ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000118 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. Anniversary of President ObamaQs Swearing-In: ¶3. Aftermath of the Earthquake in Haiti -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- Leading media reported that yesterday U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Senator George Mitchell came to the region in another attempt to jump-start between Israel and the Palestinians. Ha'aretz reported that, at a meeting at President Shimon PeresQ residence on Sunday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store told Peres that Israel should take more steps to support PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Peres reportedly told him about his meetings with Abbas and Saeb Erekat. According to Palestinian sources, Erekat comes to the President's Residence every few weeks for meetings with Peres. "I am a friend of Abu Mazen. He says the Americans put him in a high tree and took the ladder away. Some of the mistakes were made by him. His expectations of Obama were created by him. He thought that Obama would take the Palestinian side.... I can understand his feelings of disappointment," Peres was quoted as saying. Peres added he told Abbas at one point that "postponing peace negotiations is playing with fire. He says that he has time. Something will happen to start an intifada and the two sides will have lost an opportunity." Peres said he told Abbas he should resume the negotiations, as he had nothing to lose. HaQaretz quoted the AP as saying yesterday that Abbas suggested the U.S. administration negotiate the borders aspect of the agreement with Israel on the PA's behalf. The agency quoted a Palestinian official as saying that Abbas made the offer in talks with gyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The official ws quoted as saying that the Americans would be gven clear guidelines on the Palestinian position. However, other Palestinian sources told HaQaretz that Abbas had no intention of authorizing the U.S. to conduct talks on his behalf. They said Abbas made a general statement to the effect that the U.S. must get Israel to agree to retreat to pre-1967 borders. According to HaQaretz, Mitchell reportedly is not carrying any guarantees or assurances from the United States or Israel that could persuade the Palestinians and Abbas to return to the negotiating table. All media reported that yesterday PM Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that Israel must have a presence in the West Bank to stop rockets from being imported even after a peace agreement is achieved, in the first time he has spelled out such a demand. He was quoted as saying that the experience of rocket attacks from the Lebanese and Gaza borders means Israel must be able to prevent such weapons from being brought into any future Palestinian entity in the West Bank. Israel Radio quoted senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying that his people will not renounce the Jordan Valley, which belongs to them. The Jerusalem Post quoted Aziz Dwaik, HamasQ most senior representative in the West Bank -- the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council -- as saying yesterday that Hamas has accepted IsraelQs right to exist and would be prepared to nullify its charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel. Dwaik was released a few months ago after spending nearly three years in an Israeli prison. All media reported that yesterday DM Ehud Barak announced that the status of Ariel College in the West Bank will be upgraded to a university. Media reported that Barak acted under pressure by FM Avigdor Lieberman. The move won applause from the right, but campaigners against an academic boycott of Israel said that it is like a Qred rag to a bull. HaQaretz reported that new documents presented in federal court in Washington, D.C. reveal deep ties (more than was known) between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Dr. Stewart David Nozette, a Jewish American astronomer accused of spying for Israel. HaQaretz noted that the Israeli media covered his arrest on October 19, 2009 and then interest waned, though the American media are still monitoring the case. HaQaretz reported that American journalist Jared Malsin, the English-language editor for the Palestinian news agency MaQan, returned to the U.S. yesterday, after spending a week in a detention cell at Ben-Gurion Airport. Malsin had been detained with his girlfriend after returning from a holiday abroad last Tuesday. He was questioned and the interrogator recommended not allowing him into Israel, commenting on his "critical reporting" on events in the territories. The interrogator also noted: "We believe he used his Jewishness to secure a visa." The Interior Ministry claimed Malsin refused to cooperate with his interrogators, even though he knew he could be deported as a result. The Jerusalem Post, which also reported on the case, printed a photograph of Malsin shaking hands with U.S. Consul-General in Jerusalem Daniel Rubinstein at the MaQan office in Bethlehem earlier this month. In an unrelated development, The Jerusalem Post reported that the Government Press Office is pushing for the introduction of a U.S.-style journalist visa for foreign reporters, as part of a bid to filter out political activists posing as media employees. HaQaretz reported that Israeli immigration police were involved in the arrest and deportation earlier this month of a Czech, pro-Palestinian activist living in Ramallah, despite the government's denial. The newspaperQs source is a highly placed source familiar with the case. Yediot reported that settlers may have vandalized tombstones in the cemetery in Awarta, a village near Nablus. The Israeli human rights group BQTselem has demanded that the army and police investigate the incident and prosecute the criminals. