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DE RUEHTV #2579/01 2361136
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P 241136Z AUG 07
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002579 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that Assistant Secretary of State for Near 
Eastern Affairs David Welch and Quartet Mideast envoy Tony Blair 
will come to the region next month ahead of Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice's visit.  Israel Radio also reported that the donor 
countries to the PA will meet in New York. 
 
Ha'aretz (Akiva Eldar) reported that PA headquarters in Ramallah was 
irritated by the lead story in Thursday's Ha'aretz, which said that 
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has not definitely rejected Israel's 
proposal of establishing a Palestinian state with temporary 
borders. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF, predicting that Israel's 
future wars will be characterized by unprecedented missile barrages, 
has decided to modify its missile defense doctrine and has changed 
its deployment of Arrow missiles in northern Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a senior French Foreign Ministry 
official told the newspaper that France is acting to provide several 
Arab countries with peaceful nuclear programs in order to wean the 
region off oil and boost Franco-Arab relations. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the IDF and settlers are 
preparing an agreement over illegal settler outposts in which 
construction in older outposts would be permitted.  The newspaper 
cited confirmation by Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office. 
 
Yediot and other media reported that parents in Sderot want their 
children evacuated from the city and not attend school there. 
 
Israel Radio reported that last night Ambassador Richard Jones held 
a reception in honor of the election of President Shimon Peres and 
his 60 years of public service.  The radio reported that Peres will 
visit Italy and meet with Pope Benedict XVI, the principal Italian 
leaders, and opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi. 
The Jerusalem Post reported on controversy on Capitol Hill 
surrounding Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer's upcoming book, "The 
Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy," and Abe Foxman's own book "The 
Deadliest Lies: The Israeli Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control." 
Ha'aretz also cites the buzz around those books and mentions a new 
position paper by former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dore Gold. 
Ha'aretz quotes former Secretary of State George P. Shultz's 
introduction to Foxman's book, which praises US support for Israel. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the military branch of Islamic Jihad has 
announced that all its actions are coordinated with Hamas.  The 
radio also reported that Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for ousted 
Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh, has resigned in protest over Hamas's 
decision not to initiate conciliation with Fatah. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Thursday naval and air units 
from Israel, the US, and Turkey wrapped up two days of joint 
search-and-rescue exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.  Bahrain, 
Jordan, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan participated in the exercise as 
observers. 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that Defense Minister and Labor 
Party Chairman Ehud Barak was willing to cede the post of deputy PM 
to Knesset Member Ami Ayalon, but that Infrastructure Minister 
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer blocked the move. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted political sources connected to Likud and 
Yisrael Beiteinu as saying that Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu 
told Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman that he wants the two 
parties to run on a joint list for the Knesset.  However, the 
newspaper quoted Netanyahu associates as saying that he will not 
reserve slots for Kadima rebels. 
 
Leading media reported that Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the northern 
branch of Israel's Islamic Movement, was taken to hospital in east 
Jerusalem on Wednesday after the police used a stun grenade to 
disband a joint conference with Hamas that he organized in the 
city's Wadi Joz neighborhood. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited data published by the PA's statistical 
bureau that one third of young Palestinians consider emigrating. 
 
Yediot ran a feature about strategic mistakes that have prevented 
the US from killing or catching Osama bin Ladin.  The newspaper 
quoted senior Israeli Intelligence officials as saying that 9/11 was 
"the Americans' Yom Kippur," in reference to the Yom Kippur War. 
 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Turkish government is pressuring Israel 
to help reverse the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) decision to 
recognize Turkey's massacre of Armenians during World War I as 
genocide.  Ha'aretz quoted Foreign Ministry sources in Jerusalem as 
saying that a meeting between Turkish FM Abdullah Gul and Israel's 
Ambassador to Ankara, Pinhas Avivi, became "shrill."   Ha'aretz 
quoted an Israeli ministry source as saying that Gul told Avivi that 
"Turkey knows Israel was not responsible for the ADL's announcement, 
but is disappointed because Israel could have done something to 
prevent it."  Ha'aretz reported that Avivi replied that Jerusalem 
was not involved in the ADL's decision and that "there is no change 
in Israel's position.  We are not taking sides, and believe that the 
parties must hold a dialogue to clarify and investigate the matter 
and determine what really happened."  The Jerusalem Post reported 
that the ADL will reconsider its opposition to an Armenian genocide 
bill. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that local Christian groups are up 
in arms over a letter sent to the White House by evangelical leaders 
late last month that calls on President Bush to work toward a 
two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 
 
Maariv mentioned the possibility raised by Washington Post 
journalist Glenn Kessler that Secretary Rice could run for the 
governorship of California. 
 
