Peres invites Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo to Israel

(Haaretz).President Shimon Peres met on Thursday with the world-renowned Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo, and invited him to visit Israel for a friendly soccer match between Israeli and Palestinain children.

The famed soccer player, who formerly played for the Brazil's national soccer team and Spanish soccer team Real Madrid, previously visited the region for a soccer match organized by the Peres Center for Peace.

Ronaldo presented the president with a signed T-shirt of his current soccer team Corinthians, baring the player's number 9.

The number nine is also associated with Peres's name.

"Soccer is a world devoid of wars, religion and nations, in which the human spirit which loses today, wins tomorrow," Peres told Ronaldo during their meeting.

PM Netanyahu is ranked 46th in Forbes most powerfull list; US President Obama topped the list.

(Globes).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ranked 46th on the "Forbes" Most Powerful People in the World rankings for 2009, published today. US President Barack Obama topped the list, followed by China's Premier Hu Jintao in second place, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in third. The list includes 67 people.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is ranked 43rd, just three slots above Netanyahu.

Criteria to make the list are the number of people influenced by the powerful person's decisions, the financial resources controlled by them, if they are powerful in multiple spheres, and the degree to which they actually wield their power.

In compiling the inaugural ranking, Forbes said it had narrowed the list to 67 people, "a number based on the conceit that one can reduce the world's 6.7 billion people to the one in every 100 million that matter."

"The goal in compiling this list is to expose power and not glorify it, and over time reveal how influence is as easily lost as it is hard to gain," the magazine said.

Olmert: Goldstone Report 'hypocritical' : Peres: Richard Goldstone is a small man

(JPOST).Former prime minister Ehud Olmert spoke out against the Goldstone Commission's report on Thursday during a ceremony unveiling a new 9/11 memorial erected in the Arazim Valley near Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood.

Olmert asserted that the report was part of what he termed a "self-righteous and hypocritical campaign" against Israel by bodies such as the UN.

"I know that today there are those who ask questions about the wisdom and necessity of carrying out the fight against these terrorists," he said.

Olmert stated that although Israel, the US and other countries involved in the fight against terror targeted the terrorists' leaders, civilian casualties were inevitably caused by the complexity of asymmetrical warfare.

"It does occur in the course of this war that people that are uninvolved in war are affected by it," he said.

"There is one dramatic difference which we always have to bear in mind between the victims that we memorialize today and those who were unfortunately affected by acts against the terrorists," stated the former prime minister.

"When [terrorists] attack, when they commit suicidal attacks, the main purpose is to kill innocent civilians and through this to achieve chaos and anarchy and a loss of sense of direction by our countries."

Olmert used the platform to call for perseverance in the fight against terror, adding that the Goldstone Report needed to be taken in stride.

President Shimon Peres was also critical of Richard Goldstone, calling him a small man with no sense of justice, Israel Radio reported.

Speaking during an official state visit to Brazil, Peres reportedly went on to say that nations which voted in favor of the Goldstone report at the UN made a mistake and hurt Israel.

Minutes from the Meeting - Netanyahu told Obama: Peace talks must yield deal

(Aluf Benn-Haaretz).Most of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama this week took place in private, and it centered mainly on the Palestinian issue. This is what Netanyahu told the people he briefed after the meeting.

Netanyahu asked to meet privately with Obama, at the end of the working day, "with jackets off," in an effort to build trust and open a dialogue. He left very pleased, according to his aides, and said the atmosphere reminded him of his first meeting with Obama, two years ago. Obama was then a senator running in the Democratic Party's presidential primary, and Netanyahu was the head of the opposition in Israel. They met in a room at the airport in Washington.

At Monday's meeting, Netanyahu sought to convince Obama that he wants to conduct serious negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to reach a peace agreement. He said that Abbas "must not be written off in advance."

"[Anwar] Sadat was also written off at first," Netanyahu told Obama. "Abbas is at the end of his career, and he will be thinking about what he will leave to his nation."

Netanyahu said that Israeli politicians are urging him to conduct "a process for the sake of process," either merely for the sake of holding negotiations with the Palestinians, or in order to prevent a further outbreak of violence. "I disagree with my colleagues on both sides," Netanyahu said. "We need to try to reach an agreement."

Netanyahu asked Obama to convince Abbas to begin negotiations with him. He expressed understanding for the political difficulties that Abbas found himself in several weeks ago over the Goldstone Report, when he succumbed to U.S. and Israeli pressure and agreed that the PA would not bring the matter before the United Nations, only to reverse his position. "Leaders need to do the right thing, and Abbas needs to be seen as such a leader," Netanyahu said.

"The absence of a political process would be deadly for the Palestinians and also for us," Netanyahu warned, "because that would strengthen Hamas, which in turn would be a victory for Iran." He and the president also discussed concrete steps that would serve to advance the process. In his speech to the United Jewish Communities' General Assembly in Washington, Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to make great concessions for the sake of peace.

Netanyahu told Obama that any final-status deal with the Palestinians will have to include a solution to the danger posed by the introduction of advanced weaponry into the territories. "It can't be that Israel will be left with a piece of paper while arms smuggling goes on," he said. "We must create security arrangements that will prevent the introduction of weapons across the border."

He pointed to the advanced weapons now possessed by Hezbollah and Hamas, which are not made in Lebanon or the Gaza Strip, but are smuggled in from abroad, and gave as an example the arms seized recently from the freighter Francop. "This is a critical problem, to which an answer must be given," Netanyahu warned. "We suffered rockets twice, from Lebanon and from Gaza, and we do not want to suffer them a third time, in much larger doses."

The prime minister was impressed with Obama's knowledge of the details. According to Netanyahu, there is a major difference between his own image as someone who rejects peace, and his actual stance, and the same is true of Obama's attitude on Iran. Netanyahu praised Obama to his Israeli interlocutors for his efforts to combat the Goldstone Report and the administration's actions against the Iranian threat.

Netanyahu to Sarkozy: Israel Ready for Immediate talks with Syria

(Ynet, AP).During the meeting Netanyahu reportedly told Sarkozy that Israel was willing to launch immediate peace negotiations with Syria with no preconditions.

The two leaders met for more than an hour and a half in Paris on Wednesday. When they emerged, they shook hands but did not speak to reporters.

In a joint statement, they said they "agreed to deploy all efforts" toward "immediately reviving the peace process."

They also discussed international efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program, and Netanyahu lauded France's firm position on Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

A member of Netanyahu's entourage called the meeting "warm and cordial," adding that the Israeli PM briefed Sarkozy on his recent meeting with US President Barack Obama and the efforts to jumpstart the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Despite cold shoulder and humiliation - PM Netanyahu offers Obama additional gestures to get Abbas on board in peace talks

(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed additional Israeli gestures to the Palestinian Authority during his White House meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama Monday night, in an effort to persuade PA President Mahmoud Abbas to agree to resume talks with Israel.

