VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1006/01 1261109
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061109Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1669
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 5376
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 1964
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 5900
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6185
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5414
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 3957
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6236
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3045
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1251
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 9953
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 7458
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 2428
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6456
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8500
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1283
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 1966
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001006 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
The media cited President Shimon PeresQs satisfaction over his 
meeting with President Obama last night.  Media quoted the office of 
the White House Press Secretary as saying that the Qpresent moment 
presents an opportunity to achieve our countries' shared goal of 
peace and security for Israel and all of its neighbors.  The 
President looks forward to his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu 
later this month.Q  HaQaretz reported that Peres hinted that 
Netanyahu would sign on to a two-state solution, saying he did not 
hear the PM express himself against such a plan. The Jerusalem Post 
reported that, in his Washington meetings, Peres found broad 
agreement on Iran.  HaQaretz stressed a remark Peres made to Obama: 
QAs Jews we cannot help but compare Iran with Nazi Germany.Q  Israel 
Radio reported that Peres told Obama that he is not opposed to the 
United StatesQ engagement with Iran.  However, Maariv stressed the 
growing U.S. pressure on Israel.  The media reported that, in his 
address to the AIPAC conference -- in which he said that the 
two-state solution was the only option -- and his talks with Peres, 
Vice President Joseph Biden asked Israel to refrain from building 
new settlements and dismantle outposts. 
Leading media (banner in Yediot) quoted Assistant Secretary of State 
for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation Rose Gottemoeller 
as saying yesterday that India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel 
should join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  Israel Radio 
reported that the U.S. is not going to force Israel to do so. 
Yediot quoted a former Foreign Ministry official as saying that the 
U.S. announcement is surprising and worrisome and that the 
QAmericans have never said such a thing in the past. 
 
Yediot and other media reported that Netanyahu will offer the 
Palestinians Qself-rule,Q as the two-state solution is Qnot 
feasibleQ at this time. 
 
The media reported that Hamas rejected NetanyahuQs overtures in the 
 
speech he delivered to the AIPAC conference.  Maariv quoted Israeli 
defense sources as saying that the time has come for an official 
period of calm with Hamas.  However, Israel Radio reported that 
Hamas clamed responsibility for the launching of rockets at Israel 
this morning.  The radio cited Hamas leader Khaled MashalQs denial 
of his remarks as quoted in The New York Times that his group had 
abandoned rocket attacks against Israel. 
 
HaQaretz reported that senior army officers from Lebanon, Israel, 
and the UN will meet in two weeks to coordinate Israel's withdrawal 
from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, which straddles the 
Israeli-Lebanese border.  The meeting at the Rosh Hanikra border 
crossing will be held on May 18.  Representatives at the meeting 
will include Alan Le Roy, head of the Department of Peacekeeping 
Operations; UNIFIL commander Major-General Claudio Graziano; 
officers from IDF Northern Command and their Lebanese counterparts. 
The meeting is scheduled prior to Netanyahu's departure for 
Washington.  The Jerusalem Post reported that FM Lieberman is 
seeking changes to the plan. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday FM Lieberman took partial 
credit for blocking Iranian Mahmoud AhmadinejadQs trip to South 
America. 
 
Israel Radio quoted the international Arabic newspaper Al-Quds 
Al-Arabi as saying that moderate Arab states -Q Jordan, Egypt, and 
Saudi Arabia -Q are devising a new peace plan that would be more 
acceptable to Israel.  The London-based newspaper said that 
President Obama asked Arab countries to make changes to the original 
Arab peace plan, which would include Arab states granting 
citizenship to Palestinian refugees or relocating them in the future 
Palestinian state.  Yediot reported that IsraelQs National Security 
Advisor Uzi Arad secretly visited Cairo last week to prepare 
NetanyahuQs upcoming visit. 
 
Yediot cited a recommendation by Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe 
YaQalon that Israel totally disengage from Gaza Q- including 
stopping electricity, water, and food supply.  YaQalon reportedly 
advocates the closing of all crossings on the Israeli side and 
coordination with Egypt to provide all those services and goods. 
 
