VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0978/01 1260500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050500Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6550
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 3783
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 0422
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 4061
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4587
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 3797
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 2074
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 4545
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1417
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1861
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8409
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 5890
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 0800
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 4919
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 6869
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 9651
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000978 
 
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: SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, May 3-5, 2008 
 
SIPDIS 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with various aspects of the police probe into Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert's dealings.  The Jerusalem Post quoted senior 
government officials as saying on Sunday after Secretary Rice held 
talks with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders that it is unlikely 
that there will be any progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks until 
the political uncertainty created by the investigation is cleared 
up.  Ha'aretz quoted sources involved in the probe, the details of 
which cannot be published due to a gag order, as saying yesterday 
that it would be clear within a few days whether or not Olmert would 
be indicted.  All media reported that Olmert told the cabinet 
yesterday that he would not let the investigation, which he said has 
sparked malicious rumors, prevent him from doing his job.  Yediot 
Aharonot reported that PM Olmert's bureau chief Shula Zaken, who is 
allegedly involved in the same affairs as Olmert, refuses to 
cooperate with her police interrogators.  Ha'aretz reported that 
Olmert used his bureau to promote the artistic career of his wife 
Aliza. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Foreign Minister Livni as saying yesterday that 
Israel has "no hidden agenda" regarding West Bank settlements, after 
Secretary Rice called Israel's policy in the area "problematic." 
 
SIPDIS 
The daily quoted Livni as saying that the settlements would not pose 
an obstacle to the implementation of the road map peace plan or to 
Palestinian aspirations for a state, saying that the 2005 
disengagement from Gaza demonstrated that Israel would stick to its 
obligations.  After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 
in Ramallah earlier in the day, Rice said a peace agreement between 
Israel and the Palestinians was still possible by the end of 2008. 
Abbas praised the United States' commitment to the peace process, 
despite his very vocal disappointment following his recent trip to 
Washington.  Ha'aretz reported that earlier yesterday, Rice met 
Defense Minister Ehud Barak to discuss removing West Bank 
roadblocks.  Yediot Aharonot reported that she thanked Barak for the 
measures that Israel has taken but emphasized that Israel needs to 
do more. Yediot Aharonot also quoted Secretary Rice as saying that 
the latest police investigation of Olmert is an internal matter for 
Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as saying yesterday 
that Egypt will send intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to Israel soon 
to push talks on the Gaza cease-fire.  Yediot reported that Israel 
has clarified to Egypt that the cessation of terrorist passage 
through Sinai is a condition for a cease-fire. 
 
Leading media reported that a Palestinian militant was killed 
yesterday during an Israel Air Force strike in southern Gaza.  The 
media reported that a number of mortar shells and Qassam rockets 
were fired at IDF troops and the Sderot area.  Ha'aretz reported 
that three soldiers were recently charged at the Jaffa Military 
Court with assaulting, abusing, and beating a Palestinian civilian 
southwest of Jenin in January. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday border policemen demolished 
the Hazon David outpost near Hebron -- only a synagogue was there -- 
and that settlers took down two caravans at Yatir South in the 
southern Hebron hills.  The Jerusalem Post reported that the Yatir 
South residents plan to rebuild the outpost. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post quoted the British Sunday Times as 
saying that Sir John Scarlett, the head of the British Intelligence 
Agency MI6, is expected to visit Israel for talks with his Israeli 
counterpart, Mossad chief Meir Dagan.  In a bid to step up what 
Israeli officials call "strategic dialogue," Dagan is expected to 
brief Scarlett on Israel's latest information on the Iranian nuclear 
program. Jerusalem sources told the British weekly that Israel 
believes that Iran's nuclear capacity is more advanced than Western 
intelligence estimates indicate.  Ha'aretz cited the hope of Mossad 
officials that the unveiling of the new material will persuade the 
U.S. to amend its assessment that Iran halted its nuclear weapons 
development program in 2003 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that today a panel of seven High Court 
justices is due to hear petitions calling for the nullification of 
the most recent provisional law barring Palestinian men aged 18-35 
and women aged 18-25 who marry Israelis from living in Israel. 
 
