VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1052/01 1321032
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121032Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1771
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 5409
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 1994
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 5937
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6215
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5449
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 4002
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6271
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3080
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1286
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 9983
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 7488
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 2463
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6486
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8530
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1313
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 2011
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001052 
 
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: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported on the first day of Pope Benedict XVIQs visit to 
Israel.  The media, taking their cue from Israeli public figures, 
are critical of the pope for what was generally described as a crime 
of omission in his speech at Yad Vashem, as former Ashkenazi Chief 
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau told several media that, unlike his 
predecessor, the Pope spoke of millions of people killed and not 
Qmurdered,Q and failing to mention the identity of the murderers. 
Pope Benedict XVI received praise from the media for walking out on 
an interfaith meeting, which was used by Tayseer Tamimi as an 
opportunity for sharply criticizing Israel and accusing it of 
Qslaughter. 
 
All media reported on PM Benjamin NetanyahuQs cordial meeting with 
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday. 
Following the meeting, Netanyahu told reporters that Israel plans to 
renew the peace negotiations with the Palestinians very soon, but he 
stopped short of endorsing a two-state solution.  Yediot reported 
that Netanyahu told Mubarak that that Israel will not allow the 
establishment of a second Hamas entity in the West Bank. HaQaretz 
reported that Netanyahu told Mubarak that he wants to resume talks 
on a deal to free Gilad Shalit as soon as possible.  However, in an 
interview with Channel 1-TV yesterday, Mubarak spoke bluntly about 
the effort to secure a deal for Shalit.  "You are talking about 
Shalit all the time, but you ought to remain quiet," he told the 
Israeli public -- and the press. "You demand his release and they 
[Hamas] raise their demands all the time.  Keep quiet."  In the 
interview, Mubarak also lamented the lack of progress in the 
Israeli-Palestinian peace process, emphasizing that there would be 
no normalization with the Arab world Qwithout Israel giving 
something.Q  IDF Radio quoted Cabinet Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer 
-- a member of the Israeli delegation Q as saying that the subject 
of Iran came up in NetanyahuQs meeting with Mubarak.  Ben-Eliezer 
said: QOne simple thing is very clear to them: Iranian nuclear 
weapons are first and foremost a danger to the moderate Arab world. 
They are concerned about this, they are scared of this.  I know that 
Bibi brought this up in full force. 
 
Leading media quoted JordanQs King Abdullah II as saying in an 
interview with the British daily The Times that there will soon be 
an agreement -- or alternatively, another round of war, death, and 
destruction.  Abdullah cited a peace plan conceived together with 57 
Arab and Muslim states. 
 
Maariv reported that officials in Jerusalem have received unofficial 
messages in the last few days from the U.S. saying that Damascus was 
neither ready at this time to sever its relations with Iran nor to 
restrict the actions of the branches of such terror organization as 
Hizbullah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. 
 
Maariv cited a research paper shown to Foreign Minister Avigdor 
Lieberman noting that in the course of Operation Cast Lead "senior 
Palestinian officials pressed Israel to take decisive action in 
order to topple the Hamas regime."  Maariv quoted senior Israeli 
political officials as saying yesterday that this behavior is 
inconsistent with political and legal actions taken against Israel 
in Europe, particularly with respect to the International Criminal 
Court at The Hague. 
 
HaQaretz quoted two Israeli analysts who will present their research 
on Tehran's missile capacity tomorrow as saying that Iran is 
currently capable of carrying out a conventional missile attack on 
Israel -- a substantial but not existential threat.  The analysts 
consider Iran's missile arsenal its main deterrent and describe the 
country's significant investments in the area.  The research was 
carried out by Uzi Rubin, former head of the Defense Ministry's Homa 
Project (code for the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system), and Tal 
Inbar, head of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic 
Studies. 
 
Yediot reported that a special ministerial committee headed by FM 
Avigdor Lieberman will examine filing suits in courts and 
international forums against Hamas leaders in response to Qassam 
rocket fire and terror attacks.  The committee was formed in the 
wake of the suit that was filed against seven Israeli personages for 
war crimes in a court in Spain.  The cabinet accepted Minister 
Yisrael KatzQs suggestion that Israel take a more offensive approach 
and desist from merely responding to suits that have been filed. 
Leading media reported that two Israelis were arrested for looting 
in the course of Operation Cast Lead on suspicion of stealing the 
credit card of a resident of the Gazan neighborhood of Zeitoun and 
using it to withdraw money in Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak. 
 
