A friend of mine read the Sunday papers in Israel. The summary:
Yedioth Ahronoth, page 6: We’re on Our Own, by Itamar Eichner
The revolution in Egypt hones Israel’s strategic distress in the Middle East: it is alone, without an ally. It began two years ago, in the wake of the collapse of the strategic alliance with Turkey following the Mavi Marmara affair. Netanyahu embraced Mubarak after taking office and managed to form an alliance with him that was based on their shared fear of an Iranian penetration of the region. Netanyahu visited Egypt a number of times……
Yedioth Ahronoth (p. 5) by Eli Shaked (a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt).
Things do not look good for Israel and the moderate Arab states. The developments from here on are not going to be good for our peace with Egypt and stability in the region. ….The only people in Egypt who are committed to peace are the people in Mubarak’s inner circle, and if the next president is not one of them, we are going to be in trouble. Even if the next president is Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt won’t be the same Egypt, and our peace won’t be the same peace.
Nahum Barnea – Yediot:
Israel owes Mubarak and his men a lot, for what they have done both publicly and secretly.
Alex Fishman in Yediot, echoing Aluf Benn, criticizes the US:
The greatest disappointment in Israel, and in the Middle East as a whole, is in US President Barack Obama’s reaction to the revolution under way in a country that is such a close ally of the United States. The reaction was embarrassing, out of touch with reality. The Americans were decent the way President Jimmy Carter was decent with the Persian shah. Obama and Clinton called on Mubarak to introduce reforms, but in capitals across the Middle East, and in Cairo in particular, that sounded like a call on the public to continue to rampage. The Americans, after all, are with us. The relevant Arab regimes—Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries—perceived the American message as follows: when you find yourselves facing a crisis, don’t count on Washington.
Sever Plocker in Yediot:
Our fear is not of democracy as a desirable system of government in the Arab world. We welcome this. This is good for us all. Our fear is of democracy as a mere interim phase en route to a new dictatorship predicated on extremist Islam.
Ben Caspit, Maariv:
Al-Jazeera has become the greatest enemy of the old world, the world of stability and moderate Middle Eastern regimes. It’s not that the Arab rulers are enlightened. They certainly are not. The question, as always, is what is the alternative.