Leading media quoted the chairman of the Social Justice party, 
tycoon Arkady Gaidamak, as saying yesterday he would be pleased to 
be the minister of diaspora affairs in the Olmert government.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted opposition members as saying yesterday that in 
light of PM Olmert's latest investigation and the split of coalition 
member Gil Pensioners Party, the government's days are numbered. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that Knesset Member Abraham 
Hirchson, who was finance minister in 2006 and 2007, will be 
indicted on charges of embezzlement, aggravated bribery, corporate 
breach of trust, money laundering and falsifying corporate 
documents.  Hirchson is suspected of stealing 2.5 million shekels 
(around $725,000 at today's rate) between 1998 and 2005. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, acting in 
his capacity as president of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, will 
attempt to revoke a ruling from last week that invalidated thousands 
of conversions carried out in Israel over the past few years.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that for the first time in Israel's history, 
the state is funding the building of synagogues that will serve 
non-Orthodox congregations. 
 
Media reported that Texas Pacific Group (TPG), a private equity 
firm, is buying 25% of the coffee subsidiary of the Israeli food 
company Strauss for $288 million.  The deal values Strauss's global 
coffee enterprise at $1 billion.  Strauss has invested a total of 
$400 million in its coffee subsidiary, and it is now the world's 
seventh largest. 
 
 
 
 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Secretary Rice to Israel, West Bank, May 3-5, 2008: 
 
SIPDIS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel and Palestinian affairs 
correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "The new police investigation against Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert is expected to have serious implications on the developments 
in the diplomatic-security arena, and mainly on the Egyptian effort 
to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: " Rice 
now calls on Israel and the Palestinians to agree 'once and for all' 
on final borders.  Amen.... It is long overdue for the government of 
Ehud Olmert to explain to the world -- and us -- precisely where it 
stands, and to seek to galvanize support and understanding for 
Israel's positions." 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz: "If ... 
Deputy Prime Minister [Tzipi Livni] bows her head once more, she 
will become just another small politician.  This time, her 
colleagues in Kadima and her partners in Labor are not entitled to 
leave her on her own." 
 
Liberal columnist Kobi Niv wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: 
"Let's admit that at this time not only has the Zionist solution, as 
a shield against a Holocaust of the Jews, not succeeded, but that it 
has been dealt a resounding blow, despite all the boasting by chiefs 
of staff at Auschwitz." 
 
Contributor Gerald M. Steinberg, Executive Director of NGO Monitor 
and chairman of the Political Studies Department of Bar-Ilan 
University, wrote in The Jerusalem Post: "Israel's major 
accomplishment in 60 years of independence is surviving -- staying 
on the map as a sovereign state, with equal status among the nations 
of the world." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Rumblings of Dissatisfaction" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel and Palestinian affairs 
correspondent Avi Issacharoff wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (5/5): "The new police investigation against Prime Minister 
Ehud Olmert is expected to have serious implications on the 
developments in the diplomatic-security arena, and mainly on the 
Egyptian effort to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.  If 
aspects of the criminal investigation come to dominate Israeli 
political life -- as they seem to be at this stage -- it will be 
difficult for Israel to advance on the Palestinian track, especially 
in matters that may require tough concessions.... It is also 
possible that Olmert's image in the Arab world, of a survivor, has 
led them to conclude that they must continue the talks.  But for the 
most part, it seems they understood that if the talks cease, only 
Hamas would benefit.  Hamas, however, also has something to lose. 
Most of the senior leadership in Gaza is keen to secure a temporary 
cease-fire, a tahdiya.  If they learn that Israel is delaying 
accepting the Egyptian initiative, they may renew, or even step up 
Hamas's role in attacks against Israel.  If so, the temptation for 
the group is great to carry out a showcase terrorist attack that 
would disrupt the 60th Independence Day celebrations.  Yesterday 
Hamas fired its first -- verbal -- warning.  First, some of its 
spokesmen threatened that the group would embark on an 
'unprecedented escalation' if Israel does not quickly respond 
favorably to the proposed tahdiya.  Several hours later, a heavy 
barrage of Qassam rockets was fired at Sderot -- offering a real 
sample of what the group had in mind when it mentioned escalation." 
 
