This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 006630 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Tsunami 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
¶3.  Pakistan: Nuclear Program 
 
¶4.  Iraq 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media cited assessments that the casualty toll of 
the tidal waves in South Asia has reached 60,000 or 
even 70,000, and cited UN officials as saying that it 
could rise as high as 100,000.  Leading media quoted 
Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying Tuesday that 
 
SIPDIS 
the U.S. "will do more" to help the victims of the 
tsunamis.  Powell also said that he regretted a 
 
SIPDIS 
statement by a UN official suggesting that it had not 
helped enough.  Israel Radio reported this morning that 
the U.S. boosted its aid to tsunami-stricken countries 
to USD 35 million.  Depending on the sources, the media 
reported that there is concern for the lives of 15 to 
100 Israelis who were in the hit region.  Israel Radio 
this morning reported that the Thai authorities have 
reported on two Israeli casualties.  Foreign Ministry D- 
G Ron Prosor said in an interview with Israel Radio 
this morning that 150 Israelis are still unaccounted 
for.  Although all media reported that Sri Lanka turned 
down the visit of an Israeli rescue team, and that an 
Israeli plan carrying 80 tons of food and medical 
supplies worth USD 100,000 was set to depart for Sri 
Lanka this morning, Jerusalem Post reported that the 
Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, called for 
"a radical and dramatic change of perspective" among 
people "too often preoccupied with making war," and 
that it singled out Israeli military leaders for 
declining a request for emergency medical help. 
 
All media reported that the government suffered a 
serious blow on Tuesday when the Knesset's 
Constitution, Law and Justice Committee failed to 
approve the bill for the "evacuation and compensation" 
of settlers from the Gaza Strip and the northern West 
Bank.  The committee's vote on the bill resulted in an 
8-8 tie, with Israeli Arab MK Azmi Bishara (Balad) 
abstaining.  The vote is likely to delay the 
disengagement process by a few weeks.  Leading media 
reported that Tuesday settlers form the northern West 
Bank community of Sa-Nur prevented members of the 
Disengagement Administration from entering their 
settlement.  They had to force their way into Sa-Nur. 
Jerusalem Post quoted Pinchas Wallerstein, a senior 
member of the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in 
the Territories, as saying Tuesday that settler leaders 
are considering making an official appeal to Diaspora 
Jews to travel and join the fight against the 
evacuation of the Gaza Strip.  Israel Radio reported 
that activists of the outlawed Kach movement have 
handed out leaflets showing Jews being led in trains to 
the death camps.  The Yesha Council of Jewish 
Settlements in the Territories condemned the leaflets. 
The radio reported that the Yesha leaders will meet 
today with Acting Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in order 
to convince her of the "illegality" of the 
disengagement plan. 
 
Jerusalem Post cited a denial by Gush Katif (Katif 
Bloc) farmers Tuesday that they are in the midst of 
indirect negotiations with the Disengagement 
Administration to receive plots of land in the western 
Negev in exchange for fields they will leave behind 
under the disengagement plan. 
 
This morning, Israel Radio reported that two IDF 
soldiers escorting a civilian convoy were wounded in a 
shooting attack in the West Bank town of Baka El- 
Sharkiya, next to the Green Line.  The media quoted 
Palestinian sources as saying that Tuesday an IAF drone 
carrying two Hamas militants near the southern Gaza 
Strip town of Khan Yunis.  The militants, who escaped 
unharmed, were apparently on their way to carry out an 
attack in Gaza. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that, facing an upsurge in 
lawlessness and anarchy, the PA is preparing to deploy 
a special force in the Gaza Strip to fight local 
criminal gangs, but not Hamas. 
 
Yediot quoted Sharon as saying at a meeting with 
Israel's ambassadors to the European countries on 
Tuesday: "Nobody has the right to determine how much 
security Israel requires.  Tell it to the Europeans 
forcefully.  We don't owe anything to anyone, only to 
the Almighty."  Maariv quoted Sharon as saying at the 
meeting: "Europe won't take part in the diplomatic 
process with the Palestinians, because it doesn't have 
a balanced approach." 
 
Jerusalem Post quoted visiting Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D- 
CT) as saying Tuesday that Yasser Arafat's death has 
led to an improvement in U.S.-Palestinian ties, but 
that this upswing is conditional on the PA stopping 
terror. 
 
