VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1092/01 1441036
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231036Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6803
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 3875
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 0511
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 4158
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4677
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 3887
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 2173
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 4637
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1506
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1950
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8498
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 5985
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 0889
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 5008
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 6958
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 9754
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001092 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
The media reported that police questioned PM Olmert under caution 
this morning.  Ha'aretz and Maariv reported that the investigators 
are focusing on possibly incriminating testimony given by Olmert's 
long-time friend and former partner, attorney Uri Messer, and that 
Friday's session could prove "decisive" in determining whether 
charges will be brought.  Ha'aretz added that the police's believe 
that Messer acted as Olmert's "banker," storing the money received 
from American financier Morris Talansky in a safe in his office. 
Yediot quoted Olmert associates as saying that tens of thousands of 
dollars, which Messer received from Olmert's former bureau chief 
Shula Zaken, just disappeared.  Messer has publicly denied this 
charge.  In return, Maariv reported the police are looking into 
allegations that Olmert asked an Israeli diplomat serving in a South 
American country for assistance in promoting the interests of  a 
technological development in which Talansky is a partner. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Yehoshua Meiri, the spokesman of a group 
of leading rightist Israeli rabbis, as sayng yesterday that Talansky 
was encouraged by the group to come to Israel this spring and give 
evidence against the PM.  The rabbis fear that Olmert will cede 
Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount and other parts of 
Jerusalem.  Talansky acknowledged that he receiving a blessing from 
an important rabbi just before he was interrogated by the police, 
but firmly denies being encouraged to testify before coming to 
Israel.  The Jerusalem Post also quoted various sources as saying 
that a team of National Fraud Unit detectives will fly to the U.S. 
to discover the identity of other donors to Olmert. 
 
All media reported that PM Ehud Olmert told French FM Bernard 
Kouchner yesterday that both sides know what they need to do for 
peace and insisted that Israel had not made any prior commitments to 
the Syrians.  "I told them if you want to talk come and talk.  The 
Syrians know what we want and we know what they want," Olmert told 
Kouchner.  The media quoted Olmert as saying that he has made no 
prior commitment to Syria, and Syrian Information Minister Mohsen 
Bilal as saying that he knows that the "Golan will be returned in 
its entirety to Syria." Maariv reported that Syria has set two 
pre-conditions to turn the negotiations into direct ones: Israeli 
recognition of the well-known "deposit" (a promise to return the 
Golan n exchange for peace), and ensuring Syria's status in Lebanon. 
 Ha'aretz reported that a special Knesset committee is proposing a 
bill that would require a referendum or elections before ceding any 
territory under Israeli sovereignty -- including the Golan Heights. 
A majority of Knesset members support the bill, but the cabinet 
opposes it.  Experts told the committee that the cost of a 
referendum would be about 200 million shekels (about $60 million), 
not including any financing for parties' campaigns for or against 
it.  Ha'aretz quoted senior Israeli sources as saying that the 
announcement of the renewal of negotiations between Israel and Syria 
will have an immediate effect on Iran's status in the region.  The 
officials noted that Iran has not yet responded publicly to the 
talks.  Ha'aretz quoted some officials as saying that Iran "is in a 
state of shock." 
 
Major media reported that Israel has  Israel has asked to purchase 
25 F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) stealth warplanes for the IAF. 
According to reports in the U.S. media, the planes will cost about 
$80 million each.  Israel wants to receive the first squadron in 
2013 and 2014, and continue with another 50 planes afterward, most 
likely in the second half of that decade.  Ha'aretz reported that 
senior defense officials have asked the Americans about speeding up 
the delivery of at least some of the F-35s, possibly by the first 
half of 2012.  Defense Minister Barak has also asked the U.S. for 
three to five C-130J Super Hercules transport planes.  All the 
planes will be paid for out of U.S. military aid packages provided 
to Israel.  Ha'aretz reported that the purchase of the F-35s seems 
to signal that Israel has given up on its quest to acquire F-22 
Raptor fighters. 
 
Leading media quoted Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu as saying 
yesterday that Olmert puts Israel's national interests at risk and 
that he is giving up the Golan out of political and personal 
survival motives.  Netanyahu was further quoted as saying that he 
would not respect an agreement with Bashar Assad. 
 
