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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000246 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 
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COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported and all major media, except Maariv and The 
Jerusalem Post, bannered last night's joint statement by PM Ehud 
Olmert and Defense Minister announcing their decision to appoint 
Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi to 
the post of IDF Chief of Staff.  Leading media quoted former IDF 
Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon at saying on Monday at the Herzliya 
Conference that the IDF would "come back to itself with the changes 
now."  Major media quoted Ya'alon as saying that Peretz and Olmert 
should resign.  Ha'aretz cited discussions among the IDF's General 
Staff during the war in Lebanon that indicate that IDF Chief of 
Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz objected to a ground offensive almost 
until the end of the war. 
 
Saying that Olmert is "losing control," Ben Caspit of Maariv 
reported that at least 13 Knesset members from the ruling party 
Kadima are trying to depose him.  The newspaper said that senior 
Kadima members as saying that they view the Winograd Committee 
probing the war in Lebanon as an opportunity to let Olmert go. 
Maariv cited an assessment according to which several ministers will 
convene and decide who among them will take over from Olmert and who 
will get key posts in the next government. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that in an effort to establish more 
effective more effective deterrence in the face of Iran's race to 
obtain nuclear weapons. GOI ministries, headed by the National 
Security Council, are, for the first time, working on drafting a 
position paper that will include guidelines and a strategy for 
turning Israel into a full-fledged member of NATO.  Jose Maria 
Aznar, the current President of the Spanish think tank FAES 
(Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies) and former Spanish PM, 
was quoted as saying on Monday in an interview with The Jerusalem 
Post that "Israel needs to join NATO as soon as possible."  Aznar 
was further quoted as saying in the interview that the Iranian 
threat serves as an "excellent occasion to enforce [Israeli] 
deterrence by making Israel a member of NATO.  Aznar was also quoted 
as saying that if Israel became a member of NATO, "the perception in 
Iran would change, knowing that it's not only Israel [they are 
dealing with], but all of NATO."  Aznar was quoted as saying that 
 
NATO needed to change its focus to counter the growing threat of 
global terrorism.  "The threat today is terror and we need to 
restructure NATO to deal with this threat," he was quoted as saying. 
 Aznar was quoted as saying that he believed that diplomatic efforts 
and sanctions -- at the current level like those passed last month 
-- would not succeed in getting Iran to suspend its nuclear 
ambitions.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Aznar as saying later, at the 
Herzliya Conference, "We must do everything we can to prevent a 
nuclear Iran, but we must also prepare to seek a possibility to make 
a nuclear Iran act appropriately."  He hinted that he would 
understand if Israel decided to take unilateral military action to 
stop Iran, claiming that "Israel has what to be concerned about." 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Sen. John Edwards of South 
Carolina, who is running for president of the United States on the 
Democratic ticket, told conference members via satellite that one 
day Israel could be a member of NATO.  The newspaper quoted General 
Lord Charles Guthrie of Craigiebank, former chief of the UK Defense 
Staff, as saying that he favored Israel joining NATO even though he 
doubted that it could happen any time soon.  However, The Jerusalem 
Post quoted the editor and publisher of the German weekly Die Zeit, 
Josef Joffe, as saying that he believed that joining NATO would 
restrict Israel militarily.  He was quoted as saying that NATO would 
likely make such restrictions a requirement for membership. 
 
Israel Radio reported on clashes in Lebanon, as the opposition, 
including Hizbullah, is initiating a mass protest and road blockages 
in Beirut today. The radio reported that one person was killed and 
four others wounded in the clashes this morning. 
 
Maariv reported that Kadima MK Prof. Shlomo Breznitz, who is 
considered a close associate of Olmert, is drafting a 
"revolutionary" diplomatic plan including an Israeli withdrawal from 
most of the West Bank; the end of the occupation and the handover of 
the territories, including the Gaza Strip, to a European force until 
the establishment of a Palestinian state.  Maariv reported that 
Breznitz rules out a military presence of the US, which he said lost 
its honest-broker status in the eyes of the Palestinians and the 
Arab world following the war in Iraq.  Breznitz reportedly suggests 
a gradual pullout of Israeli troops and the evacuation of 
settlements according to Olmert's realignment plan. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted former CIA Director James Woolsey as 
saying on Monday at the Herzliya Conference: "I do not believe the 
current Sunni concern over the Shi'ite nuclear weapons program in 
Iran will lead to some sort of covert Saudi, Egyptian, American, 
Israeli modus vivendi to protect ourselves against the Shi'a." 
 
