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Obama and Israel

The First Week on Office

Giving Gaza Arabs more than 20 million in aid

Second Week in office

Third Week in Office

Fourth Week in office

The Obama administration pledges to the Palestinian Authority it will closely monitor Jewish construction in the West Bank and will protest any new housing developments in the biblical territory.

Fifth Week in Office

Sixth Week in Office

The IDF can no longer use American foreign military aid to purchase "non-essential military items,".   The vast majority of Israel's FMF has to be spent in the US, and a small percentage can be converted into shekels and used to purchase equipment not defined as weaponry.  Officials said that under the new regulations, the Defense Ministry would have to provide the Pentagon with quarterly reports on its spending.

The United States returned Wednesday to the U.N. Human Rights Council, a body it left nine months ago saying it was biased against Israel and had failed to confront notorious rights abusers.

Seventh Week in Office

Obama's failed appointee Freeman blames his departure on the "Israel Lobby".... on Purim

Eigth Week in Office

Another Israel hating pastor for  possible new Obama Church

Israel's chief of staff comes home early after doors close in Obama's Washington

Ninth Week in Office

Hamas chief praises Obama- says an official opening to his Palestinian Islamist movement was only "a matter of time".

U.S. furious over Israel's demolition of East Jerusalem homes, will likely be first clash between Obama administration and Benjamin Netanyahu government

Lebanese Armed Forces receive shipment of American military vehicles as part of aid package agreed upon between the two countries following visit to Washington

VIDEO: Obama seems to hide American flag in address to Iranians

Syrian Reactions to Initial Contacts with Obama Administration: The U.S. has Capitulated to Syria and Iran; The Resistance, Not Obama, has Changed the World

Tenth Week in Office

Obama is considering meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad this summer

New Yorker: Obama Pressed to End Cast Lead, Wants Syrian Pact

Obama supports Saudi Mideast peace initiative; Israel must give all of West bank, half of Jerusalem and a "Just Settlement"

Eleventh Week in Office

Joe Biden: Israel would be "ill-advised" to attack Iran

The US has been training senior Palestinian security officials in an advanced officers course in Ramallah for top-brass

Obama "Supplemental Military Request includes undercover money to Palistinians and North Koreans, promises last "emergency" spending for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Obama will grant waiver allowing Palestinian Liberation Organization to maintain office in Washington

Twelfth Week in Office

Rahm Emanuel told Jewish leaders in Washington this week- If Israel wants US help to defuse the Iranian threat, then get ready to start evacuating settlements in the West Bank

Obama administration is preparing a Middle East peace process that will include simultaneous bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and between Israel and Syria

More pressure on Israel: Obama's Mideast envoy George Mitchell says that a "two-state solution is the only solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Obama will move to create a Palestinian state "more quickly than anybody could imagine." ..... message the Palestinian Authority claims it received from the U.S.

U.S.: Palestinians need not recognize Israel as Jewish state before talks

Thirteenth Week in Office

Israeli Politician Ya'acov "Ketzele" Katz sends letter to Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel admonishing him not to forget his Jewish and Israeli origins after Emanuel's reported verbal exchange between Emanuel and an unidentified American Jewish leader

Obama tells King Abdullah of Jordan Israel and the PA “cannot talk forever" ,demands both sides show “goodwill.” The Netanyahu gov. leaders are “going to have to solidify their position."

Fourteenth Week in Office

U.S. State Dept. Israel must sit down and talk with Syria

Secr. of State Clinton on second day of testimony to house committee: Aid can go to Hamas

Obama appointment Mogahed called for "engagement with Muslim Brotherhood"

Obama approves 20.3 million to transfer Gaza Arabs to the US

Fiftheenth Week in Office

United States refuses to allow Israel to repair computer systems in the Joint Strike Fighter, F35: holding up an official Israeli order for the fifth-generation fighter jet

Obama did what Israelis have long feared and linked the resolution of the Iran nuclear crisis to the creation of a Palestinian state

Obama's efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons threaten to expose and derail a 40-year-old secret U.S. agreement to shield Israel's nuclear weapons from international scrutiny

Reports: National Security Adviser James Jones told a European foreign minister that the US is planning to build an anti-Israel coalition with the Arabs and Europe to compel Israel to surrender Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem to the Palestinians

Obama renews sanctions against Syria for another year, citing continuing “national emergency” facing the US from Syria’s support for terrorist organisations and weapons trade

Sixteenth Week in Office

U.S. helps Lebanon crack alleged Israeli spy rings

The U.S.will sit on the UN human rights councel for the first time

 Administration sources said the White House has drafted measures that could prevent Israel from procuring U.S. fighter-jets, including the F-35.

Obama has sent a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding that Israel not surprise the U.S. with an Israeli military operation against Iran

ead of Netanyahu's trip to Washington, the Obama has been urging Israel to "tone down" its rhetoric on Iran and to stop threatening a military strike on its nuclear installations

Seventeenth Week in Office

Only 31 percent of Israelis consider the views of American president Barack Obama's administration pro-Israel, according to a Smith Research poll

Obama reiterated comments made by other top officials, saying that he understands why Israel considers Iran an existential threat, (but does not say he agrees)

Obama informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he intends to promote a new regional peace initiative for the Middle East

Obama calls for demilitarized Palistinian state in four years.

One day after Netanyahu concluded his first official visit to the White House, US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton calls for an absolute stop to all settlement activity

Biden goes to Lebanon for the second time, Hamas says he's interfering with the election

The Obama administration told the Palestinian Authority that Jerusalem will never be united under Israeli sovereignty

Eighteenth Week in Office

The US State Department said Sunday that the future status of Jerusalem would be determined through peace negotiations, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's declaration Thursday that the capital would "never again be partitioned and divided

The Obama administration wants to abrogate a secret deal that President Bush made to allow Israel to construct homes in previously existing West Bank Jewish communities

Obama has drawn a line on Israeli settlement expansion. A former US official says "almost unprecedented" in toughness toward ally Israel

Israel defied a surprisingly blunt U.S. demand that it freeze all building in West Bank Jewish settlements, saying it will press ahead with construction

Obama meets with Abbas, again

Obama says that Palistinian state with Jerusalem as its capital "In American Interest"

After meetings with George Mitchell, Israeli negotiators state; "All of the understandings reached during the [George W.] Bush administration are worth nothing....The United States is taking a line of granting concessions to the Palestinians that is not fair toward Israel,"

 Nineteenth Week in Office

Obama considers "symbolic" measures to punish Israel for their position on settlements

Israel will not freeze settlement construction for natural growth, despite intense pressure from the Obama administration to do so

Obama blocks sale of 6 AH-64D helicopters to Israel - approves 12 to Egypt

Obama: "I don't think we have to change strong support for Israel,"

AUDIO: Full NPR interview with Obama

Mitchell flies back to Israel next week, says "wants to know in particular why Israel has refused to freeze construction..."

Obama Tour to Include Germany, Egypt, Not Israel

Top Israeli politicians: Obama administration meddling in Israeli politics

Obama to tell Israel: Form new peace policy by July

The U.S. State Department Tuesday refused to state whether the Obama administration will honor a promise by the previous government that Israel will retain sovereignty over large Jewish areas in the West Bank in the event that a new Palestinian Authority state is created

 In speech to Muslims, Obama rejects Israeli settlements

Key congressional Democrats from John Kerry on down remain firmly aligned with Obama against Netanyahu on settlements, Israel backers jittery

Obama Suggests Netanyahu Can Stop Israeli Settlements Just As Nixon Went to China

Obama Drops Key Clause in Jerusalem Embassy Memo: "My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem."

Israeli politiciams on the Right expressed outrage on at US President Barrack Obama's comparison of the suffering of the Palestinians to what Jews endured in the Holocaust.

Israeli officials reject on a statement by US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton dismissing Israeli assertions that the Bush administration had agreed to allow some construction in the settlements to allow for natural growth

Twentieth Week in Office

U.S. Secr. of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that she thinks "there would be retaliation" from the United States in the event of an Iranian attack on Israel but stressed the need to prevent a nuclear arms race. During her campaign last year for the presidential nomination, she was more assertive, stating that an Iranian “attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States."

