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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001661 
 
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 
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.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that Israeli officials are concerned about 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice possibly influencing the speech 
 
SIPDIS 
President Bush is slated to deliver on the Middle East in three 
weeks.  The radio said that the officials fear that Secretary Rice 
will mold the speech to Israel's disadvantage. 
 
Yediot and other media reported that Transportation Minister Shaul 
Mofaz, who is in charge of the strategic dialogue with the US, as 
telling Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington that 
Hizbullah has acquired from Syria and Iran missiles capable of 
reaching Beersheva.  Israel Radio quoted Mofaz as saying that Mofaz 
ruled out a military operation against Iran.  The radio cited 
criticism hurled by senior Israeli diplomats at the Washington 
embassy at Mofaz over his alleged remarks on striking Iran. 
Speaking on Israel Radio this morning, Mofaz said that he had 
mentioned that military action against Iran was the last option. 
 
Both Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post led with stories relating to 
the issue of arms shipments to Fatah.  Ha'aretz reported that senior 
Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip have asked Israel to allow them to 
receive large shipments of arms and ammunition from Arab countries, 
including Egypt.  Ha'aretz quoted the group as saying that it needs 
the weapons to counter attacks by Hamas, which has an overwhelming 
advantage in the Gaza Strip.  Israel has not officially responded to 
the request, which includes dozens of armored cars (currently in 
Egypt), hundreds of armor-piercing RPG rockets, thousands of hand 
grenades and millions of rounds of ammunition for small caliber 
weapons.  Ha'aretz quoted sources as saying that, in addition, Fatah 
is organizing yet another paramilitary force in the Gaza Strip.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Israel is considering authorizing the 
transfer of millions of bullets and thousands of Kalashnikov rifles 
from Egypt to forces in the Gaza Strip loyal to PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
high-ranking Israeli defense officials told the newspaper on 
Wednesday that security chiefs in Abbas's office passed on a 
"weapons shopping list" to Gen. Keith Dayton, the US security 
coordinator to Israel and the Gaza Strip, in the middle of May.  The 
officials were quoted as saying that Dayton then passed the list on 
to the Egyptians, who would need to provide the arms and ammunition, 
as well as to Israel's Defense Ministry, which would need to 
authorize the transfer.  The defense officials were quoted as saying 
that Dayton personally recommended that Israel permit the weapons 
supply.  The Jerusalem Post noted that two weeks ago, in testimony 
before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East in Washington, 
Dayton stressed the importance of American efforts to bolster forces 
loyal to Fatah.  He said further help was necessary. 
 
Maariv reported that five million Israelis do not have gas mask 
kits.  According to the newspaper, only every fourth Israeli will be 
protected in case a war breaks out. 
 
Leading media quoted former PM Ehud Barak as saying on Wednesday 
that a Labor Party under his leadership would leave the government 
should Olmert not resign. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media quoted Palestinian sources as saying that 
the meeting between PM Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas was canceled 
over a disagreement on Palestinian tax revenues collected by Israel. 
 However, Ha'aretz quoted Israeli sources as saying that the main 
reason for the cancellation is Abbas's failure to secure a 
cease-fire agreement in his talks with rival Palestinian factions. 
Yediot quoted GOI sources as saying that Abbas's move is only a 
pretext and that he does not have the means to "deliver the goods." 
 
Leading media quoted PM Olmert as saying at a military briefing he 
held on Wednesday that Israel was interested in reaching a peace 
agreement with Syria.  Olmert called for the renewal of direct 
negotiations with the Syrian regime.  "Israel does not wish to 
engage in war with Syria, and the scenario of miscalculation must be 
avoided, as it will bring about a deterioration in security," the 
concluding statement of the briefing read. 
 
