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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001163 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
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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.  Iraq 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Leading media reported that Defense Secretary Robert Gates ended his 
short visit to Israel on Thursday with a meeting with PM Olmert and 
FM Tzipi Livni.  Ha'aretz said that the meeting focused on Syria and 
the Iranian nuclear program.  Ha'aretz and Maariv reported that 
Olmert told Gates that Israel had no intention of attacking Syria 
and warned against a "miscalculation" that might lead Syria and 
Israel into a war no one wanted.  Ha'aretz quoted Secretary Gates as 
saying that he shared his hosts' concerns. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Defense Secretary Robert Gates as saying during his 
visit to Israel that Washington has decided to sell Joint Direct 
Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs to Saudi Arabia.  Ha'aretz wrote that a 
recent discussion in Washington raised the possibility that 
Jerusalem would ask the US not to sell the satellite-guided smart 
bombs to the Saudis, but it was decided to reject this request.  The 
IAF itself has purchased the high-accuracy JDAMs, and used them 
against Hizbullah targets during the Second Lebanon War.  Defense 
Minister Amir Peretz expressed Israel's opposition to the sale of 
the weapons to Saudi or other Persian Gulf states during his visit 
to the US a few weeks ago.  Peretz said Israel was concerned the 
weapons might fall into terrorist hands.  Israel also argues that 
the presence of such weapons in the Arab countries undermines 
Washington's pledge that Israel will enjoy a qualitative edge in the 
region -- attained mainly by the possession of advanced weaponry. 
Articles by Arab security experts in the Western and the Arab press 
recently have argued that Israel's opposition to the sale of 
advanced arms to the Arab states has placed the country in a 
strategic contradiction, due to the need to achieve deterrence in 
the face of the Iranian threat. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Yediot reported that, in the face of Iran's 
race to obtain nuclear weapons, the Israel Air Force has expressed 
newfound interest in receiving the F-22 -- a US-developed fifth 
generation stealth fighter jet -- and has asked that the Defense 
Ministry present the request on its behalf to the Pentagon.  The 
Jerusalem Post wrote that, while the sale or transfer of F-22s to 
Israel did not come up in talks on Wednesday between Defense 
Minister Peretz and US Defense Secretary Gates, defense officials 
told the newspaper that Israel would ask to receive the aircraft in 
order to retain its "military edge" in the Middle East.  Yediot 
noted that the "astronomical" cost of each F-22 is USD 150 million. 
 
Hatzofe reported that, despite its "bitter criticism" of the 
decisions made at the Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo on 
Wednesday -- according to the Prime Minister's Office -- the US has 
asked Israel to respond positively to the decisions.    Hatzofe 
quoted associates of PM Ehud Olmert as saying that he acceded to the 
US demand, and that Israel made an official announcement about its 
"positive answer in principle."  The Arab FMs' decision empowers 
Egypt and Jordan to conduct contacts with Israel on behalf of the 
Arab League. 
 
Maariv reported that King Abdullah II of Jordan is considering 
delivering a speech to the Knesset.  Maariv said that PM Ehud Olmert 
invited him to visit Jerusalem soon so that he can convince the 
Knesset to endorse the Arab peace initiative, and that Knesset 
Speaker and Acting President of Israel Dalia Itzik, who headed a 
delegation of Knesset members to Amman, transmitted the invitation 
to King Abdullah.  Yediot wrote that it was Itzik who invited King 
Abdullah.  Maariv cited concerns that the exposure of the visit to 
the media might cause its cancellation.  Ha'aretz reported that on 
Thursday the King told the visiting Knesset members that "we are in 
the same boat, we have the same problem.  We have the same enemies." 
 Abdullah reiterated the comments a number of times, which those at 
the meeting said referred to Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas.  The King 
also emphasized that he spoke not only for Jordan but for a group of 
states in the region.  He asked at one point: "Do you want Iran on 
the banks of the Jordan River?"  Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli 
delegation was impressed with Abdullah II's frankness regarding the 
Arab peace initiative but that it said he demands too high a price. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Itzik as saying that King Abdullah is 
"very dedicated" to the Arab peace initiative.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted the Knesset members as saying that the monarch sounded 
flexible on the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and that 
the members of the delegation told him that all Israelis reject it. 
Hatzofe reported that King Abdullah II requested of the Knesset 
members that Israel avoid taking unilateral steps. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a high-ranking officer in the IDF 
Central Command warned on Thursday that, having failed to establish 
a military force in the West Bank parallel to the one it has in the 
Gaza Strip, Hamas is instead working to infiltrate its operatives 
into the official PA security branches.  Hatzofe reported that Hamas 
is trying to take over the PLO's political apparatus. 
 