Hatzofe reported that the Popular Resistance Committees announced on 
Monday that they will kidnap more Israeli soldiers.  The Jerusalem 
Post and Hatzofe cited a claim by the Palestinian Preventive 
Security apparatus that last month it captured a collaborationist in 
the Gaza Strip who had helped Israel locate firing sites of 
rockets. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited an upcoming book by Hebrew University Prof. 
Raphael Israeli, "The Third Islamic Invasion of Europe," which says 
that as many as 100,000 French and British citizens have converted 
to Islam over the past decade.  The Islamic history professor writes 
that Europe is in danger of becoming "Eurabia" within half a 
century. 
 
Maariv and Yediot reported that David Dahan, the deputy head of 
Israel's defense acquisitions delegation in Paris, has mysteriously 
disappeared.  The dailies reported that he left a suicide note 
behind. 
 
Major media quoted Swiss President and FM Micheline Calmy-Rey as 
saying on Monday that Switzerland had mediated the secret 
back-channel negotiations between Israelis and Syrians.  Ha'aretz 
reported that the parties to the back-channel talks with Syria met 
with relatives of Israeli spy Eli Cohen's family and that they 
discussed the possibility that Damascus would allow his remains to 
be repatriated once peace talks are renewed. 
 
Leading media reported that on Monday in the Tze'elim military base 
in southern Israel, the IDF unveiled an Urban Warfare Training 
Center (UTC) in a mock city that simulates an Arab town. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a study released on Monday by the human 
rights organization Bimkom that some 250,000 Palestinians will be 
trapped in enclaves either on the "Israeli" side of the security 
barrier or almost surrounded by concrete walls or fences inside the 
West Bank. 
 
Yediot and Israel Radio reported that this week the US delegation to 
the UN will present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council 
condemning Holocaust denial.  Yediot said that the proposal was 
worked out jointly with Israel's UN delegation. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Canadian FM Peter Mackay as saying at the 
Herzliya Conference on Sunday that the formation of an independent 
Palestinian state is the best way to ensure Israel's security and 
gain legitimacy in the eyes of its neighbors. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, ahead of President Bush's State of 
the Union Address, a group of prominent American political figures 
urged the President to prioritize efforts to solve the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict by emphasizing the importance of the 
issue in his speech on Tuesday.  The call is part of the Campaign 
for American Leadership in the Middle East's (CALME) overall push 
for greater American involvement in pursuit of a two-state solution 
to the conflict.  The newspaper said that former US Defense 
Secretary William Cohen is an important supporter of CALME. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive 
Vice-Chairman of the Conference of Major American Jewish 
Organizations, told the newspaper on Monday that in the coming years 
American Jewry will face the most significant delegitimization of 
Israel it has encountered. 
 
Yediot reported that members of an Iraqi organization that plans to 
memorialize hundreds of thousands of victims of Saddam Hussein's 
regime in three museums dedicated to the "Holocaust of the Iraqi 
people" have secretly visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in 
Washington and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. 
 
Leading media cited the Saudi daily Al-Watan as saying on Monday 
that some 45 Jews in Sa'ada in Yemen have left their homes after 
being threatened by radical Muslims and that they are seeking the 
help of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his government. 
 
Yediot reported that the Israeli billionaire and media tycoon Haim 
Saban tops the list of donors in US political campaigns.  Yediot 
cited FOX-TV as saying that he has contributed around USD 13 million 
to various candidates so far. 
 
Yediot reported that on Monday, in a solidarity gesture, Moshe 
Samooha (phon.) and Carmel Elazar, two wealthy members of the 
Iranian Jewish community in New York, paid up the debts of customers 
of 12 grocery stores in Sderot. 
 
Yediot reported that El Al has decided to put an end to its flights 
on the Tel Aviv-Istanbul route, due to competition by foreign 
charter airlines and heavy security costs.  The newspaper quoted 
Israel's Ambassador to Turkey as saying that this constitutes a slap 
in the face of the Israeli government and Turkey's Jewish community. 
 Yediot cited El Al as saying that that it will cancel routes that 
do not generate profits. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "For [most US Jews], choosing between Clinton 
and the Republican candidate is a no-brainer.  By all indications, 
Hillary is avoiding the oldest conflict in the Middle East like the 
plague." 
 