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday at the International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov (Yisrael Beiteinu) shook hands with his Iranian counterpart. Yediot reported that, in a bid to attract Israeli visitors, Turkey will launch a number of events that are going to be held at the IMTM, the tourism fair that is scheduled be held at the Exhibition Grounds in Tel Aviv. The Jerusalem Post reported that the High Court of Justice accepted the state's admission that is ignoring illegal construction, including an argument to the effect that the army was devoting all its energies to enforcing the government-ordered building freeze in the Jewish settlements and outposts in the West Bank and that the illegal Palestinian building was a low priority matter. Electronic media quoted PM Netanyahu as saying this morning at a Manufacturers Association assembly that "infiltrators cause [Israel] cultural, social and economic damage, and pull us towards the Third World." "We suffer from a problem that actually stems from Israel's economic success," he added, explaining the problems that arise from the breached border with Egypt. "We have become almost the only First World country that can be reached by foot from the Third World. We are flooded with surge of refugees who threaten to wash away our achievements and damage our existence as a Jewish democratic state," Netanyahu said. He reiterated his intention to erect a physical barrier along the border with Egypt to prevent this "flood" of migrants. The Jerusalem Post reported that Tel Aviv University academic Dr. Anat Matar will call for a boycott of Israel, speaking at a London university next month to commemorate Qone year since IsraelQs attackQ on Gaza. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday a Jordanian prosecutor agreed to hear a lawsuit against two Israeli lawmakers -- Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Member Arieh Eldad (National Union) -- after they called for turning Jordan into a Palestinian state. The lawyers accused the Israeli parliamentarians of threatening JordanQs sovereignty and security. Maariv extensively reported on a conflict between the Druze people and the state over QillegalQ construction in the Golan. Media reported that the U.N. has requested Israel to send police to Haiti to help maintain order. Israel is reportedly considering agreeing to dispatch a small force. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, NBC correspondent Martin Fletcher reflects on how being the son of Holocaust survivors has affected his life as a journalist covering war-torn countries. Yediot reported that this week President Obama attended a musical event in Washington featuring Israeli singer Idan Raichel, who conveys a message of tolerance in his concerts. -------------- ¶1. Mideast: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. QObamaQs Loss Is NetanyahuQs Gain Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in the independent, left-leaning HaQaretz (1/21): QThe Republican win in the fight for the U.S. Senate seat of the late Edward Kennedy represents a major victory for opponents of U.S. President Barack Obama and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For nine months, Netanyahu held his ground against pressure by Obama, who enjoys a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. From now on, Obama will be much more dependent on support from his Republican adversaries, who are supporters and friends of Netanyahu.... The results of the elections in Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the union, are already making things difficult for Obama. Those who support the peace process see Obama as having missed a historic opportunity by wasting his first year in office on empty diplomatic moves, unable even to jump-start talks between Israel and the Palestinians. From now on it will be even more difficult: Congressional support is essential for every diplomatic move and in the current political atmosphere in the United States -- polarization and serious conflict between the two parties -- Netanyahu can depend on Republican support to thwart any attempts to pressure Israel. If Obama's popularity continues to plummet and the Republicans retake at least one of the houses of Congress in November then Netanyahu and his partners on the right can breathe easy and continue to expand the West Bank settlements and the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem. II. QBarakQs Boomerang Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in HaQaretz (1/21): QAfter three months of concentrated propaganda against Qright-wing refusal to serveQ -- or in other words (with sweeping generalization),against the hesder yeshivas, which combine Torah study with army service -- one of the two soldiers who held up a sign saying QShimshon [Battalion] won't evacuate HomeshQ has been ousted from the Israel Defense Forces. A vigorous protest against his ouster is essential. His demonstrative act of protest, which was clearly unacceptable (the soldier was rightly sent to jail),did not in any way amount to refusal to serve. A mere protest does not warrant such grave injury to a soldier's honor, the honor of his family and the honor of his social and spiritual milieu.... Those who were tolerant of, and in some cases even sympathetic to, the phenomenon of refusing orders in the midst of battle -- in Lebanon, for instance -- have stigmatized precisely those who are most highly motivated, by tarring them with the brush of refusal to serve. III. QLegitimizing the Evils of Occupation Columnist and former Meretz Party Chairman Yossi Sarid, who started his political life in the Labor Party, wrote on page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (1/21): QThe Labor Party has always been the great legitimizer of the occupation's evils. This is the historical mission it has taken on, and no other party could have done it better. Now Labor is legitimizing another evil. Having once served as chairman of the Council for Higher Education, I can assert: there is no academic justification for recognizing Ariel College as a university. Nor as a Quniversity centerQ -- a smart-aleck term trying to bypass the rules. Barak always believes he can build a new career with tricks and ruses but ends up tripping