A confidante to Israel’s prime minister says the U.S. Secretary of State’s controversial comments were kosher
Benjamin Netanyahu
Obama Reaches Out to Netanyahu to Ease Concerns About Iran Nuclear Deal
After Israeli PM called agreement a “historic mistake”
Israel’s Election: What Happened to All the Excitement?
Two weeks ago nearly half of Israeli voters said they were either undecided or open to changing their minds. Today Benjamin Netanyahu will almost certainly be returned to the prime minister’s office.
U.S.-Israel Tension a Liability in Iran Talks
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his annual pilgrimage to Washington last year it was an unmitigated disaster. President Obama felt Netanyahu was lecturing him during the press appearance at the end of their …
At AIPAC, President Obama Distinguishes Between Israel And Its Leadership
For the better part of half a century, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has fought for a singular goal: To rally United States government support for the policy goals of the Israeli government. On Sunday, President Obama appeared before AIPAC’s annual conference to argue that the interests of Israel and its government, led by …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Abbas Out?
Maybe he’s not bluffing this time. The eminently reliable Ethan Bronner seems to think Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, may well make good on his threat to quit. If he’s gone, the Palestinians are going to scuffle to find a new leader. Odds are, in such a fraught circumstance, they choose a tough guy, a hard-liner–to match the …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Middle East Clarity
Over at the Commentary blog, Max Boot has made the Neocon-Likud position on peace talks fairly plain: the effort on the part of the Obama Administration to convince the Israelis to freeze all settlements has been “nonsense.” And while I agree that the Obama negotiators have been naive and incompetent in dealing with Likud intransigence, …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Israel’s Rejectionist Front
Benjamin Netanyahu’s phony flexibility on a two-state solution was always transparent–and it’s now becoming apparent that Israel is the prime impediment to progress in the Middle East. Over the weekend, the State Department asked Israel’s Ambassador Michael Oren to convey U.S. displeasure over continued Israeli settlement expansion in …