Yediot reported that the international consulting firm McKenzie is 
recommending that the Defense Ministry reduce the staff of its 
purchase delegation in New York by 30%. 
 
All media reported on last nightQs deportation of John Demjanjuk 
from Cleveland to Munich, where he will face justice for his alleged 
participation in the murder of 29,000 Jews in the Sobibor 
extermination camp. 
 
HaQaretz reported that El Al is considering suing the government for 
losses of tens of millions of shekels following the FAAQs decision 
late last year to downgrade Israel's air safety level from 1 to 2, a 
ranking shared primarily by developing countries.  El Al CEO Haim 
Romano told members of the Knesset Finance Committee yesterday that 
the downgrade had wide-ranging implications for the airline, such as 
preventing it from expanding the number of daily flights to the 
U.S., reducing its competitive power against U.S. airlines expanding 
their own service to Israel, and general harm to El Al's image. 
Romano accused the Transportation Ministry of transferring 
responsibility for the security failings to other authorities, 
calling it QunacceptableQ that a body charged with supervising air 
safety would shirk responsibility when faced with shortcomings in 
that arena.  Knesset Member Ofer Akunis, chair of the Finance 
Committee, said in response, QThe implications of the FAA's decision 
are grave, both to consumers and airlines, and lead to higher prices 
 
for airline tickets.Q  Akunis also criticized the Transportation 
Ministry's handling of the downgrade, saying Qmore decisive action 
on the part of the ministry would have prevented the reduction of 
Israel's ranking at the outset. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: QIf Jerusalem 
seeks to be a partner in molding America's Mideast policy, it must 
begin to understand that it is expected to present a comprehensive 
policy. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: QRather 
than expecting Obama to deliver Israel prostrate, the King [of 
Jordan] needs to lobby the Arab League for essential improvements to 
its plan. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Vision and Tactics" 
 
The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/12): QKing 
Abdullah II of Jordan is offering Israel a vision: peace with the 57 
Arab and Muslim states.  If Israel does not take practical steps to 
advance that vision, implied in the Arab peace initiative, the 
monarch fears a regional conflict in the next year and a half.... 
[Recent pronouncements by Abdullah and other Arab leaders] are 
crystal-clear voices testifying to the willingness of both the 
United States and Arab states not only to cooperate with the 
Netanyahu government, but to accept it as a responsible party that 
deserves their trust, despite its rightist character and 
proclamations during the election campaign.  Most Arab countries 
also view the Iranian threat at eye level with Israel, and the U.S. 
administration believes a solution to that threat lies in reviving 
the Israeli-Arab peace process.  The summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, on 
the eve of Netanyahu's trip to Washington, is intended to impress on 
the prime minister the understanding that the confluence of 
interests between Israel, the Arab nations and the United States 
demands a serious Israeli response, one that cannot be based on 
empty slogans, patchwork ideas or tactical gestures like removing 
checkpoints or QeconomicQ cooperation.  If Jerusalem seeks to be a 
partner in molding America's Mideast policy, it must begin to 
understand that it is expected to present a comprehensive policy. 
It's true that the impressive vision offered by the Arab states will 
not be easy to realize.  To pay the heavy price, Israel needs 
ideological change, along with openness on the Arab side, firm 
determination, preparation of public opinion and considerable trust. 
 But these are the minimum demands of a politician seeking to create 
a better future for his country's citizens.  It's a decision 
Netanyahu must make as he travels to meet Obama. 
 