HaQaretz quoted a GOI official in Jerusalem as saying yesterday that 
a UN demand for financial compensation for Israeli strikes on UN 
facilities in Gaza in January could come to $11 million.  The 
remarks came in response to a UN report that criticized Israel for 
the attacks.  The official said Israel would begin negotiations with 
the UN on this and other matters in the coming weeks. Yesterday UN 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused Israel of lying about attacks 
on the facilities, including one said to have killed more than 40 
people outside a school compound, and formally demanded 
compensation.  The media reported that Israel denies that it 
intentionally struck the compounds.  Israel also said it was forced 
to act against militants using these buildings and other civilian 
facilities for cover.  Witnesses said at the time that militants 
fired from the area near the school that was hit.   HaQaretz and The 
Jerusalem Post cited a statement by the Foreign Ministry,  "The 
spirit of the report and its language are tendentious and entirely 
unbalanced and ignore the facts as they were presented to the 
commission.  The commission prefers the positions of Hamas, a 
murderous terror organization, and by doing so misleads the world 
public."  Yediot and other media reported that Israel had waged an 
intensive campaign to keep the report from coming out.  Ban 
commended Israel for its cooperation and said there would be no 
further reports on the matter.  He also noted in a letter attached 
to the report, at the Foreign Ministry's request, that the 
five-member panel that conducted the investigation cannot make legal 
findings or consider questions of legal liability, and pointed out 
that Israeli citizens in the south faced and continue to face 
indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas and other groups.  However, 
the report itself did not discuss rocket fire or attacks on Israeli 
civilians. Israeli officials said it also failed to address the 
intelligence information Israel gave the committee, which they said 
showed that Hamas was using UN facilities as a base for terror 
operations. 
 
The media reported that French FM Bernard Kouchner told FM Avigdor 
Lieberman in Paris yesterday that restarting Middle East peace talks 
is urgent and that building new Israeli settlements must end.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that in Rome yesterday, Lieberman called on 
Russia to cut ties with Hamas and Hizbullah. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Deputy State Attorney for 
Special Affairs Shai Nitzan told the UN Committee against Torture in 
Geneva that Israel has stood firm on its policy not to torture 
security prisoners even though the terrorist threat against it has 
increased. 
 
The media reported that U.S. envoys Ambassador Jeff Feltman and 
Daniel Shapiro will soon visit Syria for the second time.  The media 
reported on AhmadinejadQs visit to Syria yesterday.  He and 
President Assad vowed to support QPalestinian resistance. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Michal Zantovsky, the Czech RepublicQs 
Ambassador to Israel, as saying on Monday that the plan to upgrade 
Israel-EU is stuck, but not frozen.  He dismissed concerns that the 
plan might be thwarted due to the more hard-line diplomatic stance 
of IsraelQs new government. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited accusations leveled by the Anti-Defamation 
League that the Muslim and Arab media are manipulating the swine-flu 
epidemic to demonize Israel and its leaders. QOne theme of the 
anti-Israel cartoons related to the swine flu ironically pictures 
Israeli leaders with faces of pigs, reflecting the disdain for the 
pig in Islamic culture,Q the ADL said on Monday. 
 
The media reported that the Interior Ministry has begun proceedings 
to revoke the citizenship of four Israeli Arabs who left the country 
in the 1970s and then allegedly engaged in activities hostile to the 
state. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF has set up a joint command 
center at the base in the Negev that is home to the American X-Band 
radar, deployed last October to bolster defenses in the face of 
Iranian threats. 
 
HaQaretz quoted the periodical Intelligence Online as saying that 
the U.S. funded the Biological Institute at Ness Ziona to a tune of 
$200 million for developing a secret lab and producing anthrax. 
 
All media reported on an argument between Education Minister Gideon 
SaQar on one side, and Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz 
on the other regarding possible cuts in the education budget. 
 
All media reported that MK Eitan Cabel, the Secretary-General of the 
Labor Party, has decided to resign effective on Sunday.  The media 
debated the future of the party, which is in danger of splitting. 
 
