Obama, Netanyahu make show of mending US-Israeli ties

The two administrations preceding Obama’s have been faulted on the peace process for deferring too much to Israeli interests, thus jeopardizing their role as a neutral mediator.

Obama reiterated his desire to see face-to-face negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians, who have agreed only to indirect talks unless they get new Israeli concessions. The president said he expected Netanyahu to take new confidence-building measures, but made no public mention of the fate of Israel’s temporary settlement freeze, which could further undermine the talks.

Why the US warmed up

Israeli commentators speculated that the change in atmosphere reflects White House recognition that confronting Netanyahu in public had yielded little progress in the peace talks and invited growing political isolation for its Middle Eastern ally. They also postulated that Obama wants to put the conflict behind to shore up support from American Jewish voters for Democratic candidates in upcoming Congressional elections.

“The two came to a meeting that was defined in advance in couples’ counseling terms as ‘reconciliation’… At the end of the meeting, understandings were announced,” wrote Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York in the daily Maariv newspaper. “This is apparently correct and accurate, and it is good that this was the case. But it would be a crude error to believe that a new path has indeed been launched, because the two countries truly differ on the question of how to advance towards ‘two states.’ ”

A Tel Aviv University poll from April found that only 43 percent of Israelis approved of Obama’s handling of US Israeli-ties, while 48 percent said he handled the relationship poorly. Netanyahu’s approval rating on that issue was 56 percent to 33 percent.

The same survey found that some 46 percent of Israelis believe that relations between the two countries have deteriorated recently. But that doesn’t mean the sides shouldn’t try to emphasize the positive, says Mr. Rosner, the columnist.

“We shouldn’t mock the administration or the Israeli government for trying to convince the rest of the world that relations are great,” he says. “Hopefully this will help both sides find common ground and language in the future that will not be a show for the public but common ground on policy issues.

“It was just music," he says, “but sometimes if you play the right music it will help spur more romance.”

Related stories:

• Beyond the Gaza blockade: What drives Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu
• Briefing: Strains in US ‘special relationship’ with Israel
• Israel news coverage

Previous

1 | 2