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DE RUEHTV #1535/01 1951041
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P 141041Z JUL 09
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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001535 
 
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 
 
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Major media (lead story in HaQaretz) reported on President ObamaQs 
meeting yesterday with 15 leaders of prominent American Jewish 
organizations at the White House, for talks aimed at clearing the 
air following allegations that his administration was taking a tough 
line with Israel over settlement activity.  The Jerusalem Post noted 
that some conservative groups were excluded from the meeting.  At 
the meeting, Obama told the leaders that he wants to help Israel 
overcome its demographic problem by reaching an agreement on a 
two-state solution, but that in order to do so, Israel would need 
"to engage in serious self-reflection."  On the Iranian nuclear 
issue, Obama told the leaders that "the door to dialogue is open. If 
the Iranians do not walk through it, however, we will have to see 
how we proceed. But it would be a mistake to talk now about what 
we're going to do and how we're going to do it."  One of the 
participants at the meeting asked the President to take a lower 
profile regarding the public differences between his administration 
and the government of PM Benjamin Netanyahu over the United States' 
demand that Israel freeze all settlement construction activity in 
the West Bank.  "This situation is not helpful," he told the 
President, who rejected the request, saying that during the eight 
years of the Bush administration, such disagreements were never made 
public but that such an approach was not helpful in advancing the 
peace process.  Obama added that there is a narrow window of 
opportunity for advancing the peace process and that he plans to 
speak openly and honestly with Israel -- "a true friend of the U.S." 
-- just as he did with the Arab nations in his speech at Cairo 
University in June.  HaQaretz quoted Jeremy Ben-Ami, executive 
director of J Street, who attended the meeting, as saying afterwards 
that he believed that President Obama was asserting positions aimed 
at achieving two states for two peoples, a stance he claimed is 
supported by the majority of the Jewish community in the United 
States that voted for Obama.  Israel Radio reported that the 
President told the Jewish leaders that he is not applying biased 
pressure on Israel and that his demands of the Palestinians and the 
Arab states are no smaller than his demands of Israel.  The radio 
quoted Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference 
of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, as saying that the 
President indicated that there is progress in talks with Israel 
about the settlements.  Yediot and Israel Radio reported that Obama 
told the Jewish leaders that the United StatesQ disagreement with 
Israel regarding the settlements is akin to differences of opinion 
within the family. 
 
Yediot reported that, in recent talks with Jewish leaders, Obama 
associates raised the possibility that the President may come to 
Israel in order to reassure its citizens that he is committed to its 
security. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Netanyahu met with the Quartet's Middle East 
envoy Tony Blair yesterday to discuss ways to improve the 
Palestinian economy.  Netanyahu told Blair that the West Bank's 
Palestinian residents could achieve more if they were to increase 
their cooperation with Israel.  Israel Hayom quoted Blair as saying 
yesterday, during a meeting with PM Netanyahu, that Israel does not 
get enough credit for its measures to ease the condition of the 
Palestinians -- such as the lifting of roadblocks. 
 
HaQaretz reported that, seven years after construction work began on 
the West Bank separation fence, the project seems to have run 
aground.  Work has slowed significantly since September 2007, and 
today, after the state has spent about 9.5 billion shekels (around 
$2.375 billion), only about 60% of the more limited, revised route 
has been completed.  Giant gaps remain in the southern part of the 
fence, particular in the southern outskirts of Jerusalem, in the 
Etzion bloc and in the Judean Desert. 
 
Electronic media reported that settlers told security forces that 
last night Palestinians pelted their car with stones, causing it to 
crash into a wall. But the Ynet news Web site cited the IDF and 
policeQs belief that the accident was result of reckless driving. 
Israel Radio reported that the settlers tried to pray illegally at 
the site of JoshuaQs Tomb. 
 
The Jerusalem Post led with German prosecutorsQ charges against John 
Demjanjuk that he was an accessory to murder of 27,900 JewsQ at the 
death camp of Sobibor. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that yesterday the High Court of 
Justice demanded that the state conclude within four months its 
hearing process regarding two West Bank settler outposts, and that 
it set a calendar for the demolition of permanent structures there. 
The court was responding to a petition by Peace Now. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a denial by Deputy FM Danny Ayalon that 
American envoy Frederick Hoff was bringing with him to Israel an 
early draft of a U.S. plan for an Israel-Syria compromise on the 
Golan.  Yediot wonders whether Israel and Syria will agree to the 
reported American plan, which includes the creation of a nature 
reserve. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Britain denied that it 
had imposed an embargo on Israel in the wake of Operation Cast 
Lead. 
 