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to impose a solution on the festering Arab-Israeli conflict if necessary

POLL: A majority of Israelis think Obama's policies are not good for Israel

Washington Post to Obama: Back Down on Israeli ‘Settlements'

Two Arab Reporters Passed on Obama Interview to Avoid Israeli Journalist

US Mideast envoy George Mitchell's is trying to lower the volume in the US dispute with Israel over settlement construction. Mitchell emphatically denied he had said, as was reported Sunday in the Hebrew press, that the days of Israel lying to the US over settlements were over.

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, en route to Jerusalem, told reporters that U.S. President Barack Obama wants the Palestinian Authority and Israel to meet for “immediate” talks towards the creation of a new PA state, but PA Chairman Abbas refused.

Palistinians convert 46 ambulances to military vehicles,  violating US conditions for foreign aid, Obama adminstration ignores violations

U.S. envoy George Mitchell assured the Palestinians on Wednesday of Washington's commitment to a state of their own, calling its establishment the only viable solution to their conflict with Israel.

Secr. of State Hillary Clinton will no longer state that an attack on Israel as if it were an Attack on the US

The proposals to be outlined in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday will not be enough to satisfy the Obama administration

Obama's special Mideast envoy George Mitchell said that Washington supports the creation of a Palestinian state "as soon as possible

Twentyfirst Week in Office

Obama’s strongest supporters among Jewish leaders are deeply troubled by his recent Middle East initiatives, and some are questioning what he really believes

Palistinians: "No matter what is the position of the Israeli government and no matter what are the statements of Netanyahu, what counts is what was promised to us by Obama, which is totally the opposite [of Netanyahu's positions]."

The U.S. administration is prepared to show flexibility on construction in West Bank settlements, a government source in Jerusalem says. The Americans will apparently not demand a full freeze on construction, but will agree that projects now underway can be completed, Israeli officials say.

Former President Jimmy Carter passed a message to Hamas from the Obama administration, according to senior sources in the Islamist group

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, clashed face to face with her Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, In what appeared one of the most tense encounters between the sides for several years, Clinton and Lieberman, disagreed on both the US call for a complete freeze on settlement growth and Israel’s contention that the administration of George W. Bush, the former president, had signalled that some expansion was permissible.

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell has advised Israel to relax restrictions at the Gaza crossings without demanding that Hamas free kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit

Only 6 percent of Jewish Israelis consider the views of American President Barack Obama's administration pro-Israel

The Obama Administration insistently reiterated its support for Israel this weekend after a Jerusalem Post poll found that only 6 percent of Jewish Israelis now consider Obama to be pro-Israel.

Twentysecond Week in Office

US Senate majority leader Harry Reid sent a letter to Obama last week criticizing the latter for his administration's heavy pressure on Israel to be the facilitator of the Middle East peace process.

The end of the racist Durbin II conference included two apologies from the Obama administration for missing Durban II. Obama officials also lauded countries and UN officials for working to improve the Durban II outcome and re-focusing the conference on fighting racism. No effort was made to distance itself from the actual conference - which sported an antisemite as opening speaker - or its outcome which singled out and demonized Israel as racist.

US says settlement freeze includes east Jerusalem

U.S. finally approves the sale of 25 F-35 fighter planes to Israel with enchanced Israeli communications systems developed by Israel's defense system.

Obama's administration is examining a proposed Israeli-Syrian peace plan that is based on demilitarizing the Golan Heights and transforming it, along with a strip of the Jordan Valley, into a nature preserve, or "peace park," that would be open to visitors during the day

Elliot Abrams, who served under United States Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush,"Despite fervent denials by Obama administration officials, there were indeed agreements between Israel and the United States regarding the growth of Israeli settlements on the West Bank."

Hezbollah: "Several US officials at different levels and more or less close to the administration have asked to speak with but we have refused

Twentythird Week in Office

The Obama administration told the Palestinian Authority the "golden era" of Israeli constructionin sections of Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank will soon come to an end

The United States has re-approved its Israel loan guarantees program, subject to meeting fiscal targets

The composition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is "under assault" by the U.S. and Europe, says a top minister in the Israeli government. "It seems there is a coordinated assault between the U.S. and some European countries to remove Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his party and to replace them with the Kadima party," the minister said.

Becasue of Obama's attacks on Israeli settlements some Israeli politicians calling for a boycott on July 4 celebration at the Israeli ambassador's residence

Obama is turning to the Pope to back his vision of a new Arab state on all of Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. The president told the Catholic Italian newspaper Avvenire, one week before a scheduled meeting with the Pope in Italy, “It [the Middle East] is a subject I am keen to discuss with the pope. I think he will share my approach."

Twentyfourth Week in Office

Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the Obama administration would not stand in Israel's way should the latter chooses to take military action to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat.

Obama administration backtracks on Biden's comments about not standing in Israel's way if they decide to attack Iran

After Biden comments, US clairifies its position on an Israeli attack on Iran- again

'We'll evacuate 23 outposts very soon'- said after Barak from Israel met with Mitchell in London

VIDEO: Biden And Obama On Israel Attacking Iran

A top aide to Obama, Valerie Jarrett , provided a keynote address at last weekend's 46^th Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) national convention, a gathering that attracted thousands of people and also featured anti-Semitic, homophobic rhetoric and defense of the terrorist group Hezbollah.

Obama meets with Jewish leaders, excludes those who want to are for settlements

Obama tells American Jewish leaders that he wants to help Israel overcome its demographic problem by reaching an agreement on a two-state solution, but that in order to do so, Israel would need "to engage in serious self-reflection."

The American Jewish Committee praised President Obama for the unequivocal commitment to Israel's security that he expressed to U.S. Jewish leaders in an hour-long White House meeting today

Obama's first meeting with Jewish leaders includes more left-wing groups such as Peace Now- kept out traditional participants Zionist Organization of America, the Lubavitch movement and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, all of which are on the more conservative part of the spectrum

Twenty fifth Week in Office

Israeli radio stations say the U.S. has told Israel to halt construction project in east Jerusalem.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wrote Friday in the Washington Post, Obama is making a big mistake by insisting that Israel freeze all building for Jews in Judea and Samaria

The Israel Air Force will review the possibility of purchasing the advanced American F-22 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet if a congressional ban is lifted, enabling it to be sold abroad

Twenty Sixth Week in Office

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a sharp response to US pressure to stop Jews from building in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem is “not up for debate,” Netanyahu said, and Jews are permitted to build in any part of the capital city, as are Arabs.

Def. Sec. Gates warns: 'Israel must consider ties with US when weighing attack on Iran'

Analysis: Netanyahu-Obama confrontations are harming the Israeli military's capability on Iran

Arabic-language Al Quds newspaper based in Jerusalem reported Monday morning that the United States has proposed to agree to Israel’s building a hotel on Jewish-owned property in eastern Jerusalem and several hundred homes elsewhere in return for the American government's setting new borders for Israel and the proposed Palestinian Authority state

Netanyahu to Obama: "Jerusalem is not a settlement"

Washington reiterates its opposition to east Jerusalem construction

Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, says he was barred from attending the meeting because of criticism he aimed at Obama

Alan Solow, one of the president's closest Chicago friends and long-time supporters turns against Obama.  Solow, chairman of the Conference of President of Major Jewish Organizations,released a highly critical statement on behalf of the 52-member group, in which he thoroughly disagrees with Obama's demand that Israel halt all construction of Jewish housing in East Jerusalem, including the Old City -- the holiest place in Judaism.

U.S. issues stern warning to Israel not to build up West Bank corridor

The US State Department rebuffed speculation that the Obama administration was considering imposing economic sanctions against Israel in order to prevent it from continuing West Bank settlement construction. Spokesman Phillip Crowley told reporters on Thursday that remarks made by deputy spokesman Robert Wood earlier this week had been "misinterpreted."

Obama Administration has transferred $200 Million directly to the Fatah PA in violation of the criteria of the Palistinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006

Twenty Seventh Week in Office

The Obama administration is dispatching four of its most senior foreign policy and security figures to Israel this coming week with the same message on two open questions causing friction between the close allies: Stops all settlement construction in the West Bank and shelve any plan for a military strike to sabotage Iran's nuclear facilities

A senior U.S. source told Asharq Al-Awsat that if there is a war against Iran, Barack Obama’s presidency “will be over

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told European foreign ministers last week that Israel will agree to temporarily freeze construction in settlements in the framework of new understandings that Jerusalem will reach with Washington

Obama to End US Embargo Against Syria

'US lifts ban on Syrian air industry'

Anti-Obama Rally in Jerusalem

Israel hardened its insistence that it would do anything it felt necessary to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, -U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reassured Israel that the new Obama administration was not naive about Iran's intentions, and that Washington would press for new, tougher sanctions against the Iranians if they balk.

