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P 131210Z APR 09
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000842 
 
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 
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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 
 
¶3.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Over the weekend the media highlighted the tension between Egypt and 
Hizbullah.  The media cited EgyptQs claim that Hizbullah sought 
President Hosni MubarakQs QheadQ and targeted Israeli tourists in 
the Sinai.  The Jerusalem Post quoted Transportation Minister 
Yisrael Katz (Likud) as saying that Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah 
had ordered his agents to Qhit Israeli targets,Q and that the hoped 
that Nasrallah would pay the price for this Qact of war. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Jerusalem does not expect any 
confrontation with the U.S. when special Middle Envoy George 
Mitchell arrives on Thursday for his first meeting with PM Benjamin 
Netanyahu. 
 
Yediot and other media reported that during their meeting next month 
President Obama will apply pressure on PM Benjamin Netanyahu to 
adopt the two-state solution.  The media reported that yesterday PA 
President Mahmoud Abbas called Netanyahu with Passover greetings. 
 
HaQaretz reported that JordanQs King Abdullah II is set to visit the 
White House at the end of the month and will urge President Obama to 
move ahead with the Arab peace initiative. Abdullah would be the 
first Middle East leader to meet with Obama in Washington, ahead of 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  A Jordanian source told HaQaretz 
that the King would assure Obama of Jordan's commitment to a 
two-state solution, and would encourage him to support a united 
Palestinian government. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, in an interview with the 
ultra-Orthodox radio Kol Hai, President Shimon Peres Qseemed to 
threatenQ military action against Iran if President ObamaQs 
overtures to the Islamic Republic fail to bear fruit.  Peres also 
said that that the arrests late last week of a Hizbullah terrorist 
cell in Egypt was a blow to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 
 
HaQaretz reported that an Egyptian official told the newspaper over 
the weekend that talks on the release of Gilad Shalit are ongoing. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Northern Ireland politician Gerry 
Adams told the daily that Hamas is not Al-Qaida or Taliban and that 
it wants peace. 
 
The electronic media reported that a Palestinian fishing boat 
carrying a charge of hundreds of kg exploded off the Gaza shore. 
The security forces believe that a major attack was averted. 
 
The media reported that yesterday police prevented right-wing 
protesters from reaching the former Gaza settlement bloc of Gush 
Katif. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted a PA official in Ramallah as saying that 
Egypt has asked Saudi Arabia to exert pressure on President Abbas to 
accept an Egyptian initiative for solving the continued dispute 
between Hamas and Fatah.  Major media reported that Abbas told 
representatives of the Quartet that the resumption of the 
negotiations between the PA and Israel is conditioned on the 
Netanyahu governmentQs recognition of two states for two peoples. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Saturday senior Israeli defense 
officials warned that the UN force in southern Lebanon is on its way 
to QdisintegratingQ, after Poland announced it was withdrawing its 
troops from the peacekeeping force. 
 
The media reported that Russia has signed a contract to purchase 
Israeli reconnaissance drones in an attempt to improve its own 
unmanned aircraft fleet after a poor performance in the war against 
Georgia last August.  The deal, the first-ever purchase announced by 
 
Russia of Israeli military hardware, was signed about three weeks 
ago by senior Israeli and Russian officials.  Israel reportedly 
hopes the sale to Russia will help dissuade Russia from providing 
Iran with advanced missile systems. 
 
Maariv reported that the Defense Department is considering cutting 
back significantly on the development budget for the development of 
the Arrow 3 missile defense system, due to the global economic 
crisis.  As an alternative, the Americans are proposing their own 
technology. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: QThe people [of Israel] put their faith in a 
government that opposes U.S. policy.  They shouldn't expect any pats 
on the back from the Americans. 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet, a former consul in Philadelphia, 
wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: Q[Netanyahu] has several 
weeks to begin a correction.  He would be wise to get started before 
he goes to Washington next month. 
 
Former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QIf Israel does not [talk with its 
enemies] itself, we wonQt be surprised if Washington does it before 
us, without us. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "If We Give, WeQll Get" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (4/13): QReciprocity should be the basis of 
Israel's relations with the international community.... Reciprocity 
isn't a foreign concept to U.S.-Israeli relations.  The Prime 
Minister may have even learned it from Washington.... Journalist 
Nahum Barnea reported in Yediot Aharonot last weekend that Netanyahu 
had a Qcordial and friendlyQ chat with U.S. President Barack Obama. 
QThe most important question raised was when Obama asked what his 
political constraints were,Q Barnea wrote, deducing that Obama won't 
push Netanyahu beyond the liits of his coalition.  We have to hope 
that such a conclusion reflects nothing but the personal whim of the 
prime minister (or reporter).  Netanyahu's political constraints 
should not interest the leader of the free world any more than those 
Abbas, Mubarak, or Jordanian King Abdullah are facing.  The people 
put their faith in a government that opposes U.S. policy.  They 
shouldn't expect any pats on the back from the Americans. 
Reciprocity is a fair concept if not used against a weaker side, and 
Qpolitical constraintsQ cannot serve as an excuse when used against 
you by a stronger side. 
 
