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DE RUEHTV #1470/01 1911000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091000Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7443
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RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 2408
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 4863
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1721
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001470 
 
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.  U.S.-Israel Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media (lead stories in The Jerusalem Post and Makor 
Rishon-Hatzofe) reported that yesterday the Water Authority unveiled 
an emergency plan to combat the "worst water crisis in the nation's 
history."  The Jerusalem Post reported that top experts accused the 
government of resorting to short-term measures rather than adopting 
a long-term strategy. 
 
Leading media reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have 
started military maneuvers (according to Yediot and The Jerusalem 
Post: following an American military exercise).   Ha'aretz and other 
media said that the Guards warned that Israel and the U.S. fleet in 
the Persian Gulf would be key targets should Iran be attacked. 
Israel Radio quoted the Arabic-language Iranian Al Alam-TV as saying 
that Iran has successfully test-launched a 2,000-km-range Shihab-3 
missile capable of carrying a one-ton charge. 
 
The media reported on the upcoming prisoner swap with Hizbullah. 
The media reported that the High Court of Justice rejected a 
petition by the family of a victim of the Lebanese terrorist Samir 
Kuntar, thus endorsing the latter's release.  Ha'aretz reported that 
the IDF's top military chaplain has stopped the process of declaring 
the two Hizbullah abductees KIA, since the signature of the 
agreement with Hizbullah has removed the relevance from the process. 
 The diplomatic-security cabinet will meet Wednesday to discuss the 
situation on the northern border, with an emphasis on Hizbullah's 
regained strength in south Lebanon.  Defense officials will brief 
the ministers on Hizbullah's military activities and the situation 
on the Syrian front, while the Foreign Ministry will provide a 
briefing on efforts to improve UNIFIL's performance.  Ha'aretz and 
Israel Radio reported that in a phone conversation yesterday, 
Defense Minister Ehud Barak told French FM Bernard Kouchner that 
"Israel won't accept ... the arms transfer from Syria to Hizbullah. 
Yediot banners a comment by Tami Arad, the wife of MIA Ron Arad, 
that she is still waiting for Hizbullah's answer about her husband's 
fate. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that PM Olmert and FM Tzipi Livni are set to leave 
Saturday night for Paris to take part in the inauguration of the 
Mediterranean Union, an initiative of French President Nicolas 
Sarkozy.  The newspaper reported that a proposal is to establish a 
highway linking all the countries along the Mediterranean.  Ha'aretz 
quoted GOI officials as saying that the intent was for the highway 
to begin in Egypt and continue through North Africa.  Only later 
would it be extended to Israel.  However, Ha'aretz reported that due 
to opposition by countries in the region to cooperation with Israel 
on this matter, it can be assumed that the project as now envisioned 
will not be initiated in the near future. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and other media reported that Olmert told 
visiting Italian FM that Israel is willing to talk about the Sheba 
Farms directly with Lebanon. 
 
Major media reported on new developments in the Morris Talansky 
corruption case.  Maariv reported that PM Ehud Olmert admitted to 
his interrogators that he received envelopes with cash from 
Talansky, but that they only contained hundreds of dollars. 
Ha'aretz reported that Sharon Tzur, a former Likud activist who was 
considered close to PM Ehud Olmert, is one of the key people 
summoned to give a deposition to the Israel Police in the 
investigation it is conducting in the U.S. in the Talansky affair. 
Tzur founded and runs Media Watch International, an organization 
that seeks to promote pro-Israel views in the American media. 
American Jewish businessman Ronald Lauder is one of the 
organization's major donors.  Ha'aretz reported that another person 
from whom police are soliciting testimony in the U.S. is political 
consultant Zev Furst.   Police want to know whether any of the money 
that Talansky gave Olmert found its way to Furst. 
 
Media reported that three mortar shells were fired yesterday into 
the Negev. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday the IDF 
stepped up its crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank.  Leading media 
reported that yesterday IDF troops inadvertently shot dead an 
Egyptian army officer along the border. 
 
Ha'aretz, Maariv, The Jerusalem Post, and Israel Radio reported that 
today the human rights organization Yesh Din will present data 
according to which only 10 percent of the instances in which 
Palestinians accused settlers of attacking them ended up in 
indictments being filed against the suspects.  The group examined 
205 different cases of alleged assaults by settlers that were 
reported over the years.  Ha'aretz reported that Amona, the West 
Bank settler outpost that saw nine houses destroyed by court order 
because they were built on privately owned Palestinian land, has 
effectively annexed land for a road in an area (Area B) where Israel 
is not allowed to build. 
 
Over the past few days the media reported that former state 
president Moshe Katsav, who was suspended from office over alleged 
sexual harassment and other charges, is demanding perks and looking 
into investments abroad.  The mainstream media disapproves of 
benefits for Katsav. 
 