Maariv and other media publish remarks made by convicted spy Marcus 
Klingberg providing details about his intelligence work for the 
Soviet Union that he hid from his Shin Bet interrogators. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that Steven Friedland, a US-born 
medic in the IDF, is to receive a citation of valor next month in 
recognition of his service in the Second Lebanon War. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the chief spokesman of the Russian 
Air Force, Col. Aleksandr V. Drobyshevsky, confirmed in writing for 
the first time that Soviet pilots, in the USSR's most advanced 
MIG-25"Foxbat" aircraft, flew highly provocative sorties over 
Israel's nuclear facility in Dimona in May 1967, just prior to the 
Six-Day War. 
 
Several media reported that former Meretz Chairman Yossi Sarid is 
considering running for the mayorship of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. 
 
Maariv reported that Israeli reporter Nurit Kedar is a candidate for 
 
 
an Emmy award for her part in producing a documentary on Lebanon on 
the British Channel 4-TV. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that local Democrats are revving up 
voter registration in order to increase the electoral influence 
wielded by party members living in Israel. 
 
Yediot reported a gang of Israelis residing in the US has defrauded 
Americans of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post printed an AP story citing the 
results of a poll by respected pollster Ghassan Khatib according to 
which Palestinians overwhelmingly prefer the Western-backed 
government of Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad over the ousted Hamas 
government, in spite of the fact that residents of the Gaza Strip 
believe their security has improved since Hamas seized control of 
the area. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The ongoing bitter struggle 
between Fatah and Hamas obliges Israel to show special sensitivity 
in negotiations on the agreement of principles that is being 
prepared for the regional summit scheduled to take place in 
November." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "The achievement of an Israeli-Palestinian 
understanding on final-status issues would probably expand 
participation in the summit to include key players such as Saudi 
Arabia and other Arab states, who would give further credibility to 
a document of principles." 
Military correspondent Yaakov Katz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "The current assessment in the [Israeli] 
defense establishment is that Assad is at a point where he can go 
either way -- to the negotiating table or to the battlefield." 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick 
wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "If the Americans want to know what 
will happen if their foreign policy fantasists take charge of their 
affairs, they have only to cast a glance at what is happening in 
Israel today." 
 
Jonathan Spyer, a senior research fellow at the Interdisciplinary 
Center in Herzliya, wrote in Ha'aretz: "As long as Jewish nationhood 
is embedded in the solid structures of economic and technological 
development, while its Islamist enemies can root their own ambitions 
only in dysfunction and failure, the results of the contest, bloody 
though it be, are not in doubt." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Key Is Constructive Ambiguity" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (8/24): "The lead story in 
Thursday's Ha'aretz irritated Palestinian Authority headquarters in 
Ramallah.  The story said that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has not 
definitely rejected Israel's proposal of establishing a Palestinian 
state with temporary borders.... Leaders of Abbas's Fatah movement 
became nervous lest Hamas take advantage of these reports to wage 
psychological warfare against Fatah.... The ongoing bitter struggle 
between Fatah and Hamas obliges Israel to show special sensitivity 
in negotiations on the agreement of principles that is being 
prepared for the regional summit scheduled to take place in 
November.  Hamas misses nothing, in any language.  A reckless 
formulation, of the sort that could be construed to imply 
concessions on a 'sacred principle,' could doom the summit before it 
even occurs.... Two essential requirements for ... an arrangement 
are international guarantees and a timetable.  These will stipulate 
that if relations across the fence are peaceful, Israel will grant 
the Palestinians fair territorial compensation -- in terms of both 
quantity and quality -- within an agreed period of time.  The term 
'fair' enables Olmert to tell the folks back home that he has not 
committed to withdrawing from all of the territories, while Abbas 
will be able to promise that in the final settlement, the 
Palestinians will receive territory equal to 100 percent of the West 
Bank." 
 
