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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000431 
 
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.  U.S.-Israel Relations 
 
¶2.  Aftermath of Israeli Elections 
 
¶3.  Iran 
 
¶4.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with last nightQs fruitless meeting between Likud 
Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima chair Tzipi Livni.  Whereas 
Netanyahu stressed the importance of unity, Livni was quoted as 
saying that they had Qdeep differences on diplomatic issues.Q  Livni 
asked Netanyahu to recognize the principle of Qtwo states for two 
peoples.Q  However, she agreed to hold further unity talks with 
Netanyahu.  Maariv reported that Netanyahu told Livni that they 
should try out Qanother creative idea.Q  The media reported that the 
only Kadima leader who is interested in joining the Likud-led 
coalition is Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.  HaQaretz reported 
that the right-wing parties have softened their stances before their 
talks with Likud. 
 
Leading media reported that PM Ehud Olmert suspended Amos Gilad, who 
heads the Defense Ministry's political-security bureau, from his 
position as negotiator with Egypt and indirectly with Hamas.   Gilad 
had criticized OlmertQs conduct in the matter of the negotiations, 
in particular the issue of Gilad ShalitQs release. 
 
On Sunday The Jerusalem Post reported that two visiting congressmen 
-Q Brian Baird (D-WA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) -- told the newspaper 
that banning lentils and pasta from Gaza does not help the cause of 
peace. 
 
The Jerusalem Post, HaQaretz, and Israel Radio reported that the 
human rights group Amnesty International called on the U.S. to stop 
weapons sales to Israel and on all countries to impose an arms 
embargo on both Israel and the Palestinians.  The media cited the 
Foreign Ministry as saying that AmnestyQs report ignores the fact 
that Hamas is a terrorist organization that is so recognized by the 
U.S., the EU, and other countries. 
 
The media reported that IranQs nuclear reactor at Bushehr will 
become active this week. 
 
Media reported that Yisrael Beiteinu officials have launched a 
public relations campaign to tell the U.S., Europe, and the Arab 
world that there is nothing to fear from Avigdor Lieberman's 
initiative to add an oath of allegiance to Israel's Citizenship Law. 
 Israel's ambassador to Italy, Gideon Meir, warned the Foreign 
Ministry that Arab countries are conducting a campaign to demonize 
Lieberman in Europe.  Yisrael Beiteinu's PR efforts are being 
spearheaded by Israel's former ambassador to the U.S., Daniel 
Ayalon, who is number seven on the party's Knesset list. The 
right-wing party is the third largest faction in the new Knesset, 
following Kadima and Likud.  In two weeks, Ayalon is to take Yisrael 
Beiteinu's case to the U.S. with the number two on the list, Uzi 
Landau, and number 12, Hamad Amar, who is Druze.  Avigdor Lieberman 
met yesterday with U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman.  The Yisrael 
Beiteinu chairman said it was important to act quickly against 
Iran's nuclear program.  "If we want a peace process we have to work 
first against Iran," he told the Senator. 
 
Yesterday The Jerusalem Post quoted State Department Acting Deputy 
Spokesman Gordon Duguid as saying that the U.S. remained dedicated 
to a two-state solution and that it would continue to work for this 
goal regardless of who is in office in Israel. 
 
Maariv quoted a senior Israel defense source as saying that U.S. 
special envoy George Mitchell will follow up doings in the 
territories and that he will not put up with excuses.  The source 
was quoted as saying that MitchellQs bureau in Israel will be 
ObamaQs long arm. 
 
Leading media reported that yesterday Palestinian militants in Gaza 
fired two mortar rounds at IDF soldiers near the border.  Meanwhile, 
Egypt yesterday opened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to let 
students, third-country residents, and medical patients stranded in 
the Strip cross the usually closed border.  Also yesterday, the 
media quoted Gaza medics as saying that five Palestinians were found 
dead in a smuggling tunnel under the border with Egypt. 
 
Over the weekend the media reported that a rocket fired from Lebanon 
struck northern Israel on Saturday, lightly wounding five people and 
prompting Israel to respond with a brief artillery barrage. 
 
The media reported on ongoing Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks. 
Yesterday The Jerusalem Post quoted a PA official as saying over the 
weekend that the Obama administration has given the PA a Qgreen 
lightQ to talk to Hamas about forming a Palestinian unity 
government. 
 
