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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001915 
 
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.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio quoted an unnamed Israeli diplomat as saying that there 
is no disagreement with the U.S. regarding the issue of construction 
freeze in the settlements.  The diplomat was quoted as saying that 
the sides are discussing the duration of the freeze and what will 
happen afterwards, and that Israel is not discussing the cessation 
of construction in Jerusalem.  The radio reported that today in New 
York. Israeli envoys Yitzhak Molcho and Mike Herzog are slated to 
meet with U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell. 
Israel Radio said that diplomats in New York are lowering 
expectations in advance of the meeting; their expectation that 
Mitchell will return to the region this month for further talks is 
cited. 
 
Electronic media reported that this morning in Jerusalem Silvan 
Shalom,  Vice PM and Minister for Regional Development and the 
Development of the Negev and the Galilee, met with the PAQs Economy 
Minister Bassem Khoury.  The Jerusalem PostQs Web site reported that 
the talks are focused on economic proposals to improve life for the 
Palestinians.  Officials were quoted as saying that the agenda 
includes proposals to ease restrictions on the entry of Palestinian 
businesspeople and VIPs to Israel. The minister also reportedly want 
to boost Israeli meat exports to the West Bank and dairy imports 
from the West Bank to Israel and increase medical treatment for 
Palestinians in Israel.  They also are to discuss joint industrial 
parks meant to further what Netanyahu has termed an "economic 
peace." 
 
Yediot and Israel Radio cited a TIME Magazine report that the EUQs 
rapporteur on piracy and a former commander of the Estonian armed 
forces, Admiral Tarmo Kouts told the magazine that only a shipment 
of missiles could account for Russia's bizarre behavior throughout 
the month-long saga of the Russian merchant vessel Arctic Sea. 
Kouts was quoted as saying that an Israeli interception of the cargo 
is the most likely explanation.  However, Dmitri Rogozin, Russia's 
envoy to NATO, has vehemently denied KoutsQs comments.  Yediot 
reported that the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted a 
senior general in the Russian Army Qwho is close to the 
investigation of the affairQ as saying that the Arctic Sea was 
transporting missiles to Iran, apparently of the S-300 class or X-55 
cruise missiles.  The radio reported that Israel had no comments on 
the affair. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom reported that 
Minister-without-Portfolio Yossi Peled (Likud) told Likud activists 
in Tel Aviv yesterday that PM Benjamin Netanyahu has not made a deal 
with the Obama administration to freeze construction in the West 
Bank.  Peled had accompanied Netanyahu to Europe. 
 
Israel Radio reported that President Obama told a Muslim American 
audience at an Iftar dinner he hosted yesterday that QIslam is part 
of America. 
 
HaQaretz reported that, during a meeting with PM Netanyahu in 
August, settler leaders told him that he had humiliated them and 
that they will not hesitate to act against them.  The newspaper 
reported that the PM told them: QUltimately, we are all interested 
in the same thing, but on must act wisely. 
 
Citing a report published on Monday by the Palestinian Maan news 
agency, The Jerusalem Post quoted PA Prisoner Affairs Minister Issa 
Karaki as saying that Israel was not doing enough to maintain the 
health of Palestinian prisoners.  Karaki cited the recent discovery 
of cancer in 25 Palestinian prisoners, which he called a Qtroubling 
phenomenon. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that FM Avigdor Lieberman will embark 
today on a nine-day, five-country tour of Africa -- Ethiopia, Kenya, 
Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda.  Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that 
Lieberman will dedicate the Project for Excellence in Agriculture 
for Building Human Agricultural Wealth in Ethiopia, which is part of 
a joint project of Israel, the U.S., and Ethiopia.  The Minister of 
Agriculture, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, and representatives of 
USAID will also attend.  Lieberman was quoted as saying that the 
visit was part of his plan to open "new directions" for Israeli 
diplomacy and that it would improve Israel's standing in the 
international forums in which African nations have a significant 
presence.  Lieberman's visit comes just two days after Libyan leader 
Muammar Qadhafi said (according to an AFP report) at a special 
African Union summit in Tripoli to mark 40 years of this rule that 
Israel was causing all of Africa's woes.  Qadhafi demanded the 
closure of all Israeli embassies across Africa, describing Israel as 
a "gang" and saying it used "the protection of minorities as an 
excuse to launch conflicts." 
 
The media reported that yesterday DM Ehud Barak told students and 
parents in a Negev school that the state cannot guarantee soldiers 
safety.  The media quoted Barak as saying: QDonQt whineQ about Gilad 
Shalit.  The Jerusalem Post Web site cited the response of the 
Shalit family-run campaign for ShalitQs release: "We're not whining, 
we are fighting for Gilad's life."  Yediot quoted the Shalit family 
as saying that Barak should first bring a sign of life from Gilad. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited a halachic (religious) decision issued on 
Monday night by a group of rabbis calling themselves "The New 
Sanhedrin" that a Jew who sells land to an Arab in Israel should not 
be allowed to lead prayers in synagogue, should not be given the 
right to make a blessing during the Torah reading, should not be 
counted among the quorum needed for public prayers, and is 
considered an abettor to the enemies of Israel. 
 