II.  "AbdullahQs Vital Role" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/12): 
QKing [Abdullah of Jordan] is a genuine moderate.  His father made 
peace with Israel in 1994. In a region prone to shrill bullying, 
Abdullah prefers reasonable-sounding persuasion.   And yet it is 
striking that all his recent pronouncements held hardly a hint of 
Arab self-criticism; not a word about what the Palestinians need to 
do for peace.  The King naturally wants to end the Qoccupation.Q  He 
claims the QArab Peace Initiative is the most important proposal for 
peace in the history of this conflict.Q  And he warns that Qany 
Israeli effort to substitute Palestinian development for Palestinian 
independenceQ is unacceptable.  But the King surely knows that: 
Israel has no interest in QoccupyingQ the Palestinians.... The Arab 
initiative, as it stands, is a fatally flawed take-it-or-leave-it 
diktat.... The Palestinians are hardly ready -- today, right now -- 
for total sovereignty.  They are violently divided between the West 
Bank and Gaza.  Fatah itself is polarized between generational 
factions.  Palestinian political institutions are, shall we say, 
embryonic.  Stampeding the creation of a militarized QPalestine 
would endanger both Israel and Jordan (a majority of whose 
population is Palestinian).  The good news is that moderate Jordan 
can play a vital role in fostering peace.... Rather than expecting 
Obama to deliver Israel prostrate, the King needs to lobby the Arab 
League for essential improvements to its plan.... The King does an 
excellent job of making the Arab position seem reasonable.  But he 
could better advance the cause of peace by helping to make it 
reasonable in practice. 
 
 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in the 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: QObama's broad public support 
and control of Congress almost assures him a second term in office. 
Conditions couldn't be worse for Netanyahu's tricks. 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe pictures with 
Mubarak at Sharm el-Sheikh, [NetanyahuQs] aides hope, will persuade 
the White House that there is someone to talk to on the Israeli 
side. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Why Did Bibi Cross the Road?" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in Ha'aretz 
(5/12): QPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's situation is 
reminiscent of the joke about a group of Boy Scouts who were so 
enthusiastic about doing good deeds they helped an old lady cross 
the road even though she didn't need to.  Netanyahu isn't an old 
lady and U.S. President Barack Obama isn't a Boy Scout, but it seems 
the new man in the White House thinks he knows which side of the 
road Netanyahu has to be on.  It's too early to tell whether 
Netanyahu has changed since his first term as prime minister a 
decade ago.  So far he has been busy making contradicting 
statements.... Netanyahu, the expert on U.S. affairs who was partly 
raised in that country and went to university there, will have to 
acquaint himself with Washington's new politics.  The days of former 
president George W. Bush are over.  Israel's evangelical supporters 
and right-leaning Jewish lobbyists will also have to adjust. 
Obama's broad public support and control of Congress almost assures 
him a second term in office.  Conditions couldn't be worse for 
Netanyahu's tricks.  He has to change.  So Prime Minister Netanyahu, 
maybe it's time for you to cross the road -- on the double. 
 
 
II.  "On the Way to Obama" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/12): QNetanyahuQs 
first stop was very successful. Yesterday the Prime Minister met in 
Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the two 
heaped compliments on one another.  But at the final stop he can 
expect a much harder task: waiting for him in the Oval Office of the 
White House next Monday will be U.S. President Barack Obama, the 
person whom Netanyahu will have to persuade that, contrary to his 
image, he is prepared to hold serious negotiations with the 
Palestinians.  Close aides to the prime minister admit that the 
meeting with President Mubarak was meant, among other things, to 
relay a message to the U.S. President that Netanyahu is not the same 
Netanyahu of a decade ago.  NetanyahuQs close associates are well 
aware that some of the American PresidentQs advisers describe 
Netanyahu as being Qextreme right wing,Q as Quntrustworthy,Q as 
Qmisleading,Q and as someone who has to be pushed with force to join 
the American effort to promote arrangements between Israel and the 
Arab states.... Yesterday Mubarak and Netanyahu sounded closer than 
ever before.... As for the substance of the meeting, both sides 
continue to maintain different positions.  Mubarak was unable to 
extract from Netanyahu a commitment to negotiate with the 
Palestinians on the establishment of a state of their own. In the 
Prime MinisterQs view, this is not a matter of semantics.... It is 
also clear to Mubarak that NetanyahuQs real test will be next 
Monday.  [Former Deputy National Security Advisor] Elliott Abrams 
assumed [last week] in his article [in the Wall Street Journal] that 
Netanyahu thinks of Obama as QnaoveQ and Qunrealistic.Q  That could 
be, but the Prime Minister knows that his political fateQand even 
IsraelQs fateQdepend on the degree of trust that he wins from Obama. 
 The pictures with Mubarak at Sharm el-Sheikh, his aides hope, will 
persuade the White House that there is someone to talk to on the 
Israeli side. 
 
CUNNINGHAM