VIDEO: Israelis Turn Out to Protest President Obama in Jerusalem

"Mitchell tells Abbas that contrary to what has been said in the mass media there is no agreement with the Israeli side on anything,"

About 1,000 Jews read the book of lamentations outside US consulate in Jerusalem on the 9th of Av fast day to protest against the Obama administration's demand to freeze Jewish construction in eastern sections of the city.

Saudi Arabia on Friday bluntly rejected U.S. appeals for improved relations with Israel as a way to help restart Middle East peace talks, saying the Jewish state is not interested in a deal.

Twenty Eigth Week in Office

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday said Israel's evictions of Palestinian families from east Jerusalem are "deeply regrettable" and urged the close US ally to refrain from such "provocative" actions.

The Obama Administration is close to presenting its plan for peace in the Middle East to Israel and the Palestinians, senior officials said .

Two pro-Israel American organizations and the Republican Jewish Coalition lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama for awarding a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mary Robinson

The U.S. State Department has summoned Israel Ambassador Michael Oren over “unacceptable” and “provocative” evictions of Arabs from Jewish-owned homes in the Sheikh Jarreh neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem

The Obama administration has set up an apparatus to closely monitor Jewish construction in Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank to the point of watching Israeli moves house-to-house in certain key neighborhoods

American Middle East envoy George Mitchell has asked Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for a "deposit," an advance commitment of a one-year freeze on construction in West Bank settlements.

The American Consulate in “eastern Jerusalem” serves 600,000 Jews in the “occupied territories” of Judea and Samaria and many parts of Jerusalem, but its website is devoted to helping Arabs only. English and Arabic are the two languages used by workers, and its telephone answering system does not offer an option for Hebrew.- View the website at... http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov

Obama's chief advisor on counter-terrorism Brennan offers words of praise for Hezbollah "Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time.

Twenty Ninth Week in Office

Seventy-one senators have signed an AIPAC-backed letter to US President Barack Obama supporting his effort to encourage Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.   It comes after Americans for Peace Now and other left-wing pro-Israel groups - including Brit Tzedek v'Shalom and J Street - made a battleground of the document

Jewish leaders on the West Bank in Israel say that the Obama administration sends out spies: "They drive around the towns, check up on what's going on. They try to mingle with us to get more information on what we're up to and what we're doing," ,... ... the consular officials present themselves as advisers to the U.S. consul-general.... "But we know they are really spies for the Obama administration"

Daniel Kurtzer, President Obama's Mideast adviser, is the lead candidate to serve as U.S. ambassador to Syria, a senior Egyptian security official told WND. Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, long has been seen in Jerusalem as one of the Jewish state's greatest foes in Washington. He has been identified by Jewish and Israeli leaders, including prime ministers speaking on the record, as biased against Israel and is notorious for urging extreme concessions from the Jewish state.

Thirteth Week in Office

The United States has harshly criticized new Israeli restrictions placed on foreign nationals entering the West Bank via the Allenby Bridge, calling the new regulations 'unacceptable'.

The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said last week that the Obama administration is making a mistake in demanding Israel completely freeze construction in the settlements

Thirty First Week in Office

The Middle East peace plan that United States President Barack Obama will unveil soon involves the creation of a Palestinian Authority state by 2011 and the transfer of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem [presumably including the Temple Mount – ed.] to Arab-Muslim sovereignty, Saudi newspaper Al-Ukaz has learned.

Obama plans to bring Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for a face-to-face meeting at the United Nations General Assembly next month in a bid to revive long-stalled peace talks.

U.S. drops demand for Israel building freeze in East Jerusalem  The Obama administration has agreed to Israel's request to remove East Jerusalem from negotiations on the impending settlement freeze.According to both Israeli officials and Western diplomats, U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has recognized the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot announce a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem. The officials said the U.S. will not endorse new construction there, but would not demand Jerusalem publicly announce a freeze.

Obama is expected to moderate a September meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Shimon Peres said in an interview.  Says the two leaders would be meeting at the United Nations.

VIDEO: Gibbs sidesteps question about poll that says only 4% of Jewish Israelis support Obama

Washington will announce the renewal of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority through a trilateral summit of U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting would take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly late this month; two years would be allotted to completing talks on a peace agreement.

Partial Israeli, US Agreement on Judea and Samaria, 9 month settlement freeze except for current building underway

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon approve the construction of hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements before he declares a moratorium on building in those locales, according to a senior government source.

Israeli plan to build hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements draws harsh criticism from the Obama administration

The United States is funding a Palestinian Authority project to place non-Hebrew road signs throughout Judea and Samaria. The PA plans to implement it in exclusively Israeli-controlled areas as well.  The project is part of American aid “towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” as a top official of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in the PA, Howard Sumka, told the Al-Hayat Arabic daily.

Thirty Third Week in Office

Israel defied U.S. pressure to halt construction in its West Bank settlements,. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are expected to approve orders for about 500 new apartments

Obama floats middle east plan with Arab leaders: IncludesDeploying international forces in the Jordan Valley and some areas of the West Bank.  The United States commits to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the summer of 2011.

Thirty Fourth Week in Office

George Mitchell applies the pressure to Israel to halt settlements

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected U.S. calls to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, angering Palestinians and putting a New York summit in question.

Thirty Fifth Week in Office

Obama used his speech to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday to fire a warning at Israel that "America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements." Obama's stark declaration, which drew applause, was coupled with a call for Palestinians to end their "incitement of Israel." But it was the use of the U.N. forum to carry the settlement message to Israel that drew the most enthusiastic response on the floor -- and incredulous reaction outside its walls.

Israelis and Palestinians said Wednesday that their envoys would meet with U.S. officials but not with each other, cementing the impression that a U.S.-sponsored meeting between their leaders had fallen flat.

A White House official "misspoke" when he said the Obama administration would not allow the Goldstone report recommendations on Israel's conduct in the Gaza war to reach the International Criminal Court. A top White House official told Jewish organizational leaders in an off-the-record phone call Wednesday that the U.S. strategy was to "quickly" bring the report -- commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council and carried out by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone -- to its "natural conclusion" within the Human Rights Council and not to allow it to go further

A cloud of pessimism is suffocating hopes that U.S. President Barack Obama can pull off a miracle in the Middle East by setting negotiations on course for rapid progress towards a comprehensive peace agreement. The New York encounter he arranged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week produced no more than a schedule of lower-level meetings this week and next, which has only deepened scepticism

Thirty Sixth Week in Office

The United States called on its close ally Israel on Tuesday to conduct credible investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by its forces in Gaza, saying it would help the Middle East peace process

The (cached) material on the Obama organization official website that equates Israelis to Nazis

Barack Obama's official Web site, over which Obama's organization exercises editorial control, carried an entry that equates Israelis to Nazis and their treatment of Palistinians to the Holocost (now removed)

Thirty Seventh Week in Office

The U.S. administration is furious over Israeli incitement against President Barack Obama, Democratic congressmen close to Obama told an Israeli source who returned from a visit to Washington this week.

Thirty Eigth Week in Office

After the Obama administration forces Israel to reduce check point security, weapons flow freely

U.S. officials in recent days expressed to the Palestinian Authority that President Obama's administration is "disgusted" with Israel, said a top aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The term "disgusted" was used more than once in recent meetings with U.S. envoys to describe the administration's attitude toward Israel.

Thirty Ninth Week in Office

The Obama administration appears to be welcoming the efforts of the left-leaning Jewish lobby in Washington, J Street.  Senior U.S. administration will be attending the group's October 25 conference.  Officials who have confirmed their participation in the conference include James Jones, national security adviser in the Obama administration. Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren has still not acknowledged an invitation to address the conference. Oren apparently is inclined not to participate and to send a lower-ranking diplomat in his stead.