An Israeli source who was briefed on the meeting said Netanyahu had stressed to Obama that his oft-stated desire to advance the peace process was sincere, not just lip service.

The road to arranging the meeting was rocky and humiliating for Netanyahu, and it seems the Americans tried to give it the lowest possible diplomatic and media profile even after agreeing to hold it. Afterward, the White House issued a laconic statement that did not even describe the meeting as "positive" or "good."

Moreover, no photographs of the two men together have been released. The video photographer for the Israel Government Press Office was not allowed to enter the meeting room, and the stills photographer was allowed to enter but not publish the pictures he took.

In addition, the meeting took place late at night, and Netanyahu arrived in an ordinary van rather than the state limousine in which guests are usually brought to the White House for meetings with the president.

A source in Netanyahu's entourage said a large part of the meeting, including the time the two leaders spent together privately, was devoted to Netanyahu's efforts to persuade Obama that he was serious about wanting to advance the peace process and reach an agreement on establishing a Palestinian state.

The source said Netanyahu wants to "turn over a new leaf" with Obama. "There's a feeling that a new channel has been opened with the president that wasn't there before," he added.

Elliott Abrams/ Dazed and Confused - The Israelis can’t figure out U.S. policy, who can?

(Elliott Abrams-NRO).When I visited Israel in late October, not long before the latest visits of U.S. envoy George Mitchell and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israelis of all political hues confessed that they were amazed, perplexed, and confused by the policy those two diplomats and President Obama are following.

First came an instant attitude of hostility on the part of the Obama administration toward Israel’s new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, even before he had taken office on March 31 and despite his efforts to create a centrist coalition. Second came its obsession with a “settlement freeze,” which in fact was a demand for something that no Israeli prime minister of any party could possibly agree to, Third came the demand that Arab states reach out to Israel, a demand that the president himself delivered to the king of Saudi Arabia in a visit there in June and that, predictably, was rejected immediately.

Fourth came the administration’s handling of the Palestinian leadership, which it pulled out onto the “settlement freeze” limb — for how could any Palestinian leader be less insistent on a total freeze than the Americans were? This meant that when the Obama team faced reality and dropped the freeze demand in favor of a call for “restraint,” the Palestinians out on that limb were simply sawed off. Later, when American diplomats prevailed upon the Palestinian leadership not to ask the U.N. Human Rights Council to approve the Goldstone Report on Israeli conduct during the Gaza War, they added insult to injury. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas seems to have accepted U.S. demands and instructed his delegation at the Human Rights Council in Geneva to cool it, a move that won him unprecedented unpopularity at home. He should have said no and simply told the U.S. to veto anything that arose in the Security Council, but the U.S. should not have pushed him.

So frustrated has Abbas become with all this that he has announced he won’t run for reelection in the planned PA voting on January 24,the announcement is properly understood as his own protest vote against administration policy. Weakened by the Clinton and Mitchell maneuvers, he has about as much enthusiasm for Obama’s handling of the Middle East as Bibi Netanyahu.

The net result of the administration’s approach is a massive policy failure. The Obama administration has weakened the Palestinian leadership it meant to strengthen, weakened the alliance with Israel by its hostility to Israel’s government, weakened its own reputation in Arab capitals for strength and reliability, and painted itself into a policy corner. For where does it go now?

It is still possible that Mitchell, who ought to resign or be fired on account of his gross misreading of the situation in the region, will get Netanyahu to sign some sort of construction moratorium. But we know the conditions: It will not apply to Jerusalem, it will be time-limited, it will permit construction of about 2,500 new units in various stages of preparation, and it will not apply to needed public buildings like clinics or schools. The Palestinian leadership will immediately denounce such a deal, which is not what they thought Mitchell and Obama were demanding. They will not agree to commence peace negotiations on such a basis;Abbas is too weak (partly thanks to us) and too close to elections to undertake serious negotiations at the moment. And remember: Last year, Israel’s then–prime minister, Ehud Olmert, made Abbas a peace offer that was so generous it probably couldn’t have carried in Olmert’s own cabinet. Abbas turned that one down, so it’s hard to believe that anything Netanyahu offers now might be acceptable to the Palestinians.

American policy under Obama has aligned itself in a curious and possibly unintended way with the worst elements of Arab policy. Like that of the Arabs, it is cold toward Israel: Despite several visits to the region, the president has skipped Israel, and the White House’s aloofness toward Netanyahu is obvious. This posture makes peace far harder to achieve. Again like Arab policy, it is warm toward the Palestinians in ways that hurt the Palestinian leaders more than help them. That is, the rhetoric is warm but little or nothing is actually done to assist them, and they emerge weaker with every passing month. Again like the Arab approach, it puts a premium on rhetoric, negotiations, and diplomacy, with few sensible concrete steps.

As a result, “world opinion” toward Israel has gone from cool to frigid — in Europe especially. U.N. actions such as the Goldstone Report are one manifestation of this; denunciations of Israel, not to mention efforts to prevent Israeli officials from speaking on campuses and indeed to jail them if they come to Europe, are others. The cause is clear: As the United States, Israel’s closest friend, has backed away from Israel since the Obama inauguration, Europeans have backed even farther. They have seen the American coolness as license, indeed encouragement, to excoriate the Jewish state, and have enthusiastically done so.

Israelis watch all of this and wonder whether it is intended, or rather the product of the Obama team’s incompetence. I was asked repeatedly during my visit: What are they doing? What do they think they are doing? Do they realize it isn’t working? Is there a learning curve?

Meanwhile, Israelis watch Obama’s handling of Iran, which for them is a deadly serious matter. They note that the administration congratulated itself on winning Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s agreement for more sanctions, but they see that there actually was no agreement. They watched as administration spokesmen smugly said they’d gotten more from Iran in just days of talks than Bush had in eight years of hostility, but then saw Iran’s “agreement” to export almost all of its low-enriched uranium evaporate over the following weeks.

These episodes do not instill confidence that the mishandling of Israeli-Palestinian affairs is a temporary aberration; instead they make Israelis suspect that the administration’s approach to world politics is simply naïve, and more given to self-congratulation than to making tough choices. The president’s decision on Afghanistan plays a role here too, for Israelis — like many Americans — wonder whether the dithering of recent weeks bespeaks a lack of “grit.” As in Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere, including downtown Washington, an Obama decision to overrule Gen. Stanley McChrystal or to offer him half of what he says he needs will be carefully noted in the Kirya, the headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces. Israelis want a strong, tough America, and they want to be its ally. A weak administration, whose judgment about the Middle East and about world politics is erroneous and often naïve, and that expresses a coolness to Israel and an indifference to the threats it faces, is an Israeli nightmare. Maybe feeling confused is their way of holding off the conclusion that that’s just what they’ve got in Obama.

Barak: Netanyahu-Obama meeting was constructive and good

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said upon his return to Israel Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington this week was "important, constructive and created common ground for advancing the diplomatic process with the aim of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians."

Barak, who accompanied Netanyahu on his visit to the US, said that by not revealing details from the meeting the prime minister was displaying "leadership and responsibility."