All media reported that the High Court of Justice ruled on Thursday 
that the Winograd Commission probing the Second Lebanon War will 
release the partial testimonies of PM Olmert, Defense Minister 
Peretz, and former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz no later than two 
weeks after issuing its interim report at the end of April. 
However, the court advised the commission to release the testimonies 
as soon as possible, "even sooner than two weeks" after submitting 
the report to the cabinet.  The court issued its ruling following a 
request by Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that OC Central Command 
Yair Naveh has decided to allow setters to march to the ruins of the 
settlement of Homesh on Independence Day (Tuesday).  The IDF 
conditioned its agreement on the organizers leaving the West Bank 
ruins after a few hours.  The Jerusalem Post and Hatzofe reported 
that, at a closed event, Naveh criticized the disengagement and the 
weakness of Israeli leaders on the ground. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that three powerful US congressmen -- 
Howard Berman (D-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), and Mike Pence (R-IN) 
-- sharply criticized Saudi Arabia following a report in Monday's 
Jerusalem Post that the desert kingdom is breaking its pledge to 
drop the Arab League boycott of Israel.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
an official from the US Trade Representative's Office as saying that 
continuing the primary boycott of Israel would not be consistent 
with Saudi Arabia's commitment to abide by WTO rights and 
obligations. 
 
Yediot reported that Qatar has invited Israeli students to study at 
the Doha branch of the prestigious Georgetown University. 
 
On Thursday IDF Radio reported that right-wing activists plan an 
extensive ad campaign calling for the release of Yitzhak Rabin 
assassin Yigal Amir.  The campaign, sponsored by a group called the 
Committee for Democracy, is the brainchild of an anonymous 
American-Jewish millionaire. 
 
Yediot reported that, for the first time in over 20 years, negative 
immigration was recorded in Israel.  Five thousand more people will 
leave the country this year than will immigrate.  Other media 
reported on a trend among Israelis to consider emigration. 
 
Ha'aretz devoted its lead story to the suffering of Sudanese 
refugees in Chad, where it dispatched a special correspondent. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the British Jewish weekly The Jewish Chronicle as 
saying last week that Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth's youngest 
child, will be the first member of the British royal family to come 
to Israel on an official visit (in September).  Ha'aretz noted that 
just a year ago the British Ambassador to Israel stated that there 
would be no official state visit by a member of the British royal 
family until there was peace. 
 
Yediot reported that the "reputable" New York Magazine is 
recommending short vacations in Tel Aviv due to local restaurants 
and the night scene.  The American periodical reportedly placed Tel 
Aviv on a list of four favorite short-break destinations in the 
world. 
 
Maariv reported that 42-year-old Israeli-born Nati Meir, whose 
parents came to Israel in 1951 and who immigrated to Rumania in 
1996, intends to run for the Romanian presidency following the 
Bucharest Parliament's impeachment of incumbent President Traian 
Basescu. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) featured a documentary -- "A Hero in Heaven" 
-- telling the tragic tale of Michel Levin, an American-born IDF 
soldier who fell during the Second Lebanon War. 
 
The Jerusalem Post noted that Americans and Israelis starkly differ 
in their handling of security in the aftermath of mass murder.  The 
newspaper said that Americans are more lenient. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Harvard law professor Alan 
Dershowitz will spend the 2007-8 academic year at the 
Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. 
 