Israeli shot in his car.  Attack directly attributed to the Obama forced removal of roadblocks

The Obama administration has allegedly offered to enrich Iranian uranium.  The Iranians have not been able to remove low percentages of metallic fluorides from the UF-6 feed stock that they've laboriously enriched to 3.5% U-235 over the past five years. This has the potential to stop their enrichment program cold—at the level used for civilian nuclear power. The Obama administration has offered to have Iran's impure 3.5% UF6 shipped to Russia where it can be enriched to 19.75%

Fortieth Week in Office

Former Israel-hating Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has been  named co-chair of President's Intelligence Advisory Board

Obama videotapes a message to Israelis on the anniversity of Rabin's murder. Tries to speak directly to Israeli Jews due to his lack of popularity in Israel.

Dealing a blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to restart Middle East peace talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to persuade Abbas to accept an Israeli proposal that would slow but not stop the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Forty First Week in Office

Palestinians accused US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of undermining progress toward Mideast peace talks after she praised Israel for offering to curb some Jewish settlement construction.

Sec. of State Hillary Clinton now backtracks on statements to Israel about settlement construction.  After drawing criticism from Arabs about her praise of Israel, she then read from prepared remarks not to "accept the legitimacy" of settlements

Obama's mideast tutor and friend Rashid Khalidi bemoans Hamas' inability to fire more rockets into Israel

A top advisor to PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, considered to be a “moderate” and a peace partner by the U.S. government, has charged that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a “liar” who is being bribed by “Zionists.”  Omar Hilmi Al-Ghul, and advisor to Fayyad and a columnist for a PA daily made the comments in an article translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton defended the U.S. stance toward Israeli settlement building to worried Arab allies on Wednesday, saying Washington does not accept the legitimacy of the West Bank enclaves and wants to see their construction halted "forever."

Forty Second Week in Office

There are reports indicating that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over U.S. recognition of an independent Palestinian state unilaterally, bypassing Israel completely.

The Obama White House stood silent as the  U.N. General Assembly debated a resolution endorsing the stacked investigation that accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

The White House waited several days to confirm that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could meet with President Barack Obama Monday, and sought conditions first

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left the White House after a one-hour and 40-minute meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama Monday night without speaking to reporters

Dispelling rumors in the Israeli media, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday had been "warm."   Netanyahu made the comments as he boarded a plane Tuesday leaving the U.S., on his way back to Israel.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday defended Obama's Middle East policies, saying that efforts to engage Iran through dialogue and earnest attempts to jump-start the peace process were bearing fruit.

U.S. Officials punish Netanyahu with media blackout.  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 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, and imposed the media blackout on Monday's meeting as a means of bringing the Israeli leader back in line.

The U.S. wants Israel out of the West Bank.   One of the top US State Department officials on Tuesday acknowledged that the ultimate goal of US Middle East policy is to cleanse all of Judea and Samaria of Jews and hand that territory in its entirety over to the Palestinian Arabs.

A top State Department official spelled out on Tuesday that the goal of the United States in its negotiations in the Middle East is to pressure Israel into expelling Jews from Judea and Samaria in order to "end the occupation that began in 1967."William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, said in his address to the Middle East Institute Tuesday that he sees the U.S.mandate as one of "determined leadership" and that American must be straightforward about its intentions.

US Diplomat says that Netanyahu was "trying to manuever the White House" on Army Radio

The White House has not released any official photos of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting this week with President Obama – just one of several signs indicating a rift between the two leaders.

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.

While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated. Organizations that received stimulus money miscounted jobs, filed erroneous figures, or claimed jobs for work that has not yet started.

Obama to pick anti-Israel J-streeter, Hannah Rosenthal, the envoy to combat global anti-semitism.  Rosenthal is now a member of the advisory council of the faux Pro-Israel organization J-street, formed by George Soros and mentored by President Obama in order to give his administration a false appearance of being pro-Israel

The United States does not accept continued Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, a senior U.S. state department official has said, adding that Jerusalem's commitment to restrain settlement activity is not enough. In an address to the Middle East Institute, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns on Tuesday said that the Obama administration does not "accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."  "We consider the Israeli offer to restrain settlement activity to be a potentially important step, but it obviously falls short of the continuing Roadmap obligation for a full settlement freeze," he said.

4 days late, the Obama administration releases photo of Obama-Netanyahu meeting

Forty Third Week in Office

A top Palestinian Authority negotiator told World Net Daily that the Obama administration won't stand in the way of a Palestinian threat to unilaterally ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel.

Netanyahu says to the U.S and Palistinians- that if the Palistinians make unilateral moves, so will Israel

Strained relations between Israel and the United States hit a fresh low today when the State Department condemned the construction of 900 new housing units in an East Jerusalem settlement suburb as “dismaying”.

White House officials told the New Republic magazine this week that the Obama administration has been embarrassed at least twice by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for revealing in public information and policies that the State Department was supposed to keep private between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the U.S.

Obama told Fox News in an interview that additional settlement building did not make Israel safer.

Obama has warned Israel that ignoring US pleas and continuing to expand housing in sensitive areas of Jeruslaem could end up being "very dangerous"

Forty Fourth Week in Office

Israel: Obama criticism of Jerusalem construction is racist

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused US President Barack Obama of doing "nothing" to achieve peace in the Middle East

The Obama administration welcomed Israel's decision Wednesday to freeze new construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank temporarily as a step toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

U.S. gives lukewarm praise for Israeli settlement freeze.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded within moments of Netanyahu's announcement, issuing a statement of approval for the decision. Middle East envoy George Mitchell added minutes later at a news briefing in Washington D.C. that "it falls short of a full settlement freeze," but still is "more than any other Israeli government has done before."

Emissaries of the Obama Administration have been traveling around Judea and Samaria in recent weeks, asking residents about construction in their towns and passing the information back to Washington. In Efrat, for instance, the “capital” of Gush Etzion, Regional Council head Sha’ul Goldstein met with an American diplomat who asked for a briefing on the pace of construction in the region.  Settler and ex-MK Elyakim Haetzni warns Judea/Samaria towns against divulging construction information to Obama’s roving representatives.

Two senior officials from the White House, Dennis Ross and Jeffrey Bader, made a trip to China on a "special mission" to garner support in Beijing over the Iranian nuclear program according to a Thursday report in The Washington Post. The officials visited China two weeks before US President Barack Obama arrived in Beijing. The officials reportedly carried the message that if China would not support the US on the issue, Israel would be likely to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

A day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the security cabinet had approved a partial moratorium on building in the West Bank, Sports and Culture Minister Limor Livnat launched an unprecedented attack on US President Barack Obama. Speaking at a Likud activists' meeting in Beersheba, Livnat said that Israel had "fallen into the hands of a horrible American administration." "The administration isn't what it once was; it is harder [on us]," she added.

Rank-and-file Likudniks and lawmakers in the ruling Likud party lambasted the Obama administration at a gathering on Saturday, in response to Israel's decision to temporarily freeze construction in West Bank settlements.

Forty Sixth Week in Office

Members of the Obama administration recently assured the Palestinian Authority that most Jewish communities in the strategic West Bank will be evacuated

The Palestinian Authority has been negotiating an understanding with the Obama administration regarding a Palestinian threat to unilaterally ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel

The United States and Egypt, along with France, are planning a joint move to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks on the basis of the June 4, 1967, borders, territorial exchanges and a complete freeze of construction beyond the Green Line, including East Jerusalem. The freeze would not be announced publicly.

Forty Seventh Week in Office

U.S. President Barack Obama has warned his Chinese counterpart that the United States would not be able to keep Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear installations for much longer, said senior officials in Jerusalem

Forty Eighth Week in Office

The United States has demanded clarifications from Israel after IDF special forces killed three terrorists Saturday who murdered a civilian, Rabbi Meir Chai, on Thursday.

Forty Ninth Week in Office

The Obama administration said today it opposed Israel’s move to build about 700 apartments in East Jerusalem.

The Palistinian Authority believe the US will force Israel to allow them to build an airport

Fiftieth Week in Office

The Obama's administration supports Egypt's vision for a Middle East peace plan that would include a complete halt of construction in West Bank settlements as well as the release of senior Palestinian officials from Israeli prisons, the Qatar-based news network Al-Jazeera reported

After Obama granted diplomatic immunity to INTERPOL, was he aware of their history of Jew hatred?

The United States is “fed up” with Israelis who "adopt the right ideas too late," and also with the “Palestinians who always miss opportunities,” White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel angrily told an Israeli diplomat recently.

