US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV1394

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 001394 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPAL, IS, GOI INTERNAL, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS 
SUBJECT: SHARON DENIES PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS IN TENNENBAUM 
SWAP; ABSENT PROOF, THE "SCANDAL" WILL BLOW OVER 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 580 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Prime Minister Sharon and his staff have 
forcefully denied the explosive March 3 "Ma'ariv" story 
impugning his motives in the handling of the release of 
Elhanan Tennenbaum as part of the Hizballah prisoner 
exchange.  Contrary to the paper's allegation that Sharon was 
influenced by his business relationship 30 years ago with 
Tennenbaum's former father-in-law, Shimon Cohen, Sharon Chief 
of Staff Dov Weissglas told the Ambassador that Sharon had 
had no idea of any familial relationship between Tennenbaum 
and Cohen.  Weissglas also cast doubt on the motives of the 
right-wing reporter who broke the story.  Although opposition 
parties are expected to submit no-confidence motions over the 
matter and to demand a commission of inquiry, Sharon's 
potential rivals within Likud have fallen into line behind 
him.  Absent any reliable report proving the PM lied about 
his knowledge about the relationship between Tennenbaum and 
Cohen, the story will probably blow over in the coming days, 
especially as Israelis turn to the Purim holiday, effectively 
through Monday.  As one pollster noted, however, the story 
will likely contribute to a growing lack of confidence in the 
PM.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
The Story: An Alleged Connection 
Between Sharon and Tennenbaum 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) The popular Hebrew daily "Ma'ariv" created a media 
frenzy with its March 3 "exclusive" about a personal 
relationship between PM Sharon and the father-in-law of 
Elhanan Tennenbaum.  Tennenbaum was returned to Israel as 
part of the January 29 Hizballah prisoner exchange (reftel). 
Ma'ariv devoted the entire front page -- under an apparently 
deliberately ambiguous banner headline that could be 
translated either as "The Connection" or "The Conspiracy" -- 
and the succeeding six inside pages to the matter.  The story 
contended that Tennenbaum's former father-in-law (he is now 
divorced), Shimon Cohen, was a business partner of Sharon in 
the 1970's, one of three people responsible for the 
agricultural management of Sharon's Shikmim Farm.  Kalman 
Liebskind, who was the lead writer of this piece, stopped 
short of alleging that this personal acquaintanceship 
influenced the PM in his decision making on the prisoner 
exchange deal, but he faulted Sharon for failing to reveal 
the nature of his connection with the Tennenbaum family. 
 
3. (SBU) Reports differ over how recently Sharon may or may 
not have had contact with the now 89 year-old Cohen, and 
whether Sharon knew of Tennenbaum's relation to his former 
business partner.  Some reports referred to a "strong" 
relationship between the two and cited Cohen as saying that 
the PM was aware of the familial relationship between Cohen 
and Tennenbaum.  Meanwhile, Cohen was quoted in other news 
outlets as saying that he had not stayed in contact with 
Sharon for the past 30 years and that he had forbidden his 
grandchildren (Tennenbaum's children) from seeking 
preferential treatment based on his past dealings with 
Sharon.  The most that Liebskind et al. could come up with in 
a March 5 follow-up story was that Cohen was a party to a 
1992 legal dispute about a land deal near Sharon's Shikmim 
farm in which Sharon's younger son, Gilad, was involved, and 
in which Sharon had intervened. 
 
------------------------------ 
Calls for Sharon's Resignation 
------------------------------ 
 
4. (SBU) The Ma'ariv scoop was accompanied by two 
strongly-worded op-eds calling on Sharon to step down.  Dan 
Margalit, who previously called for the PM's resignation over 
the David Appel (or "Greek Island") affair, gave voice to an 
increasing sense of exasperation with corruption that many in 
Israeli society feel:  "I used to joke bitterly that 
Tennenbaum must be a partner in the Greek Island enterprise. 
Now it has become apparent that the business relationship 
between Tennenbaum's family member and Sharon was stronger." 
Ultimately, Margalit faulted Sharon less for his presumed 
favoritism toward Tennenbaum than for his failure to fully 
disclose his ties to Tennenbaum's father-in-law, suggesting 
that the incident reflects a deeply flawed culture of 
government. 
 
5. (SBU) Commentator Ben Caspit, who has been critical of 
Sharon in the past but not in the Sharon-bashing style of the 
Israeli left, offered a similar take, suggesting that this 
scandal could be the straw that breaks Sharon's back. 
Condemning Sharon's alleged failure to disclose his 
relationship with Cohen, he wrote:  "You didn't think that 
this marginal detail, your acquaintance with the family, the 
business ties, was relevant and connected to the issue?  You 
believed that such a thing could remain secret, unknown, 
concealed forever?  Where is the judgment?  Where is the 
decency?  Where is the proper conduct, which is supposed to 
serve as an example to all...?  Is it possible that you don't 
even understand this?  If so, it's an even harsher problem. 
This is, perhaps, your natural way of thinking.  That is the 
way you picked up the phone in the past, called on the 
director general of the Transport Ministry and tried to help 
your friends from Kfar Malal.  (Note:  Allegedly to secure a 
higher price for land acquired by the GOI.  End Note.)  That 
is the way that you became entangled in further affairs, 
surprisingly similar to one another.....  We have lost our 
faith in you.  We somehow got through the stories, the 
recordings, the photographs, the denials, the silences.... 
We can no longer do it.... Go home, to Shikmim Farm." 
 
