insurgency brings with it myriad
advantages. The Western powers, prevented from attaining their
objectives, appear weak and helpless. The enemy, bogged down in
conflicts elsewhere, has less time and capital to spend on
containing Iranian ambitions. And finally ... proxies can always be
abandoned at an opportune moment, in order to buy time for projects
of truly central importance.

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2. Mideast:
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Summary:
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Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe era of boycotts on
central players in the region, which was typical of the Bush
administration, has come to an end. The Americans might discover
that in the end one can't plan or expect anything in the Middle
East, but until that happens everyone is going to have to get used
to the new rules of the game.

Block Quotes:
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"The Rules of the Game Have Changed"

Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/3): QThe reports
about closer relations between the Obama administration and Syria
left the Israeli policy makers thunderstruck.... Israeli officials,
so it would seem, are dizzy from trying to keep track of the
dramatic changes that have been made to American foreign policy in
the Middle East. The intimate relations with the U.S., at least
judging by the way things look at present, aren't what they used to
be.... It is reasonable to assume that the issue [of withdrawal from
the Golan] will be discussed at length in the course of the meeting
between Netanyahu and Obama. It is highly unlikely that Netanyahu
will suggest to the President of the U.S. that an agreement between
Israel and Syria be based on the formula that was proposed by
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman: peace in exchange for peace.
The negotiations between Israel and Syria, which in the past decade
were conducted with American mediation, clarified to each side what
the other side was demanding be paid to it in exchange for a peace
treaty. Israel is demanding that Syria stop serving as a supplier
of weapons to Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. One thing is
certain: The era of boycotts on central players in the region, which
was typical of the Bush administration, has come to an end. The
Americans might discover that in the end one can't plan or expect
anything in the Middle East, but until that happens everyone is
going to have to get used to the new rules of the game.

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3. U.S.-Israel Relations:
--------------

Summary:
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Former Health Minister, former Transportation Minister, and former
Deputy Foreign Minister Ephraim Sneh (then from the Labor Party)
wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: Q[A] package of
understandings would defuse the danger of an Israeli-American
clash.

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized:
Q[Ambassador-appointee to Washington Michael] Oren will be at his
most effective if Netanyahu can articulate a foreign and security
policy that is coherent and sensible.

Block Quotes:
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I. "Understandings before a Clash"

Former Health Minister, former Transportation Minister, and former
Deputy Foreign Minister Ephraim Sneh (then from the Labor Party)
wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/4): QGlimmers of
concern have recently crept into conversations with various American
officials about a possible clash between the Obama administration
and the Netanyahu government.... The agreement that Obama speaks of
contains unavoidable components: withdrawal from 96 percent of the
West Bank, the transfer of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem to
Palestinian rule, and a special arrangement for the holy places. It
is very doubtful whether a majority will be found in the present
Knesset to approve such an accord.... And above all, there is the
Iranian issue: Addressing it requires coordination and full
understanding between Israel and the United States -- not tension
and conflict. This entanglement may be unraveled by means of a
Qpackage of understandingsQ between Israel and the U.S., which will
ensure tangible progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian
state, and will serve the shared interests of both America and
Israel in the face of an Iran heading toward nuclear power. In the
framework of this package, Israel would undertake five pledges: to
institute a total, monitored freeze on construction in settlements
and of roads connecting them; [and other gestures].... The United
States, for its part, would pledge to limit its dialogue with Iran
to a reasonable period of time, and not to include acceptance of
Tehran's demand to recognize it as a hegemonic player in the Middle
East.... Moreover, the United States would take part in the
development of Israeli anti-missile and rocket programs without any
connection to America's annual military assistance, and in a form
and to an extent that would accelerate completion of -- and allow
Israel to incorporate its own technology and weaponry in -- the new
F-35 aircraft. The package of understandings would defuse the
danger of an Israeli-American clash. On the one hand, it would
ensure the economic and security infrastructure of the Palestinian
state. On the other, tangible economic sanctions would undermine
the regime of the ayatollahs.

II. "Our Man in Washington"

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/4):
QThe Washington ambassadorial job is arguably Israel's most
important diplomatic posting. Naturally, it entails representing
our government. But it also requires the ambassador to ensure that
the prime minister understands which way the wind is blowing at the
White House, Foggy Bottom, and on Capitol Hill. Moreover, the
ambassador is the face of Israel to the American people. Hawk or a
dove, or the epitome of an independent thinker, Oren must now put
loyalty to Netanyahu above any personal or political consideration.
Plainly, the Obama administration will not be spun or won over by
Oren's rhetoric. With them, he will need to speak authoritatively
for a premier who, we trust, will have a clear agenda -- foremost on
Iran and the Palestinians. An ambassador, no matter how eloquent or
well-connected, cannot be compelling if the policies at the top are
jumbled or lack resonance. Oren will be at his most effective if
Netanyahu can articulate a foreign and security policy that is
coherent and sensible.

CUNNINGHAM