US airplane manufacturer Lockheed Martin has been given permission by the US government to sell 24 F-16 jet fighters to Egypt in a $3.2 billion deal. Additionally, Egypt will receive four batteries of highly advanced Harpoon Block II anti-ship cruise missiles, four fast missile boats, 450 Hellfire anti-tank missiles (to be sold with restrictions on use and transfer, according to the Pentagon), and 156 jet engines for F-16 aircraft.  Saudia Arabia, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates also have new military acquisition contracts with the United States.

Israel's Prime Minister's Office issued a complaint to the White House lamenting ongoing incitement against Israel by Palestinian leaders. In the complaint, senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office urged their American counterparts to demand that Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas cease to glorify the memory of terrorists who murdered Israelis. The complaint went on to insist that the Palestinians live alongside Israelis peacefully and spread peace.  

George Mitchell:  The U.S. can cut aid to Israel

Fifty First Week in Office

An American official said Saturday night that Mideast envoy George Mitchell's remark that US aid to Israel may be jeopardized was not a threat, but a response to an interviewer's question on the American administration's options if Israel refused to resume peace talks with the Palestinians

Israel downplays White House envoy Mitchell's threat to cut off Israel loan guarantees

George Mitchell, Obama's Middle East envoy, is using a suspect poll regarding Israelis' views of Barack Obama in order, apparently, to pressure Israel.  Interviewer Charlie Rose questions Mitchell as to why Obama's poll numbers in Israel show him at a historically low 4%.  The poll Mitchell relies upon seems to be from the "New America Foundation", a Soros left wing group run by George Soros' son Jonathan Soros.

In a step widely seen as off limits for government officials, Hannah Rosenthal, Obama's appointed "anti-semitism" envoy, criticized in a newspaper interview the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, for his characterization of J Street as a “unique problem. A breach of protocol by the administration’s new envoy on antisemitism recieved an implicit rebuke from her superiors at the State Department and a sharp retort from her former colleagues in the organized Jewish community

END OF FIRST YEAR

Fifty Third Week in Office

Getting the Israelis and Palestinians to agree to negotiate, or even to agree to the framework in which negotiations will take place, "is just really hard," US President Barack Obama said in an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, as the president was completing his first year in office

United States envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell arrived in the region this week in efforts to further press the Jewish state into relinquishing territory to the American-backed Palestinian Authority. According to PA sources quoted by the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat, Mitchell is unveiling a five-point plan that will force local parties back to the negotiating table and press Israel to retreat back to the Armistice Line that existed between the Jewish state and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the years 1949 and 1967.

Chevron activists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Givir, who also serve as parliamentary aides to MK (Ichud HaLeumi) Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, have sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rom Emanuel suggesting he celebrate his son’s bar mitzvah elsewhere, not at the Kosel as reports indicate he plans to do.

Following his early morning meeting with US envoy George Mitchell, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that during their discussions, "new and interesting ideas" were raised for the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.

Same day as meeting with US envoy Mitchell, Netanyahu speech: The settlements blocs of Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion are an indisputable part of Israel

Fifty Fourth Week in Office

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition partners are preventing him from going as far as he would like to in peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, US President Barack Obama said Thursday.  Obama was speaking at a town hall meeting in Tampa, Florida. Answering a question on the subject, he explained to the audience that the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority are both being held back by more extremist elements in their nations.

The U.S. is concerned that the continued flow of arms to the Hezbollah militant organization could prompt a war between Israel and Lebanon, State Department official Jeff Feltman said in remarks published Sunday by the London-based Al-Hayat daily.

The Obama administration is delaying an upgrade project for Israel's military on the grounds that it could be deployed against Palestinian militants.  The sources said the delay of the Apache project stemmed from the White House's concern that Israel was rebuilding its military for another war. Sources said that Obama was dismayed by the widespread use of the Apache and other U.S. platforms during the January 2009 war with the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

Fifty Fifth Week in Office

The United States Treasury has taken all but one member of Hamas off the international list of terrorists, thus enabling funds from the European Union to enter Hamas-controlled Gaza

The United States Treasury has taken all but one member of Hamas off the international list of terrorists, thus enabling funds from the European Union to enter Hamas-controlled Gaza. United States will to Donate $40 Million to UNRWA

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is unhappy about the change in American policy toward settlement construction.
In an interview published Sunday by Der Spiegel, Abbas told the German magazine he would not change his position and would not agree to resuming negotiations unless Israel completely halts construction in West Bank settlements and recognizes the 1967 borders. PA president: Obama should use his power to pressure Israel on settlements.

Fifty Sixth Week in Office

The United States expressed readiness to provide Lebanon by 2013 with aircraft designed for light attack, the local daily As Safir reported Friday.

Rashad Hussein, White House official and President Obama’s newly appointed Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, has a history of participation in events connected with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood as well as support for Brotherhood causes, once having called prosecution of the U.S. leader of a Palestinian terrorist organization one of many “politically motivated persecutions.”

President Obama’s newly appointed envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Rashad Hussain, was quoted in 2004 as saying an American who aided a Palestinian terrorist group was the victim of “politically motivated persecutions” who was being used “to squash dissent.”

Fifty Seventh Week in Office

Reversing yet another policy of former President George W. Bush, current U.S. President Barack Obama announced this week that he would nominate career diplomat Robert Ford to become Washington's first ambassador to Syria since 2005

The U.S. should encourage greater assimilation of the Hezbollah terrorist organization into the Lebanese government, argued President Obama's counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan.

A radical Muslim group, the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA.- that was an unindicted co-conspirator in a scheme to raise money for Hamas has an extensive relationship with the Obama has ties to Obama.  ISNA President Ingrid Mattson represented American Muslims at Obama's inauguration, where she offered a prayer during the televised event. Mattson also represented ISNA at Obama's Ramadan dinner at the White House. Last June, Obama's top aide, Valerie Jarrett, invited Mattson to work on the White House Council on Women and Girls, which Jarrett leads. In July, the Justice Dept. sponsored an information booth at an ISNA bazaar in Washington, D.C.

The Obama administration criticized Israel for designating two shrines on Palestinian territory as Israeli national heritage sites. ...US displeasure with the designations of the Cave of the Patriarchs in the flash point town of Hebron and the traditional tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel in Bethlehem had been conveyed to senior Israeli officials by American diplomats.

Fifty Eighth Week in Office

An Arab political source said Friday that special U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell has requested to resign due to his frustration with the way the Obama administration has been handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a Nazareth-based daily. Hadith a-Nass reported that Mitchell's request stemmed partly from to his own failure to advance the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and also from his perception that certain elements within the State Department hold biased favor toward Israel.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton sent a message to Beirut that Washington cannot prevent an Israeli strike in Lebanon as long as arms smuggling to Hezbollah continues

The United States is concerned over the approval of a plan to build 600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, the State Department said on Monday, adding that both Israel and the Palestinians should refrain from unilateral actions which could undermine trust between the two parties.

U.S. Pressing Israel not to attack Iran

Senior Israeli diplomatic official: US Vice President Joe Biden is important, but no substitute for President Barack Obama, and a speech he is expected to give next week during his stay in Israel should not be considered compensation for Obama’s speech to the Arab world in Cairo last June

Fifty Ninth Week in Office

Secret Report: White House cozying up to Palistinian demands.  The U.S. administration will not put a lot of effort into the upcoming indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, opting instead to focus on the November Congressional elections, according to an internal Foreign Ministry report that was distributed to Israeli diplomatic missions abroad. The classified report claims that in the preparatory discussions for the Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks the Obama administration adopted positions that are closer to Palestinian demands.

Mitchell told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the understandings reached following the 2007Annapolis Conference are non-binding in the current round of negotiations

Israel approves 112 new settler homes as Joe Biden arrives

The US has said Israel's authorisation of new building in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank does not violate a recently announced
moratorium.

US Vice President Joe Biden is Israel to reignite the peace process, but the Interior Ministry seems unmoved by the political statements made and on Tuesday approved the addition of 1,600 housing units in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, which is located beyond the Green Line. The Ministry's District Committee for Planning and Construction approved the plan be submitted for public comment.

Vice President Joe Biden is condemning Israel's approval of 1,600 new settlement homes in disputed East Jerusalem and says the timing undermines the peace process the United States is attempting to revive.