Yediot reported that early this week National Security Adviser Uzi 
Arad visited Jordan to try to convince the royal Jordanian court to 
apply pressure on the Palestinians so that they agree to meet with 
Netanyahu. 
 
Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted sources in Washington as saying that 
President Obama is considering postponing by three months the date 
of IranQs answer to the U.S. conditions for a dialogue.  The 
Jerusalem Post said that Iran is reportedly ready to hold talks with 
the West.  The Jerusalem Post quoted a senior Israeli diplomatic 
official as saying that the Iranians were doing little more than 
engaging in Qbrinkmanship.Q  The media also reported that, in an 
interview with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Mohamed 
ElBaradei, outgoing chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA), called the Iranian threat "hyped," saying there is no proof 
the Islamic republic will soon have nuclear weapons.  However, 
ElBaradei admitted that Qthere is concern about Iran's future 
intentions and Iran needs to be more transparent with the IAEA and 
international community." 
 
Yediot reported that, commenting on a confidential report he wrote 
on the Israeli GovernmentQs handling of the Jonathan Pollard affair, 
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said that there have been 
flaws in the efforts to have him released. 
 
HaQaretz reported that last week's 80-ton test of explosives in the 
Negev was not for earthquake research as originally reported, but 
was meant to simulate a ballistic missile attack.  The test was 
conducted by the Geophysical Institute in cooperation with the U.S. 
Department of Defense.  It took place at the Sayyarim military base 
in the southern Negev. 
 
HaQaretz reported that despite the agreement that was reached with 
Petah Tikva schools regarding the admission of pupils of Ethiopian 
origin, few students found a place in those institutions yesterday. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "This Time Barak Is Right" 
 
Former Labor Party politician Uzi Baram wrote in the independent 
Israel Hayom (9/2): QEhud Barak is right.I have been opposed to 
most of his political steps in the past years, but when I heard 
Barak say that "Gilad Shalit's release should not be at all costs," 
I felt rare identification with the things that were said.  The 
public brainwashing on the matter of Gilad Shalit has long passed 
reasonable boundaries.  Indeed, Israel should do everything in its 
power to bring back its sons who are being held captive by the 
enemy, but the Israeli Government also has a duty to foresee the 
possibility of additional kidnappings, which would soon lead to an 
escalation in the circle of extortion.  It may be that some of the 
Palestinian prisoners should be freed due to reasons of time, but it 
is unthinkable to have a situation where the Israeli government is 
subjected to unbearably heavy one-sided pressure to free the soldier 
from Hamas captivity Qat any cost that is demandedQ. As a disciple 
of anti-racist, humanist and liberal approaches that support 
equality among human beings, irrespective of race and sex, I object 
to the numerical equation of thousands of Palestinian prisoners 
versus one Israeli prisoner. 
 
II.  "IQm a Proud Winner" 
 
Amir Goldschmidt, chairman of the youth task force for Gilad Shalit, 
wrote in Israel Hayom (9/2): QMr. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, I 
heard your statements, and I was astonished.  Your job as defense 
minister is to look after the IDF soldiers and the citizens of 
Israel, by all possible means.  It is the state's job mainly to look 
after its sons and daughters who enlist in the army in order to 
defend their family, their state and their freedom.  Young people, 
including myself, enlist in the army not only as a duty but also as 
a privilege, and I am aware that there is a chance that I will die 
in defense of my homeland.  I am prepared for this, but I would like 
to know that the state and the government will stand behind me if I 
am kidnapped.  Before this, there is a soldier in captivity who was 
kidnapped during his military service by a terrorist organization, 
and he has been forsaken by you and by the Israeli Government for 
over three years.  Your job entails moral, command and personal 
responsibility for Gilad's return.  We are fed up with sayings and 
quotes -- we want Gilad at home.  It is unthinkable that your 
response to the youth will be Qdon't whine about GiladQ -- would you 
like us to go out and celebrate?  We do not call this Qwhining,Q we 
call it social fortitude, caring and social involvement -- when 
young people stand on their feet, not sitting in front of the 
computer or drugging themselves with a reality TV show, but fighting 
for the life of a soldier who went to defend us.  These are young 
people of the highest caliber, the kind who truly act rather than 
just talk.  If the fact that we care about Gilad Shalit means that 
we are whiners, then we are proud whiners, how about you?  My 
request to you is simple.  Spare us the words, the quotes and the 
showy sentences.  Act quickly, do your job and bring Gilad back. 
 
