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Viewing cable 06TELAVIV1523, SENATOR LIEBERMAN MEETS LIEBERMAN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TELAVIV1523 2006-04-18 14:58 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Tel Aviv
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001523 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM PINS KPAL IS JO IR IZ LE ISRAEL RELATIONS GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: SENATOR LIEBERMAN MEETS LIEBERMAN 
 
This Message is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please Treat 
Accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary.  Senator Joseph Lieberman met with Yisrael 
Beiteinu Party chairman Avigdor Lieberman on April 14 to 
discuss the political landscape in Israel.  Avigdor, fresh 
from a negotiating session with the lead Kadima Party 
negotiator, Yoram Turbovitz, expressed confidence that his 
party would be included in the next Israeli government and 
that he would secure the Internal Security portfolio he 
seeks.  In a matter-of-fact tone, Avigdor described how 
developments in Iran, Iraq and the Palestinian Authority 
could derail Acting Primer Minister Olmert's timetable for 
unilateral withdrawal from additional areas in the West Bank, 
moves which Avigdor does not support.  End Summary. 
 
--------- 
Elections 
--------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Avigdor Lieberman estimated that 65-70 percent of 
the Russian-speaking voters in Israel voted for his party, 
Yisrael Beiteinu.  He attributed the party's success to its 
track record and the consistency of his political message, 
which, he claimed, "addressed what others are afraid to say." 
 The March 28 elections did not reveal a "clear direction, 
left or right," in Avigdor's view.  Likud voters -- 
particularly Sephardic voters in development towns -- were 
damaged by Netanyahu's policy.  Consequently, many of the 
Likud Sephardim voted for Labor, and some voted for Shas.  A 
corresponding number of Azkhenazi voters in the Labor party, 
however, switched to Kadima, in Avigdor's analysis.  Avigdor 
said he believed it would be very difficult to achieve a 
stable government with a broad coalition comprising the 
religious parties (presumably, the two haredim parties:  Shas 
and Shabbat and Torah Judaism), Labor, Kadima and Yisrael 
Beiteinu.  "It will be impossible to keep the balance between 
the Left and Right, or take a decision on policy," Avigdor 
added.  Despite this assessment, Avigdor reaffirmed that he 
believed he would serve in the next government. 
 
---------- 
Leadership 
---------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Avigdor bemoaned the lack of Israeli leadership, 
harking back to the Begin era as the last example of a Prime 
Minister who commanded wide support.  Avigdor appeared to 
commend Olmert for making a clear and open statement of his 
political direction regarding the occupied territories, but 
commented that he was not sure that Olmert will have the 
opportunity to implement his concept.  Avigdor reasoned that 
it would take twenty months for Olmert to plan his project, 
and, in the meantime, the "number one problem -- Iran" would 
take center stage in Israel. 
 
--------- 
Iran/Iraq 
--------- 
 
4.  (SBU) If the U.S. were to attack Iran, then Iran would 
not be able to attack the U.S., Avigdor assessed, pointing 
out, however, that Hizballah could attack Israel.  He added 
that U.S. decisions on Iraq would also play out in a way that 
could negatively affect Israel:  "If you leave and there is 
anarchy in Iraq, then the Shiites in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon 
will create a dangerous regional environment and the 
possibility of deeper coordination with a Sunni axis in Gaza, 
Judea and Samaria and Jordan," Avigdor posited.  Senator 
Lieberman responded that he did not anticipate a U.S. pullout 
from Iraq in the foreseeable future.  He asked Avigdor why 
the issue of Iran would complicate Olmert's convergence plan. 
 Avigdor envisioned battles with Hizballah as a consequence 
that Israel would have to prepare for.  Moreover, Hamas' hold 
on the Palestinians would strengthen over time.  Avigdor 
expressed "no hope for democratic change" in Iran or among 
the Palestinians, and he dismissed the possibility that Hamas 
will have to rig future elections to remain in power:  "They 
will win an open election." 
 
----------------- 
Homeland Security 
----------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) A self-professed "do-er," Avigdor claimed that 
Olmert wants him to serve as the Minister of Internal 
Security and  "make it serious, like the (U.S.) Homeland 
Security Department."  He explained that many homeland 
security functions -- including drug enforcement -- are 
located in other ministries.  The Internal Security ministry 
manages the Israeli national police, which, Avigdor said, 
lacked enough officers to deal with crime or illegal 
immigrants.  He claimed that these illegal immigrants from 
Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa number some 400,000 in Israel 
(including, in his analysis, the occupied territories, where, 
he claimed, many "Jordanians" were illegally residing). 
Senator Lieberman mentioned his own role in spearheading the 
legislation that led to the creation of this department from 
22 separate agencies, and offered to share his legislative 
experience.  The Senator also described the immigration 
policy debate in the U.S. Congress. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Israeli Arabs and the Clash of Civilizations 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU) In response to a question posed by the Senator, 
Avigdor maintained that Hamas exerts a very strong influence 
over Israeli Arabs.  Conflating Hamas with the Northern 
Islamic Movement in Israel, Avigdor predicted that most Arab 
mayors will be affiliated with Hamas after the 2008 municipal 
elections.  "We are weak.  Most Arabs and Palestinians think 
they will win this dispute," Avigdor commented.  He went on 
to argue that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is but a 
manifestation of the clash between fundamentalist Islam and 
the West.  Israel is on the front line, Avigdor concluded, 
and "Saudi Arabia is your biggest problem:  Its collapse will 
be more dangerous than Iraq or Iran together."  The Senator 
affirmed that U.S. support for Israel is stronger than ever 
and that the American people know that the U.S. and Israel 
are on the same side of this very different kind of war. 
 
7.  (U) The Codel cleared this message. 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
JONES