Maariv (Ofer Shelach) says that Ehud Barak aspires to lead the 
Syrian track -- and to leave the Palestinian one to Olmert. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday in a Boca Raton, FL, 
synagogue, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama 
reaffirmed his support for Israel and said that he would engage in 
dialogue with Iran.  He told The Jerusalem Post that he fully backs 
Israel's peace talks with Syria and that he criticized efforts to 
block suck engagement. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Sallai Meridor, Israel's Ambassador to the 
U.S., as saying yesterday at a Capitol Hill conference organized by 
the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus that Iran is winning the race 
to acquire nuclear weapons. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday a USG agency presented in 
Bethlehem a political risk insurance program to help guarantee 
investments in the West Bank. 
 
Israel Radio reported that this morning an IDF soldier was 
moderately wounded during a clash in southern Gaza.  Three 
Palestinians were killed. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Israeli-Arab security prisoner Mahmoud Abd 
Al-Shamali, who was released two days ago, as saying yesterday that 
he did not think his release was due to political considerations, 
nor was it a gesture or deal between Israel and Syria.  Al-Shamali 
hails from the village of Ghajar, which straddles the Lebanese 
border. 
 
Leading media reported that this week Srgjan Kerim, the President of 
the UN General Assembly, singled out Israel for its success in 
combating world food crises. 
 
Yediot reported that following comments by a well-known Egyptian 
broadcaster that Jewish "heritage tours" to Egypt are only a cover 
for a demand to recover property, such a trip was nixed by the 
Egyptian security services. 
 
Yediot reported that a few days ago former defense minister Yitzhak 
Mordechai, a convicted sexual offender, went on a 10-day visit to 
the U.S.   The U.S. Embassy accepted his appeal and granted him a 
visa.  He requested the intervention of the Prime Minister's Office. 
 Yediot says that Olmert approached senior American officials during 
President Bush's first visit 
 
Leading media reported Prof. Yehezkel Shoshani, 65, a world-renowned 
Israeli-American elephant expert died on Wednesday from injuries 
sustained in an explosion in Addis Ababa. 
 
The media noted that yesterday the U.S. dollar was at its lowest in 
11 years -- 3.338 shekels. 
Yediot presented the results of a Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) 
pollQ 
 
Should Israel concede land in the Golan as part of a full peace 
treaty with Syria? 
No: 59%; part of the Golan: 29%: the entire Golan: 19%. 
Can peace with Syria be reached in the foreseeable future? 
Impossible: 50%; possible: 46%; 
Given the investigations against him, is Olmert worthy of leading 
the negotiations with Syria? 
Unworthy: 61%; worthy: 37%. 
Do you trust Ehud Olmert? 
No: 51%; I have some trust in him: 26%; I have almost no trust in 
him: 15%; I fully trust him: 6%. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The 
resumption of talks with Syria, and the Prime Minister's promise 
that the Palestinian and Syrian tracks will move forward 
simultaneously, are both good news.... The tahdiya, or temporary 
cease-fire, on whose principles Israel and Hamas have agreed via 
Egyptian mediation, is impatiently awaiting implementation." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "In a democracy that is alive and 
kicking, such as ours, a prime minister cannot go too far when the 
public does not trust his motives and intentions." 
 
Security and intelligence affairs commentator Amit Cohen wrote in 
the popular, pluralist Maariv: "'Syria first' is one of the biggest 
nightmares of the Palestinian leadership." 
 
Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote on page one of the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The word is that Bush, to 
put it mildly, was not easily persuaded by Olmert and Defense 
Minister Ehud Barak of the virtues of the Syria-Turkey-Israel track, 
and is highly dubious about the possibility of drawing Damascus out 
of Teheran's orbit.." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Avoid All Delays" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/23): "The 
resumption of talks with Syria, and the Prime Minister's promise 
that the Palestinian and Syrian tracks will move forward 
simultaneously, are both good news.  Both tracks are aimed at 
obtaining strategic goals vital to Israel's security.  And even if 
neither reaches completion during Ehud Olmert's term of office, they 
can yield a 'deposit' for the future.  Yet, despite the excitement, 
both these diplomatic promises ought to be treated for the time 
being like two birds in the bush, which are incapable of calming 
another burning front, to the country's south.  The tahdiya, or 
temporary cease-fire, on whose principles Israel and Hamas have 
agreed via Egyptian mediation, is impatiently awaiting 
implementation.... There is currently a confluence of interests 
among Israel, Egypt and Hamas.  All of them need the tahdiya 
urgently: Israel, to give residents of the South the quiet that all 
its military operations, large and small alike, have failed to 
provide; Hamas, to end the economic blockade that makes life so 
difficult for Gazans; and Egypt, to prevent a violent and 
uncontrolled breach of the fence that separates it from Gaza.... 
Israel should thus release the prisoners needed to conclude a deal 
for [Gilad] Shalit and let the tahdiya take effect. Additional 
Qassam or Grad rockets hitting Sderot or its environs, and 
additional dead or wounded, are henceforth an unnecessary price for 
a deal that must be done." 
 