Israeli and American officials refused to comment on the meeting, but both sides denied reports saying the relationship between Netanyhau and Obama was in crisis.

"The atmosphere during the meeting with President Obama was very open and very warm," Netanyahu said Tuesday. "The importance of the visit will be ascertained in the future."

He added that the meeting had been "positive and to the point", and that it had dealt with the peace process and Israel's security.

U.S. keeps pressure on Abbas after Netanyahu visit

(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have felt some frost while visiting the White House but Washington is keeping the heat on Palestinians to resume peace talks without an Israeli settlement freeze first.

Netanyahu was ushered into the Oval Office on Monday after nightfall for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at which, contrary to normal practice with a visiting Israeli prime ministers, reporters were not allowed in.

Back home in Israel, newspapers seized on the low-profile White House visit as a snub, a sign of strained relations between Obama and Netanyahu, who had rejected his calls for a halt to settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

But the underlying U.S. message appears to be unchanged: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should negotiate with Israel now. Judging by Abbas's rhetoric in a speech on Wednesday, he is making at least a show of not listening. Settlement expansion must come to a complete stop, he said, before talks can resume.

However, echoing Netanyahu remarks in Washington the day before, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told U.S. Jewish leaders on Tuesday that Israeli-Palestinian talks, suspended for nearly a year, should get under way "without preconditions."

"No one should allow the issue of settlements to distract from the goal of a lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world," Emanuel said.

Whether the Palestinians are in a position to revive peace talks now or move toward a deal with Israel is a big question.

US officials confirm: We punished Netanyahu with media blackout

(israeltoday).Senior US diplomatic sources have confirmed that the media blackout and shroud of secrecy surrounding Monday's meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama was the result of strained relations between the two leaders.

Speaking to Israel's Army Radio on Wednesday morning, one unnamed US diplomat said the Obama Administration had become unhappy with what is viewed as Netanyahu's efforts to manipulate its policies during press briefings, the feeling in Washington is that Netanyahu has been trying to maneuver the US administration over the past few weeks,and imposed the media blackout on Monday's meeting as a means of bringing the Israeli leader back in line.

The official also accused Netanyahu of indirectly pressuring Obama via Jewish-American lobby groups.

Netanyahu aide: 'Israel is an ally, not problem of US'

(JPOST).Senior Israel officials on Wednesday adamantly rejected the latest media speculation over bad blood between Jerusalem and Washington, backed by one US official expressing anger at the Israeli leader's conduct in the past week, which might have brought on the possibly punitive blackout imposed on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's 100-minute talk with US President Barack Obama.

"The reception [of Netanyahu in the White House] was cordial and friendly in many aspects, and even included rolling-up sleeves and cracking open beer bottles when necessary, in line with the tradition of coordination between senior Israeli and US officials," National Security Adviser Uzi Arad told Israel Radio from Paris, where the prime minister and his entourage have landed for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other officials.

The complexity of the situation is due to the volume of the issues at hand, Arad explained, and does not stem from a rift between the allies. In the talks, Washington expressed its expectations, but the US is aware of Jerusalem's stances, and knows that Israel won't meet all of them, he said.

"The US understands that Israel is the authority on the content of its talks with the Palestinians," he stressed.

Arad pooh-poohed the abundant and diverse speculations on the reasons behind what appeared to be a cold American shoulder in the past few days.

"If we look at the media reports - I'll speak as a former member of the intelligence community - there is a plethora of contradictions in the various reports, which goes to show that at least some are very wrong… though some contain truth," Arad said.

"Talk is cheap," Arad pointed out.

"Look at the essence, not the wrappings. The lack of a media briefing, which was in accordance to both sides' opinion, was due to reasons that might be possible to explain in the future," he said, noting the White House announcement which, according to Arad, contained the essence of the meeting.

"The president reaffirmed his strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues. The president and prime minister also discussed Iran and how to move forward on Middle East peace," the announcement said.

"Israel is not the problem, but rather a partner" to the US, Arad reiterated.

Also on Wednesday Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser rejected reports claiming the meeting between Netanyahu and Obama was tense.

"There was a positive meeting, the relationship is sound, the meeting was long and good," he told Army Radio.

"Speculations should not be made according to the form, the substance is what's significant," Hauser added, echoing Arad's sentiment.

Washington disappointed: Netanyahu didn't present concrete steps

The White House expressed disappointment in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington, with officials saying that they had hoped that the prime minister would present a concrete plan to scale back Israeli construction in West Bank settlements, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday:

Mr. Netanyahu didn't offer any new commitment about Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- which the Palestinians have demanded be fully stopped as a precondition for peace talks -- or list any specific terms for holding new negotiations.

"We had an idea that he might bring something out to push the process forward," one U.S. official said. "But he's kept it in his pocket." The official said the U.S. side had hoped Mr. Netanyahu would unveil a more detailed proposal for restraining the settlements.

The Israeli leader also appeared to resist U.S. pressure to give stronger support for discussions on an independent Palestinian state -- the so-called "two-state solution." He said he was committed to two states living side by side, but suggested that key Palestinian demands for negotiations over East Jerusalem and the right of return for Palestinian refugees wouldn't be on the table.

U.S. officials said the White House had held off until late Sunday firming up Mr. Netanyahu's meeting with Mr. Obama, in an effort to pressure the Israeli leader to take a more conciliatory line.U.S. officials working on Mideast policy were underwhelmed by the speech, saying it didn't add anything new.

These officials also said they didn't expect anything significant to come from the Israeli leader's meeting with Mr. Obama, which they described as "low-key" and only happening because Mr. Netanyahu was already in town.

"We're going to continue what we're doing: which is to try and get negotiations going," said a senior U.S. official briefed on Mr. Netanyahu's visit. "I'm sure the president will make this clear to the prime minister tonight."

Israeli cabinet to meet in Germany to mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

(Globes).Two days after "Globes" reported about the number of ministers and MKs currently travelling abroad, another large-scale foreign trip is now in the works. Sources inform ''Globes'' that nearly one third of the cabinet plan to hold the weekly cabinet meeting on November 30, in Germany.

The special cabinet meeting will be held in the Reichstag Building in Berlin, as part of the commemoration to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will chair the meeting, which will include Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau, Minister of Social Welfare Isaac Herzog, Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan, Minister of Culture and Sport Limor Livnat, and Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz.

Following the meeting, the ministers will meet their German counterparts to discuss tightening bilateral relations. The German federal ministers who will meet their Israeli counterparts are Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle, Minister of Education and Research Dr. Annette Schavan, Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Minister of Finance Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, and Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel.

Nine ministers are due to join Netanyahu on the one-day trip. They will depart in the morning and return later the same day, thereby saving overnight costs. They will apparently be joined by Israeli correspondents.

