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DE RUEHTV #0524/01 0671113
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071113Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000524 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media lead with the attack, in which eight teenage students were 
killed and the 11 others wounded, last night at the Mercaz Harav 
Yeshiva in West Jerusalem's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood.   The gunman, 
an Israeli citizen and East Jerusalem resident from the Jebel 
Mukaber neighborhood, gained entrance to the facility and opened 
fire in the library. The attacker was killed by an IDF solider who 
was nearby and  the identity of those behind the assault is not yet 
clear.  The Mercaz Harav rabbinic college, the flagship of 
national-religious yeshivas, is credited with founding the religious 
settlement movement in the West Bank. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying that the attack shows that 
the PA does not sufficiently combat terrorism.  Israel Radio quoted 
left-wing politicians as saying that Israel should not have a "gut 
response."  Right-wing politicians were quoted as saying that Israel 
should break off negotiations with the PA.  Israel Radio reported 
that PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas condemned the assault. 
However, the radio quoted Abbas spokesman Nabil Amr as saying on Al 
Arabiya-TV that Israel is responsible  for what happened because it 
ignores chances for peace.  Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in 
Gaza, was quoted as saying that the attack was the "natural 
consequence" of Israel's military actions.  Leading media reported 
that thousands of Gazans celebrated last night's attack. 
 
Israel Radio reported that in a phone call to PM Olmert, President 
Bush condemned the attack and extended his "deepest condolences to 
the victims, their families, and to the people of Israel."  The 
radio reported that Libya's Ambassador to the UN insisted on 
censuring Israeli actions in Gaza, thus preventing UN Security 
Council condemnation of the attack.  U.S. Ambassador to the UN 
Zalmay Khalilzad had introduced a draft statement based on a 
declaration by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  Israel Radio 
quoted Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Gillerman, as saying 
that this is what happens when "terrorists" sit on the council.  In 
another development, The Jerusalem Post reported that the UN Human 
Rights Council, in a resolution sponsored by Pakistan and other 
Muslim countries, has condemned Israel's military action in Gaza as 
"collective punishment."  The Jerusalem Post also reported that on 
Thursday Israel rejected claims by eight British groups that the 
situation was worse than it had ever been since 1967 and that Israel 
was responsible for it.  The Foreign Ministry placed responsibility 
for the state of affairs squarely at Hamas's doorstep. 
 
Yated Ne'eman reported that, due to the security situation, Defense 
Minister Ehud Barak canceled his visit to the U.S., which was 
planned for next week. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that Hamas and Islamic Jihad 
representatives met with Egyptian intelligence officials in the 
Egyptian city of El-Arish on Thursday to discuss the  Rafah border 
crossing and  a possible truce with Israel.  After the meeting, 
Ayman Taha, Hamas's spokesman in Gaza, said that Hamas was open to a 
tahdiya -- a temporary cease-fire -- on the condition that it be 
observed by both sides and include the lifting of the Gaza blockade. 
 Khader Habib, who headed the Islamic Jihad delegation at the 
meeting, was quoted as saying that Israel must also agree to a 
comprehensive cease-fire in the West Bank that includes an end to 
arrests of suspected militants.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Taha as 
saying that Hamas is open to having members of the PA's presidential 
guard stationed at the Rafah border crossing, as long as Hamas be 
allowed to vet the list of personnel.  Taha added that the 
organization would also agree to the redeployment of European 
observers at the border as long as they lived in the Strip or in 
Egypt and not in Israel.  The Jerusalem Post and other media also 
reported that on Thursday Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar 
Suleiman met with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern 
Affairs David Welch.  Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that 
on Thursday senior IDF officers met with their counterparts in the 
Palestinian preventative forces in the West Bank to discuss ways to 
maintain calm in the territories following Friday prayers. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited figures published by the GOI's Central 
Bureau of Statistics showing that new construction by Jews in the 
West Bank has dropped more quickly than Israel's population as a 
whole. 
 
Over the past few days media reported that Philippine authorities 
have arrested three suspected Middle Eastern militants for 
involvement in a plot to bomb the embassies of the U.S., Israel, the 
UK, and Australia in Manila. 
 