himself with his ploys.... Now those boycotting Israeli universities have a case -- proof of the tightening knot between the occupation, military administration and academe. No doubt, Barak's move will raise more calls to boycott Israeli universities and academics. We can only hope the Council for Higher Education will not cooperate with this outrageous move. Otherwise, it would betray the public's trust and do irreparable damage to all the universities and colleges under its charge. IV. QRight-Wing Extremists Remain Immune Advocate Dr. Shlomo Cohen, former President of the Israel Bar Association, wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (1/21): Q[Outgoing Attorney-General Menachem] Mazuz has protected an apartheid policy that expressed itself in the Israeli authoritiesQ decision to prevent movement of Palestinians on Route 443, despite the fact that land confiscation was justified by the need to build a road that would serve local residents. During MazuzQs term, the state repeatedly infringed [High Court laws mainly those dealing with the locations of the [separation] fence, but also other ones. IDF forces killed around 4,700 Palestinian civilians. Only legal 170 files were opened; only around 30 soldiers were put on trial. Hundreds of Palestinians were maimed. Settlers damaged the property of thousands of them. Only a small minority of cases was investigated; only ten indictments were presented. Israeli democracy, which is largely based on the principle of rule of law, represents an extraordinary achievement in universal and historical terms Q especially considering the constraints, tests, and hardships with which Israel had to contend all along. But this achievement is overshadowed by the failure of the Israeli judicial system, which teats the territories as a black hole. The outgoing Attorney-General shares this responsibility. ¶V. QMore Free Speech in Israeli and Palestinian than U.S. Media Palestinian-American journalist Ray Hanania, the coordinator of the National Arab American Journalists Association, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (1/21): QWhy the near-total silence from American leaders and muted coverage in the American press now over the arrest and detention [by Israel] of [American journalist and English-language editor of the Palestinian news agency MaQan, Jared] Malsin? It is a testament to the confidence of Israel's media that they, more than anyone else, have written and followed the Malsin story. In fact, if it wasn't for the Israeli media and the MaQan News Agency, few others would be covering the story.... While the Israeli media sees this as a story about a government agency violating free speech, the American media and the elected officials in the U.S. view it as a reason to bash Israel. In a way, that puts the mainstream American press and American politicians in the same boat with those Palestinian and Arab media which see the issue not as one of principle but as an opportunity to attack Israel.... Most of the Israeli and Palestinian media did a better job of covering his case than the mainstream news media in America, the country that claims to set the bar for the rest of the world when it comes to free speech. Have the mainstream American media and American officials failed in doing their jobs, or are they just afraid to get on Israel's bad side? Whatever the reason, many in the Israeli and Palestinian press are keeping the story on the front burner in a way that helps guarantee that Malsin's journalistic rights will eventually be protected, while putting the Qfree mediaQ in America to shame. -------------- -------------- ¶2. Anniversary of President ObamaQs Swearing-In: -------------- -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- "Unhappy Obamaversary" Contributor Gil Troy, a professor of history at McGill University on leave in Jerusalem, wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (1/21): QIn fairness, being president in 2009 was not easy. When Obama started running, he, like most people, assumed the good times would continue. Bill Clinton can tell his successor that it is a lot more fun to preside over prosperity than manage a recession. But many of Obama's problems are Obama's fault. In 2008, candidate Obama promised to lead from the center. He sang a song of modern American nationalism, a Qyes we canQ credo of working together, seeking the national sweet spot where most Americans could agree.... Alas, in his big push for health care reform, Obama deputized the partisan, ideologically-charged Democrats in Congress to draft the legislation, and accepted pushing for a marginal victory rather than nurturing a broad-based bipartisan coalition. The Republicans share the blame. The party of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush has become the party of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, shrill, demagogic, adolescent, obstructionist. Quick to criticize but slow to envision constructive alternatives, the Republicans have been the party of Qno we won'tQ to Obama's Qyes we canQ.... Just as his Qyes we canQ campaign broke free of the shackles of the past, in this, his sophomore year, America's rookie president must break free from the shackles of liberal Democratic orthodoxy. -------------- ¶3. Aftermath of the Earthquake in Haiti: -------------- Block Quotes: -------------- QThe Pride and the Shame Liberal columnist Larry Derfner wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (1/21): QWhen it's a matter of life or death, [Israelis] have the biggest hearts. So the IDF field hospital in Haiti is a reflection of something very deep in the national character. But so is everything that's summed up in the name Gaza.Q It's the Haiti side of Israel that makes the Gaza side so inexpressibly tragic. And more and more, the Haiti part of the national character has been dwarfed by the Gaza part. Gaza, too, is a matter of life and death -- not just for the people who were trapped in the rubble there not long ago, but for Israel. When will this big-hearted nation stop being heartless to the people in Gaza? CUNNINGHAM