This is a reciprocal visit by the Israeli cabinet following the visit by the German cabinet to Israel in March 2008 for a joint cabinet meeting. Chancellor Angela Merkel was accompanied by eight ministers for the meeting in Jerusalem. After the joint cabinet meeting, the German ministers met their Israeli counterparts to discuss welfare and trade issues.

The joint cabinet meeting was aimed at coordinating civil and foreign policy issues between Israel and Germany.

The invitation for the reciprocal meeting in Berlin arrived several months ago, but was postponed until now because of the change of government in Israel.

Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel: Dialogue is the only path to peace

(Haaretz).U.S. President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, appeared at the Jewish Federation of North America's annual general assembly on Tuesday, taking the place of the president, following the latter's last-minute cancellation.

"It is only through dialogue that we can achieve the lasting peace that Israel seeks," Emanuel told the crowd.

"Make no mistake, the path toward peace is not one that Israel should be asked to walk alone. That is why the U.S. will remain actively engaged, and Israel's one true friend. The Palestinians must come to the table, recognize Israel's right to exist and reject violence," he went on to say.

"As the president has said many times, as the president said in Cairo, the bond between the Israel and the U.S. is unbreakable," Emanuel said. "It's a bond rooted in shared interests and shared values."

He also assured the audience that while Obama engages the Arab world more, it is not at the expense of the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

"There are those who have questioned that, as this administration has sought to be engaged in the region," Emanuel said. "There are some who suggest this implies a diminished level of support for Israel... That is not the intent and that is not the case, and never will be."

However, Emanuel also took the opportunity to reiterate the U.S. position that Israel must halt construction in West Bank settlements. "No one should allow the issue of settlements to distract from the goal of a lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab world," he said.

"Today thanks to the work of the president there is strong and growing international consensus against a nuclear armed Iran," he said adding that Israel has been "a beacon of democracy in a region too often defined by strife."

Emanuel's address before the GA marked the first time since taking office that he spoke publicly about his own family's connection to Israel.

He thanked the audience and spoke about the spirit of community that he learned from his parents. "My father is a Jewish Israeli," he said describing the values that were instilled in him of commitment to the community, and not just to oneself.

Netanyahu: The reports on bad ambiance at the meeting with Obama is nonsense; "Appreciate US positive approach"

The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defined the reports on bad ambiance between the two leaders last night as nonsense.

On the flight from Washington to Paris PM Netanyahu claimed,that "putting it mildly, this is very inaccurate and does not reflect the truth. The ambiance in the meeting was very open and warm. The importance of the current visit will become clear in the future".

(via Reuters) - Netanyahu voiced confidence that his White House talks would benefit Israel's security and peacemaking efforts.

"It was a very focused and very positive conversation," Netanyahu said before departing. "This conversation dealt with the range of subjects that are important for the security of Israel, and for our joint efforts to advance peace."

He did not elaborate, saying only: "I think this visit will turn out to have been very important."

Yuli Edelstein, an Israeli cabinet minister accompanying Netanyahu, said in a radio interview earlier on Tuesday that the White House talks had included a discussion of Iran, whose nuclear program and support for Islamist guerrillas are cited by Israel as obstacles to its peacemaking with Arab neighbors.

Officials in Washington have explained that the silence surrounding the meeting was a kind of test for the prime minister and his associates, in an attempt to rebuild trust between the leaders after previous meetings.

UPDATE: Channel 2 aired a vague audio statement given by the Prime Minister, who wasn't giving much away.

"The discussions dealt with the complex of issues vital for Israel's security and our joint efforts to advance the peace process. We discussed these issues in detail, in a practical way and out of friendship. I really appreciated the professional and positive approach I discovered,There is a great understanding that we want to advance peace and that we are taking practical measures to do so, while we have real security needs that the US is prepared to help with."

FM Lieberman: Islamists Use Democracy to Promote Hatred

(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told his hosts during an official visit to Denmark on Monday that Islamic fundamentalists in Europe are abusing European Union freedoms to promote Islamic supremacy and anti-Semitism.

"Radical Islamic elements are misusing the democratic tools granted to them by the European countries in order to agitate, aggravate and radicalize relations within and among these countries, at the same time increasing and encouraging anti-Semitic phenomena," Lieberman said during a meeting with the Danish Minister of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs Birthe Rønn Hornbech. The two political leaders met in Copenhagen to discuss issues relating to immigration, developments in the Middle East and Europe, as well as the Iranian nuclear threat.

While in Denmark, Foreign Minister Lieberman took part in dedicating a new memorial in honor of the country's Jews who were deported to the Thereisenstadt concentration camp. He laid a wreath in memory of the victims and delivered remarks on behalf of the State of Israel. Lieberman noted that the people of Denmark risked their lives to save Jews who were to be sent to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis. For the nation's collective resistance to Nazi anti-Semitism, "Denmark will always hold a special place in the history and in the hearts of the Jewish people," he said.

Turning from the past to the present, Lieberman continued, "We are today again facing elements who threaten to destroy the Jews, not only those living in Israel. The Iranian regime is funding terrorist activity throughout the world and particularly against Jews. The State of Israel is responsible for all Jewish communities in the world, and all Jewish communities are responsible for the State of Israel. This cooperation is essential in order to halt this threat."

Yet the danger is not to the Jews alone, the Foreign Minister emphasized, "The struggle against the Iranian threat is the greatest challenge that the democratic world faces today."

Blair: Netanyahu government can hold successful peace talks

(Ynet).Mideast Quartet envoy Tony Blair said Tuesday he believed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was capable of conducting successful peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the reopening of the Jalame crossing, north of the West Bank city of Jenin, to civilian vehicles, Blair said three things are required to resolve the Israeli Palestinian conflict: Politicians, economic growth and security.

The crossing is the joint initiative of Gilboa Regional Council head Danny Atar and Jenin governor Kadura Musa.

The Jalame checkpoint was closed in 2000, shortly after the al-Aqsa Intifada began. Nevertheless, the close relationship between Musa and Atar has proven useful; eventually leading to the checkpoint's reopening. Hundreds of vehicles are expected to pass through it daily.

Israel and the Palestinians estimate that the crossing's reopening will boost the economic situation in Jenin.

Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom was also on hand for the ceremony, along with Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai and Minorities Minister Avishay Braverman.

Shalom, who also serves as vice prime minister, said Israel was eager to resume negotiations but added that "it takes two to tango."

"We all want to make the Palestinians' lives easier, but this has to be mutual," said the minister. "They'll fight terror and confiscate weapons while we will promote joint projects."

Shalom added that "currently there are no Palestinian commitments; things do not look too good."

Addressing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Israeli vice prime minister said, "We are wasting time; now is the time to reach a decision or else we may miss the chance for peace."

Israeli Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren: United We Flourish

(IsraelNN.com) Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the United States, told the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America on Monday that the Israel of 2009 "is at a better situation than at any time in its history."

Oren spoke about the belief that we are all part of G-d's plan and said that despite all the difficulties, one must look at the situation through looking at the history of the nation:

"We, who believe that a plan does exist, must take a look at the subsequent six decades in which the Jewish State has overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles – wars, embargos, terror attacks – to the point where today Israel is at a better geopolitical situation than at any time in its history."