Yediot reported that, at a public auction, American swimming 
champion Michael Phelps will contribute a private swimming lesson 
valued at $2,800 to fund Israeli students. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv: QThe Americans can tell when someone is 
trying to pull the wool over their eyes. 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QInstead of 
going to Washington as someone who refuses to make peace and is 
attempting to thwart United States policy in the Middle East, 
Netanyahu needs to seek paths for cooperation and understanding with 
Obama. 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: QIf Barack 
Obama wants to pry concessions out of Netanyahu, he will have to 
scare him with a far-reaching diplomatic plan.... If public opinion 
polls show widespread support for withdrawal ... [Netanyahu] may 
follow Begin and Sharon's lead. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QIt has 
been made virtually QillegalQ for Israel to defend itself.  An 
QoccupierQ doesn't deserve that right. 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: QThis illusion of a decisive outcome has 
accompanied us for years, and we have not yet overcome it. 
 
Former Meretz leader and former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin wrote 
in the independent Israel Hayom: QIt is clear in advance that the 
meeting between Netanyahu and Obama could be a meaningful 
milestone. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Before the Trickle Becomes a Deluge" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote on page one of the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (5/6): QAt some point, Benjamin Netanyahu 
too will realize that this is not a random scattering of drops, this 
is rain.  The U.S. administration is irritable and short-tempered. 
Our friends in Washington do not have the patience to wait for the 
arrival of Israel's new prime minister for a first visit.  They are 
conveying signals of agitation on a daily basis, at a growing pace, 
with an increasingly severe tone.... The Americans can tell when 
someone is trying to pull the wool over their eyes.  Netanyahu is 
thinking and trying to generate new ideas.... He has to produce 
something tempting from them, with which he will be able to go to 
Washington in two weeks, and also return home safely.  At this 
stage, the chances are not high. 
 
II.  "Netanyahu, Listen to Obama" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/6): QAs 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for his meeting in 
Washington with U.S. President Barack Obama, the White House is 
sending tough messages to Israel about its expectations.... The U.S. 
administration is signaling to Netanyahu that he needs to present 
Obama with a serious plan for a peace agreement centered around the 
establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel -- and that 
there is no point in wasting Obama's valuable time with futile 
attempts to bypass the internationally accepted two-state solution, 
set preconditions for negotiations or place any other obstacles in 
the way.... Netanyahu must heed Obama's message and see it as an 
opportunity to advance the peace process with the help of an active 
and involved American president who is politically powerful and 
enjoys international prestige.  Instead of going to Washington as 
someone who refuses to make peace and is attempting to thwart United 
States policy in the Middle East, Netanyahu needs to seek paths for 
cooperation and understanding with Obama.... Netanyahu will have to 
take political risks.  But if he continues his evasions and excuses 
in an effort to keep his right-wing political partners by his side, 
he will be remembered by history as a prime minister who wasted his 
time in power. 
 
III.  "In the Corrals" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz (5/6): QPeres 
pledged that Netanyahu wants to make history.  Does that mean 
Netanyahu will deny his former positions, withdraw from territory 
and evacuate settlers?  History teaches that the answer depends on 
two factors: Netanyahu fearing a forced agreement, and the extent to 
which he wants to be liked by the center and the left, who turned 
their backs on him during his last term.  If Barack Obama wants to 
pry concessions out of Netanyahu, he will have to scare him with a 
far-reaching diplomatic plan in order to make the Prime Minister 
choose the cheaper option and appear to have taken the initiative 
himself, and not to have buckled under pressure.  If public opinion 
polls show widespread support for withdrawal, and Netanyahu senses 
that he is getting close to being considered a popular premier and 
father of the nation, he may follow Begin and Sharon's lead. 
Especially if he can show that his daring moves enabled Israel to 
hold on to more valuable assets. 
 
 
 
IV.  QNothing Has Changed 
 
Liberal columnist and anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (5/6): QJust like everything else, the calm on the 
southern front will also be interpreted by each Israeli according to 
his previous views.... The problem lies in the idea that one Israeli 
action or another will conclusively end the Qassam rocket threat 
against the south.  This illusion of a decisive outcome has 
accompanied us for years, and we have not yet overcome it.... The 
most reasonable interpretation of the current situation lies in a 
broader perspective than Qwe smacked them, and it helped.Q  The 
entire region, from Hamas's supports in Tehran and Beirut to Cairo 
and Jerusalem, is waiting for the picture to become clear: The 
outcome of Netanyahu's visit to Washington, and more importantly, 
what will arise from the renewed dialogue between the U.S. with Iran 
and Syria.  Gaza needs time to lick its wounds, and Israel has no 
interest of its own to heat up the situation Nothing fundamental 
has changed, no decisive outcome has been reached, nor could it have 
been. 
 
