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UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002310 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that President Shimon PeresQ Facing Tomorrow 
Conference will open in Jerusalem tonight.  U.S. Ambassador to the 
U.N. Susan Rice, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and Quartet 
envoy Tony Blair are expected to attend. 
 
Major media (lead story in HaQaretz) reported that today at a 
special meeting, the security-diplomatic cabinet is likely to 
discuss whether Israel should establish a commission of inquiry into 
the findings of the Goldstone report.  HaQaretz reported that both 
the Justice Ministry and Foreign Ministry support establishing such 
an inquiry, holding that it would aid Israel in combating the 
report.  HaQaretz reported that DM Ehud Barak, for his part, does 
not rule out such a probe but does not want it to harm the standing 
of Israel's existing investigative bodies and the IDFQs own 
prosecutors.  HaQaretz reported that yesterday PM Benjamin Netanyahu 
pledged to lawmakers from his Likud party that Israel would ensure 
that the report be vetoed at the U.N. General Assembly.  Maariv 
quoted an Israeli diplomatic source as saying that the process 
constitutes a Qslippery slope. 
 
Leading media reported that an American scientist, who had worked in 
the U.S. Department of Energy, Pentagon, and NASA, was arrested 
yesterday on charges of attempted espionage for Israel.  However, no 
actual Israeli involvement is alleged.  (Major media quoted senior 
GOI officials as saying that Israel does not spy in friendly 
countries.)  The suspect, Stewart David Nozette, 52, from Chevy 
Chase, Maryland, was arrested yesterday by the FBI and charged with 
attempted espionage for knowingly and willfully attempting to 
communicate, deliver, and transmit classified information relating 
to the national defense of the United States to an individual that 
Nozette believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer.  Nozette is 
expected to appear before a Washington, D.C. court today.  If 
convicted, he is expected to receive the maximum penalty allowed by 
law -- a life sentence.  Nozette had worked for the National Space 
Council and, later, the Department of Energy.  He had a special 
security clearance, allowing him access to, among other matters, 
information specifically relating to nuclear materials.  The 
affidavit submitted to the court states that on September 3, Nozette 
was approached by a man who led him to believe he was an Israeli 
intelligence officer.  The man, however, was an undercover agent for 
the FBI.  During the phone call, Nozette agreed to meet the man 
later on the same day.  At the meeting, which took place at a 
Washington hotel, Nozette allegedly told the agent of his access to 
top secret information and his possession of a high-ranking security 
clearance, which allows access to information received from American 
satellites.  He is alleged to have told the undercover officer he 
would be willing to answer specific questions in exchange for money. 
 Following some further meetings, the FBI twice transferred sums of 
money for classified information, which Nozette allegedly provided. 
The exchanges were documented by the FBI.  The FBI agent who 
contacted Nozette pretended to be an Israeli officer due to early 
information indicating Nozette was interested in selling secrets to 
Israel. 
 
Yediot reported that the Juniper Cobra exercise, which will start in 
the next few days, QworriesQ Syria and Iran.  Leading media reported 
that Israel conveyed reassuring messages to neighboring countries. 
HaQaretz reported that Charles F. Wald, former Deputy Commander of 
United States European Command (USEUCOM),  told participants at a 
conference this weekend in Washington organized by the Washington 
Institute for Near East Policy that the U.S. would find it difficult 
not to join an Israeli air strike in the event that Jerusalem 
decides to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. 
 
HaQaretz quoted an unnamed officer on the IDFQs General Staff as 
saying that the extremist fringe of West Bank settlers is growing. 
The officer blamed individuals Qformerly in position of power, who 
are now unemployed and setting up all kinds of committees,Q for 
fanning the flames of radical sentiment among settlers.  He did not 
name names, but top army officials suggested he might be referring 
to former Kedumim Mayor Daniella Weiss. 
 
HaQaretz reported that yesterday the Defense and Interior Ministers 
agreed to appoint a task force to facilitate construction in the 
West Bank.  A similar team, which was responsible for establishing 
the ownership of West Bank lands, operated until about three years 
ago under the auspices of the IDFQs Civil Administration.  Officials 
were quoted as saying that the team's work is essential to issuing 
building permits in the West Bank.  DM Barak and Interior Minister 
Eli Yishai made the decision at the request of West Bank settlement 
leaders.  HaQaretz quoted Interior Ministry sources as saying that 
the task force was meant to remove bureaucratic obstacles. 
 