Oren related also to the Iranian nuclear threat and the refusal of the Arab world to acknowledge the right of the Jewish Nation to a state of its own in the Land of Israel.

Yoel Marcus/ Can Oslo take back Obama's Nobel?

(Yoel Marcus - Haaretz).David Ben-Gurion was not invited to the White House until the end of his term, and needed various excuses to meet with the presidents in hotels. In Benjamin Netanyahu's case, the fear of not meeting with Barack Obama made him sweat.

On the eve of his trip to the Jewish Federations' General Assembly in Washington, D.C., Netanyahu faced unflattering headlines saying it was not certain whether President Obama would meet him.

There are two likely reasons for the move. One is that Bibi was all-too-confident that the moment his feet hit American soil, the White House doors would open before him - as they did with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The second possibility is that Netanyahu's excessive confidence angered Obama, who thought he was taking the meeting with him for granted. And so his aides advised him to let Netanyahu sweat.

And sweat he did. The fact that he didn't take his wife Sara with him indicates that the president's advisers didn't want the meeting to look too intimate and informal. In his previous term as prime minister, Netanyahu brought not only his wife but two of his children to Clinton's office. To the embarrassment of those present, the kids started throwing cushions at each other in the Oval Office.

In reality, there is no major difference in the relations between the two states. The Americans have not stopped the aid or the modern weapons supply to Israel. The only thing that can be said is that Bibi and Obama have not developed a personal, intimate relationship.

The White House and whoever is stirring things up over there has reduced the familiarity level to that of humiliation. For example, they released a photograph of Obama speaking on the phone with Netanyahu with his feet on the desk. This was their way of hinting that Obama is not Bush and does not see the prime minister as the king of Israel.

Just when the polls in Israel are showing that most of the public supports Bibi - who aspires to reach an agreement with the Palestinians - it's unclear why Obama had to kick-start the peace in Cairo with a reconciliation call to Islam. The result has been one big disappointment. Obama has not received from the Muslim world as much as a gesture to advance the Israeli-Palestinian arrangement, while Netanyahu has announced that Israel supports negotiations on the principle of two states for two peoples without any preconditions.

Instead of seizing the bull by the horns and setting about to open the negotiations immediately, Obama hesitated. Then Mahmoud Abbas brought up all kinds of conditions - starting with the demand to stop all the construction in the territories immediately. Olmert and Tzipi Livni held talks with Abbas for two years; not once did he raise the demand that Israel must first stop the construction in the West Bank for natural growth.

It is not clear how one can set about to hold negotiations "without preconditions" when the Palestinians are demanding the cessation of construction in the territories. Israel will have to concede in this area anyway, while conducting a complicated struggle - perhaps even an internecine war - to achieve peace.

Netanyahu has still made it clear that he is willing to negotiate an agreement with no preconditions. He says the same about a possible agreement with Syria. Once he used those slogans to avoid the issue. Now, in his second term, Netanyahu wants to succeed and he has the parliamentary majority to do so.

But Obama is in trouble at home. Democrats were recently defeated in both Virginia and New Jersey, where Republicans were elected. The defeat does not bode well for the congressional elections due next November. Meanwhile, Obama's great promise, on the issue of health insurance, is moving along slowly.

Apart from his rhetorical skills, Obama has failed to keep a single promise or solve one major problem during his time in office. In this situation he cannot afford to lose the support of the Jews, who are behind 40 percent of the contributions to the Democrats' elections. Meanwhile, the cold shoulder Obama is giving us and the hazing he's put Bibi through have achieved nothing but Abbas' announcement that he would not be running for the next Palestinian Authority elections. Perhaps he will and perhaps he won't.

While Israel is seriously talking about the peace process, Obama has problems at home. His list of disappointments now includes his failure to create a mechanism to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Obama received the Nobel Peace prize too early. I wonder if they have a mechanism in Oslo to take it back.

Weisglass: Secrecy surrounding Netanyahu-Obama talks indicates - Something happened during White House meeting

(Ynet).Attorney Dov Weisglass said the fact that reporters were not allowed in the Oval Office during Monday night's meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, as well as cancellation of a briefing the Israeli leader intended to hold for reporters, was indicative of either a crisis or far-reaching understandings regarding the Mideast peace process.

"A nearly two-hour meeting between the prime minister and the president of the United States is certainly a special event. It does not happen every day, and it was held behind closed doors because of its content," said Weisglass, who served as former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief.

"Clearly, one of two things occurred during the meeting – a severe crisis and deadlock which the sides do not want to make worse by making it public, or far-reaching understandings that may lead to a domestic crisis in Israel, and therefore are not made public either," he said. "Time will tell which of the two scenarios actually transpired."

Attorney Gilad Scher, who served as director general of the Prime Minister's Bureau under Ehud Barak, estimated that details from the meeting will be published within the next 24 hours.

"I doubt if the meeting's content was as dramatic as some media outlets made it out to be," he said.

In nearly 2 hour meeting with Netanyahu, Obama reaffirms 'strong commitment' to Israel's security

(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama held a private meeting on Monday night, during which the two discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as stalled Middle East peace talks.

"The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues," said a statement issued by the White House after the one hour and forty minute closed-door session concluded.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Ambassador Michael Oren, National Security Council head Uzi Arad and Netanyahu's envoy in Washignton Yitzhak Molcho joined the premier for part of the meeting.

A press briefing with Netanyahu scheduled for Tuesday morning was canceled. The prime minister leaves Washington on Tuesday for Paris, where he is scheduled to meet with French President Nicholas Sarkozy on Wednesday.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Speech GA09

Netanyahu to tell Obama: I'm ready to be generous in curbing settlements - doing everything in power to advance the peace process

(Haaretz, Jpost).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to tell U.S. President Barack Obama that he was "very serious" about wanting to advance peace talks with the Palestinians during the two leaders' scheduled meeting on Monday.

The last-minute scheduling of Netanyahu's White House meeting, after Israeli officials said over the past several weeks that Netanyahu hoped to see Obama, was widely seen as a sign of strained relations between the two leaders.

"We mean business," Netanyahu planned to tell the American president, and add that Israel was ready to be "generous" in scaling back the construction in West Bank settlements.

Netanyahu was further set to tell Obama that there was never any Israeli intention to halt settlement construction before entering into talks with the Palestinians. "What more do I need to do?" he was to ask.

Sources close to the prime minister have said that Netanyahu is convinced that he is doing everything in his power to advance the peace process.

Netanyahu was also to voice his willingness to make concessions in efforts to achieve an agreement. However, he was to stress his refusal to compromise Israel's security in the process, placing an emphasis on the importance of preventing the influx of weapons into any territory that Israel should withdraw from under a future deal.