Maariv reported that Egypt has clarified to Israel that Shaul 
Kemisa, whom FM Avigdor Lieberman intended to appoint as Israel's 
ambassador to Cairo, is a persona non grata in that country. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, in an effort to promote 
reconciliation among the faiths, two Jewish leaders -- Rabbis Marc 
Schneier and David Rosen -- are taking part in a Saudi-sponsored 
interfaith forum in Vienna, which is also being attended by an 
Iranian religious leader. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Khaled Dawoud, the chief UN correspondent of 
Al Jazeera-TV, has accused the Israeli delegation at the UN of 
discriminatory policies and harassment.  The Israeli diplomats, for 
their part, have accused Dawoud of disruptive behavior along with 
exploiting press conferences and events involving Israeli officials 
as a platform from which to bash Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a group of 13 American rabbis from 
across the religious spectrum are calling for a water-only fast on 
the third Thursday of each month.  Those behind the initiative say 
that hey seek to end the Jewish communityQs silence over IsraelQs 
collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza. 
 
All media reported that the task force handling illegal immigrants 
discovered that Micky Louis Mayon, whom it arrested in Tel Aviv on 
Sunday, was one of the FBI's 100 most wanted criminals.  Mayon is 
wanted in the U.S. for many federal crimes, among them membership in 
the Ku Klux Klan, burning federal judges' cars, and several other 
charges of severe violence.  Intelligence passed on to Israel by 
Interpol suggests that Mayon entered Israel illegally in 2008 and 
changed his location every two days since his arrival. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that PM Netanyahu Qcan finally point to 
an achievementQ: Yesterday the KnessetQs Economic Affairs Committee 
passed the Israel Land Administration (ILA) reform plan, one of 
NetanyahuQs major campaign promises.  The daily says that Netanyahu 
and his backers have argued that the plan is meant to restructure 
the ILA and turn it into a more efficient body, one that could focus 
on its main task of making the stateQs land available for 
development, instead of having to sign off on every homeownerQs 
application to add a room or close off a balcony.  The Jerusalem 
Post recalls that Qdoomsday scenariosQ were raised of the land being 
purchased by Saudi Arabian oil magnates or ending up in the hands of 
a small cabal of real estate tycoons. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Israeli Arab Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi has 
joined the chorus of voices calling for cell phone company Cellcom 
to pull its latest commercial, in which IDF soldiers are seen 
playing soccer with unseen Palestinians next to the West Bank 
separation fence.  Tibi's letter joins several similar requests from 
Arab lawyers, while the ad itself has generated much criticism in 
the Israeli blogosphere.  "The barrier separates families and 
prevents children from reaching schools and clinics," Tibi told 
Reuters.  "Yet the advertisement presents the barrier as though it 
were just a garden fence in Tel Aviv." 
 
Both Yediot and Maariv bannered former Shas cabinet minister Aryeh 
DeriQs expected return to politics, as the Qperiod of moral 
turpitudeQ in the wake of his conviction for bribery, fraud, and 
breach of trust is ending. 
 
Leading media reported that shareholders of Channel 10-TV are 
freezing the transfer of funds to the station, which might 
eventually closedown.  The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday 
Knesset Member Nachman Shai (Kadima) recommended that the KnessetQs 
Economic Affairs Committee discuss the possibility of providing 
government aid to the station. 
 
HaQaretz reported that Israel Air Force planes were mistakenly 
ordered last weekend to shoot down a Continental Airlines passenger 
plane suspected of being flown to Israel with terrorist intentions. 
A technical failure, apparently with ground communication units, is 
believed to have prevented the pilots of the American carrier from 
identifying their plan upon entry to Israeli airspace, as required. 
 
Media reported that Canadian artist Leonard Cohen will not be 
 
performing in Ramallah as planned.  The Jerusalem Post quoted 
pro-Palestinian activists as saying that Cohen was not welcome in 
Ramallah as long as he insisted on performing in Tel Aviv, where a 
concert is planned for September 24. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "Arabs DonQt Expel Jews" 
 
Senior op-ed writer Akiva Eldar commented in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/14): QUnfortunately, [a] guide [recently 
put out by the Israel Project, the organization spearheading 
Israel's public relations efforts in the U.S.] does not suggest a 
response to anyone who heard and/or read the opinions of Palestinian 
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, or of Ahmed Qurei, the head of the 
negotiating team, who invited the residents of Ariel and Ma'aleh 
Adumim to remain in their homes and live in peace and equality as a 
Jewish minority in Palestine.  Qurei even said he broached this 
subject with former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.  Too 
bad none of the Prime Minister's many advisers directed his 
attention to this generous Palestinian offer.  Had he been aware, he 
might have refrained from making cheap usage of the ethnic cleansing 
argument in a conversation he had last week with Germany's Foreign 
Minister, Frank Walter Steinmeier.... How ... can Israel explain its 
decision to establish new facts on the ground in the heart of the 
territories whose future it actually agreed to discuss [namely in 
the area of MaQaleh Adumim]?  Who will believe that Israel came to 
the negotiation table with clean hands at a time when it is putting 
its paws on yet another chunk of land? 
 