Citing AP, Jerusalem Post quoted Syrian FM Farouk Shara 
as saying Tuesday that Israel is to blame for the 
deadlock in peace talks between the two countries, 
citing Israel's rejection of Damascus's recent 
overtures. 
Yated Ne'eman reported that Egyptian FM Ahmed Abu el- 
Gheit has urged Israel to pull out from all Palestinian 
cities it entered in 2000. 
Leading Internet service Ynet reported that the Iranian 
Broadcasting Authority has launched a well-informed 
Hebrew news site that includes items and articles on 
world and Israeli events. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that next week Knesset Speaker 
Reuven Rivlin is likely to declare Shinui party leader 
MK Yosef (Tommy) Lapid opposition leader. 
 
Maj. Gen Yiftah Ron-Tal, the head of the IDF Ground 
Services, was quoted as saying in an interview with 
Jerusalem Post that the Defense Ministry should boost 
production of the Merkava IV tank.  The newspaper also 
quoted him as saying that women of Machsom Watch, a 
group that monitors soldiers' behavior at roadblocks, 
should be replaced with IDF officers. 
 
Visiting Egyptian journalist and historian Ali Salem 
was quoted as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz that 
"Israel has joined the Middle East" following the 
signing of the free-trade agreement with Egypt.  Salem, 
who was persecuted in Egypt following his first visit 
to Israel in 1994, made similar remarks in interviews 
with Yediot and Maariv.  Ynet and Yated Ne'eman quoted 
Jordanian journalist Shaker Nabulsi at saying at the 
"New Media in the Middle East" conference held at Ben 
Gurion University that Arab satellite media are a 
primary factor in the encouragement of terror. 
 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz quoted PM Sharon as saying Tuesday 
that he has accepted an invitation to visit China.  The 
newspaper says that the expected visit could be 
overshadowed by friction over a snagged Israeli-Chinese 
weapons deal. 
 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz reported that Turkish FM Abdullah 
Gul will travel to Israel next week. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that members of Ethiopia's 
Falash Mura community have accused a Jewish-American 
aid group, the North American Conference on Ethiopian 
Jewry (NACOEJ), of running a Mafia-like operation at 
its compounds in Addis Ababa and Gondar, where some 
15,000 to 17,000 Falash Mura await permission to 
immigrate to Israel. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Tsunami: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(December 29): "The enormous loss of life around the 
Indian Ocean rim is partly a human failure too." 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in the 
lead editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Even if there are some hitches here and 
there, it seems that there are few countries in the 
world that come to the aid of their citizens the way 
Israel does." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "South Asia and Us" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(December 29): "The enormous loss of life around the 
Indian Ocean rim is partly a human failure too.... 
South Asian nations are not anywhere as affluent [as 
the U.S. and Japan], which is their excuse for having 
wasted so much time postponing expenditure on tsunami 
alert devices. They couldn't even agree on whether 
these are worthwhile.... Lest we too patronizingly 
criticize others, however, we should pay attention to 
natural menaces of our own.  We must not ignore our 
dangers as the countries of South Asia ignored 
theirs.... Experts warn [Israel] to expect a major 
quake (above 7 on the Richter Scale) sometime within 
the next 50 years.  It could happen any day and, if of 
a devastating magnitude and in a lethally close 
location, no part of the country would be safe.... But 
talk and blueprints are no substitute for action.... 
Yes, dispensing more than advice costs money -- and we 
have more pressing needs.  So, too, did India, 
Indonesia et al.... We can't be sure when the next 
quake will come.  We can determine how prepared we are 
to survive it." 
 
II.  "Our Finest Hour" 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and the late prime minister 
Yitzhak Rabin's assistant Eytan Haber opined in the 
lead editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (December 29): "Even if there are some hitches 
here and there, it seems that there are few countries 
in the world that come to the aid of their citizens the 
way Israel does.  The great America shrugs its 
shoulders.  France drowns in champagne and frog legs as 
the screens show appalling sights.  Oy, they say, and 
move on to their business.  Not us...The Americans have 
1,000 workers in their embassy in Thailand, and it is 
easy for them to get organized and send five of them to 
the airport to welcome arrivals.  Israel has six 
workers, and they have to stretch themselves thin. 
Albeit the concern of those rescued and their families 
is understandable, and the strain that is part of their 
lives at this time justifies their outbursts and rage, 
but when the storm abates, they too will realize that 
it is not exactly the job of the State of Israel to 
find their children who have gone on a trip, and all 
its actions in its handling and rescuing Israelis are a 
'bonus' to Israeli citizens simply because they are 
Israeli.  There is (almost) no other country like this 
in the world." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative contributor Gerald M. Steinberg, Editor of 
NGO Monitor and Director of the Program on Conflict 
Management at Bar-Ilan University wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Like other 
powerful organizations, HRW [Human Rights Watch] and 
its leaders should be subject to a system of checks and 
balances." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Human Rights: Watching the Watchers" 
 