"We're ready to go a long way, and to be generous in restricting [settlement] construction as a gesture to jumpstart the negotiations, and also [to be generous] in concessions to reach a settlement," Netanyahu said in briefings with his senior staff ahead of the meeting with Obama, according to sources close to the prime minister.

"But," he added, "we won't compromise on security arrangements, and that includes preventing the entry of weapons and armaments to any area Israel will vacate. Until today, the security arrangements [reached] in Gaza and Lebanon were not effective, and weapons and armaments were smuggled in freely. In any future settlement, security arrangements must be effective," the prime minister said.

Netanyahu was also quoted by senior PMO sources as criticizing the Palestinian demand for a total settlement freeze as a precondition for negotiations.

"For 16 years, there has never been a demand for a construction freeze as a precondition for starting negotiations, nor was there Israeli willingness to restrict construction before entering negotiations," he said, "so we are convinced that Israel is doing everything it must to advance peace while preserving quiet."

The prime minister intends to explain this to Obama in their meeting, which will take place overnight Monday Israel time.

One source close to the prime minister asked rhetorically, "What more must Israel say just to earn the start of negotiations? Bibi plans to tell Obama that he and the government are serious in preparing for peace. We mean business."

Officials close to the prime minister have in the past placed the blame for introducing the demand for a total pre-negotiations settlement freeze on the Obama administration itself, but they have pulled back from this position in recent months.

"We're not dealing with who is at fault for what," said one official. "There are two sides now. One is the Israeli side which is willing to start negotiations, and the other is the Palestinian side which is refusing. The onus for starting negotiations is not on the Americans, but on the Palestinians."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs fielded questions ahead of the meeting, saying that the "policy of the United States government for many decades has been no more settlements. That's not something that is new to this administration. It's something that I think has gotten disproportionate media coverage, but it's not a policy difference in this administration and previous administrations.

PM Netanyahu's Washington speech - outlines his vision on Peace process

"The result of our joint efforts has been a stronger Israel. And only a strong Israel can achieve peace. But even a strong Israel is still a small Israel. And a small Israel demands a secure peace. Peace in our land, the peace of Jerusalem, our eternal capital, is one of our oldest longings, expressed in our Psalms and our prayers.

Peace between Israel and our Arab neighbors: the first and immediate result would spare our children the horrors of war. It would spare our children the horrors of war. It would spare our grandchildren the horrors of war. What a great gift.

Peace could usher in a new age of economic progress for the benefit of all. We have already signed peace agreements, two of them, with Egypt and Jordan. And we are eager to achieve peace with all our other neighbors, especially with the Palestinians.

I believe there is no time to waste. We need to move towards peace with a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose. I want to be clear. My goal is not to have endless negotiations. My goal is not negotiations for negotiations sake. My goal is to reach a peace treaty, and soon.

But to get a peace agreement, we must start negotiating. Let’s stop talking about negotiations. Let’s start moving.

This past June at Bar-Ilan University, I put forward a vision of peace that has united the vast majority of Israelis.

In this vision of two states for two peoples, a demilitarized Palestinian state would recognize the Jewish state.

Now, what do I mean by a Jewish state? It is a state in which all individuals and all minorities have equal individual rights. Yet our national symbols, language and culture spring from the heritage of the Jewish people. And most important, any Jew from anywhere in the world has a right to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen.

I want to make it clear: Any Jew, of any denomination, will always have the right to come home to the Jewish state. Religious pluralism and tolerance will always guide my policy.

What does a Jewish state mean for the Palestinians? They must abandon the fantasy of flooding Israel with refugees, give up irredentist claims to the Negev and Galilee, and declare unequivocally that the conflict is finally over.

Yet, even after we achieve peace it may take years for the spirit of peace to permeate most levels of Palestinian society. Therefore, any peace agreement we sign today must include ironclad security measures that will protect the State of Israel.

Here comes that paradox again.

Israel is powerful but small. No matter where our final borders are drawn, Israel will remain exceedingly small. I am not sure you know how small Israel is. The United States and Canada are each roughly 400 times the size of Israel and the Arab world is 500 times the size of Israel. Egypt alone is roughly 40 times larger and even a small country like Jordan, our neighbor to the east, is almost four times as big. Israel is bigger than Rhode Island, but that’s about it.

Small countries are not necessarily insecure. Belgium and Luxemburg are small but they today are not insecure. Yet if their neighbors included radical regimes bent on their conquest and destruction with terror proxies firing thousands of missiles on their people, believe me, they would feel insecure. Anyone would.

Because of our small size and the radical and violent neighborhood in which we live, Israel faces security threats like that of no other nation.

A few facts to drive the point home.

A few days ago, the Israeli navy interdicted a ship carrying hundreds of tons of rockets and explosives from Iran bound for Hezbollah via Syria. Last week, Hamas tested a rocket with a range of nearly 40 miles.

Now, for a large country, that might not be too consequential. But in tiny Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah now have the power to reach Tel Aviv.

Israel’s security therefore requires that any territory vacated in a future peace agreement must be effectively demilitarized.

An effective demilitarizion of Palestinian areas is an essential component of peace recognized by successive American presidents. I want to assure you Israel is willing to make great concessions for peace. But there can be no concessions on Israel’s security. We have to ensure that weapons do not flow into the Palestinian areas in the West Bank, which overlooks Tel Aviv and surrounds Jerusalem.

We cannot permit another Gaza or South Lebanon in the heart of the country. What we want is a durable peace, a peace that can be defended. We fervently hope that such a peace will hold, but we must be prepared to defend ourselves in case it doesn’t.
My friends,

My government is working to advance peace and we are not just talking.

We have removed hundreds of security checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank. I personally extended the hours of operation on the Allenby Bridge and I’ve removed bureaucratic hurdles to Palestinian economic development.

These efforts, along with measures taken by the Palestinian Authority to improve security, have spurred an unmatched boom in the West Bank and has made life better for ordinary Palestinians.

For the first time in years, businesses, banks and industry are sprouting. Restaurants, theaters, and shopping malls are overflowing. Thousands and thousands of Palestinian jobs are being created.

I think we can do a lot more to improve the reality on the ground, and we will. I intend to do a lot more.

Prosperity can help advance peace – but only so far. To truly resolve the outstanding issues between us, we must begin and complete peace negotiations.

We should not place preconditions for holding talks. Such obstacles to talks were never set in the 16 years of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. From the day my government was sworn in seven months ago, I have been calling for peace negotiations to start.

I said I would go anywhere, anytime to advance peace. And no Israeli government has been so willing to restrain settlement activity as part of an effort to re-launch peace talks. So I say today to the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas: let us seize the moment to reach an historic agreement. Let us begin talks immediately.

I know there are many skeptics. I am not one of them. I believe that peace is possible. I know how committed the Israeli people are to peace and how committed I am to make peace. But I need and we need a determined Palestinian partner as well. A partner willing to shoulder the risk and burdens as we are.

I believe that with good will and with courageous leadership on both sides, and no less important, with the continued support of the United States, peace can become a reality. We can surprise a skeptical world".

