Israel Policy Forum is shocked and appalled by the column published in the Atlanta Jewish Times by its owner and publisher Andrew Adler calling for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States policy includes its helping the Jewish state obl
In an ideal world, if we were writing this up as a scenario we would say let’s put this all on hold, and everyone stays away happily and nothing changes for the worse, and we pick it up perhaps when everyone is stronger. But status quos are not status quos and people know that. They either get better – or more commonly – they actually get worse because they are left neglected. I fear that this status quo, over the next 10 or 11 months if there isn’t some very significant policy activity, will deteriorate into violence.
Laura Rozen reported yesterday on a shift in the U.S. administration's statements on movements on the Israeli and Palestinian fronts toward renewing the peace process. She quotes Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns as saying:
When President Obama appointed former Senator George Mitchell as his Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process on only his second day in office, one cannot imagine he envisioned the region being mired in a painful stalemate less than a year later. On the contrary, his early engagement was designed to keep such an impasse from occurring.
A year ago today I was sitting on a cold floor of a dark elementary school at 5am determined to be the first in my precinct to vote for Barack Obama. I could not sleep the night even though as a veteran of other election campaign nights I could feel the anticipated outcome coursing through my veins -- one of those few and far between great election highs. How great it felt -- no artificial stimulation necessary!
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Israel on Saturday night to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak and President Shimon Peres. This is her first official visit since Netanyahu took office.
Monday marked the 15 year anniversary of the signing of the peace accord between Israel and Jordan. President Obama marked the milestone, saying it proves that peace is always possible.
In a speech delivered yesterday at Colby College in Maine, Special Envoy George Mitchell (a former senator from Maine) said that despite setbacks, the Obama administration is still deeply committed to peace negotiations for Israel and the Palestinians.
Early this morning, President Obama was woken with news that he is the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, elliciting various reactions from world leaders.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was the first to congratulate the President, saying:
Special Envoy George Mitchell met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman today in Israel. Barak and Peres both expressed support for Obama's peace initiatives in the region, despite low expectations of a breakthrough.
Professor of Political Science at UCLA; National Scholar at Israel Policy Forum
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - 1:42pm
I am sick and tired of hearing about how Obama is “not good for the Jews,” or, as a friend of mine put it recently, “everyone who voted for him should be ashamed.” If looking for solutions to Israel’s toughest problems — Iran and the Mideast peace process — and trying to fix both is somehow bad for Israel, then I’m not sure what’s good.