Leading media reported that IDF troops killed two Palestinians, 
including a 67-year-old man in two separate incidents, on Wednesday. 
 The troops also severely wounded the man's 65-year-old wife. 
Palestinian militants fired at least three Qassam rockets and six 
mortar shells into Israel from Gaza, causing no casualties or 
damage. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Palestinian residents intend to sue Israel 
for damages in US courts and in other countries if the Knesset again 
passes a law barring suits in Israeli courts over damages incurred 
in non-warfare incidents.  Palestinians with grounds for suits 
against the Israeli army over bodily harm and property damage 
sustained during the armed conflict since September 2000 have 
already contacted American law firms through Adalah - the Legal 
Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.  US law permits suits 
against countries responsible for "humanitarian damages" in 
situations where the victims have no legal recourse in the offending 
country. 
 
The Jerusalem Post printed an AP wire report quoting Israel's 
Ambassador to the US, Sallai Meridor, as saying on Wednesday that 
Iran has not yet crossed the threshold of being able to make nuclear 
weapons, but that this might be no more than two years away.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted several Republican presidential candidates, 
among them front-runner Rudy Giuliani, as saying during a CNN debate 
on Wednesday that they would consider using tactical nuclear weapons 
to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. 
 
Ha'aretz and Yediot reported that the British Minister of State for 
Higher Education and Lifelong Learning, Bill Rammell, will arrive in 
Israel on Sunday to discuss the plan by the main British union of 
university teachers to boycott Israeli institutions.  Ha'aretz, 
Yediot, and Maariv reported that on Wednesday PM Ehud Olmert spoke 
with British PM Tony Blair, who condemned calls for an academic 
boycott of Israel.  Blair said they are not representative of 
British public opinion nor of British universities.  Ha'aretz and 
Yediot also reported that the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
Gordon Brown, who is expected to be the next British PM, is 
appointing the UK's former ambassador to Israel, Simon McDonald, as 
his chief foreign policy adviser.  Ha'aretz wrote that political 
sources in Jerusalem expressed their satisfaction with the 
candidate, describing McDonald as "a friend to Israel." 
 
Major media reported that the Shas Council of Torah Sages will 
convene tonight at Shas mentor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's home in 
Jerusalem to decide whom the party will endorse in next Wednesday 
presidential election. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that anti-Semitism and hate 
crimes rose last year in several places throughout Europe, according 
to a report released on Wednesday by the American advocacy group 
Human Rights First.  The report was published ahead of an 
international conference to open in Bucharest today, sponsored by 
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 
Avraham Burg, former Knesset speaker and former head of the Jewish 
Agency, was quoted as saying in an interview in Ha'aretz that "to 
define the State of Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end. 
A Jewish state is explosive.  It is dynamite."  Burg was also quoted 
as saying that he is in favor of abrogating the Law of Return and 
calling on everyone who can to obtain a foreign passport. 
 
Leading media reported that Ben Gurion Airport traffic controllers 
have canceled a strike they planned for today in protest against 
electronic interference by pirate radio operators.  It is feared 
that the electronic interference could cause an aviation disaster. 
The situation is still volatile. 
 
Major media noted that the rate of the US dollar has climbed by 4 
percent on the Tel Aviv money market over the past three weeks, 
reaching 4.12 shekels on Wednesday. 
 
A poll commissioned by Ha'aretz and carried out by Prof. Camil 
Fuchs's Dialog Institute found that, in the contest for Labor Party 
leadership, MK Ami Ayalon would obtain 47 percent of the votes of 
registered Labor Party members.  Former PM Ehud Barak would receive 
43 percent.  Ha'aretz wrote that this is, in fact, a neck-and-neck 
race. 
 
Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling Institute 
survey showing both Ayalon and Barak garnering 45 percent of the 
votes in the Labor primaries.  However, after analyzing the 
"floating votes," this poll found that Ayalon would overcome Barak, 
52 percent by 48 percent. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: "Bush assumes, or at least hopes, that Hamas is on its way 
out." 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The threats of 
war that Israel and Syria are slinging at each other have a positive 
side." 
Isi Leibler, a veteran conservative international Jewish leader who 
was for many years head of the Australian Jewish community, wrote in 
the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "We can only hope that 
in the years to come, other statesmen may emerge who will replicate 
the courageous and principled stance toward us as exemplified by 
[Australian] Prime Minister John Howard." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Is Democracy Winning?" 
 
Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (6/7): "Bush did not need the remarks made [by attendees] at 
[this week's] Prague conference to know that his concept of 
democratization is lame and even bleeding. He should be thanked for 
not having dodged the tough questions.... Some claim  that stability 
is preferable to democracy.  Bush said that democracy is not always 
implemented the way we want it to be.  He further commented that 
democracy is not only ballots.. Democracy is also a civil society, 
the rule of law, and more.  In order to remain in power, leaderships 
must reach peace.  Thus, Bush assumes, or at least hopes, that Hamas 
is on its way out." 
 
 
 
II.  "Threats' Silver Lining" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev Schiff wrote on 
page one of the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (6/7): " The 
threats of war that Israel and Syria are slinging at each other have 
a positive side.  Finally, the Israeli public will know the truth: 
Is Israel's leadership willing to make painful territorial 
concessions on the Golan Heights?  And, is there any basis to the 
message Jerusalem sent to Damascus about its genuine intentions to 
negotiate?  Israel will also know more.  It will know what all its 
intelligence branches have not been able to decipher, namely, what 
Bashar Assad's intentions are.  Israel will be able to understand 
better what Assad is willing to forgo, in terms of the support Syria 
gives the terrorist organizations operating against Israel, and how 
far he is willing to distance himself from Syria's strategic ties 
with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  The precondition for 
this is that Israel should not be deterred from dialogue with the 
Syrians: both in the form of a direct exchange, and also within the 
framework of the Arab League proposal.... Israel's intelligence 
 
knows a great deal about what is going on in Syria, but the 
impression is that it lacks sufficient information about what Bashar 
Assad thinks and says to his aides and military commanders -- and 
what the Alawi minority leadership, which controls Syria, is saying 
in view of the possibility that a war may bring an end to its 
rule." 
 
III.  "John Howard: Champion For Israel" 
 
Isi Leibler, a veteran conservative international Jewish leader who 
was for many years head of the Australian Jewish community, wrote in 
the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (6/7): "Australian 
Prime Minister John Howard recently received a standing ovation at a 
Jewish community event, reflecting the admiration felt throughout 
the Jewish world for his courageous support for Israel. 
Unfortunately, the polls are predicting that ... the 
it's-time-for-a-change syndrome could defeat him.... This is not to 
suggest that Howard's predecessors were unfriendly.... While most of 
the world turned fiercely against Israel after the Intifada, 
Howard's support for Israel intensified.... We can only hope that in 
the years to come, other statesmen may emerge who will replicate the 
courageous and principled stance toward us as exemplified by Prime 
Minister John Howard." 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Time 
... is running out to stop Iran's nuclear program.  Yet there is 
little palpable sense of urgency as Western leaders meet in 
Germany." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Divest From Iran" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/7): 
"Time ... is running out to stop Iran's nuclear program.  Yet there 
is little palpable sense of urgency as Western leaders meet in 
Germany.  This is illustrated by the fact that global warming, a 
threat which even its more alarmist advocates measure mainly in 
decades or centuries, seems to be higher on the summit agenda.... 
Though another Security Council resolution could be the vehicle, 
what is necessary is decisive action, with or without further 
resolutions.  Iran's two biggest investors and refined oil suppliers 
are Western companies: France's Total and Netherlands-based Royal 
Dutch-Shell.  If these and other Western companies shut down their 
operations, it would quickly become clear that it is Iran, not the 
West, that will ultimately be forced to back down.  If this sounds 
extreme, then it is clear that the alternative scenarios are not 
being taken seriously, and talk of a nuclear Iran being 
'unacceptable' is just talk.  The truth is, if sanctions are allowed 
to fail, the alternatives will get worse and worse, and all will 
lead inexorably -- as did the rise of fascism in the last century -- 
to an increasingly costly military confrontation." 
 
CRETZ