WND/ Secret Obama deal for Palestinian state? Israeli officials fear White House's 'very dangerous move'

(Aaron Klein-WorldNetDaily).The U.S. is considering adopting a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence in the West Bank and Jerusalem regardless of negotiations with the Jewish state, according to Israeli sources speaking to Israel's Haaretz newspaper.

WND first reported in September that according to a top Palestinian Authority official, the Obama administration has largely adopted the positions of the PA to create a Palestinian state within two years based on the pre-1967 borders, meaning Israel would retreat from most of the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

WND reported that the White House had accepted the positions of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who had quietly called for a state on the pre-1967 borders within two years.

Now Haaretz is quoting reports indicating that Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over U.S. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

Haaretz quoted Israeli sources stating Fayyad's plan specifies that at the end of a designated period for bolstering national institutions, the PA, in conjunction with the Arab League, would file a "claim of sovereignty" to the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly over the 1967 borders.

Israeli officials further told Haaretz that Fayyad had boasted of positive meetings about his plan with prominent EU member states, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Sweden.

Fayyad also told Israeli officials the Obama administration did not oppose his plan.

A senior Israeli foreign-policy official told Haaretz, "It's a very dangerous move."

Netanyahu heckled at GA Conference by protester shouting "Peace for everyone, shame on you!"

Speaking at the 2009 General Assembly of the The Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was interrupted by shouts from the crowd to which he replied that he was "better received at the United Nations than here." Protestors shouted "Peace for everyone, shame on you!" as they were escorted out.

PM's aide:Hope the meeting will strengthen the channel of communication between Netanyahu and Obama

(Haaretz).After Israeli officials said over the past several weeks that Netanyahu hoped to see Obama, was widely seen as a sign of strained relations between the two leaders.

Netanyahu's media adviser Nir Hefetz said Monday following the address that "on our side there is no tension. Molcho, the prime minister's special envoy sat with [U.S. Middle East envoy] George Mitchell's team earlier today and they prepared the [Netanyahu-Obama] meeting. Naturally it will focus on the Palestinian issue and we hope that the meeting will strengthen and deepen the channel of communication between the prime minister and President Obama, and that it will prompt the resumption of peace talks."

Netanyahu to Abbas:Let's seize the moment to reach a historic agreement...Let's begin talks immediately...

"My goal is not negotiations for the sake of negotiations; My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, and soon. I cannot be more emphatic on this point."

(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday addressed thousands of North American Jews at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, where he urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to relaunch peace talks immediately.

"We should not place preconditions for holding talks, such preconditions have never been set in 16 years," Netanyahu said, referring to the Palestinian demand that Israel completely halt construction in West Bank settlements before talks can resume.

"No Israeli government has been so willing to restrain settlement activity as part of an effort to relaunch peace talks," addressing Abbas by name and saying "let us seize the moment, let us relaunch peace talks immediately."

"But to get to a peace agreement we need to start negotiating," he said to a receptive crowd. "Let's get on with it. Let's move."

"Peace between Israel and its neighbors could spare our children the horrors of war,Peace could also usher in a new era of tremendous economic progress for the benefit of everyone in the Middle East. I think people are beginning to see that we are eager to achieve peace with our neighbors, especially the Palestinians."

"My goal is not negotiations for the sake of negotiations. My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians - and soon," Netanyahu declared.

Referring to the Palestinian demand in previous rounds of peace talks that Israel grant Palestinian refugees from around the world the right of return to the homes in Israel from which they were expelled, Netanyahu stressed that "the Palestinians must recognize that the fantasy of flooding Israel with refugees is gone.They must declare that the conflict is finally over. It will take years for the spirit of peace to permeate levels of Palestinian society," he added.

"We're willing to make great concessions for peace but there is something I will never compromise on, and that is Israels security. We have to ensure that weapons do not flow into the West Bank - we cannot permit another Gaza in the heart of our country. What we want is durable peace."

Netanyahu also addressed the issue of the recent vote at the United Nations General Assembly on a UN-sponsored report which accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza last winter. The Goldstone report was adopted by the 192-member General Assembly in by a vote of 114-18. Netanyahu thanks the U.S. for voting against the resolution that called for the Goldstone findings to be "credibly and independently" investigated. He thanked U.S. President Barack Obama for "resolutely opposing this twisted UN resolution."

The prime minister went on to applaud the U.S. Congress vote, which preceded the UN debate, for condemning the "biased report."

Netanyahu began his address by saying that the Jews had brought "at least three big ideas to civilization: monotheism, the belief that all people have innate rights that transcend the power of kings, and the vision of universal peace."

His speech was briefly interrupted by protesters against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter, but the prime minister didn't break his stride and quickly resumed his address, saying "I was better received at the UN."

The prime minister then addressed the Jewish communities outside Israel, saying that "strengthening Jewish identity can no longer be the task of Diaspora Jews, it is increasingly the responsibility of the Jewish state."

"Only a strong Israel can achieve peace," he went on to say. "A small Israel demands a secure peace."

Obama's failed Settlement freeze struggle brings Columinst Tom Friedman to write to Obama: Leave peace alone

(Ynet).New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote a piece on the eve that US President Barack Obama set a much-contended meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The article recommends that Obama abandon the Middle East peace process, claiming that US involvement only helps both sides cover up their deficiencies and lack of willingness for real concessions.

Friedman describes talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians as a tiring routine that are more a function of diplomatic habit than real intentions to reach an agreement. The talks have left the realm of diplomacy and have become more an issue of maintenance – something the diplomats do in order to stay in shape, so to speak.

"The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has become a bad play. It is obvious that all the parties are just acting out the same old scenes, with the same old tired clichés — and that no one believes any of it anymore. There is no romance, no sex, no excitement, no urgency — not even a sense of importance anymore. The only thing driving the peace process today is inertia and diplomatic habit," Friedman wrote.

Friedman called upon Obama to adopt a new, radical approach that has yet to be seen in the White House: "Take down our 'Peace-Processing-Is-Us' sign and just go home."

As of today, he wrote, the US is interested in peace more than the two parties and has become the Israelis' and the Palestinians' Novocaine.

"We relieve all the political pain from the Arab and Israeli decision-makers by creating the impression in the minds of their publics that something serious is happening. 'Look, the US secretary of state is here. Look, she’s standing by my side. Look, I’m doing something important! Take our picture. Put it on the news. We’re on the verge of something really big and I am indispensable to it.' This enables the respective leaders to continue with their real priorities — which are all about holding power or pursuing ideological obsessions — while pretending to advance peace, without paying any political price," Friedman claimed.

"Let’s just get out of the picture. Let all these leaders stand in front of their own people and tell them the truth: 'My fellow citizens: Nothing is happening; nothing is going to happen. It’s just you and me and the problem we own.' Indeed, it’s time for us to dust off James Baker’s line: 'When you’re serious, give us a call: 202-456-1414. Ask for Barack. Otherwise, stay out of our lives. We have our own country to fix.'"