------------------------- 
Angry Denials from the PM 
------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Speaking privately to the Ambassador, the PM's Chief 
of Staff, Dov Weissglas, said that Sharon had no idea that 
Cohen was related to Tennenbaum.  He also cast doubt on the 
motives of the Ma'ariv reporter who broke the story, pointing 
out that Ma'ariv had brought the writer on board from "Mekor 
Rishon," a right-wing, settler-oriented newspaper, to help 
balance the perception that its editor-in-chief, Amnon 
Dankner, is too leftist.  Weissglas pointed out that this was 
not the first time Liebskind had concocted a far-fetched 
conspiracy theory about the PM -- a previous story had made 
allegations about business ties between Sharon and the Greek 
Orthodox Patriarch. 
 
7. (SBU) Publicly, too, the PM and his staff wasted little 
time in rebutting the Ma'ariv story.  The PM's bureau issued 
a statement denying that Sharon or anyone in his office knew 
who Tennenbaum's father-in-law was at the time of the Cabinet 
discussion of the prisoner exchange.  The statement also 
pointed out that the relationship was short-lived and took 
place 30 years ago.  The PM also refuted the story in 
personal interviews with Israel's leading television 
channels, breaking with his long-standing policy of granting 
interviews only on major holidays.  He rejected the 
"malicious and despicable" allegations as "libel."  In 
addition, Sharon made an angry, impromptu statement to 
members of the press at the Knesset.  Unnamed officials in 
the PM's office dismissed the report as just "another attempt 
at defamation."  Other "sources" close to the PM have been 
quoted in the print and electronic media suggesting that the 
Ma'ariv story represents little more than a far-right attempt 
to discredit Sharon over the Gaza withdrawal plan. 
 
------------------------ 
Politicians Holding Fire 
------------------------ 
 
8. (C) Leading political figures have been, for the most 
part, relatively cautious in responding on the record about 
these latest allegations.  With increasingly damning leaks 
about Tennenbaum's unsavory activities (news stories this 
week reported variously on boxes of highly classified 
military documents and forged IDs that Tennenbaum had at his 
home at the time of his abduction, as well as his alleged 
involvement in drug deals and gambling; his fathering of a 
child out of wedlock was also revealed), the whole affair is 
taking on a bit of a foul smell with the Israeli public. 
Press coverage has reminded the public that the cabinet vote 
on the prisoner exchange was extremely close -- 12 to 11 --, 
probably leaving those ministers who voted in favor of the 
deal feeling vulnerable.  (Note:  The GOI did not release a 
list of which ministers voted which way.  End Note.)  A quote 
from an unnamed cabinet official suggests that such ministers 
may be eyeing Sharon, who campaigned vigorously for the 
exchange, as the fall guy:  "One thing is certain," an 
unnamed government minister was quoted as telling Ma'ariv, 
"Without Arik Sharon, Elhanan Tennenbaum would still be held 
captive by Hizballah."  An Embassy contact in MOD DG Yaron's 
office made this same point in private. 
 
------------------------- 
... Including Among Likud 
------------------------- 
 
9. (C) The conventional wisdom is that Labor and other 
opposition parties will treat this scandal as they have the 
previous corruption scandals surrounding the PM -- they will 
continue to pursue (unsuccessfully) no-confidence motions and 
will probably also demand an official commission of inquiry. 
As long as these efforts are relegated to the opposition, 
however, they will have little practical impact on Sharon. 
Thus, the reaction within Sharon's own Likud ranks may be 
determinative, and thus far, Sharon's principal Likud rivals 
have fallen into line behind him.  Finance Minister 
Netanyahu, Education Minister Limor Livnat, and 
Minister-Without-Portfolio Landau have all stated publicly 
that they do not believe the PM acted out of extraneous 
considerations in the Tennenbaum deal.  Voicing gentle 
criticism, Likud MK Ehud Yatom was quoted on Israel Radio as 
saying that this matter is liable to raise questions and to 
create the impression of concealment.  Other MKs are 
reportedly taking up their concerns, many of which pre-date 
the Ma'ariv disclosure, in the context of the Knesset 
Subcommittee on Intelligence and Secret Services, demanding 
explanations for the high price Israel paid for Tennenbaum's 
freedom. 
 
-------------------- 
Will it Go Anywhere? 
-------------------- 
 
10. (C) As commentator Yossi Verter wrote in Ha'aretz, only 
"time will tell whether Sharon dug his own grave" with his 
denials of knowledge about Cohen's relationship with 
Tennenbaum.  "Any reliable report proving the prime minister 
lied on such a sensitive subject, with such moral, national, 
and security implications, could bring such disgrace upon him 
that it would be impossible for him to continue in office." 
Channel 10 political correspondent Raviv Drucker predicted to 
poloff that the whole issue amounted to "nothing" -- at least 
"nothing anyone would be able to prove" -- and would 
"disappear" in a matter of days.   Pollster Dahlia Scheindlin 
shared the view that the initial story was "overblown," 
although she opined that it would contribute to a general 
lowering of Sharon's credibility and would fuel the 
perception that political expediency is a factor in Sharon's 
policy making.  In fact, a Dachaf poll published on March 5 
showed the percentage of Israelis who consider Sharon to be 
lacking credibility jumped from 51% in early February to 57% 
in early March.  This poll found no direct linkage to the 
Tennenbaum issue, however, with 53% of Israelis accepting 
Sharon's motives as "pure" in the Tennenbaum/prisoner 
exchange deal. 
 
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