US Vice President Joe Biden tried to put the furor over announcement of plans to build 1,600 units in Ramat Shlomo behind him, saying during a speech Thursday at Tel Aviv University that he condemned the move because as a friend he was compelled to "deliver the hardest truth," but adding that he appreciated the clarifications he received on the matter from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyhau.He opened the speech by stressing the importance of US-Israel friendship and Washington's commitment to the security of the  Jewish state, saying that "US President Barack Obama and myself know that the US has no better friend in the community of nations than Israel." Biden said that he realized that construction in east Jerusalem "is a very touchy subject in Israel," but because Israel's decision to advance the housing project, in his view, "undermined the trust required to conduct the negotiations, I – at the request of President Obama – condemned it immediately."

Officials said the administration of President Barack Obama has warned Israel that its exercises along the borders with Lebanon and Syria were escalating regional tension.  They said Israel has responded by canceling or reducing exercises meant to prepare for a war with Syria. "We are receiving daily phone calls from the Americans, who want to know details and schedules of exercises, what weapons will be used and in what scenarios," an official said.

What Biden told Netanyahu behind closed doors: "This is starting to get dangerous for us"

Fifty Sixtieth Week in Office

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden snubbed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night by arriving 90 minutes late to a scheduled dinner. Biden's late arrival was in response to Israel announcing 1,600 new homes will be built in disputed east Jerusalem during his visit to the region.

Vice President Biden made clear that it was Obama who made the decision to "condemn" the Israeli government -- one of the harshest criticisms ever leveled against Israeli leaders by an American president.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a stinging rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahufor his government's announcement this week of new Jewish housing in East Jerusalem

Former Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams places the blame squarely at the feet of the President for the poor state of US/Israel relations

Israel's relationship with the United States, a defining feature of the troubled Middle East, was under severe strain as diplomats scrambled on Saturday to save newborn U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians.

Clinton calls Israeli announcement "Insulting" to the United States

The Anti-Defamation League said it was shocked at the Obama administration's "public dressing down" of Israel over its decision during Vice President Joe Biden's weeklong visit to move forward with the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he thought his apology to Joe Biden over the ill-timed announcement of east Jerusalem construction was sufficient and believed the matter was closed.

Middle East envoy George Mitchell promised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the U.S. will bring a halt to Israeli building in East Jerusalem.

Instead of accepting Netanyahu's partial apology and letting bygones be bygones, Obama issued a stern warning to the Israeli prime minister and is now demanding that he take "specific actions" to show he is "committed" to the U.S.-Israel relationship and to the peace process itself.

The Palestinian Authority on Saturday hailed the rare US condemnation of Israel over the Jewish state's plan to build more settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem District Planning and Building committee has canceled two meetings planned for this week, apparently out of concern that any more decisions on construction might result in further tensions with the United States

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has promised the Palestinians that Israel will not construct new homes in east Jerusalem during peace negotiations, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Saturday

David Axelrod, US President Barack Obama's chief political adviser, said on Sunday that the Israeli decision to build in Jerusalem was both an "affront" and an "insult."

Obama administration monitors Jews on the Temple Mount in Israel

Netanyahu keeps strong position despite American pressure. Says 'cabinet's decision to end construction freeze after 10 months remains standing' Despite the unprecedented crisis with the White House following Israel's plan to build 1,600 new housing units in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to forge ahead with construction in Jerusalem "as we have since the Six Day War".

BBC: Relations between the U.S. and Israel the worst in 35 years

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday switched from apologies to the Obama administration for building for Jews in Jerusalem and went on the offense. Buoyed by virtually unanimous Cabinet support, he told Likud Knesset Members at a party meeting, “Building in Jerusalem and in all other places will continue in the same way that has been accepted in the last 42 years.”

The US State Dept said Monday it was waiting for a "formal" Israeli response to its concerns, declining comment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks in support of settlements.

Republican lawmakers came out swinging Monday against President Barack Obama's hard line toward Israel over its controversial plans to expand a settlement in East Jerusalem.   The number three Republican in the House of Representatives deplored the Obama administration's stance on Israel as "irresponsible" a week after Israel gave the green light to build 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in the area the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

Israel remains a strategic ally of the  United States, the US State Dept.reaffirmed Monday amid a dispute over Israeli plans to build settler homes in east Jerusalem

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) today urged the Obama Administration to call a halt to its public denunciations of the Israeli government and return to the use of language befitting the close relations between Washington and Jerusalem

The Obama administration's fierce denunciation of Israel last week has ignited a firestorm in Congress and among powerful pro-Israel interest groups who say the criticism of America's top Mideast ally was misplaced.

Obama runs out of patience with Israel.  The US is now said to be demanding substantive concessions from Israel after a warning by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he would not take part in talks if the plan to expand the mainly ultra-orthodox Ramat Shlomo settlement went ahead.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Israel must prove it is committed to the Middle East peace process, but brushed aside suggestions that U.S.-Israeli relations are in crisis.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israel would continue to build in Jerusalem in the same way that it has over the last 42 years. "The building in Jerusalem - and in all other places - will continue in the same way as has been customary over the last 42 years,"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that Israel had proven its commitment to peace before both in words and actions, after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Jerusalem to do more to prove it was serious about the Middle East process

The White House nor State Department had anything to say about the fact that the U.S.-financed Palestinian Authority, led by “moderate” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, renamed a central public square in Ramallah on Thursday in honor of Dalal Mughrabi, the woman who in 1978 helped carry out the deadliest single terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

The United States has diverted a shipment of bunker-busters designated for Israel.    Officials said the U.S. military was ordered to divert a shipment of smart bunker-buster bombs from Israel to a military base in Diego Garcia. They said the shipment of 387 smart munitions had been slated to join pre-positioned U.S. military equipment in Israel Air Force bases. "This was a political decision," an official said. In 2008, the United States approved an Israeli request for bunker-busters capable of destroying underground facilities, including Iranian nuclear weapons sites. Officials said delivery of the weapons was held up by the administration of President Barack Obama.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has refused to buckle to US pressure to scrap a Jewish building project in East Jerusalem in a crucial telephone conversation with America's top diplomat

Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who at President Barack Obama’s behest gave Netanyahu a 43 minute dressing-down over the phone last week,  told BBC that pressure against Israel paid off, and that Jerusalem will now be willing to compromise.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will use a visit to Washington this week to press the US to release sophisticated bunker-busting bombs needed for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Rather than peace process, the new buzz phrase in Washington is "regime modification", as the Obama administration examines how it can force a rupture in the ruling right-wing coalition and put talks between the Israelis and Palestinians back on a real meaningful track.

Outsiders cannot force peace on the Middle East and any final settlement will have to be initiated by the Israelis and Palestinians themselves, Israel's Washington envoy said on Saturday.

Ahead of his trip to Washington Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bowed to U.S. demands and promised the Obama administration that Israel will make several goodwill gestures toward the Palestinian. For the first time since Operation Cast Lead, Israel has agreed to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu has also agreed to discuss all core issues during the proximity talks, with the condition of reaching final conclusions only in direct talks with the PA.

Sixty First Week in Office

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States this week will include a demand that U.S. President Obama release previously-promised bunker-busting bombs, the Times of London reported Sunday.  The United States has diverted 387 bombs to an island in the Indian Ocean following the latest diplomatic clash between Israel and the United States over the proposed Ramat Shlomo hosing project in Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would not restrict construction in east Jerusalem, a step requested by the U.S., but would upgrade upcoming indirect talks with the Palestinians to include the main issues dividing them

New Israeli construction on land claimed by the Palestinians threatens peace efforts and undermines America's ability to help end the Arab-Israeli conflict, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a leading Jewish organization Monday.  In a speech to AIPAC, Clinton said that Israel's recent announcement of new housing in east Jerusalem exposed differences between the U.S. and the Jewish state that others could exploit. She defended the Obama administration's strong criticism of the move because she said it hurt attempts to launch indirect peace talks.

Netanyahu: "Jerusalem is not a settlement.