Hatzofe wrote that Reform Jews in the US "are trying to be more 
American and less Jewish."  The newspaper said that they condemn the 
US Supreme Court's decision to limit the number of abortions and 
support Democratic leaders who demand immediate negotiations with 
Syria and Iran. 
 
Yediot presented the results of a Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll 
conducted among registered Labor Party members: In a runoff vote for 
party leadership, former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon would get 44 
percent of the votes -- and former PM Ehud Barak 43 percent. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn and Washington correspondent 
Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"Olmert's new willingness to talk with Abbas about the 'diplomatic 
horizon' can be read in two ways." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: "Apparently, 
the neo-conservatives have not learned that in the Middle East, a 
problematic regime's removal can lead to the emergence of an 
infinitely more problematic one.  Like Abrams, Olmert wants to 
dictate the composition of his opposing team." 
 
Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"Paradoxically, Israel and Hamas share more common ground than is 
apparent at first glance." 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Diplomacy on the Horizon" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn and Washington correspondent 
Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(4/20): "Olmert's new willingness to talk with Abbas about the 
'diplomatic horizon' can be read in two ways.  The one identifies a 
relinquishing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon's ironclad 
principle of not talking about diplomatic matters before the 
Palestinians extirpate terror and 'become Finns,' in the words of 
former advisor Dov Weisglass.... Nonsense, says the counter-version. 
 Olmert, considering his shaky position in the public-opinion polls, 
does not have public backing for a dramatic diplomatic move, and if 
he attempts one, he will risk the breakup of the coalition with 
Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman's party and Shas. 
Abbas can talk and talk, but he's not in a position to reach an 
agreement and certainly he cannot implement one.  In these 
circumstances, Olmert is only trying to placate American Secretary 
of State Condoleezza Rice at the lowest price possible.  Therefore 
he agreed to the bi-weekly meetings with Abbas and to employ fine 
phrases like 'diplomatic horizon.'  In any case, before anything 
else, Olmert has to bring Gilad Shalit back from captivity and then 
endure the inevitable criticism that will accompany the release of 
terrorist murderers.  Only then, and if he gets through Winograd 
unscathed, will Olmert really be able to think seriously about the 
diplomatic horizon." 
 
II.  "A Peace or War Initiative?" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (4/20): 
"Arming the Palestinian Presidential Guard is part of Elliott 
Abrams' plan to bury the Mecca agreement, the basis of the national 
unity government.  Abrams, Deputy National Security Advisor to US 
President George W. Bush and an acknowledged expert in the language 
of force, related in a closed-doors briefing that non-Hamas cabinet 
ministers would resign and that Abbas would dissolve the government 
and announce new elections.  Apparently, the neo-conservatives have 
not learned that in the Middle East, a problematic regime's removal 
can lead to the emergence of an infinitely more problematic one. 
Like Abrams, Olmert wants to dictate the composition of his opposing 
team, the rules of the game, and when it starts and finishes.... The 
momentum the Arab peace initiative received at the Riyadh summit 
presents Israel and America with new conditions that constitute a 
package deal.... The days of land for no peace -- and of no war, no 
terrorism and no abductions -- are running out." 
 