All media reported that yesterday Knesset Member Daniel Ben Simon 
announced his resignation as Labor faction chairman after only five 
months, dealing another blow to party chairman Ehud Barak.  Ben 
Simon said he was not joining the four Labor "rebels" at this point. 
 However, he no longer saw himself bound to coalition discipline and 
would act as a one-man faction, he said.  The former HaQaretz 
journalist blasted Barak's policies at a news conference yesterday, 
saying, "The man heading Labor is responsible for the [West Bank] 
outposts and I cannot accept that."  Labor failed to achieve its 
goals vis-a-vis the peace process and "should not be in the 
coalition," he said. 
 
HaQaretz reported that the Defense Ministry will reduce by 30% the 
number of the members of its delegation in New York. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited the belief of officials at the Israel Water 
Authority that if this winter is as lacking in rainfall as the last 
one, by next summer Israel will have to take drastic steps such as 
importing water and setting up portable desalination plants. 
 
Yesterday HaQaretz reported that the Interior Ministry has confirmed 
the contents of a leaked internal report, which states that since 
launching operations in July, its Oz task force has been responsible 
for the deportation of 700 illegal migrant workers and the voluntary 
exit of 2,400 more.  The Jerusalem Post quoted human rights 
organizations as saying that the statistics in the report prove that 
negotiation and discourse are more effective than arrests, but that 
the intimidation caused by Oz's activities are a major motivator for 
the voluntary exits.   Oz officials chose to say that the numbers 
proved that their intensive activities work.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that roughly 50 residents of south Tel Aviv demonstrated in 
the Hatikva market on Monday evening, calling on the government to 
implement its policies regarding the deportation of illegal foreign 
workers.  The protest called on PM Netanyahu and his cabinet to 
stand firm on the decision to deport illegal migrants and not back 
down in the face of "leftist and media-driven propaganda." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that senior Palestinian pollster Khalil 
Shikaki told the newspaper that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has 
suffered a serious blow to his standing versus Hamas in recent 
weeks, but that he should be able to recover that ground.  Recently 
reported surveys show Abbas having lost support to Hamas PM in Gaza, 
Ismail Haniyeh, with each of them now commanding the support of 
about 16% of the Palestinian public, as opposed to a month earlier 
when Abbas could boast twice that figure.  However Shikaki was 
quoted as saying that despite Abbas' setback, "this is only 
temporary" and that Abbas "can overcome it long before the 
elections," currently scheduled for 2010.  Shikaki, who was speaking 
on the sidelines of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's 
fall conference, said that Abbas had faced similar challenges to his 
popularity -- notably during the IDF's campaign against Hamas in 
Gaza last winter -- and still rebounded. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday a representative of the 
State Attorney's Office told the Knesset Law Committee that the 
Government has paid hundreds of millions of shekels in damages to 
Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza for harm caused them 
by the IDF during military operations since the first Intifada.  The 
committee met to continue its discussion of a government-sponsored 
amendment to the 1952 Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law that 
would further restrict the rights of Palestinians to sue the state. 
The bill has already been amended twice. However, the second 
amendment was struck down by the High Court of Justice on the 
grounds that it disproportionately favored the interests of the 
state vis-a-vis the rights of Palestinian civilians whom the state 
is obliged to protect. 
 
Maariv and Israel Radio reported that a Nigerian refugee who sought 
a permanent visa in Israel gave as a reason for his being persecuted 
the fact that he had kidnapped and killed five Americans.  The 
Israeli authorities transferred his case to Interpol. 
 
HaQaretz praised the design of the new American International School 
in Even Yehuda. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "What Do We Care about Justice?" 
 