 
 
II.  "The Turkish Deal" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/23): "Does a prime minister under an 
embarrassing criminal investigation, full of allegations, have a 
mandate to provide such far-reaching commitments in the name of the 
state?  The problem is not a legal one.  Unlike Ehud Barak, who sent 
a delegation for marathon talks with the Palestinians at Taba when 
he was the leader of a minority government, on the eve of elections, 
Olmert relies in the meantime upon a stable majority in the Knesset 
and in the cabinet. But that is a formalistic, legalistic claim.  In 
a democracy that is alive and kicking, such as ours, a prime 
minister cannot go too far when the public does not trust his 
motives and intentions.... Tzipi Livni chose -- again -- to 'take 
the Fifth'.... Livni became convinced that the findings of the 
investigation require Olmert's dismissal.  She wants to replace him. 
 For her, dealing with negotiations with Syria is a distraction from 
the main issue.  Even the left wing, which automatically supported 
any negotiation with Syria, has entered the current round with a 
split.  The majority of the Labor Party and Meretz support it, but 
this time there are other voices on the fringes" 
 
III.  "The Palestinians' Big Nightmare" 
 
Security and intelligence affairs commentator Amit Cohen wrote in 
the popular, pluralist Maariv (5/23): "'Syria first' is one of the 
biggest nightmares of the Palestinian leadership.  This threat, 
which is again becoming real these days, puts Abu Mazen's PA and 
Hamas, for the first time in a long time, in the same boat. 
Officially, both parties said that they support the right of Syria 
to get back the Golan Heights, but both Abu Mazen and Khaled Mashal, 
each for his own reasons, would have preferred that the talks with 
Syria would fade away.... It is hard to see how the Prime Minister 
could succeed in carrying out 'painful concessions' in connection 
with both Bashar Assad and Abu Mazen at the same time.  Someone will 
 have to be postponed to the future -- and this someone will 
apparently be the Palestinian side.  Hamas, for its part, could be 
the first to pay the price for the peace agreement, if it is indeed 
achieved: if the Israeli demand of Syria to cut off its ties with 
Iran, Hizbullah and the Palestinian terror organizations is 
implemented, Hamas could find that its maneuvering ability is 
reduced.  The Hamas headquarters in Damascus is considered one of 
the most important centers of power of the organization: 
restrictions on the activity of Mashal and his friends will have an 
immediate affect on all of Hamas.... [However], a Hamas official has 
said: 'We do not think that they will get rid of us so easily in 
Damascus.  We have a long history with the Syrian regime.  But on 
the assumption that this does take place, what will happen then? 
Does anyone think that Hamas will disappear from the arena?  This 
will affect us in the short range, until we find another place.'" 
 
IV.  "Like Many Israelis, Bush Wonders whether Olmert Knows What 
He's Doing" 
 
Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz wrote on page one of the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (5/23): "Beyond the 
president's letting the cat out of the bag and then quickly trying 
to stuff it back in, however, Bush made some telling comments about 
Syria that appear particularly resonant now that the secret is, 
indeed, out and everybody knows that formal indirect negotiations 
are under way.  For while the White House on Wednesday said it did 
not object to Israel's opening of the indirect Damascus track, The 
New York Times on Thursday quoted an administration official as 
calling it a 'slap in the face.'  And the President's own remarks in 
the Oval Office to us last week seem to indicate a high degree of 
concern, if not outright dismay, at Olmert's decision to seek an 
accord with a determinedly unreformed Bashar Assad -- a sense of 'I 
hope he knows what he's doing...'  For a start, Bush made crystal 
clear that he had no intention whatsoever of warming his ties to 
Syria so long as Damascus is sponsoring terrorism, enabling the 
arming of Hizbullah and making 'life miserable for the young 
democracy in Iraq.'  Syria would first have to change course, he 
indicated, for America to rethink:.... The word is that Bush, to put 
it mildly, was not easily persuaded by Olmert and Defense Minister 
Ehud Barak of the virtues of the Syria-Turkey-Israel track, and is 
highly dubious about the possibility of drawing Damascus out of 
Teheran's orbit.." 
 
JONES