¶V.  QGreat Opportunity to Bring Peace 
 
Former Meretz leader and former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin wrote 
in the independent Israel Hayom (5/6): QThis is a very rare moment. 
It is clear in advance that the meeting between Netanyahu and Obama 
could be a meaningful milestone, a juncture that could lead us to 
the diplomatic arrangement that has not been achieved until now.... 
The opportunity of May 18 will not be missed if the two leaders sum 
it up in a detailed, practical decision to return to the negotiating 
table according to the 1991 Madrid principles.  This refers to 
negotiations in parallel with Syria, Lebanon and the PLO, and an 
American assurance to help in implementing the Arab initiative, 
financing the agreements, and commanding the multi-national force in 
the West Bank.  This will be the most important contribution to 
dealing with the Iranian issue and to Israel's security in the 
coming generations.  Obama wants this, but will not impose it on 
Israel.  Has Bibi reached this point? 
 
VI.  QDickensQ Law 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/6): 
QWhat a busy time it's been for those who exploit international law 
to gang up on Israel.... Why this obscenely inordinate investment of 
time, money and personnel in bashing us?  Because an odd coalition 
-- of progressives and reactionaries -- finds itself united in the 
aim of forcing Israel out of the West Bank, and international law is 
a potent weapon in their arsenal.  The progressives see Israel as 
QoccupyingQ only the West Bank and Gaza (though Israel pulled out of 
there in 2005), while the reactionaries see the QoccupationQ as 
extending over all of QPalestine,Q and Israel's establishment as an 
inexpugnable sin.  This Qhuman rights coalitionQ is united in the 
belief that the end -- forcing Israel out of the West Bank -- 
justifies the means: exploiting and distorting international law. 
That's why it has been made virtually QillegalQ for Israel to defend 
itself.  An QoccupierQ doesn't deserve that right.... The 
unprecedented manipulation of international law and global legal 
institutions to isolate and delegitimize the Jewish state is simply 
not fair.  Moreover, it has the unintended consequence of ripping 
asunder the fabric of international law and morality.  For the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League this may 
not matter much, but shouldn't it matter a great deal to those who 
embrace Western values? 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Lenny Ben-David, a former senior Israeli diplomat in Washington and 
a former senior AIPAC official, wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: Q[U.S. attacks against Israel and its 
allies] are part of a historic, decades-long, beneath-the-surface 
low-intensity war in Washington to weaken U.S.-Israel relations. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"WashingtonQs Elders of Anti-Zion" 
 
Lenny Ben-David, a former senior Israeli diplomat in Washington and 
a former senior AIPAC official, wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (5/6): QBy no means should anyone ignore 
or minimize the Washington leaks and attacks against AIPAC, the 
American Jewish community or Israel.  But it should be understood 
that these actions are part of a historic, decades-long, 
beneath-the-surface low-intensity war in Washington to weaken 
U.S.-Israel relations.  Not much has changed since an Arab 
propagandist in the U.S., Muhammad Mehdi, proclaimed some 40 years 
ago, QThe road to the liberation of Palestine leads through 
Washington.Q  In more than 35 years of my involvement in 
U.S.-Israeli relations, I have seen the ebbs and surges of various 
anti-Israel campaigns.  Once the anti-Israel crusade was led or 
conducted by senator J. William Fulbright and congressman Paul 
Findley, assisted by Jewish anti-Zionists like Elmer Berger and the 
apostate Alfred Lilienthal, and supported by Arab propagandists and 
oil interests.  In the 1960s and '70s the legislators charged that 
American policy in the Middle East was too pro-Israel and that 
Congress was corrupted.  The animosity toward Israel and the 
American Jewish community expressed by President [George H.W. Bush] 
was probably shaped in part by his national security adviser Brent 
Scowcroft and shared by other senior staff.  Scowcroft continues 
today to play an QeldersQ role in Washington, encouraging a change 
in policy toward Israel. 
 
CUNNINGHAM