VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0982/01 1241030
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041030Z MAY 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1631
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 5359
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 1948
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 5882
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6169
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 5398
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 3938
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 6219
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3029
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1235
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 9937
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 7442
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 2412
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 6440
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8484
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 1267
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 1946
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000982 
 
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.  Iran 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
¶3.  U.S.-Israel Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu called Dr. Michael 
Oren to inform him that he has officially been appointed IsraelQs 
ambassador to the U.S.  Leading media reported that yesterday Oren 
told AIPAC that Israel will not let Iran get nuclear weapons. 
Israel Radio quoted opposition leader Tzipi Livni as saying that 
time is not on IsraelQs side in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.  The Jerusalem Post quoted her at saying at the conference 
that Netanyahu still has no organized plan to present to the 
Americans. 
 
Yesterday Maariv speculated that President Shimon Peres will tell 
President Obama that Netanyahu will not hesitate to operate against 
Iran.  HaQaretz reported that Netanyahu has put together a panel of 
high-level officials to consider alternatives for action against the 
Iranian nuclear threat.  The team has been meeting a few times a 
week ahead of Netanyahu's trip to Washington.  Team members include 
DM Ehud Barak, FM Avigdor Lieberman, Strategic Affairs Minister 
Moshe Ya'alon, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, National Security 
Advisor Uzi Arad, and Mossad Director Meir Dagan.  The Jerusalem 
Post reported that several senior members of Congress asked 
President Obama on Thursday to set a deadline for engaging with Iran 
and that he apply strong sanctions if talks do not work. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, while PM Benjamin Netanyahu is 
refusing to explicitly endorse a two-state solution to resolve the 
Palestinian conflict, participants at the AIPAC Policy Conference 
will this week be urging their elected representatives to press 
President Obama for precisely that. 
 
Yesterday HaQaretz reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu plans to ask 
the cabinet (before flying to the U.S. in two weeks) to approve a 
withdrawal from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, which 
straddles the Golan-Lebanon border.  This move is mandated by UN 
Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon 
War.  HaQaretz quoted a senior political source in Jerusalem as 
saying on Saturday that Netanyahu wants to respond to the American 
request on the matter.  The media also said that the move would be a 
goodwill gesture to the government of PM Fouad Siniora ahead of 
upcoming Lebanese elections.  All Ghajar residents, in both halves, 
are Israeli citizens.  This move will necessitate security 
arrangements aimed at preventing terrorists from infiltrating Israel 
via Ghajar while not making life intolerable for the villagers. 
 
All media reported that yesterday the cabinet decided to cut 14 
billion shekels (around $3.5 billion) in planned expenditures over 
the next two years.  The decision was approved by a vote of 20-10, 
with all the Labor and Shas ministers opposed.  The 10th vote 
against came from Education Minister Gideon SaQar (Likud). 
 
The media reported that a fourth case of swine flu was diagnosed in 
Israel yesterday.  The patient was a 20-year-old woman from Holon 
who recently returned from Mexico.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported 
that rabbis from Tiberias thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 
for the decision to stop the raising of pigs in Egypt. 
 
The media reported that the USG has decided to drop charges accusing 
two former pro-Israel lobbyists Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman of 
illegally disclosing classified information just weeks before their 
four-year-old case was set to go to trial. 
 
Maariv reported that Netanyahu has told Attorney General Menachem 
Mazuz that Ofer Dekel, the PMQs former point man on the prisoner 
issue, will reveal state secrets (in the memoirs he is planning to 
publish). 
 
Over the weekend the media reported that the IAF bombed five tunnel 
systems used for smuggling arms and other goods from Egypt into 
Gaza.  At least two Palestinians died in the raids.  The 
Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket at the western Negev on Thursday 
and launched two more on Saturday.  The media reported that an IDF 
soldier was stabbed in Ramat Gan yesterday in what is suspected to 
have been a terror attack. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Physicians for Human Rights-Israel 
plans to tell the UN today that there has been a 1.5% rise in the 
number of Palestinian patents whom Israel has interrogated and 
forced to provide information on Hamas or to serve as spies as a 
precondition to leaving Gaza for medical care. 
 
Media reported that police have arrested nine Bedouin residents of 
the Israeli Arab town of Shfaram on suspicion of planning to carry 
out attacks against Israelis. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported hundreds of Christian supporters of 
Israel were to gather last night in Washington with a group of 
international lawmakers seeking to further Israel-U.S. ties based on 
shared Judeo-Christian values, amid growing concerns of a nuclear 
Iran. 
 