HaQaretz quoted French Jewish leader Laurence Borot as saying 
yesterday that Elie Wiesel and a number of other high-profile Jewish 
leaders will take part in demonstrations in Geneva against the 
UN-sponsored Durban Review Conference.  The governments of Israel 
and Canada are so far the only ones to officially declare a boycott 
of the meeting.  HaQaretz quoted Richard Heideman, a 
Washington-based lawyer and honorary president of B'nai B'rith, as 
saying that the chances that President Obama will boycott a 
conference against racism are slim. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that rabbis and imams in the U.S. have 
embarked on a campaign to prevent anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim 
activities. 
 
The media reported that protests by Israeli Christians over the 
weekend against a segment of a Channel 10-TV talk show last week 
prompted PM Olmert to apologize to the Christian community at 
yesterdayQs cabinet meeting.  Olmert was referring to the storm of 
protest over a skit on the late-night talk show hosted by Lior 
Shlein, called "Like a Virgin."  Following Olmert's statement, the 
Vatican released an official statement noting that the skit 
desecrated the sanctity of Mary and Jesus, and that it was a "vulgar 
and offensive act of intolerance."  The Vatican also said it 
regretted that such an attack was directed against Mary and Jesus, 
"children of Israel."  Olmert also called on tennis player Andy Ram 
to boycott the Dubai tournament, for which the UAE has granted him a 
visa. 
 
Maariv reported that Olmert, DM Ehud Barak, and IDF Chief of Staff 
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi are being sued for 183 million shekels 
(around $44 million)  at the Nazareth District Court over an IDF 
shelling that resulted in the deaths of 11 members of a Gazan family 
in the Jabalya refugee camp during Operation Cast lead. 
 
Yediot reported that Morris Talansky is expected to return to Israel 
in a month to testify in the affair of OlmertQs cash envelopes. 
Yediot reported that Qhundreds of thousandsQ of non-Jewish 
immigrants became Israeli citizens under the Law of Return over the 
past decade. 
 
Leading media reported that Arnold (Arnie) Zaler, who fled to 
Jerusalem last March to escape 30 counts of fraud in Colorado, has 
flown back to the U.S. and turned himself in after having allegedly 
scammed numerous Israelis during his 11 months here. 
 
The media reported on the death yesterday at 61 of Dan Scemama, 
reporter, editor, and Israel TV news anchor.  During the First 
Lebanon War, he bared the discontent of IDF soldiers.  In 2003 
Scemama entered Iraq secretly with reporter Boaz Bismuth to cover 
the first stages of the war, but was expelled by American forces. 
 
-------------------------- 
¶1.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Giora Eiland, former Director of the National Security Council, 
wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe most 
important component of Israeli policy on Iran depends on our ability 
to persuade the U.S. to make concessions to Russia (and China) on 
other issues, since the Iranian issue is more important. 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Enlist Obama" 
 
Giora Eiland, former Director of the National Security Council, 
wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (2/22): 
QThe Israeli premier will be making a mistake if he makes do merely 
with rejecting the American position and biding his time.  The right 
thing to do is to persuade the U.S. administration to reassess its 
fundamental premises.  The meeting between Netanyahu and Obama needs 
to be held after people who work under the President are persuaded 
that it would be worthwhile holding an Israeli-American dialogue to 
clarify the fundamental premises prior to renewing political 
negotiations.... A necessary precondition in persuading Russia [to 
stop IranQs nuclear program] is American willingness to be 
forthcoming with Russia on other issues.  The most important 
component of Israeli policy on Iran depends on our ability to 
persuade the U.S. to make concessions to Russia (and China) on other 
issues, since the Iranian issue is more important.  The differences 
between Israel and Obama's United States are differences on two 
other issues, Syria and Lebanon.  The two leaders must not be 
permitted to meet until a serious dialogue is held between Obama's 
staff (which is already up and working) and Netanyahu's staff, which 
hasn't been defined yet. 
 
----------------------------------- 
¶2.  Aftermath of Israeli Elections: 
----------------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom: QIf the right wing government is successful, Kadima 
will have much cause to regret that it is not also clipping the 
coupon. 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QIf [Livni] is 
convinced that Netanyahu is doomed to failure, it would be best for 
her to serve the country in the opposition. 
 
