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DE RUEHTV #1270/01 1631018
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P 121018Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001270 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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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 - BLOCK QUOTES ONLY 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
I: "Bibi's Dilemma" 
Shimon Shiffer, senior diplomatic correspondent wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yedioth Ahronot (6/12): "Among the prime 
minister's close aides, there is a clash between two schools of 
thought regarding the speech.  One approach says to Netanyahu: 
"Don't be pressured, go with your worldview all the way, and in the 
end even your rivals will appreciate your staying power.  You are 
against the mad idea of two states for two peoples, you will not 
freeze construction in the settlements-so say it."  Others say to 
Netanyahu: "What do you care if you say that you accept the road map 
outline, which includes the two-state idea?  Utter these magic 
words, and then you can continue to do what your predecessors in the 
post of prime minister did-they did not stop building in the 
territories for a single moment."  Moreover, senior government 
officials are whispering to Netanyahu that the Arab side and the 
Palestinians will reject any idea of a withdrawal from the 
territories in any case.  "Let the Arab screw up the initiative of 
Obama, who naively thinks that he can bring peace to the bloody 
Middle East." Netanyahu is not forgetting the day after the speech. 
On the day after, the Americans will demand that he immediately stop 
all construction activity in the settlements, continue to remove 
roadblocks in the West Bank, and open the crossings to the Gaza 
Strip." 
 
II. "Lieberman on the Left, Begin on the Right" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (6/12): "The criterion that currently 
slices the coalition into two is the question of whether Netanyahu 
should say "two states" in his speech on Sunday.  Say it, Lieberman 
and Barak tell him.  Absolutely not, say Benny Begin and Bugi 
Yaalon.... "These are only words," Netanyahu said when asked, after 
his meeting with the US president, what his opinion was of two 
states for two peoples.  Perhaps I misinterpret him, but it seems to 
me that Netanyahu is troubled by something much more significant 
than words.  He knows that as soon as negotiations are launched, an 
unholy commotion will arise within the Likud.  The question will not 
be what you gave up, but what you discussed.... Netanyahu would be 
glad to hold courtesy meetings with Abu Mazen.  But as soon as 
negotiations are announced, the questions will start, the protests 
will start, the leaks, the resignations....  Netanyahu doesn't want 
negotiations.  Not because there will be give and take, but because 
of Benny Begin." 
 
III. "The songs of Songs, from B. to B." 
 
Senior columnist Yoel Marcus wrote in the independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (6/12): "Barak and Bibi, who might be enemies in the next 
prime ministerial contest, are on good terms today. ... Barak is 
convinced that the goal should be a comprehensive regional 
agreement, even though Israel is the exceptional, isolated entity in 
this part of the world, compared to Iran, for example. Without 
explicitly saying so, perhaps Bibi is also beginning to part ways 
with "the dream of the Greater Land of Israel."... Barak is 
convinced that Israel must say "yes, but" rather than a contrarian 
"no." Israel cannot let itself be perceived as responsible for 
failure and lack of progress; it must enable Obama to try to move 
forward on the basis of the road map as it was constituted when it 
was introduced. "The moment the major issues are at the center of 
the map, the settlements will also be given their proper 
dimensions."... After all, would there really be two states for two 
peoples if we just stopped expanding the settlements? Even the 
Palestinians do not claim this. Mere words will not transform the 
Middle East into North America. Thus Israel is required to have both 
feet on the ground and not deviate from the task of honoring 
America's involvement.... If Bibi's speech, otherwise known as the 
government's position, does not move toward the Obama initiative, 
and Barak and Bibi continue to sing each other's praises rather than 
meeting the U.S. president halfway, then Sunday will start the 
countdown to the fall of this government. 
 
IV. "Between Barack and a hard place" 
 
Op-ed writer Gil Hoffman wrote in the conservative, ndependent 
Jerusalem Post (6/12): "It is now up o Netanyahu to ensure that 
American-Israeli relations stop hemorrhaging, and that's what he 
will try to do on Sunday. But it won't be easy doing that while 
remaining loyal to his coalition partners, the 
anti-Palestinian-state majority in his Likud faction and, most 
importantly, to himself.... Chances are that... both the American 
administration and the Israeli coalition are going to have to take a 
step back and allow Netanyahu to outline a vision somewhere in 
between.  As one political observer said this week:"It's not easy 
being a prime minister of Israel, especially when you are caught 
between Barack and a hard place." 
¶2. "Iranian Elections" 
 
¶I. "Behind the Mask" 
 
Ben Caspit, senior diplomatic correspondent, wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (6/12): "If Ahmadinejad is defeated, we will miss 
him.  There is no one who will serve Israel's PR interests better 
than him.  The Holocaust denial campaign, the constant declarations 
about the need to wipe Israel off the map, the belligerence and 
bearded madness that he exuded during his term of office, helped 
illustrate the potential danger of the Iranian nuclear program 
m 
better than a thousand service advertisements or a million speeches. 
Now, imagine that Mir-Hossein Mousavi should win.  A sticky PR 
campaign will immediately ensue, in which Mousavi will be 
photographed kissing innocent Persian children in Tehran, canceling 
a few restrictions of the modesty patrol, speaking in favor of equal 
rights for women, and then saying, on a visit to Switzerland (where 
else), that Holocaust denial is a crime and that Iran has no problem 
with Israel... . Here, the Europeans will say, the Iranians are 
changing.  They aren't so extreme any more.  Winds of progress are 
blowing in Tehran, there is no cause to be excited by the nuclear 
program, things will be okay. But they will not be okay.  The 
Iranian nuclear project started back in the days when the same 
Mousavi served as prime minister in Tehran.  He was the one who gave 
authorization to buy the first centrifuges from the Pakistani 
scientist Khan.  His reformist mask obscures the fact that the 
person who controls Iran is Ali Khamenei, and behind him stands an 
army of ayatollahs who are backed by the Revolutionary Guard.  All 
these need, more than anything, a bit of quiet, in order to complete 
the nuclear project as quickly as possible, before the world really 
wakes up.... His victory next week, in the second round, will make 
the battle for blocking the Iranian nuclear program much more 
difficult and challenging." 
 
II. "Does Iran's vote matter?" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (6/12): 
"What if Obama's softer tone encourages Iranian voters to walk away 
from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the grounds that his braying has become 
superfluous and the American "threat" has diminished?  And wouldn't 
our region be a better place if the demagogic Ahmadinejad was 
replaced by the reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi? Perhaps, but likely 
not.... All too helpfully for the mullahs, an Ahmadinejad defeat 
would distance the regime from the odious Holocaust denier.  A 
Mousavi victory would provide it with a human face, making it even 
less likely that the P5-plus-one would stop the mullahs from 
building a bomb." 
 
CUNNINGHAM