Maariv cited the Arab Knesset membersQ anger over a speech that 
Prof. Sam Solomon, formerly the imam of Khartoum, will deliver at 
the Knesset today about the Qdangers of jihadist Islam. 
 
The Jerusalem Post noted that Jack Kemp, the onetime Republican VP 
candidate who passed away on Saturday, was known for his affection 
and activism for Israel. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Sue Gardner, WikipediaQs leading editor, who 
attended the Wikipedia Academy 2009 Conference in Israel this week, 
refuted claims by leading Israeli Internet researchers that 
WikipediaQs coverage of Israel-related issues is Qproblematic. 
Gardener said that the Web site merely reflected public discourse. 
QI know that more or less the same mistakes [on Wikipedia] can be 
found in The New York Times,Q she was quoted as saying. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited a survey conducted by the United Jewish 
Federation of New York that found that no more than 100,000 Israelis 
live in the U.S., not half a million as previously thought.  The 
report does not seem to match data published in The Jerusalem Post 
and based on the same survey. 
 
Leading media reported that 17-year-old Israeli Itamar Hasson won a 
silver medal at the Asian Physics Olympiad in Thailand. 
 
HaQaretz and The Jerusalem Post cited the results of an 
Anti-Defamation League/ Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at 
Bar-Ilan University survey conducted by Maagar Mohot among Israeli 
Jews: 
 
Asked about military action against Iran, 66% said they approved of 
it, 15% said they were opposed and 19% said they did not know. Among 
those who said they approved military action, 15% said they would 
change their minds if the United States opposed it, while 75% said 
they would not. The rest were undecided. 
 
An overwhelming majority also said they believed close relations 
with the United States were essential for ensuring Israel's 
security.  Sixty percent of the respondents said they had a 
"positive" or "very positive'Q attitude toward President Obama. 
However, only 38% said they thought his attitude to Israel was 
friendly -- in contrast to 73% of respondents in a 2007 poll, who 
defined the attitude of the previous president, George W. Bush, as 
friendly. 
 
Asked whether reconciliation with the Arab and Muslim world would 
come at the expense of Israel's interests, 63% said they believed it 
would; 71%, however, said the interests of the United States and 
Israel were "similar" or "complemented each other." 
 
--------- 
¶1.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: Q[IsraelQs] stuttering ambiguity provides no advantage: 
neither a deterrent against Iran, nor pressure on the rest of the 
world.  The situation needs to be expressed directly and clearly in 
Washington. 
 
Jonathan Spyer, a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center, 
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: Q[IranQs] 
assistance to the Taliban follows the familiar broader pattern of 
encouragement of instability across the region. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Option-Shmoption" 
 
Defense commentator Amir Oren wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (5/3): QIn the clash of wills between two rivals, so far it 
is Iran's determination to acquire nuclear weapons that is being 
accepted as fact.  By contrast, there is a lack of Israeli 
determination to act against the unique combination of the intention 
to eradicate and a willingness to tolerate weapons of mass 
destruction.  The stuttering ambiguity provides no advantage: 
neither a deterrent against Iran, nor pressure on the rest of the 
world.  The situation needs to be expressed directly and clearly in 
Washington, to the administration, to Congress, and to the American 
public.  President Shimon Peres cannot foment such a change 
tomorrow, during his visit with Obama, but then Peres is not in a 
decision-making position.  In fact, maybe Netanyahu isn't either. 
 