 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "An Illogical Refusal" 
 
Veteran journalist and anchor Dan Margalit wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom (2/23): QLet us suppose that Netanyahu is interested in 
continuing the peace process but he has no majority to do this 
unless he has the backing of Kadima or Labor.  So what should be 
done?  Should he be denied maneuvering ability across the 
international scene simply in order to punish him for having won the 
election?  It is true that Kadima and Labor should not join the 
government at any price.  There is no real thing as Qany price. 
But if Netanyahu is willing and interested in paying a hefty price 
in the government's guidelines and its conduct in order to get Livni 
and/or Barak into his coalition, they have no moral right to refuse 
to discuss this.... If the right wing government is successful, 
Kadima will have much cause to regret that it is not also clipping 
the coupon; and if this government fails, Kadima is destined to be 
remembered for the entire next Knesset as the party that turned a 
cold shoulder to an entire nation at a critical moment of its 
history. 
 
II.  "Free Is Completely Alone" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (2/23): QIf we assume 
for a moment that [Netanyahu and Livni] have something to talk 
about, the second question immediately arises: Is Netanyahu capable 
of betraying his partners on the Right?  Shamir and Sharon betrayed 
their right wing partners without difficulty.  They said that they 
preferred the national interest to promises given under duress. 
Netanyahu, despite the image of crook that has been pinned on him 
throughout the years, or perhaps because of this image, will find it 
difficult to betray them.  A broad government can only justify its 
existence if it is as lean as possible.   Netanyahu will have to 
recognize his limitations: He cannot bring his friends into this 
bed.  Livni will also have to recognize her limitations: One does 
not come to such a bed to jump out of it at the first opportunity. 
If she is convinced that Netanyahu is doomed to failure, it would be 
best for her to serve the country in the opposition. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶3.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning HaQaretz: QFrom Israel's perspective, 
President Barack Obama is a key player in the Iranian drama. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
Q[Containment] is certainly not a viable QPlan BQ Qto the prospect 
of a failed engagement policy.  And engagement, while arguably worth 
a try, is no substitute for the kind of sanctions  that could yet 
prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapons capacity that threatens 
far more than the Middle East. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
 "Israel Is Waiting for ObamaQs Lead" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning HaQaretz (2/23): QFrom Israel's 
perspective, President Barack Obama is a key player in the Iranian 
drama.  Although Obama has more urgent things on his agenda -- first 
and foremost among them the rehabilitation of the U.S. economy -- 
Iran will be his first major foreign-policy test.  Israel regards 
Obama's decision to talk to Tehran about its nuclear program as a 
done deal.  What it is trying to do, in a low-profile way, is to 
impact the way the Americans reach the point of dialogue.... When 
and if talks fail, Israel would expect the U.S. to head an 
international move for immediate and harsher sanctions, this time 
effectively involving Russia, China and India.  The assumption is 
that Obama will find it easier than Bush to urge the world to 
pressure Iran, especially after he shows he has taken dialogue as 
far as it can go.  Israel would prefer for the Americans to 
condition their talks with Iran on freezing uraniQ enrichment 
during the talks. 
 
 
 
 
II.  QObamaQs Plan B? 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/23): 
QAs part of a policy of containment, there is talk of a US 
declaration that an attack on the Jewish state would be viewed as an 
attack against the United States.  How credible would that be?  To 
undermine just such a pledge, Iran could surreptitiously transfer a 
nuclear device to Hizbullah-controlled Lebanon or to Hamastan. 
Pakistan, the only other Muslim state to go nuclear, proliferated to 
Iran.  Tehran could be expected to carry on the tradition.   In 
fact, containment may simply not apply to an apocalyptic messianic 
regime.  It is certainly not a viable QPlan BQ Qto the prospect of a 
failed engagement policy.  And engagement, while arguably worth a 
try, is no substitute for the kind of sanctions -- a complete 
blockade, for instance -- that could yet prevent Iran from having a 
nuclear weapons capacity that threatens far more than the Middle 
East. 
 
------------ 
¶4.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning HaQaretz: QWashington, under Barack 
Obama's administration, is liable to be more attentive to the idea 
of an Israel-Syrian agreement. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"From Gaza to Damascus" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote on page one of the 
independent, left-leaning HaQaretz (2/23): QEven if the Hamas 
government in Gaza is deterred from another military conflict, it is 
strong enough to prevent the Palestinian Authority-led government in 
the West Bank from making the concessions necessary to reach a deal 
with Israel.  The chances look more promising on the Syrian track. 
Syria's path to its goals passes through the United States, and for 
that it needs Israel.  Washington, under Barack Obama's 
administration, is liable to be more attentive to the idea of an 
Israel-Syrian agreement.  A unity government in Israel may be the 
only realistic course by which to strive for political progress in 
the coming years. 
 
CUNNINGHAM