Maariv told parallel stories of two families: one from Sderot, the 
other from Gaza. 
 
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, renowned American Mideast 
scholar Prof. Bernard Lewis compared the "monstrous perversion of 
Islam" to the evils of Nazism and Bolshevism and was quoted as sayng 
that where it leads will depend on how the West responds to it. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Weizmann Institute of Science's 
Prof. Ada Yonath is one of five women researchers in the world to 
win the L'Oreal-UNESCO'S 2008 Women in Science Award, each worth 
$100,000.  Yonath is one of the world's leading structural 
biologists. 
 
Yediot quoted American actor Tom Hanks as saying that he is 
interesting in producing his next movie in Israel. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "[Israel] is ... incapable ... of firing 
back at those that fire rockets at its civilians.  This is the 
'asymmetrical' clash, in which the hands of one side are tied, while 
the hands of the other side are soaked in blood." 
 
Columnist Calev Ben-David wrote on page one of the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "The efforts by both Jerusalem and 
Washington to renew the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, 
interrupted by the fighting in Gaza, will now be officially put on 
hold, and picking up the pieces in the wake of this outrage will not 
be easy." 
 
Religious-Zionist columnist Uri Orbach wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The Mercaz Harav 
Yeshiva and the religious-Zionists feel that they are again paying 
the price  of a policy that is not tough enough." 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick 
wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "It is quite possible that Rice has 
simply isolated herself from all information that might force her to 
change her policy course." 
The conservative, Russian-language Novosty Nedely wrote: "Never has 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received such a cold welcome in 
 
SIPDIS 
Israel as during her visit this week." 
 
Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in Maariv): "A Palestinian 
state is an Israeli interest -- and a Palestinian one, of course. 
However, many Palestinians think otherwise." 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The reestablishment of a 
Palestinian unity government will create a single Palestinian 
address vis-a-vis which it will be possible at least to conduct the 
conflict, if there is no way at the moment of achieving a 
solution." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "With Hands Tied" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (3/7): "Exactly 33 years separate the 
terror attack yesterday at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem and 
the terror attack at the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv. Then it was Abu 
Jihad's men, who wished to avenge Operation Spring Youth in 
Beirut....  The terror attack at the Savoy took place after the Yom 
Kippur War, which was the last big war effort by the Arab countries 
to defeat Israel.  Since then, for 35 years already, this option has 
been blocked.  The Arabs understood that they would not rout Israel 
in a war.  They turned to the path of terror.  The high priest of 
the terrorist effort is, of course, Iran, which operates its forward 
units in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria.  The method: psychological 
warfare; constant undermining of the feeling of personal security; 
physical harm by means of rockets and isolated terrorists; taking 
advantage of the weaknesses and fears of the other side; and chiefly 
the fact that there is a western, relatively liberal society here, 
sensitive to human life on both sides; and transparent to the media. 
 Israel cannot respond to a terror attack with a terror attack.  It 
is also incapable, even, of firing back at those that fire rockets 
at its civilians.  This is the 'asymmetrical' clash, in which the 
hands of one side are tied, while the hands of the other side are 
soaked in blood." 
 
II.  "An Assault at the Heart of Zionism" 
 
Columnist Calev Ben-David wrote on page one of the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (3/7): "Rarely have terrorists chosen 
their target with so much malicious care as in Thursday night's 
attack on Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva.   In striking the 
flagship institution of the religious Zionist movement, a Jerusalem 
landmark whose history is linked with the founding and fulfillment 
of the Jewish national home in the Land of Israel, the gunman aimed 
his weapon at the heart of the Zionist enterprise.... The Olmert 
government, which until now has been able to contain political 
fallout from the rocket fire on Sderot and Ashkelon in part because 
of the absence of major attacks elsewhere in the country, will now 
find its margin of error -- and survival -- dramatically narrowed. 
The efforts by both Jerusalem and Washington to renew the 
negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, interrupted by the 
fighting in Gaza, will now be officially put on hold, and picking up 
the pieces in the wake of this outrage will not be easy." 
 