II.  "ItQs Not Yvet Lieberman; ItQs Bibi" 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet, a former consul in Philadelphia, 
wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (4/12): QThis is an urgent 
task for the Prime Minister.  The expectations of him are bleak. 
Only Benjamin Netanyahu can deal with them.  Only he is capable of 
dealing with Bibi.... I tend to believe that Netanyahu understands 
these basic points and IsraelQs political needs more than he allows 
himself to admit.  If that is really true, he must work for a quick 
change in his political behavior, even at the cost of an internal 
crisis.  An experienced man such as he must know that there is no 
alternative to this sort of change.  The old Bibi will perhaps hold 
on for an extended term.  The price will be intolerable.  He has 
several weeks to begin a correction.  He would be wise to get 
started before he goes to Washington next month.  If he knows enough 
to say the right things, he may come back to a political battle, but 
he will clarify that he understands, as he must, what it means to 
get stuck in compulsive rejectionism.  Some naivet may be seen in 
this recommendation.  Israeli politics are cruel.  But going blindly 
toward a groundless goal will be even crueler for Netanyahu.  Only 
rarely has an Israeli prime minister been required to change his 
ways when he assumed power.  Begin did it in his own way.  Rabin did 
too, shortly after he returned for a second term.  What is required 
for that?  A great deal: courage and intellectual honesty -- and 
something of his coincidental tactical skill.  Only with them will 
the new prime minister be capable of carrying out the needed 
improvement on the old Bibi. 
 
 
 
III.  "From Pakistan to Our Region 
 
Former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/13): QA special American team is 
currently concluding an exceptional journey to Afghanistan and 
Pakistan... It met commanders of the enemy -- the Taliban -- in the 
presence of journalists.  Among others, a senior Taliban fighter 
attended the talks; he had spent a few years in the Guantanamo Bay 
detention camp.... The team made the trip from Washington to ask for 
advice from the Qmoderate among the enemyQ.... There are indications 
that the U.S. administration is also initiating exceptional moves in 
other parts of the world.... If Israel does not do this itself, we 
wonQt be surprised if Washington does it before us, without us. 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Nationally syndicated columnist Douglas Bloomfield wrote from 
Washington in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: 
Q[Lieberman] could do what the Arabs and their supporters could only 
dream of -- drive a wedge between Americans and Israel. 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: QThe Israeli ambassador must not be Netanyahu's personal 
representative to his backers. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Might Lieberman Be the Arab WorldQs Best Friend?" 
 
Nationally syndicated columnist Douglas Bloomfield wrote from 
Washington in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (4/13): 
Q[Foreign Minister] Lieberman leaves the impression Israel is in 
full retreat from the peace table.  The greater this ex-bouncer's 
influence, especially regarding relations with the Arabs, the lower 
Israel's standing will sink.  He could do what the Arabs and their 
supporters could only dream of -- drive a wedge between Americans 
and Israel.  Netanyahu will have an opportunity to set the record 
straight next month when he is expected in Washington to speak to 
the AIPAC policy conference and meet with President Obama.  He will 
have to make a convincing case not only to the AIPAC faithful (an 
easy sell) but to the American people and their president that his 
government is committed to peace in more than vague rhetoric.  The 
future of pro-Israel activism and the quality of the bilateral 
relationship could depend on it. 
 
II.  "Whose Ambassador Is He Anyway?" 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (4/13): QEven if Netanyahu and Lieberman divide [IsraelQs 
representative to the] world between themselves, the West to one and 
the East to the other.... Netanyahu still has the burden of 
deciding.  As a wary politician, he may prefer loyalty over skill. 
Political loyalty means identifying with the party line, but more 
importantly, it's personal.... In any case, the influence of the 
ambassador in Washington depends on how close people think he is to 
the powers that be in Jerusalem, and he will be tested on this 
constantly.  No one will heed an ambassador Netanyahu bypasses, 
while maintaining relations through private mediators, American or 
Israeli.  Netanyahu will be forced to find new powers to say no to 
the wealthy American Jews who have showered him with spiritual and 
material support.  They will lobby him to appoint an ambassador 
close to them as well.  Fears about outside influences must concern 
the committee that approves all senior public service appointments. 
This committee was established after the failure of Netanyahu's 
first government -- specifically the appointment of Roni Bar-On as 
attorney general.  The Israeli ambassador must not be Netanyahu's 
personal representative to his backers. 
 
--------- 
¶3.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QIsrael is 
entitled to view Obama's policy with skepticism.... [Yet,] it would 
behoove us to stand by the President of the U.S. and hope that he 
reroutes Iran onto a course that does not threaten Israel or any 
other country. 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Dialogue Is Preferable" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (4/12): QThe 
President of the U.S. brings tidings of a new strategy aimed at 
neutralizing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.... [Unlike George 
¶W. Bush,] Barack Obama is not adopting a patronizing policy of 
diktats and ultimatums; he understands he is dealing with a country 
that views itself as a regional power.  This policy can serve both 
Western and U.S. interests.  Israel is entitled to view Obama's 
policy with skepticism.  From its standpoint, Iran does not only 
constitute a nuclear threat.... Yet in examining its options, Israel 
cannot ensure that an attack would thwart Iran's nuclear program.... 
Even if it is possible to have faith in its military capabilities, 
Israel's home front has clearly become the real arbiter of victory 
or defeat.  Israel thus needs to be satisfied, welcome Obama's 
initiative and praise his efforts to rule out the need for a 
military operation.  Statements by the Prime Minister that Israel 
does not oppose Iranian-American dialogue signal he understands 
this.  It would behoove us to stand by the President of the U.S. and 
hope that he reroutes Iran onto a course that does not threaten 
Israel or any other country. 
 
CUNNINGHAM