III.  "From Radical Jihad to the Politics of Compromise" 
 
Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami wrote in Ha'aretz (4/20): 
"It's not surprising that the Mecca agreement and the Palestinian 
unity government that arose in its wake are thorns in Israel's 
side.... [But] paradoxically, Israel and Hamas share more common 
ground than is apparent at first glance.  The chance of a final 
status agreement emerging from a direct dialogue with the leader of 
the Palestine Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas, is close to 
nil.  When this becomes clear, and Israel starts searching for a way 
to return to the idea of withdrawal from the West Bank, it probably 
won't find a worthier partner than Hamas.  Hamas, like Israel, is 
not ready for the compromises entailed by a final status accord. 
But a long-term interim agreement is possible only with it, and not 
with the PLO.... The United States is winning the war for Arab 
democracy, but paradoxically, it is declining to reap the rewards 
because the new image of Islamic political pluralism does not match 
the illusion of liberal democracy in whose name America sought to 
change the face of the Middle East.... A dialogue with political 
Islam, in the form of Hamas, for instance, is an unavoidable 
necessity.  Ostracism and banning is a recipe for disaster, as the 
example of Algeria shows.  Creating a space for legitimate political 
activity by Islamic parties, including recognition of their right to 
govern, is the way to encourage moderation.  The challenge therefore 
is not to destroy the only Islamic movements that can claim 
authentic popular support in the Arab world, but rather to solidify 
their fragile transition from radical jihad to the politics of 
compromise." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Editor-in Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (4/20): "This is the challenge that faces 
Israel as it turns 59.... We need to do everything we can to help 
galvanize the necessary international will to avert the [Iranian 
nuclear] threat before it is too late." 
 
The Jerusalem Post editorialized: "There was an anomaly in Bush's 
speech [on genocide at the Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday], 
which matched an anomaly in Jewish activism: the lack of focus on 
the genocidal threat from Iran." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Israel's challenge at 59" 
 
Editor-in Chief David Horovitz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (4/20): "This is the challenge that faces 
Israel as it turns 59: As the first but by no means the only target 
of Iran's murderous ambitions, we cannot afford to stand heroically 
in the line of Tehran's fire, so as to give the rest of the world 
breathing space to belatedly regroup and take action.  We need to do 
everything we can to help galvanize the necessary international will 
to avert the threat before it is too late.  It is an uphill 
struggle, maybe even a lost cause, given our lack of international 
credibility and standing -- but Israel needs to shine the light 
nonetheless.... And if all else fails, we need to stand firm, behind 
a leadership of real moral clarity, and protect ourselves." 
 
II.  "Iran and Sudan" 
 
The Jerusalem Post editorialized (4/20): "The Jewish people should 
be proud of its role in sounding the alarm regarding a major 
humanitarian crisis [Darfur].   Jews, indeed, have an obligation not 
to remain silent, and have not been.  Yet there was an anomaly in 
Bush's speech [on genocide at the Holocaust Memorial Museum on 
Wednesday], which matched an anomaly in Jewish activism: the lack of 
focus on the genocidal threat from Iran.  There is no doubt that the 
Jewish world is concerned about Iran.... Why, however, has there 
been no community-wide effort to convince major US states to divest 
the billions of dollars their pension funds have invested in 
companies working in Iran?  How is it that Iranian officials can 
still travel the world without meeting protests at every turn, as 
Soviet officials experienced during the campaign to free Soviet 
Jewry?  Why has the USHMC's [US Holocaust Memorial Council] 
Committee of Conscience not called for indicting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
for inciting genocide, a crime under the Genocide Convention?  The 
Jewish world should not trim its activism on Sudan one iota, but its 
campaign on Iran should be even more insistent, urgent, visible and 
concrete." 
 
--------- 
¶3.  Iraq: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote in 
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "If withdrawal is 
interpreted by the Arabs as a sign of American defeat, we can look 
forward to a radical Arab shift that will strengthen all the 
extremists around us." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"It Looks As If the Victory Won't Be American" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote in 
the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/20): "The assumption that 
there will be no American victory in Iraq is growing stronger.  On 
the other hand, a Shi'ite victory over the Sunnis seems likely.  If 
there is such a victory, it will have a profound effect on the 
region, Israel included.... A Shi'ite victory would ... affect 
Israel's security.  The growing Iranian influence in a 
Shi'ite-controlled Iraq could be detrimental to Israel and the same 
holds true for a Shi'ite Iraqi pact with Hizbullah.  Meanwhile, it 
seems that an American pullout will not end the hostilities in Iraq 
because the Sunnis are fighting for their lives.  If withdrawal is 
interpreted by the Arabs as a sign of American defeat, we can look 
forward to a radical Arab shift that will strengthen all the 
extremists around us." 
 
JONES