In its coverage of the Fourth of July reception, The Jerusalem Post 
noted that Ambassador Richard Jones ordered the flag to be flown at 
half mast in deference to the long and close U.S.-Israeli 
relationship -- as a sign of respect to the victims of terrorism and 
their grieving families.  The daily also quoted President Shimon 
Peres referring to the U.S. as the "pilot in the worldQs cockpit. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that PM Olmert focused not only on 
America's friendship and support of Israel, but that of Jones 
himself.  The newspaper also mentioned the presence of former 
Ambassador Dan Kurtzer and his wife Sheila at the ceremony. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that in his first public address 
yesterday, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public 
Affairs James Glassman said that the U.S. should not change its 
Middle East policies even though they hurt the country's image in 
the region. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe and Israel Radio reported that Kadima MK Otniel 
Schneller, a former settler leader, called on the state to outlaw 
Anarchists against the Fence, a group fighting the West Bank 
separation barrier. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported on the visit to Israel of American 
astronaut Leland D. Melvin, who is in the country to attend a tennis 
tournament in memory of Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that while the official name of the parliamentary 
alignment created yesterday is the Legislative Caucus to Preserve 
the Jewish identity of the State of Israel, "it could more correctly 
be termed the demographic caucus, or perhaps the caucus for the 
prevention of the proliferation of Arabs."  The daily reported that 
the pressure group was founded by MK Eliahu Gabbay (National Union - 
National Religious Party).  Maariv reported that the Land of Israel 
Foundation (sic) is buying agricultural plots in the Galilee from 
Israeli Arabs and reselling them to Jews. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that prominent, veteran Arab affairs 
TV commentator Ehud Yaari is joining the Shalem Center 
(conservative-leaning but accommodating a wide range of political 
views), where he will explore new ways to resolve the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  He will continue to work for Channel 
2-TV. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "One cannot 
expect the Palestinian Authority to deal with those who attack Jews 
when Jewish violence against Palestinians is tolerated." 
 
Yossi Alpher, Co-Editor of the bitterlemons.org family of 
Israeli-Palestinian Internet publications and former director of the 
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, wrote in 
the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "There are benefits to 
Bush's lame-duck status, but there are also limits.... A more 
intelligent and concentrated U.S. approach to the Middle East on the 
part of the next administration would be welcome -- the sooner the 
better." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Too Easy on Settler Crime" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (7/9): "In the 
early days of Israeli occupation in the territories, Jewish settler 
leaders promised a life of 'coexistence' with the Palestinian 
population, and they even employed Palestinian laborers in 
construction and service jobs.  In recent years, as radical elements 
in the settlements and out posts have proliferated and become more 
powerful, the coexistence approach often seems to make way for a 
violent struggle that aims to deprive the Palestinians of their 
land.... In the last four weeks, the media have reported a series of 
grave incidents, most of them in the Hebron Hills area.... Most 
offenses against Palestinians are not reported at all because in 
many cases the victims do not bother to call the police or file a 
complaint against the attackers.  This is in part because cases are 
usually closed, for various reasons; even those that are heard by a 
court usually and in acquittal or a light sentence.... As long as 
there is no political agreement on the fate of the occupied 
territories, the State of Israel is responsible for the welfare of 
the Palestinian population there.  Just as the Defense Ministry 
allocates forces and funds to protect the settlers, the Internal 
Security [Police] Ministry must give the police the resources they 
need to protect law-abiding Palestinian citizens.  The 
law-enforcement agencies, including the prosecution and the courts, 
must treat Jewish criminal behavior as severely as they do 
Palestinian crimes.  One cannot expect the Palestinian Authority to 
deal with those who attack Jews when Jewish violence against 
Palestinians is tolerated." 
 
II.  "We Should Count our Blessings" 
 
Yossi Alpher, Co-Editor of the bitterlemons.org family of 
Israeli-Palestinian Internet publications and former director of the 
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, wrote in 
the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (7/9): "Better a 
lame-duck President George W. Bush in 2008 than the president who 
confronted us for the previous seven years.  After all, now that 
Bush is taking fewer initiatives and casting a smaller shadow over 
our conflicts, it is just possible that less damage will occur and 
that our leaders will free to take independent and welcome 
initiatives.... This brings us to contacts with Hamas,  Israeli PM 
Ehud Olmert feels free to negotiate ceasefire and economic deals as 
well as a prisoner exchange with the Hamas leadership without 
risking Bush's condemnation or veto.... Olmert enjoys that 
flexibility with regard to Syria, too.  A year ago he would not have 
dared go public with the Israel-Syria proximity talks held in Turkey 
lest he violate U.S. policy rules.... The same things could still 
happen with regard to Hamas.  The Bush administration could at a 
critical juncture deny Olmert or Abbas the support they need to 
follow through on their current contacts with the Islamic movement. 
In other words, there are benefits to Bush's lame-duck status, but 
there are also limits.... A more intelligent and concentrated U.S. 
approach to the Middle East on the part of the next administration 
would be welcome -- the sooner the better." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The ultra-Orthodox Hamodi'a editorialized: "Israel's citizens are 
not keen on this government, whose actions and inaction are viewed 
by the public as the result of a struggle for survival.  But Israel 
will continue to live through this period in its relations with the 
U.S." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"A Piquant Trip" 
 
The ultra-Orthodox Hamodi'a editorialized (7/8): "The upcoming visit 
to the U.S. of Defense Minister Ehud Barak for meetings with the 
leaders of the defense establishment in the host country points to 
the nearing send of the present Presidential term... The government 
of Israel enters an unusual period as regards the concretization of 
the special friendship with the current U.S. administration -- 
exhausting positive bilateral relations vs. less positive demands by 
the Israel-friendly administration.  Israel's citizens are not keen 
on this government, whose actions and inaction are viewed by the 
public as the result of a struggle for survival.  But Israel will 
continue to live through this period in its relations with the 
U.S." 
 
JONES