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P 101153Z DEC 08
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Aftermath of Likud Primaries 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Major media reported that yesterday Likud Chairman Benjamin 
Netanyahu took legal steps to change the partyQs Knesset slate, 
hours after the announcement of the results of MondayQs primary in 
which many hawks prevailed, while more dovish candidates faltered. 
However, a HaQaretz-Dialog poll shows Likud to be gaining strength 
in voters.  (See below.)  The media quoted Netanyahu as saying that 
would pursue negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians.  Leading 
media quoted PM Ehud Olmert as saying yesterday that the political 
path that the Likud is taking would isolate Israel from the 
international community. 
 
HaQaretz reported that PM Ehud Olmert is due to meet with DM Ehud 
Barak and FM Tzipi Livni today to discuss the future of the Gaza 
lull, a day after Olmert threatened that Israel would lash out 
against Gaza militants in response to a recent escalation in rocket 
and mortar fire from Gaza. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Public Committee against Torture in 
Israel is demanding that the Attorney General order a criminal 
investigation to determine whether any crimes were committed in the 
planning and execution of previous targeted assassinations.  Israel 
Radio quoted Richard Falk, the UN Human Rights CouncilQs Special 
Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian territories, as saying 
yesterday that Israeli policies against Palestinians amounted to a 
Qcrime against humanity.Q    HaQaretz reported that most Israelis 
view human rights organizations as hostile to Israel, according to a 
recent survey sponsored by Bar-Ilan University's political science 
department in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights.  The telephone poll, which was 
conducted by the Kivun Institute two weeks ago, found that 64 
percent of Israelis consider human rights groups like Amnesty 
International and the Israel-based B'Tselem to be anti-Israel. 
More than half (55 percent) of respondents said Israel protects 
human rights better than Western democracies. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Qanti-Semitism experts in Germany, 
the U.S., and IsraelQ are leading an escalating assault on BerlinQs 
Center for Research on Anti-Semitism, accusing the center and its 
director, Wolfgang Benz, of equating Islamophobia with anti-Semitism 
while ignoring IranQs genocidal threats toward Israel and 
trivializing the Holocaust. 
 
Yediot reported that the State Prosecution will indict Olmert even 
if the Talansky case is not completed. 
 
Citing Reuters, HaQaretz quoted a UN spokesman as saying yesterday 
that the Quartet will meet with Arab foreign ministers at UN 
headquarters in New York on December 15. 
 
Yesterday Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited fears among Kadima that the 
release of Palestinian prisoners could harm the party primaries. 
 
Yediot quoted Rabbi and Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, the chosen 
chairman of the new right-wing party, Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish 
Home), as saying that his partyQs elected members will have freedom 
of choice in diplomatic issues. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that Hizbullah has declined to meet 
with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during his current visit to 
Lebanon. 
 
Maariv reported that members of Chabad will march in the streets of 
Mumbai during the Chanukah festival. 
 
HaQaretz and other media reported that as of this week, families who 
immigrated to Israel from the U.S will be eligible for a $25,000 
grant if they choose to settle in the Golan and Galilee.  The grant 
will come from the immigration-assistance organization Nefesh 
BQNefesh and the Russell Berrie Foundation of Teaneck, New Jersey. 
 
All media reported on a recent Ministry of Education report that the 
math scores of high school students are declining.  The media viewed 
the results as proof of further degradation of the educational 
system. 
 
HaQaretz presented the results of the Dialog poll held yesterday on 
the IsraelisQ voting intentions for the Knesset elections (in 
parentheses: difference from last poll) Likud: 36 Knesset seats 
(+2); Kadima: 27 (+1): Labr: 12 (+2). 
According to a Yediot poll conducted yesterday by Mina Zemach/Dahaf 
Polling Institute, Likud loses only 1 Knesset seat (31 from 32). 
 
----------------------------- 
Aftermath of Likud Primaries: 
----------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QVoters who 
believe that perpetuating the situation in the territories endangers 
Israel's future as a Jewish state, threatens its international ties 
and undermines its relations with its Arab neighbors will now [after 
the Likud primaries] have an easier time choosing the ballot slip 
that suits their worldview. 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe outcome of the 
Likud primary demonstrated that Netanyahu does not lead his party; 
his party leads him.  This is an inauspicious beginning for a person 
who wishes to return to leading the country. 
 
Former Meretz leader Dr. Yossi Beilin wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom: QThe victory of [the Likud conservatives] is an 
unequivocal message to the Israelis: Forget about a peace process. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QIn the 
wake of the primary results, Netanyahu urgently needs to tell his 
Knesset candidates, the voting public, and Israel's allies abroad 
what his party now stands for.  Otherwise others, to his detriment, 
will be only too ready to define it for him. 
 