II.  "'Once and for All'" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/4): 
"The Palestinian leadership, [Salam] Fayyad included -- and 
reflexively supported by the international community -- has made an 
obsession of complaining about the number of West Bank checkpoints 
Israel has yet to remove, with hardly a word of appreciation for 
those barriers that are now gone and whose absence could at any 
moment allow a terrorist infiltration.  The sooner the PA implements 
its security obligations under the road map, the sooner it disarms 
gunmen and terrorists, the quicker more barriers can be lifted.... 
While it is too bad that Rice bundles the entire Jewish presence 
over the Green Line -- Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim, Ariel, Gush 
Etzion, and the Jordan Valley -- under one rubric, she does have a 
point about clarity.  Jewish claims to Judea, Samaria [i.e. the West 
Bank], and Jerusalem are profound and strong.  And yet, most 
Israelis are prepared to see the creation of a Palestinian state in 
the heartland of our patrimony in return for an authentic peace. 
Rice now calls on Israel and the Palestinians to agree 'once and for 
all' on final borders.  Amen.  It has long been clear what the 
Palestinians, via Abbas, Fayyad, and former PA prime minister Ahmed 
Qurei, are demanding: an Israeli withdrawal to the 1949 Armistice 
Lines, the division of Jerusalem and the 'right of return' for 
Palestinian refugees.  These positions are completely unacceptable 
to the overwhelming majority of Israelis.  And yet the Palestinians 
have done a fine job of articulating their grievances and 
negotiating goals.  It is long overdue for the government of Ehud 
Olmert to explain to the world -- and us -- precisely where it 
stands, and to seek to galvanize support and understanding for 
Israel's positions." 
 
III.  "It's Time for Livni" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in Ha'aretz (5/5): 
"According to all surveys (even before the newest investigation 
broke), early elections would allow Benjamin Netanyahu to set up a 
[right-wing] coalition.... But besides the possibilities of allowing 
a prime minister under police warning -- a PM who has lost the 
public's trust - to hold on to his seat, or go to early elections 
that will bury the fragile negotiations with the Palestinians, there 
is another option:  Upon the dissolution of the government, the 
President could assign Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister 
Tzipi Livni the task of forming a new government.  Livni has made a 
name for herself as a clean and responsible politician.  She is 
committed to the things she said last July at a Jerusalem conference 
- that every day that passes delays the two-state solution and 
endangers the existence of Israel as a Jewish democracy.  Once, 
after the release of the Winograd Commission's interim report, Livni 
rescinded her demand that Olmert step down and wasted a significant 
part of her reputation.  If the Deputy Prime Minister bows her head 
once more, she will become just another small politician.  This 
time, her colleagues in Kadima and her partners in Labor are not 
entitled to leave her on her own." 
 
IV.  "Is Force the Solution?" 
 
Liberal columnist Kobi Niv wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv 
(5/5): "For over 60 years Zionist leaders, from kindergarten 
teachers to IDF chiefs of staff in the 'Marches of the Living' [in 
the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau] have told us that 
the only way to prevent the recurrence of the Holocaust is force.... 
People may reach ... the opposite conclusion.  For instance, some 
think that the lesson of the Jewish Holocaust is that the plagues of 
racism and hatred of foreigners must be fought against and 
eradicated.  If those had not existed, the Germans and their 
Christian brothers throughout Europe would not have risen to murder 
Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals.... Let's admit that at this time not 
only has the Zionist solution, as a shield against a Holocaust of 
the Jews, not succeeded, but that it has been dealt a resounding 
blow, despite all the boasting by chiefs of staff at Auschwitz." 
 
¶V.  "60 Years on the Map" 
 
Contributor Gerald M. Steinberg, Executive Director of NGO Monitor 
and chairman of the Political Studies Department of Bar-Ilan 
University, wrote in The Jerusalem Post (5/5): "Israel's major 
accomplishment in 60 years of independence is surviving -- staying 
on the map as a sovereign state, with equal status among the nations 
of the world.  The many economic and cultural achievements have 
helped to contribute to this survival, while the desire for peace 
with our neighbors remains unfulfilled, but the triumph is that we 
are here.... For the Arab and Muslim 'rejectionists' (including the 
Iranians, who are claiming leadership of this group), the idea of 
Jewish sovereignty in the 'Muslim Middle East' was and remains 
unacceptable.... The delegitimization and demonization of Zionism, 
and the singling out of Israel for special treatment, while erasing 
the context of Palestinian terrorism and other violent attacks, have 
become the modern form of anti-Semitism.... In the face of this 
intense and ongoing hostility, Israel's ability not only to survive, 
but to thrive, is the main story marking 60 years of independence. 
With six million Jewish citizens of Israel, ten times the population 
in 1948, the Hebrew language has been reinvigorated, and the Jewish 
culture has been preserved.  At the same time, progress towards the 
acceptance of Jewish sovereignty equality among the nations of the 
world is painfully slow, and the struggle has been and will continue 
to be exhausting.  But there are no better choices -- there are no 
alternatives for Israel and the Jewish people." 
 
JONES