III.  "Hatred Redux" 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Smadar Perry wrote in the 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/2): QWhoever insists 
on watching the leading Ramadan serials [in the Aab world], will 
immediately feel that he is traveling in reverse through a time 
tunnel.   Peace education?  The end of the era of wars?  Not on the 
small screen.  After the scripts have been approved by the 
authorities, and the venom drips three times a day in reruns, no one 
will escape the brainwashing.  This week, the ruler of Dubai 
announced a $1-million prize for an outstanding television series. 
In Dubai, they show QStrictly ConfidentialQ every night.  This is 
the story of a married psychiatrist, a mother of two, who travels to 
work in one of the Gulf emirates and catches her husband having an 
affair.   There are no Israelis here, the Mossad is not involved, 
there is no politics, just in-depth treatment of the hopeless status 
of the Arab women, just as Yusra, the legendary Egyptian star, 
likes.   We are keeping our fingers crossed for you here, Yusra. 
May you win the million, and may your series be screened all over 
until next Ramadan. 
 
IV.  "Democratic Wild Weeds" 
 
Conservative Op-Ed Page Editor Ben-Dror Yemini wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (9/2): QLet us not get too upset over the young 
Arab man, Rawi Sultani, who allegedly conspired with Hizbullah to 
assassinate the Chief of Staff. The truth is that only a tiny, 
fringe, negligible minority among Israeli Arabs reaches the point of 
engaging in hostile activity. The number of Arab young people who 
join the National Service, despite the opposition of the leaders who 
incite against it, is much greater than that of those who are 
recruited for hostile activity.... The dissonance between the sane 
majority, in Israel and throughout the world, and the radical 
leadership needs rethinking.  Balad and [its former, self-exiled 
leader Azmi] Bishara, for example, should have been shunned long 
ago.... [A twisted version of rights] encourages radicalism and 
support for violence. Instead of the sane majority among Israeli 
Arabs gaining expression, individuals, groups and even judicial 
echelons are mobilized to defend individuals and political parties 
that support violence or reject the existence of Israel as a Jewish 
and democratic country.  The illusion that protection under the law 
will cause the radical elements to become moderate does not pass the 
test of reality.  It has not happened in Europe, where those groups 
that are the most prominently radical win approval, and it certainly 
has not happened in Israel.   The problem is that not only has the 
radical left become a prisoner of the hollow mantras of the 
discourse of rights.  These opinions are legitimate.  They are part 
of free expression.  The problem is that official organizations have 
joined this discourse -- not because they support Balad [the 
Democratic National Assembly Party], but for reasons of freedom of 
organization and freedom of expression.  Surrender to radical groups 
does not strengthen democracy.  Those who say that Qwe must 
encourage resistanceQ (read: armed struggle) and those who shout 
QPariahQ to a young man who volunteers for community service do not 
deserve legal protection.  On the contrary.  Protecting it is 
tantamount to giving a booster shot to the young man who allegedly 
abetted Hizbullah.   Israeli democracy must decide between Bishara 
and [current Balad leader Jamal] Zahalka on the one hand and the 
majority of young people who support national service on the other. 
Currently, the choice is in favor of the former.  Let us not be 
surprised that they are sprouting wild, hostile weeds. 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"HobsonQs Choice" 
 
Former Ambassador to the U.S., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
and former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (9/2): QA ... convoluted argument ... goes 
something like this: In order to impose economic sanctions on Iran, 
the United States needs the support of a regional Arab coalition -- 
Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia -- and these countries will not 
lend their support for such sanctions unless Israel ceases to build 
in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank].  But that seems almost 
preposterous.  These countries really do not weigh very heavily in 
the scales when it comes to the imposition of sanctions against 
Iran, but even if that were to turn out to be a major consideration 
in the American decision-making process when it comes to arresting 
Iran's race for nuclear armaments, would any of these countries 
really opt for a nuclear Armageddon in the region if Israel does not 
cease building in Judea and Samaria? 
 So what is the origin of this hypothetical non-dilemma that must be 
keeping Israelis awake at night these past few months?  Is it the 
result of the feverish imagination of some of our news media? 
Regardless of just who has been promoting this ludicrous idea, its 
origin surely lies in the fact that for the past few years Israeli 
leaders have been first in line to sound the alarm bells and push 
the panic button regarding the Iranian effort to attain nuclear 
armaments.  They have hardly talked about anything else.... If 
somebody is looking for an excuse to stop building in the 
settlements in Judea and Samaria, the Iranian bomb is not a 
legitimate excuse.  The settlements do not appear as a variable in 
the Iranian nuclear equation. 
 
CUNNINGHAM