Friedman, who played golf with President Obama just three weeks ago, mocked the American administration for "begging" Israel to stop building the settlements. He claimed that the US is in the wrong position when it continuously asks the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table, and importunes the Saudis to "wink" at Israel. According to him, these are pathetic moves that only damage Obama's credibility in the peace process.

"If the status quo is this tolerable for the parties, then I say, let them enjoy it. I just don’t want to subsidize it or anesthetize it anymore. We need to fix America. If and when they get serious, they’ll find us. And when they do, we should put a detailed US plan for a two-state solution, with borders, on the table. Let’s fight about something big."

Barak in DC: Recruit Obama to peace process

(Ynet).Following the Netanyahu-Obama meeting saga and continuing US calls for Obama to abandon the peace process, Israel is trying to convince US President Barack Obama to stay in the game. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, currently in Washington, said during his meeting with his American colleagues that it is critical to get Obama on board and start negotiations.

Barak said that Obama's presidency presents a huge opportunity to achieve peace, saying that peace is better than any other alternative. The defense minister noted that this is the moment of truth for the Palestinian and regional leaders.

According to Barak, Israel is exercising all its might to reignite negotiations. He said that Israel is using all of its power to reach agreements with its neighbors.

PM Netanyahu's aide on DC visit: It's business as usual - No crisis brewing

(Ynet).US President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday evening – 2 am (GMT) and Netanyahu's media advisor, Nir Hefetz, tells Ynet that "saying that there was a near-crisis brewing simply isn’t true."

The atmosphere ahead of the meeting, he stressed, "Is relaxed. We're gearing for a long political day, which will culminate with a meeting in the oval office."

The White House was reportedly enraged with the Prime Minister's Office for announcing that Netanyahu will be arriving in Washington, but delayed information about the meeting, which will not be open to the press. Nevertheless, Hefetz said that Jerusalem and Washington were in constant contact over the past few weeks, in preparation for the trip and the meeting.

Hefetz agreed that announcing the two heads of state will meet was delayed, but dismissed it as simple scheduling matters: "The prime minister announced he was going to speak at the GA conference in the US weeks ago.

"Since this year the conference happens to be taking place in Washington, he expressed his wish to use this opportunity to meet Obama and discuss ways to advance the peace process. Yes, the White House answered us a little late, but describing the situation as if a crisis was brewing simply isn’t true."

The Prime Minister's Office said that during the Washington visit, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet 25 senators, both democrats and republican, as well as the head of the House Subcommittee on Iran. "It's business as usual," said a source in the Prime Minister's Office.

Does Obama delay in scheduling Netanyahu meet point to crisis?

(Aluf Benn-Haaretz).Relations between Israel and the United States are in crisis. This is the conclusion that stems from the difficulty in arranging a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama.

The White House wanted Netanyahu to sweat before being granted an audience with the president, and wanted everyone to see him perspire.

The delays in finding a time to meet, and pushing it to a late hour - after the news programs on Israeli television - make Netanyahu look as if Obama threw him a bone. In such circumstances, it is no longer important what will be said at the meeting, and the extent to which there will be an attempt to present it as an achievement. The prime minister of Israel was humiliated before all.

Netanyahu likes to say that the United States is big and that the Israeli public is mistaken in identifying the American viewpoint only with the president. The true America, Netanyahu says, begins 70 miles west of New York and ends 70 miles east of Los Angeles, and within this enormous space, Israel has millions of loyal supporters.

In his view, the friction with the White House needs to be put in the appropriate proportion, and that falls within the tremendous support of American public opinion that favors Israel.

Those close to Netanyahu, who can express themselves more freely than him, ridicule Obama's inexperience and political amateurism of the administration. In their view, the White House thought it would be possible to bring Netanyahu down, but he only strengthened, according to public opinion polls.

They pressured him to freeze settlements, but he did not surrender.

These neat explanations seem to miss the point: The relations are not symmetrical. Netanyahu may be an experienced diplomat and politician, and Obama may be a novice, but Obama is the president of a superpower, and Netanyahu represents a small country that depends greatly on the United States.

It sometimes appears that Netanyahu forgets this, and pretends he is the head of a superpower, for example when he identifies himself with Winston Churchill, or in declaring that the Israeli mind will free the world of oil dependency in a decade.

Of course Israel can and should use influence and support in the United States, in order to push the policies of the administration in its favor. But in moments of truth and during a crisis, it would be good for Netanyahu if Obama was quick to respond to his call, and not place him on hold.

Obama is not always fair: Denying the existence of understandings between Israel and the previous administration on the settlements harmed his credibility. It is also unclear why he humiliated Netanyahu after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly praised the Prime Minister's proposal to limit settlement construction as "unprecedented."

The opaqueness of the administration rallied Israeli public opinion behind Netanyahu, instead of creating domestic divisions.

PM Netanyahu arrives in Washington for GA summit and meeting with Obama amid doubt on peace talks

(Ynet).The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama would be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's trip to Washington, ending days of uncertainty.

An Obama administration official confirmed the two leaders would meet but had no immediate information about what would be on their agenda.

The prime minister's plane landed at Washington's Andrews Air Force Base Airport on Sunday evening (local time). Israel has yet to be informed of the exact time of the meeting with Obama.

Netanyahu arrived in the US capital for a speaking engagement at the three-day 2009 General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America. He will meet with Obama on Monday evening.

Obama was also to have addressed the forum but canceled his speech in order to attend a memorial service on Tuesday for soldiers killed in a mass shooting at Fort Hood military base in Texas last week. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, will speak in his place.

President Barak Obama addresses the Israeli people at Rabin memorial rally

Peace process in pieces - Palestinians consider abandoning peace process

ust days after Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate president of the Palestinian Authority, announced his intention to quit, his colleagues gave warning that they were prepared to deploy the much feared "nuclear option".

Officials in the West Bank told The Daily Telegraph that the most important Palestinian decision making bodies were preparing to meet to discuss a proposal to dissolve the Palestinian Authority itself.

Such a move would signal the end of limited self-government in the Palestinian territories set out by the now defunct Oslo Accords of 1993 and as such end all hopes of a resolution to the conflict with Israel.

Even so, some Palestinian officials signalled they were prepared to discuss the long-feared "nuclear option" in response to what they described as Israeli intransigence and American betrayal.

But at least one Palestinian official suggested that the debate was mainly designed to escalate pressure on the United States after Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, appeared to signal growing support for Israel within the Obama administration.

"We in the movement back dissolving the PA," said Tayseer Nasrallah, a member of the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

"We would use this as pressure on the United States to commit itself to the peace process." Mr Abbas, a moderate voice of conciliation and America's closest Palestinian ally, announced his decision not to stand in elections scheduled for January shortly after Mrs Clinton praised an Israeli offer to limit the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Her comments appeared to represent a shift in policy by the Obama administration, which had earlier demanded a total freeze of all settlement construction – a call that prompted ferocious opposition from Israel.