III.  "From Mourning to Anger" 
 
Religious-Zionist columnist Uri Orbach wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (3/7): "The Mercaz Harav 
... symbolizes the national conception of Zionist religious people. 
This conception sanctifies the State of Israel and its symbols. 
Thousands of people outside those circles aren't convinced that this 
is the right way.  The anger that has accumulated since the days of 
disengagement and [the evacuation of the outpost of] Amona, the 
sharp feeling that the events in southern Israel will now again seep 
into the streets of Jerusalem may turn the protest into a really 
un-national event.  Jerusalem is awakening to a new reality.  The 
Mercaz Harav Yeshiva and the religious-Zionists feel that they are 
again paying the price  of a policy that is not tough enough.  One 
could debate this, one could say that it is too early to observe 
consequences, but the feeling of mourning is blending with anger and 
pain over young lives cut short." 
 
IV.  "Condi's Echo Chamber" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist Caroline B. Glick 
wrote in The Jerusalem Post (3/7): "Some Israelis and supporters of 
Israel attribute Rice's irrational championing of Palestinian 
statehood to anti-Israel bigotry.... But there is another possible 
-- in fact more likely -- explanation for Rice's behavior.  It is 
quite possible that Rice has simply isolated herself from all 
information that might force her to change her policy course.... 
With only 10 months left in office, unless Bush swiftly forces Rice 
to change course, these and other policies pushed by Rice in spite 
of their obvious failures will either blow up in her face, or in the 
face of her successor.  And of course, it isn't only her legacy that 
will be harmed by her irresponsible insulation.  The lives of tens 
of millions of people will be imperiled by her hidebound policies." 
 
 
¶V.  "'Hot Winter,' Cold Welcome" 
 
The conservative, Russian-language Novosty Nedely wrote (3/6): 
"Never has Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received such a cold 
welcome in Israel as during her visit this week.  Israeli-American 
relations became tense the moment Rice condemned our country for 
'killing civilians in Gaza' during the [IDF's] military Operation 
Hot Winter. The revival of Israeli-Palestinian talks was declared as 
the main goal of the Secretary of State's visit.... Rice was hoping 
to convince Abu Mazen to come back to the negotiating table by 
promising him, according to well-informed sources, that Israel would 
renew the policy of restraint... and release another group of 
Palestinian detainees.... However, during her meeting with Abu 
Mazen, he declared ... that the talks with Israel will be renewed 
only in case of a complete cessation of Israeli strikes on Gaza." 
 
VI.  "The Strength of Ideology" 
 
Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in Maariv (3/7): "A 
Palestinian state is an Israeli interest -- and a Palestinian one, 
of course.  However, many Palestinians think otherwise.  In fact, 
they have always done absolutely everything to harm their own 
interests.  In this sense, Hamas is only continuing the opposition 
to the [1937] Peel Committee and the [1947] Partition Plan for 
Palestine.  The State of Palestine means education, industry, 
economy, a sewage system, and postal services.  A Palestinian state 
would have responsibility for itself.  This is exactly what the 
Islamic leadership doesn't want.... Israel can deal harsh blows to 
Syria and its economy.  But it finds it hard to strike ideological 
bodies such as Hamas or Hizbullah that operate from inside 
residential buildings and kindergartens.  This is exactly the reason 
why there is no regime in Gaza that takes any responsibility -- and 
why there won't be one." 
 
VII.  "Daze of Reckoning in Gaza" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (3/7): "The reestablishment of a 
Palestinian unity government will create a single Palestinian 
address vis-a-vis which it will be possible at least to conduct the 
conflict, if there is no way at the moment of achieving a solution 
-- because even now Israel is talking about a 'drawing-board 
agreement' rather than one that can be implemented.  Such a 
Palestinian unity government, like the one formed last year, would 
not prevent the continuation of the political dialogue with Abbas, 
to which Hamas has already agreed in any case, and would not deny 
him legitimacy as a representative of the entire Palestinian people. 
 On the other hand, maintaining the split between Hamas and the PA 
will leave a permanent conflagration raging on the Palestinian 
front.  Hamas will continue to use violent means, not only to 
respond to Israeli actions, but also to try to continue to force 
Fatah and Abbas to turn back the wheel -- in other words, to restore 
to Hamas the political achievements it attained in the elections." 
 
JONES