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P 190952Z SEP 08
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002139 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Electronic media reported that FM Tzipi Livni hinted this morning 
during a session of the Kadima faction that PM Ehud Olmert should 
resign immediately. 
 
All media reported that following his defeat in the Kadima 
primaries, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz declared he was 
taking a "time-out" from political life.  Media cited claims by 
Mofaz aides that Livni's camp played "dirty tricks."  Ha'aretz 
reported that Kadima is divided after Livni's victory, and that she 
will try to prevent a "wave of defections."  Maariv and other media 
reported that Livni has started coalition negotiations, as Shas and 
the Labor Party are raising their political demands.  The Jerusalem 
Post reported that yesterday Livni warned Shas Chairman Eli Yishai 
that she could form a coalition without him.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Livni to set 
a date for general elections.  Maariv quoted her as saying that 
would not be afraid of holding elections in January.  Israel Radio 
reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Hillary 
Clinton, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Hosni 
Mubarak were among the major world politicians who called to 
congratulate her. 
 
Major media reported that settlers vandalized Palestinian property 
in several locations yesterday after the IDF evacuated the outpost 
of Yad Yair in the northern West Bank.  The evacuation itself was 
not violent, but incidences of settler violence elsewhere in the 
West Bank were apparently a response to the evacuation.  Yediot 
reported that yesterday, following those violent events, DM Ehud 
Barak ordered the defense establishment to "take off its gloves" and 
punish more harshly settlers who attack soldiers and Palestinian 
civilians. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that President Shimon Peres told the 
newspaper yesterday that the world should hit Iran where it hurts -- 
in its economy -- much harder than it does now, and Israel will push 
the UN to that effect when the General Assembly convenes next week. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Bank Hapoalim lost 25% of its value this 
week.  The media reported that over the past two days, the public 
withdrew almost 5 billion shekels (around $1.42 billion) from 
savings funds, reportedly out of panic. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Hamas official Ayman Taha as saying that the fact 
that Livni is a woman will probably prompt her to take a more 
hawkish stance than a man would as head of the Kadima Party and the 
Israeli government, but that generally speaking, Hamas does not see 
any differences among Israeli decision-makers.  In contrast, an 
adviser to Abbas told Israel Radio that the PA views Livni as a 
partner for peace talks.   Jamal Zakut, a spokesman for PA Prime 
Minister Salam Fayyad, told IDF Radio that Livni must decide to put 
an end to the settlement project. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that PM Ehud Olmert is trying to reach 
a "non-binding" agreement with the Palestinians before he leaves the 
stage.  The newspaper also says that Livni will try to obtain a 
paper signed with the Palestinians before she gets to elections. 
 
Maariv reported that in the permanent-status negotiations, the 
Palestinians are demanding that Israel concede the settlements of 
Ariel and Alfei Menashe. 
 
Yediot reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad told an Iranian 
TV station that his country will never cut his ties to Iran and 
Hizbullah. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the Conference of Presidents of Major 
Jewish Organizations decided to cancel a speech by Republican 
vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin at a demonstration 
protesting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the UN 
General Assembly.  Senator Hillary Clinton canceled her appearance 
at the meeting, stating that she was not informed of Palin's 
intention to address the audience as well. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Dan Ben-David, an economist, will replace 
Mofaz as Knesset member if the latter leaves the Parliament. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that IDF soldiers serving along the border with 
Egypt told the newspaper that last Sunday five asylum-seekers, 
including a mother and her two teenage daughters, who tried to 
infiltrate into Israel, were returned to Egypt in contravention of 
the accepted procedures. 
 
Yediot reported that the managers of the Dimona nuclear reactor find 
it hard to recruit new engineers because of relatively low salaries 
and a fear of being contaminated by radioactivity. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Ed.) reported that Democrats and Republicans in 
Israel are set to hold Israel's first-ever U.S. presidential debate 
next week in Jerusalem.  The debaters will be the parties' Israel 
representatives -- Sheldon Schorer from Democrats Abroad Israel and 
Marc Zell from the Republicans Abroad in Israel. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The way Livni 
tries to form a government will be the first test of her 
leadership.... If Livni wants to lead and not to be led, she must 
build a government that reflects her agenda." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "On the assumption that 
Barak, if he enters [Livni's cabinet], will sit in the government as 
a Trojan horse, what is the point of demeaning oneself in 
humiliating concessions to Shas on [child] allowances?" 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz: "Like prime 
minister Golda Meir in 1973, Livni will discover that her job 
requires coordinating diplomatic support, defense assistance, and 
perhaps an agreement with the U.S. president." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Israel 
cannot afford a rudderless policy drift, for months on end, as party 
politics sort themselves out.  This is a nation longing for honest, 
capable and inspiring leadership -- urgently.  Can Tzipi Livni 
provide it?  16,936 of Israel's voters said yes on Wednesday.  Now 
she must persuade the rest." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
¶I.  "First Test of Leadership" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (9/19): "Livni 
has a mandate to try to form a government because that is the 
parliamentary system in Israel.  The claim that her mandate may be 
legal but she does not have moral legitimacy is typical of the 
Israeli political discourse since the Oslo Accords.  Anyone who 
tries to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians is treated 
similarly.... The way Livni tries to form a government will be the 
first test of her leadership.... Livni is obligated only to the 
public she seeks to lead.  The selection of Amir Peretz as defense 
minister because he wanted a job for which he was unsuited, or the 
selection of Abraham Hirchson [as finance minister] because he was 
the prime minister's friend, were quickly revealed to have been 
harmful to the public interest.  If Livni wants to lead and not to 
be led, she must build a government that reflects her agenda." 
 