Obama Won’t Allow Any Photos of Him With PM Netanyahu

The White House is seeking "clarification" on Israel's plans to build 20 new apartments in east Jerusalem

Israel to U.S.: Latest East Jerusalem building okayed last year

Obama snubbed Netanyahu for dinner with Michelle and the girls, Israelis claim

Sixty Second Week in Office

Israel insisted on Friday it would not change its policy of building homes in East Jerusalem, keeping the Jewish state at odds with Washington on how to renew stalled peace talks with Palestinians.

More than 75 percent of Congressmen in the U.S.House of Representatives have signed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing support for Israel and demanding an end to the highly-publicized state of tensions with Israel.

Details of the "frosty" meeting between Obama and Netanyahu"- the Obama administration was clearly sending a message of extreme displeasure.  [Obama] immediately presented Mr. Netanyahu with a list of 13 demands designed both to the end the feud with his administration and to build Palestinian confidence ahead of the resumption of peace talks. Key among those demands was a previously-made call to halt all new settlement construction in east Jerusalem.  When the Israeli prime minister stalled, Mr Obama rose from his seat declaring: "I'm going to the residential wing to have dinner with Michelle and the girls."

A top aide of US President Barack Obama told CNN's State of the Union program on Sunday morning that Obama did not snub Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu when the two met in the White House last week.

During U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first year in office, some of the heftiest contributions to her husband’s charitable foundation came from royal families of Arab nations. The list of those who donated to the William J. Clinton Foundation in 2009 was released to the media last week.

Obama accused of waging diplomatic war to topple Netanyahu

U.S. President Barack Obama's demands during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Tuesday point to an intention to impose a permanent settlement on Israel and the Palestinians in less than two years, political sources in Jerusalem say.

No anti-Israel resolution on east Jerusalem was in the works at the UN Security Council, senior officials in Washington were quoted Tuesday as saying, amid reports that the US would not veto such a resolution if it were brought to the UN body.

Israel cannot be found on the US State Dept. Website.  The following message appears when looking for Israel: "We’re sorry. That page can’t be found and may have moved" (In bold red letters)

Obama wants Israel to freeze construction in East Jerusalem for four months in exchange for an attempt to renew stalled Israeli peace talks with Palestinians, an Israeli newspaper said on Wednesday.

Obama has refused every Military request from Israel since taking office

The administration of United States President Barack Obama has encouraged "resistance" by Arabs to protest Israel's presence in eastern Jerusalem, according to a senior Palestinian Authority official cited by WorldNetDaily on Thursday

Sixty Second Week in Office

Several high-profile former U.S. officials, some with close ties to the Obama administration, met with leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in recent months, raising hope inside the group that its views are being heard at the White House.

Sixty Third Week in Office

US Refuses Visas to all Israeli Nuclear Scientists; the Israeli government was stunned when every nuclear technician at Israel's Dimona reactor who had submitted visa requests to visit the United States for ongoing university education in Physics, Chemistry and Nuclear Engineering had their visa applications summarily rejected, specifically because of their association with the Dimona reactor.

Netanyahu pulls out of Obama’s nuclear summit

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. has been conducting negotiations with Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, according to a senior PA negotiator and sources in the Israeli government.

The Obama administration in recent weeks has stepped up its monitoring of Jewish construction projects in eastern Jerusalem and is protesting to the highest levels of the Israeli government even small building or improvement projects, WND has learned

Obama fighting Israel's Nuclear program

US President Barack Obama's national security adviser says that Israel will still have a "robust" delegation at a nuclear security summit in Washington next week, even after Israel's prime minister abruptly decided not to attend.

Sixty Fourth Week in Office

White House says visas for Israeli scientists not denied, but never mention the name of Israeli reactor site; Dimona

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said it would reject any moves by the Obama administration to set its own timeline and benchmarks for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, potentially establishing a new fault line between the U.S. and Israel.

Obama has told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he is determined to keep the pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to renew peace talks and implement confidence-building measures. Obama made his comments despite potential political damage at home ahead of the mid-term congressional elections in November

Obama administration says support of Israel to be 'balanced against other interests

World Jewish Congress Calls Out Obama- “Appeasement Does Not Work!” -Full Page Ad

On Tuesday, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, pro-Israel lobbying group, publicized letters to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, signed by 76 senators and 333 House members, that implored the administration to defuse tensions.

Letter by AIPAC to Hillary Clinton, link to signatories

Sixty Fifth Week in Office

Clinton: The U.S. won't impose peace deal on Israel

Speaking at a dinner attended by the ambassadors of Israel and several Arab states, Mrs Clinton urged Israel to "refrain from unilateral statements and actions" that could undermine peace.

A new Jewish organization has been started in the United States – openly supportive of Sarah Palin, but its bottom-line goal appears to be opposition to President Barack Obama and his tilt against Israel.

In a veiled warning to President Barack Obama, Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that any move to impose a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians would lead to greater conflict

United States administration officials have voiced harsh criticism over advertisements in favor of Israel's position on Jerusalem that appeared in the U.S. press with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's encouragement

State Dept.: U.S. unsure whether Syria sent missiles to Hezbollah

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said in an interview on Monday that the time has not come yet for a new U.S. Mideast peace proposal.

U.S. officials slam pro-Israeli ads in American media

US Won’t Promise Won’t Shoot Down Israeli Planes

Israeli Officials Weigh Option of Attacking Iran Without U.S. Consent

The Obama administration is pushing Israel to hand the Palestinian Authority full control of a major neighborhood in Jerusalem as a so-called confidence-building gesture to jumpstart Israeli-PA negotiations

The Obama administration pledged to the Palestinian Authority it will secure an extension of a freeze on Jewish construction in the West Bank and a de facto freeze in eastern Jerusalem, a top PA leader told WND

Israel's prime minister on Thursday rejected U.S. calls to halt construction in disputed east Jerusalem

In an interview with Channel 2 television news (Israeli TV), Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that there will not be a construction freeze in Jerusalem, and that there is “a full understanding that there must not be preconditions for negotiations.

Sixty Fifth Week in Office

The White House is engaged in an aggressive effort to reassure Jewish leaders that the tense relationship between the Obama administration and the Israeli government that has played out in public in the last few months does not signify any fundamental change in U.S. policy.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has been invited to Washington in May for talks with US President Barack Obama, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Sunday.

VIDEO: Obama’s National Security Advisor Tells Joke Depicting Jews as Greedy Merchants

Jews gather outside the Israeli Consulate Sunday to protest President Obama's position towards Israel.

National Security Adviser James Jones apologized Monday for telling a joke last week that depicted a member of the Taliban getting tricked by a Jewish merchant looking to make a sale. 

U.S. President Barack Obama held an impromptu meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday, during which Obama affirmed his country's "unshakeable commitment to Israel's security."

The Netanyahu government has allowed a de facto building freeze on new homes in parts of Jerusalem in order to placate President Obama.

The Anti-Defamation League’s National Director Abe Foxman: US shift in Israel policy "deeply distressing"

Sixty Sixth Week in Office

The administration of President Barack Obama has launched what officials termed a psychological warfare campaign meant to topple Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Two recent rounds of US/Israeli talks about the sale of Lockheed Martin F-35s to the Israeli air force have ended with the same gap that has so far prevented the signature of a letter of agreement.

Obama has vowed to take action against Israel or the Palestinians if either undermines indirect peace talks, a senior Palestinian official said on Thursday

US gives Abbas private assurances over Israeli settlements

Clinton Warns Iran, Syria on U.S. Commitment to Israel

Sixty Seventh Week in Office

Secretary Clinton to AJC Gala: 'Israel's Security is a Personal Commitment'

Obama has told several European leaders that if Israeli-Palestinian talks remain stalemated into September or October, he will convene an international summit on achieving Mideast peace, senior Israeli officials told Haaretz on Thursday.

United States officials who spoke to the pan-Arab paper Al-Sharq il-Awsat denied Thursday that America would stop using its United Nations veto to help Israel. The New York Times had reported that US President Barack Obama warned that America would no longer veto anti-Israel resolutions in the UN Security Council.

Obama has warned Israel he will pave the way for an independent Palestinian state if the peace process remains deadlocked until the autumn (UK Telegraph)

Obama made clear in a recent letter to the Palestinians that he views Israel as the obstacle to peace and will approach further peace efforts from that point of view, according to senior Palestinian Authority officials. -Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat confirmed for the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency that such a letter was sent, and that in it Obama "clarified the US stance on the peace process and Israel's intransigence on the issue of settlements.