Columnist Zali Yafe wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: 
"When the former President of the United States lies, distorts 
facts, and advocates terrorist actions against innocent civilians, 
the American nation is in a very tight spot." 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "A No-Brainer For American Jews" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (1/23): "For her friends on the Jewish Left, 
Senator Clinton stirred longings for First Lady Hillary.  Given her 
flip-flopping attitude toward the Israeli-Arab conflict, they regard 
the possibility of First Man Bill with a mixture of joy and fear. 
The closer she got to launching her campaign, the more Clinton 
distanced herself from the democratic left and positioned herself in 
the center.  Her friends on the Jewish left accept this with 
understanding, even if they are not too pleased about it.  Like most 
of the Jewish community, liberal Jews support Clinton's positions on 
domestic issues, especially social matters (such as workers' rights, 
abortion, stem cell research and health insurance).  Clinton's 
positions on these matters are considered anchored in solid values. 
According to public opinion surveys by Jewish organizations, most 
community members are more concerned by domestic issues than by the 
candidate's 'Israeli-Arab' record.  For them, choosing between 
Clinton and the Republican candidate is a no-brainer.  By all 
indications, Hillary is avoiding the oldest conflict in the Middle 
East like the plague.  In any case, the next president will be very 
occupied by the Iraqi mess and the Iranian quagmire, as well as the 
more pressing matter of North Korea." 
 
III.  "When a President Lies" 
 
Columnist Zali Yafe wrote in the nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe 
(1/23): "How could the most awesome democracy in the world manage to 
place at his head a man who later turned out to be a rapacious liar 
who does not hesitate to 'rewrite' documents, produce citations that 
never existed, and call for the continuation of suicide bombings 
against innocent civilians?.... Jimmy Carter claims in his [latest] 
book that according to [UN Security] Resolution 242, Israel must 
withdraw from the territories.  But the word 'must' does not appear 
in the text of the resolution.... One may disagree with Israel's 
policy and criticize it.  But when the former President of the 
United States lies, distorts facts, and advocates terrorist actions 
against innocent civilians, the American nation is in a very tight 
spot.  If the Palestinians are allowed to harm Israeli civilians, 
why should the Iraqis not be allowed to murder children in New 
York?" 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Under 
its current regime, Iran must become no less of a pariah state than 
was South Africa under apartheid.  Israel should not shy away from 
becoming the state most actively pressing for this." 
 
Meir Ezri, a former Israeli ambassador to Iran and the President of 
the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at the University 
of Haifa, wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "If Khamenei 
indeed looks down on Ahmadinejad, he has the power to remove him 
from power.  He does not need to fight with him through foreign 
press headlines." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
¶I.  "Clarity, Ambiguity" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (1/23): 
"In what seems to be another uncalculated slip, Ariel Levite, the 
Deputy Director-General of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, on 
Sunday openly labeled Israel as a nuclear 'threshold state'.... 
Ambiguity, it seems, is not our strong suit..... It is disturbing 
when our officials cannot seem to abide by a long-standing policy, 
or alternatively, decide in an orderly way to change that policy. 
Such mistakes are embarrassing, and add to the sense that our 
government suffers from a lack of basic competence.  The more 
serious problem, however, is not that we are too clear when we are 
supposed to be ambiguous, but too ambiguous when we must be 
clear.... Neither the US nor Israel have demanded that a 'terrorism 
file' be opened against Iran in the UN Security Council, as if 
Iran's nuclear program is the regime's only sanctionable 
activity.... Under its current regime, Iran must become no less of a 
pariah state than was South Africa under apartheid.  Israel should 
not shy away from becoming the state most actively pressing for 
this, since no nation will press harder than we do.  Like it or not, 
we set the standard for action -- or for doing nothing." 
 
II.  "Iranian Deceit" 
 
Meir Ezri, a former Israeli ambassador to Iran and the President of 
the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at the University 
of Haifa, wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (1/23): "The 
headline in London's Sunday Times according to which Iran's 
spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is considering changing 
[Iran's] nuclear policy in an effort to appease the tension with the 
West, is yet another deception and lie by the Iranian leadership.... 
Even during the term of the previous president, Muhammad Khatami, 
the Iranians took care of creating 'tension' around various issues 
between him and his country's spiritual leaders.... The reality is 
that the Iranians have neither an interest nor an intention of 
reaching a compromise with the United States and the West.... If 
Khamenei indeed looks down on Ahmadinejad, he has the power to 
remove him from power.  He does not need to fight with him through 
foreign press headlines.... The West should not be fooled by the 
disinformation planted by the Iranians.  As long as Iran does not 
take a concrete step to put an end to nuclear development, the world 
must assume that the 'conflict' at the top of the regime is a 
figment of the imagination.  Thus, the pressure on Iran should be 
bolstered before it is too late." 
 
JONES