II.  "For Whom the Phone Rings" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/19): "That is what is 
nice about [Ehud] Barak: There are always surprises.  As of 
yesterday afternoon, he did not want to join Livni's government, but 
did want to negotiate with her.  He is in favor of an emergency 
government, a code name for a government with the Likud and 
Lieberman, although he knows it will not be formed.  He has several 
reasons why the Labor Party should not join a government headed by 
Livni, some good, some less good.  He says that if Livni succeeds, 
the credit will be hers, and the Labor Party will disappear, and if 
she fails, the Labor Party will be part of the failure.  He says 
that the government has run its course.  Livni herself does not 
intend to keep the government running for more than a few months. 
What is the point in joining a government that will soon be 
dissolved.  And he says that one does not choose a prime minister by 
a slim margin of 431 votes.  This explanation is captivating at 
first glance, but annoying at second glance.  The Labor Party 
chairman can disqualify Livni because of her views, her 
qualifications, or her taste in fashion.  But the question of the 
margin between her and the next in line in her party is none of his 
concern.  The only way to maintain a democracy is to honor a victory 
in the polls, even if it is by a one-vote margin....  One can argue 
over the question what is preferable for the Labor Party, to expire 
slowly in the government or to commit suicide in elections.  From a 
public standpoint, the more important question is whether such a 
government can function.... What is certain is that [Barak] cannot 
serve under Livni for a single day.... Livni, who wanted at the 
start of the campaign to go to elections immediately, has changed 
her opinion in the meantime.  She wants to form a government, and to 
do so as quickly as possible.  It would appear that the coming days 
will give her an opportunity to think again.  The key is not Shas, 
it is the Labor Party.  On the assumption that Barak, if he enters, 
will sit in the government as a Trojan horse, what is the point of 
demeaning oneself in humiliating concessions to Shas on [child] 
allowances?" 
 
III.  "Welcome to the Club" 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz (9/19): "Four months 
from tomorrow in Washington a new president will be sworn in, John 
McCain or Barack Obama, but until January 20, 2009, George W. Bush 
will remain in the White House.  Tzipi Livni must not neglect the 
relationship with him during a period liable to see a conflagration 
in Gaza, spreading to the north of the country, and on the eve of 
fateful decisions, possibly a confrontation with Iran.  Livni must 
keep one eye on American while her other eye is on forming a 
government.... An Israeli prime minister must develop a network of 
alliances -- first and foremost with Washington -- and create 
conditions to shorten the fighting and reduce casualties, both on 
the home front and battlefront.... Like prime minister Golda Meir in 
1973, Livni will discover that her job requires coordinating 
diplomatic support, defense assistance, and perhaps an agreement 
with the U.S. president on a preventive strike or airlift.  Without 
these tools, the Israel Defense Forces will not be able to do the 
job." 
 
IV.  "Livni's Challenge" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (9/19): 
"It is foreign and security policy that will dominate the next prime 
minister's agenda.  Livni must define the path for addressing the 
Iranian nuclear threat.... Livni needs to tell Israelis where the 
negotiations with the Palestinians] stand, especially on Jerusalem 
and refugees.... What's her plan for Gaza, where ever more extreme 
Hamas factions are solidifying power?.... She will also have the 
opportunity to take a fresh look at negotiations with Syria; the 
current approach of indirect talks does not instill confidence.... 
Israel cannot afford a rudderless policy drift, for months on end, 
as party politics sort themselves out.  This is a nation longing for 
honest, capable and inspiring leadership -- urgently.  Can Tzipi 
Livni provide it?  16,936 of Israel's voters said yes on Wednesday. 
 
Now she must persuade the rest." 
 
CUNNINGHAM