Conservative contributor Gerald M. Steinberg, Editor of 
NGO Monitor and Director of the Program on Conflict 
Management at Bar-Ilan University wrote in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (December 29): 
"In the past four years, despite terror attacks that 
clearly violate any common-sense concept of basic human 
rights, HRW's [Human Rights Watch] reports and press 
releases have focused -- by a ratio of over six to one 
-- on allegations against Israel.... In September 2001, 
HRW emerged as a key player during the nongovernmental 
organization sessions of the infamous Durban anti- 
racism conference, which were hijacked to demonize 
Israel.... Like other powerful organizations, HRW and 
its leaders should be subject to a system of checks and 
balances to ensure that the claimed objectives -- moral 
and otherwise -- are consistent with the choice of 
issues, the presentation of evidence, and the hiring 
process.... Perhaps in this way the lost moral force of 
the human rights movement, reflecting exploitation of 
universal principles in support of private political 
biases, can also be repaired." 
 
------------------------------ 
¶3.  Pakistan: Nuclear Program: 
------------------------------ 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Defense commentator Reuven Pedhazur opined in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "There should be no 
reliance ... on the American determination to prevent 
the proliferation of nuclear weapons.  Israel must 
prepare for 'a New Middle East' in which it will no 
longer be the sole nuclear player." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Pakistan's Immunity" 
 
Defense commentator Reuven Pedhazur opined in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (December 29): "All 
eyes are set on Iran, which is trying to dupe the 
Europeans and carry on with its plans to produce 
nuclear weapons, but the truth is that the more 
immediate threat for the acceleration of nuclear 
proliferation can be found nearby, in Pakistan.... The 
immunity enjoyed by [Dr. Abdel-Kader] Khan, [who was 
arrested by the Pakistan authorities on suspicion of 
running a clandestine international ring for the sale 
of nuclear technology and later pardoned by Pervez 
Musharraf] is rooted in the dependency that the Bush 
administration has developed in the form of Pakistan's 
president, who has been an important ally in the war 
the Americans are waging against international 
terrorism, and especially the hunt for Osama Bin Laden 
in Afghanistan.... With this attitude, the U.S. 
administration is in fact preventing the clearing of 
the air surrounding Khan's nuclear dealings, and does 
not allow the tracking of the path of proliferation 
that he paved around the world.... The Khan affair 
proves once more that even when the more sophisticated 
intelligence agencies seek to follow the nuclear 
activities of various countries, they fail over and 
over again.... In Israel the affair needs to raise a 
number of alarms.  A significant portion of Khan's 
clients are in the Middle East, and it is possible that 
Iran is not the sole country in the region with a 
nuclear weapons program.... The lesson is that there 
should be no reliance on the IAEA to tackle the problem 
and not even on the American determination to prevent 
the proliferation of nuclear weapons.  Israel must 
prepare for 'a New Middle East' in which it will no 
longer be the sole nuclear player." 
 
--------- 
¶4.  Iraq: 
--------- 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of 
Commerce and former Likud Knesset member Uriel Lynn 
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv: "In my opinion, 
Bush will be well remembered in history and actually 
earn esteem for starting a war against Iraq." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Determination Against Tyranny" 
 
President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of 
Commerce and former Likud Knesset member Uriel Lynn 
wrote in popular, pluralist Maariv (December 29): "In 
my opinion, Bush will be well remembered in history and 
actually earn esteem for starting a war against 
Iraq.... Every knowledgeable person in the Western 
world should have felt revulsion facing the possibility 
that a dictator such as Saddam Hussein could gain 
control of nuclear weapons.  Like Hitler, Saddam saw no 
value in human life.  International weapons inspections 
cannot be carried out forever.  The war held back a 
process of clear and present danger to large 
populations around the world.... Bush had to make the 
decision of going to war in particularly difficult 
conditions: he faced an antagonistic Europe ... divided 
media at home, and sharp opposition by part of his 
country's population.  But the free world will have 
much more to thank Bush for his decision, since he set 
a barrage against murderous tyranny, which always seeks 
to work beyond its country's boundaries." 
 
KURTZER