Liberal columnist and television anchor Ofer Shelach wrote in the 
popular, pluralist Maariv (10/20): QThe truth is that the only 
morality that has always been our guiding light was our own 
morality, which is based on a concept of survival.  Israel sees 
itself as a ghetto outpost, the last bastion against constant and 
harsh existential threats. And when the tyrant is always at the gate 
and the pogrom around the corner you pick friends and rivals based 
only on their utility. The only moral yardstick is who is a Qfriend 
of IsraelQ and who isn't.  The denial of the Armenian Holocaust (and 
how can we call this a Holocaust, there is only one Holocaust and it 
is exclusively ours), or at least avoiding any mention of it, is a 
practical policy practiced by Israel for many years by right wing 
and left wing governments alike.... There are many more examples. It 
could also be said, with complete justification, that morality, in 
international eyes, is relative and that no country truly acts based 
on it. The U.S. preaches to the entire world, but it has been 
connected with oppressive and benighted regimes when this serves its 
interests.  And here is another point for thought: ultimately, those 
who act without any considerations of morality also suffer in 
practice.  The arguments of those who said that our relationship 
with South Africa was not just morally problematic but would also 
cause us damage (Yossi Beilin was among the first of the politicians 
to say this) fell on deaf ears.  Today we are remembered in the new 
South Africa, and in other parts of that continent, as having stood 
by the side of the despised regime.  The problem is not our 
relations with Turkey.  These too will fall into place, ultimately, 
because of self interest.  The problem is our consciousness, which 
from year to year, shrinks to a harsh point of whining and self 
pity.  The problem is that we've lost our insight, which was once to 
be taken for granted even if we didn't always follow it, that the 
pretension of being a light unto the nations and a moral role model 
is a source of strength, perhaps the most important source, and that 
if we are not moral, we will weaken and lose. 
 
II.  "The Goldstone Mission vs. the Peace Process" 
 
Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (10/20): QAfter taking the tangible risk 
of leaving contested territory for the sake of advancing peace, Gaza 
was turned into a lawless enclave of Hamas-led, Iranian-backed 
terrorism.  Yet, when Israel was forced to defend itself, the world 
reacted not with support and understanding, but with accusations of 
Qcrimes against humanity.Q  Damned when they do and damned when they 
don't, Israelis are now asking themselves QWas the sacrifice worth 
it?Q  While Israelis consider their options, the Goldstone snowball 
is threatening to gain momentum.  From Geneva, the issue has now 
been passed to the U.N. General Assembly in New York for further 
action. But, it is still not too late. An international rejection of 
the HRC's [Human Rights CouncilQs] treatment of the Goldstone report 
would signal to the Israeli public that the world indeed supports 
its compromises toward peace. 
 
III.  "Barak Is Not a Partner" 
 
Labor Party Knesset Member and former HaQaretz columnist Daniel Ben 
Simon, who quit the chairmanship of his partyQs Knesset faction 
yesterday, wrote in the independent, left-leaning HaQaretz (10/20): 
Q[Ehud Barak told me last week:] QYou don't understand who we're 
dealing with. We made [the Palestinians] a lot of offers, but they 
refuse to enter negotiations.Q  I reminded him that we had yet to 
remove even a single outpost.  What message does that send to the 
Palestinians?  Why should they believe us while the hammers at the 
settlements and outposts don't stop pounding for a minute?  Is this 
the way to help a U.S. president full of good intentions advance a 
genuine peace effort?  I was left without any comforting answers. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Ambush in Baluchistan" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (10/20): 
QPlainly, the realm where espionage, ethno-nationalism, 
narco-terrorism and Islamist ardor meld is frustratingly murky . For 
all we know, Jundullah may indeed have links with al-Qaida, the 
Pakistani Taliban, and even Western intelligence -- just as Iran 
claims.  What matters most at this stage is that Sunday's attack has 
drawn needed attention to the Revolutionary Guards -- also known as 
the Pasdaran.  Founded in 1979 to protect the revolution, some of 
its charter members had received training in Palestine Liberation 
Organization camps in Lebanon.  Over the years, the IRG metastasized 
from a Praetorian Guard to an evil empire in its own right.... The 
Guards is not just the glue that holds the regime together; it is 
its nucleus.  Abbas Milani of Stanford University theorizes that the 
Guards' power may now exceed that of the supreme leader.... What 
should inform the international community as it tries to negotiate 
with Iran is that its QgovernmentQ is in reality a sophisticated 
criminal syndicate.  For Iran's essential character is reflected not 
only in the theocratic visage of Khamenei and the mad-hatter mug of 
Ahmadinejad but, more revealingly, in the shadowy role of the 
Guards.  The sobering reality of what lies at the core of the regime 
ought to impel the civilized world, led by Nobel Peace Prize 
laureate Barack Obama, to act with all deliberate speed to stop the 
Iranian bomb.  Not only for Israel, but also because this twisted 
regime is a menace to its people, its neighbors, the region, and 
beyond. 
 
CUNNINGHAM