Conservative columnist Nadav Haetzni wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv: QThe LikudQs popularity in the polls doesnQt stem from 
Benjamin NetanyahuQs aura, but from the wish to pursue another 
course that can lead in the opposite direction than the one Israelis 
have been led to for many years. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Likud Turns Right" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (12/10): QA 
quick glance at the top 30 candidates [elected in the Likud 
primaries] reveals a right-wing, if not extreme right-wing group 
that has opposed any iota of a peace initiative, from the Oslo 
Accords to the Annapolis Declaration.  Likud's voters have raised 
the curtain to reveal a team that includes people who revolted 
against Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan and have reservations 
about the peace agreement signed by Menachem Begin with Egypt. 
Likud's list for the Knesset is not in line with the image of the 
moderate statesman that Netanyahu is trying to create.  Whether 
Netanyahu was aiming at the same objective, or whether the party has 
deviated to the right more than he would have wished, the result is 
in no way ambiguous.  Most of the leading candidates built their 
reputations on support for the settlement enterprise, opposition to 
any concessions toward the Palestinians and protests against the 
attempt to renew negotiations with Syria.  A few of them stood out 
because of their initiatives to clip the wings of the High Court of 
Justice.... The bad news is that an important party that held the 
reins of power for many years did not have the sense to put at its 
helm people who can offer an alternative to the old Likud, whose 
path was strewn with security and political crises.  As prime 
minister from 1996 to 1999, Netanyahu observed the international 
reality and regional challenges up close, so we could have expected 
him to try to put at his side a pragmatic and balanced team instead 
of wooing an aggressive general, retired athlete and mediocre 
entertainer.  The good news is that the old-new list sharpens the 
differences between Likud, Kadima and the Labor Party.  Voters who 
believe that perpetuating the situation in the territories endangers 
Israel's future as a Jewish state, threatens its international ties 
and undermines its relations with its Arab neighbors will now have 
an easier time choosing the ballot slip that suits their 
worldview. 
 
 
II.  "NetanyahuQs Party Leads Him, Not the Other Way Around 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (12/10): QNetanyahu 
promises that if elected, he will promote the negotiations with 
Syria and breathe new life into the negotiations with the 
Palestinian Authority.  He is secretly conveying reassuring messages 
both to the Americans and to the Arabs.  The list that the Likud has 
chosen sends the opposite message to all these parties: Netanyahu is 
a hostage in the hands of the extreme right wing.... Any attempt by 
Netanyahu, if he becomes prime minister, to engage in real 
diplomatic moves, will connect this group [of Likud conservatives] 
with the ideological right wing, with Benny Begin, Ruby Rivlin, and 
[former chief of staff Moshe] Bugi Yaalon, and separately with Moshe 
Feiglin.  Any attempt to stabilize the economy will meet with the 
faction's lack of seriousness and its talent for losing the public's 
confidence.  The problems facing the country, from Iran to the 
pension funds, are very severe.  The Likud has not yet heard about 
them.... 
Netanyahu sought to convey a message last night that nothing had 
happened, and all was as usual: He would form a government whose 
policy would be moderate and advocate negotiations.  I have no doubt 
that he means every word: The question is whether he is capable. 
The outcome of the Likud primary demonstrated that Netanyahu does 
not lead his party; his party leads him.  This is an inauspicious 
beginning for a person who wishes to return to leading the 
country. 
 
III.  QThe Right Wing's List and the Left Wing's Challenge 
 
Former Meretz leader Dr. Yossi Beilin wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom (12/10): QThe new leadership of this important 
right-wing party [Likud] contains no one who has ever been seen as a 
supporter of the processes that the entire world supports, which is 
willing to agree to the Saudi initiative, which can be an address 
for the next U.S. administration.  The victory of this group is an 
unequivocal message to the Israelis: Forget about a peace process. 
It is also an unequivocal message to the world: we are outside -Q a 
people that dwells alone.  The new Jewish ghetto is located here.... 
Netanyahu tried to prevent the nightmare that took place yesterday. 
Evidently he realized better than others what sort of human picture 
could be drawn if he remained idle.  But he failed miserably. 
Neither he himself nor the respected people who were elected to the 
top of his list will receive the trust of the center stream of the 
State of Israel if the peace camp is wise enough to work together, 
warn of the dangers and suggest a real alternative. 
 
IV.  "Whose Likud?" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (12/10): 
QThe Likud's membership deliberately chose representatives, many of 
whom are sincerely and firmly opposed to any territorial compromise 
-- not because of the way things now stand with the Palestinians, 
but, it seems, always and forever.  Such policies, however, cannot 
be reconciled with the need for Israel to remain a Jewish and 
democratic state.  Israel cannot forever manage the lives of 
millions of antagonistic Palestinian Arabs.  It is thus in our 
interest to separate ourselves from them. Last month, Netanyahu 
declared that he would Qadvance peace talks with the Palestinians in 
order to gain a stable, safe and prosperous peace.Q   He said he 
wanted to Qmove both the political negotiationsQ and an economic 
peace plan Qforward.Q  In the wake of the primary results, Netanyahu 
urgently needs to tell his Knesset candidates, the voting public, 
and Israel's allies abroad what his party now stands for.  Otherwise 
others, to his detriment, will be only too ready to define it for 
him. 
 
¶V.  "The LikudQs Opportunity" 
 
Conservative columnist Nadav Haetzni wrote in the popular, pluralist 
Maariv (12/10): QThere is hardly any movement in Israel whose 
ideological and historical base are as relevant today as it was when 
Zeev Jabotinsky created it in the 20th century.... The LikudQs 
popularity in the polls doesnQt stem from Benjamin NetanyahuQs aura, 
but from the wish to pursue another course that can lead in the 
opposite direction than the one Israelis have been led to for many 
years -Q the opposite direction  from Oslo, the opposite way from 
Qdisengagement, the opposite way from QcalmQ.... Perhaps for the 
first time [Likud] can bring into fruition this new-old course. 
 
      CUNNINGHAM