II.  "Let Bibi Work" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in Ha'aretz 
(7/14): QBibi is at the helm during a fatal crossroads in the 
state's life.  He is locked in an unprecedented clash with an 
American president who doesn't play with mannerisms of love for the 
Jews.  An expose by [Washington correspondent] Orly Azolai in last 
weekend's Yediot Aharonot cites a Qsource closeQ to U.S. Envoy 
George Mitchell, saying QObama is not Bush and if Israel isn't with 
him in the move he's leading, he won't harm it, but it won't enjoy 
that special status that is critical for it.Q  This is not simply 
worded.  Never has an Israeli prime minister been under such a harsh 
threat as Netanyahu is from Obama.  Bibi has formed a functioning 
government, which in a time of need could be boosted by Kadima.  The 
ideological move he is spearheading is different from that of the 
previous government.  If impeded, he will not succeed.  If we don't 
let him work, we won't know whether this is a different Bibi.  We 
can criticize him for deviating from a political or ideological 
line, but don't tug the hem of his jacket, and leave him alone with 
the shtetl [Diaspora mentality] nonsense.  Let Bibi work. 
 
III.  "America and Israel: Wither?" 
 
Zalman Shoval, a senior Likud member and former ambassador to the 
U.S., wrote in the independent Israel Hayom(7/14): QLet us suppose 
for a moment that some kind of agreement will be reached with the 
Americans on the issue of building in the settlements.  So, what 
then?  Both Washington and Jerusalem talk about a Qregional 
arrangementQ -- but it is unclear whether they refer to the same 
contents.  For instance, as far as Israel is concerned, the solution 
of the refugee problem should be implemented partly through 
integration in the countries in which they have been residing for 
three generations and through financial compensation for the others; 
recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people will 
certainly be required Q in the way we are supposed to recognize a 
Palestinian state as the state of the Palestinian people.  As far as 
Israel is concerned, there should be an agreed-upon framework for 
the future Palestine state and limitations to its sovereignty.  One 
could talk about a regional QMarshall PlanQ that would include the 
accelerated economic development of the Palestinian territories.... 
However, as far as the United States is concerned, it seems that the 
Qregional arrangementQ has other characteristics: The Americans are 
talking about gestures such as allowing Israeli civilian planes to 
fly over the territory of Arab countries, the opening of some sorts 
of Israeli diplomatic representations in the Arab countries, and 
vice-versa.  This should not be disregarded, but Israel will have to 
make concrete concessions in exchanges for mostly symbolic gestures. 
 In the mean time, it turns out that the [U.S.] administration has 
not managed to get Saudi Arabia, the major player, to make even 
symbolic gestures. 
 
IV.  "QReal MediationQ" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/14): 
Q[In a July 11 speech in London, European Union foreign policy chief 
Javier] Solana  offered a way forward toward creating a Palestinian 
state: Qreal mediation.Q  By this, he appeared to mean imposing a 
solution, and a timetable for its implementation.  If the parties 
didn't go along, he'd have the UN Security Council essentially 
codify the "real mediation" with its imprimatur.  The contrasting 
reactions to the Solana speech are instructive.  The Palestinians' 
creative interpretation had Solana calling for the Security Council 
to recognize a Palestinian state -- in line with their maximalist 
stance -- by a certain deadline; even if Israel does not. 
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said: QWe do not object.  It's 
time for the international community to stop treating Israel as 
above the laws of man.Q  The reaction of Israel's Foreign Ministry 
was that peace had to be built on negotiations, not imposed. 
Plainly, the Palestinians trust that an internationally imposed 
QpeaceQ would mostly ignore Israeli concerns, while catering to 
theirs.  Israelis do not disagree. 
 
¶V.  QThere Are Democracies and There Are Democracies 
 
Hen Alon, a reserves major who served time in jail for refusing to 
serve in the territories and is a member of Combatants for Peace, 
wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (7/14): QThe senior [Israeli] 
government officials were gripped by excitement.  The masses in Iran 
had taken to the streets.  Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: QWhat 
we see in the streets of Iran is the genuine energy of young people 
who don't want what they see.Q  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
added: QThe free world is stunned by the willingness of the Iranian 
people to insist on its rightsQ.... When masses of Palestinians took 
to the streets in 1987, the Israeli response was less than 
enthusiastic.  QBreak their arms and legs,Q the defense minister at 
the time [Yitzhak Rabin] ordered.  Nobody here said, QThe masks have 
been removed from the Israeli regimeQ.... There is no question that 
the Israeli view of events in Iran, more than they show something 
about the Iranians, reveal the Israeli self-perception and the 
enormous gap between this and reality.  Perhaps Barak and Netanyahu 
should be reminded of the reality that exists in the territories. 
In fact, democracy in Israel is a limited democracy. Israel cannot 
meet the minimal requirements of the free world.  Like a child who 
terrorizes his classmates but supports the mistreated child in the 
other class, Netanyahu and Barak identify with the wrong side.  When 
the Palestinian masses again rise up to insist on their rights 
against an oppressive and imperious regime, Barak and Netanyahu will 
be the ones to wield the clubs, not those who take the beatings. 
 
CUNNINGHAM