II.  "Summit Wisdom" 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized (8/24): "As the regional summit sponsored by 
the President of the US approaches, signs are growing that Israel's 
senior political leadership wants the initiative to succeed..... The 
new circumstances in the territories and the Arab League initiative 
require the political leadership not to miss any opportunities. 
They obligate it to show courage and initiative in formulating 
understandings that will bring about the prompt establishment of a 
Palestinian state, a resolution of the issue of Jerusalem, and a 
solution to the refugee problem that would be implemented outside 
Israel's borders.... The achievement of an Israeli-Palestinian 
understanding on final-status issues would probably expand 
participation in the summit to include key players such as Saudi 
Arabia and other Arab states, who would give further credibility to 
a document of principles.  Kadima leaders should not be deterred by 
the criticism they will absorb from the right.  They have a public 
mandate and a solid parliamentary majority to fulfill their 
obligation to end the occupation and ensure that Israel remains a 
Jewish and democratic state." 
 
 
 
III.  "Peace and Disquiet" 
 
Military correspondent Yaakov Katz wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (8/24): "Since the Second Lebanon War, 
Syrian President Bashar Assad has sent a number of mixed 
messages.... The current assessment in the [Israeli] defense 
establishment is that Assad is at a point where he can go either way 
-- to the negotiating table or to the battlefield.  Now defense 
minister, Barak has said a number of times in recent weeks that 
Israel is not interested in war and neither is Syria, and therefore 
'there is no reason that it should happen.'  But what is clear on 
the ground is that both countries are conducting around-the-clock 
intensive military maneuvers, which by itself is enough to raise 
tensions along the Golan Heights.  And Israeli officials are taking 
the opportunity to warn the public of the possibility of war with 
Syria, which is armed to the teeth with anti-tank missiles and 
long-range Scud-D missiles.... As time passes, the situation grows 
more complex.  One of Israel's stated interests in making peace is 
also to break Syria's strategic alliance with Iran.  Syria and Iran 
are purchasing large amounts of weapons from Russia, which, in an 
apparent attempt to counter the multi-billion-dollar US-Saudi arms 
deal, has also begun bolstering its presence in the region." 
 
IV.  "The Rise of the Fantasists" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick 
wrote in The Jerusalem Post (8/24): "The [US] administration 
maintains its slavish devotion to negotiating with Iran over its 
nuclear weapons program in spite of the fact that the diplomatic 
track failed demonstrably three years ago.... If the Americans want 
to know what will happen if their foreign policy fantasists take 
charge of their affairs, they have only to cast a glance at what is 
happening in Israel today.  Because in Israel, the fantasists are 
firmly in charge of policy.  With the twin goals of fostering peace 
and enhancing Israel's international standing, Israel's fantasist 
leaders are driving the country to the outer reaches of La La Land. 
In the name of peace, the Olmert government is conducting 
semi-secret negotiations with Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas.... Israel 
is seeking to extend Iran's control over Gaza to Jerusalem and Judea 
and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] and then to fill these Iranian 
enclaves with hostile foreign Arabs." 
 
 
 
¶V.  "So Dynamic, the Dynamics of Revival" 
 
Jonathan Spyer, a senior research fellow at the Interdisciplinary 
Center in Herzliya, wrote in Ha'aretz (8/24): "Both Zionism and 
radical Islam are, self-consciously, movements of 'revival'.... Here 
lies the difference between these two movements and, for example, 
the communism and radical socialism of the 20th century on the 
other.  The latter two preached a radical break with the past, and 
celebrated an unfamiliar, imagined future.  Zionism and Islamism, by 
contrast, both draw on the deep currents of identification and 
loyalty felt by Jews and Muslims to their respective traditions and 
history.... In the case of Zionism and Israel, the singular 
achievement, underlying success, has been the ability to combine the 
archaic with the ultra-modern..... Radical Islam, of both Sunni and 
Shi'ite varieties, on the other hand, has at least for the moment 
proven unable to perform a similar feat.... If the evidence of 
Islamism in power -- from Sudan to Teheran to Gaza -- is anything to 
go by, the closed dogmatic thinking of the Islamists cannot allow 
the freedom upon which successful development depends.... From the 
point of view of Israel and its western allies, this of course bodes 
well.  We are going to have to spend a very great amount of time and 
blood and treasure in the foreseeable future building ramparts 
against the attacks of adherents of Islamic revival.  But for as 
long as Jewish nationhood is embedded in the solid structures of 
economic and technological development, while its Islamist enemies 
can root their own ambitions only in dysfunction and failure, the 
results of the contest, bloody though it be, are not in doubt." 
 
JONES