II.  "TehranQs Stake in Regional Insecurity" 
 
Jonathan Spyer, a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center, 
wrote in the conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (5/4): 
Q[IranQs] assistance to the Taliban follows the familiar broader 
pattern of encouragement of instability across the region.  Iran is 
in the business of challenging the U.S.-dominated order in the 
Middle East.  Preventing an American achievement in Afghanistan, and 
keeping NATO forces bogged down in an endless, bloody slogging match 
in the country represents a natural expression of this.... The U.S. 
administration thinks that Tehran QshouldQ support regional security 
and stability.  The problem is that the Iranian regime appears to 
have a different way of calibrating its interests.  In the Iranian 
approach, support for violence and insurgency brings with it myriad 
advantages.  The Western powers, prevented from attaining their 
objectives, appear weak and helpless.  The enemy, bogged down in 
conflicts elsewhere, has less time and capital to spend on 
containing Iranian ambitions.  And finally ... proxies can always be 
abandoned at an opportune moment, in order to buy time for projects 
of truly central importance. 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: QThe era of boycotts on 
central players in the region, which was typical of the Bush 
administration, has come to an end.  The Americans might discover 
that in the end one can't plan or expect anything in the Middle 
East, but until that happens everyone is going to have to get used 
to the new rules of the game. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"The Rules of the Game Have Changed" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (5/3): QThe reports 
about closer relations between the Obama administration and Syria 
left the Israeli policy makers thunderstruck.... Israeli officials, 
so it would seem, are dizzy from trying to keep track of the 
dramatic changes that have been made to American foreign policy in 
the Middle East. The intimate relations with the U.S., at least 
judging by the way things look at present, aren't what they used to 
be.... It is reasonable to assume that the issue [of withdrawal from 
the Golan] will be discussed at length in the course of the meeting 
between Netanyahu and Obama.  It is highly unlikely that Netanyahu 
will suggest to the President of the U.S. that an agreement between 
Israel and Syria be based on the formula that was proposed by 
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman: peace in exchange for peace. 
The negotiations between Israel and Syria, which in the past decade 
were conducted with American mediation, clarified to each side what 
the other side was demanding be paid to it in exchange for a peace 
treaty.  Israel is demanding that Syria stop serving as a supplier 
of weapons to Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.  One thing is 
certain: The era of boycotts on central players in the region, which 
was typical of the Bush administration, has come to an end.  The 
Americans might discover that in the end one can't plan or expect 
anything in the Middle East, but until that happens everyone is 
going to have to get used to the new rules of the game. 
 
-------------------------- 
¶3.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Former Health Minister, former Transportation Minister, and former 
Deputy Foreign Minister Ephraim Sneh (then from the Labor Party) 
wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: Q[A] package of 
understandings would defuse the danger of an Israeli-American 
clash. 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
Q[Ambassador-appointee to Washington Michael] Oren will be at his 
most effective if Netanyahu can articulate a foreign and security 
policy that is coherent and sensible. 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Understandings before a Clash" 
 
Former Health Minister, former Transportation Minister, and former 
Deputy Foreign Minister Ephraim Sneh (then from the Labor Party) 
wrote in the independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/4): QGlimmers of 
concern have recently crept into conversations with various American 
officials about a possible clash between the Obama administration 
and the Netanyahu government.... The agreement that Obama speaks of 
contains unavoidable components: withdrawal from 96 percent of the 
West Bank, the transfer of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem to 
Palestinian rule, and a special arrangement for the holy places.  It 
is very doubtful whether a majority will be found in the present 
Knesset to approve such an accord.... And above all, there is the 
Iranian issue:  Addressing it requires coordination and full 
understanding between Israel and the United States -- not tension 
and conflict.  This entanglement may be unraveled by means of a 
Qpackage of understandingsQ between Israel and the U.S., which will 
ensure tangible progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian 
state, and will serve the shared interests of both America and 
Israel in the face of an Iran heading toward nuclear power.  In the 
framework of this package, Israel would undertake five pledges: to 
institute a total, monitored freeze on construction in settlements 
and of roads connecting them; [and other gestures].... The United 
States, for its part, would pledge to limit its dialogue with Iran 
to a reasonable period of time, and not to include acceptance of 
Tehran's demand to recognize it as a hegemonic player in the Middle 
East.... Moreover, the United States would take part in the 
development of Israeli anti-missile and rocket programs without any 
connection to America's annual military assistance, and in a form 
and to an extent that would accelerate completion of -- and allow 
Israel to incorporate its own technology and weaponry in -- the new 
F-35 aircraft.  The package of understandings would defuse the 
danger of an Israeli-American clash.  On the one hand, it would 
ensure the economic and security infrastructure of the Palestinian 
state.  On the other, tangible economic sanctions would undermine 
the regime of the ayatollahs. 
 
II.  "Our Man in Washington" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/4): 
QThe Washington ambassadorial job is arguably Israel's most 
important diplomatic posting.   Naturally, it entails representing 
our government.  But it also requires the ambassador to ensure that 
the prime minister understands which way the wind is blowing at the 
White House, Foggy Bottom, and on Capitol Hill.  Moreover, the 
ambassador is the face of Israel to the American people. Hawk or a 
dove, or the epitome of an independent thinker, Oren must now put 
loyalty to Netanyahu above any personal or political consideration. 
Plainly, the Obama administration will not be spun or won over by 
Oren's rhetoric.  With them, he will need to speak authoritatively 
for a premier who, we trust, will have a clear agenda -- foremost on 
Iran and the Palestinians. An ambassador, no matter how eloquent or 
well-connected, cannot be compelling if the policies at the top are 
jumbled or lack resonance.  Oren will be at his most effective if 
Netanyahu can articulate a foreign and security policy that is 
coherent and sensible. 
 
CUNNINGHAM