The White House, in the midst of an intense charm offensive aimed at the Jewish and pro-Israel communities, has dropped an archaic phrase that has, in the past, rankled Jewish groups. The use of the proclamation boilerplate "in the year of our Lord" for a celebration of Jewish Heritage Month had struck a slightly off-key note for Jewish groups in Obama's last proclamation, as in those of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  This year, the phrase has been replaced by the simple phrase, "in the year two thousand ten.”

The White House is engaged in an aggressive effort to reassure Jewish leaders that the tense relationship between the Obama administration and the Israeli government that has played out in public in the past few months does not signify any fundamental change in U.S. policy

Obama, Elie Wiesel share 'good kosher lunch

Following a private lunch with President Obama, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel said he believes tensions are gone between the United States and Israel.

Obama is working closely with Russia and Egypt on an effort to rid Israel of its supposed nuclear weapons arsenal, according to several mainstream media reports this week. Most prominently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Obama is keen to adopt an Egyptian proposal to declare the Middle East a nuclear-free zone. A follow-up regional conference would put heavy pressure on all nations to comply

Sixty Seventh Week in Office

The US has assured the Palestinians there will be no “acts of provocation” by any party during the indirect talks between the PA and Israel next week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday....The PA understood that acts of “provocation” include settlement construction by Israel and incitement by the Palestinians- Abbas’s comments were published on a day when US envoy George Mitchell met for the second time in 24-hours with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The talks are taking place amid an almost total news blackout, with neither side releasing any information about the discussions.

Sixty Eighth Week in Office

Israel has agreed to freeze construction in east Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo for two years, the US  State Department said Sunday, following the completion of the first round of indirect Middle East peace talks.

The Obama administration has “screwed up the messaging” about its support for Israel over the past 14 months, and it will take “more than one month to make up for 14 months,” White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said on Thursday to a group of rabbis called together for a meeting in the White House.

Obama to Abbas: I am committed to creation of Palestinian state

US President Barack Obama urged the Palestinians to move to direct negotiations as soon as possible in a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.  Obama said that the two sides need to “negotiate seriously and in good faith” and stressed his intention "to hold both sides accountable for actions that undermine trust during the talks,” according to a statement put out by the White House following the call.

Netanyahu: We will never divide Jerusalem During a speech marking Jerusalem Day, the prime minister said that Israel will continue to build and develop in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu turns to Bible in tussle over Jerusalem

Obama’s is the first administration to state explicitly that the Jewish presence in the parts of the city that the Jordanian occupiers vacated in 1967 is illegal and to actively oppose the building of Jewish housing even in existing Jewish neighborhoods in the city.

The Ministry of Planning of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) announced on Wednesday that the United States will provide the PNA 500 million U.S. dollars as a support for the year 2010.

Obama will have the US to join a UN advisory group with anti-Israel past: Alliance of Civilizations.  The Obama administration is preparing to join an international advisory group that the United States generally has shunned due to fears it would adopt anti-Israeli and anti-Western positions

Sixty Ninth Week in Office

As part of the continuing White House effort to assuage the American Jewish community of its pro-Israel credentials, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel met with a group of 15 rabbis from across the country

E. Jerusalem: Demolition orders for illegally constructed Arab homes in east Jerusalem are highly unlikely to go ahead in the near future, it emerged on Thursday, despite a recent announcement to the contrary by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch. The U-turn came after the US State Department sought clarifications over comments by Aharonovitch, who said on Wednesday that “police have no instructions to refrain from carrying out the demolitions.

US Sends Israel Smart Bombs To Match Syrian Missiles For Hizballah

Interior Minister: Israel will never freeze construction in Jerusalem

White House Reports Two-Year Building Freeze in Ramat Shlomo

The Obama administration is looking for ways to build up "moderate elements" within the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla movement and to diminish the influence of hard-liners, a top White House official said on Tuesday.

Seventieth Week in Office

Palestinian negotiators have surprised Washington with a bold opening offer to White House peace envoy George Mitchell that includes concessions on territory beyond those offered in past Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, according to officials briefed on the current negotiations.

US envoy George Mitchell left Israel on Thursday afternoon, ending the second round of proximity talks, with each side claiming their contacts with the American mediator focused on something completely different.

Fatah does not rule out the possibility of resuming an ''armed struggle'' against Israel if the US-sponsored proximity talks fail

Obama Advisor: Warm Words for Saudi Arabia, Hizbullah- John Brennan, Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security, called Jerusalem “Al-Quds,” praised Saudi Arabian religious tolerance, and is encouraging of Hizbullah. Speaking to an apparently Muslim audience at New York University in February, at a forum co-hosted by the White House and the Islamic Center at New York University." Brennan first told a story in Arabic, evoking laughter and concluding with, “Don’t tell the folks who don’t speak Arabic what I said.” He then said that his favorite city in the Middle East is “Al Quds, Jerusalem.”

John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, met with Lebanese leaders during a recent visit. "Hezbollah is a very interesting organization," Brennan told a Washington conference

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and his family dined on seafood at an Eilat restaurant and left the bill for the Israeli Tourism Ministry, according to reports in Israeli media.

IDF Prepares for Potential Attack from US-Trained PA Military- The Kfir brigade, created December 2005 to deal with unrest in Israel’s Judea and Samaria regions, trained extensively in urban warfare and simulated a scenario in which IDF soldiers were pitted against the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority’s new American-trained military.

Rahm Emanuel invites Netanyahu to visit Obama.  Will allow an photo-op this time

Axelrod Says No Proof Sestak Received Illegal Job Offer

Seventy First Week in Office

Obama US stopped Israel from targeting Hizballah missile shipment

U.S. Trying to Deport Born-Again 'Son of Hamas' as Terrorist: The Department of Homeland Security is trying to deport the son of a Hamas founder who told of his conversion to Christianity and decade of spying for Israel in a New York Times best-seller. "Son of Hamas" author Mosab Hassan Yousef revealed on a blog hosted by his publisher he is scheduled to appear June 30 before Immigration Judge Rico J. Bartolomei at the DHS Immigration Court in San Diego. Yousef said the DHS informed him Feb. 23, 2009, he was barred from asylum in the U.S. because there were reasonable grounds for believing he was "a danger to the security of the United States" and "engaged in terrorist activity."

Netanyahu to ask Obama to block measures over Israel's nukesThe Israeli prime minister will meet with the U.S. president at the White House on Tuesday, after the U.S. backed a call for inspection of Israeli nuclear installations at the NPT Review Conference. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ask for clarifications about the U.S. position on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference when he meets with Obama at the White House on Tuesday.

Jerusalem Restricts Emanuel Bar Mitzvah Party; White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s son Zach will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah Sunday at the Davidson Center near the Western Wall but without catering or music.

Obama's Charm Offensive Masks Israel Policy Change: as Jewish leaders were meeting in the White House, the president's diplomatic team was busy in New York cutting a nuclear deal at the UN with Egypt and other Arab states that stabs Israel in the back. With U.S. support and endorsement, representatives of 189 nations adopted a nuclear non-proliferation declaration that calls for expedited action on a nuclear-free Mideast zone, with an international conference in 2012 to get this project moving to fruition.   But even before 2012, the declaration already calls on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and invite UN inspectors' full access to lay bare its nuclear activities.

Washington's unprecedented backing for a UN resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East that singles out Israel has both angered and deeply worried the Jewish state although officials are cagey about openly criticising their biggest ally

Hamas leader says American envoys making contact, but not openly

Netanyahu is canceling a scheduled meeting with Obama at the White House to return to Israel to deal with the fallout of the raid by Israeli forces to enforce the Gaza blockade on a flotilla of ships trying to run the blockade

Netanyahu, who is currently visiting Canada, stressed Monday that IDF troops were forced to use force against Gaza sail activists after they refused to cooperate and attacked the soldiers.

The White House on Monday said it "deeply regretted, and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy," said White House spokesman William Burton.

Obama’s close family friends, terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, and top campaign bundler Jodie Evans from Code Pink are top activists with the Gaza flotilla group that attacked the IDF today.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been privately asking foreign leaders to "dial down" criticism of Israel until all the facts of the flotilla attack are known

VIDEO: Sec. Hillary Clinton condemns the Israeli flotilla raid.

Hillary condemned the Israeli flotilla raid, but not the White House: The White House and lawmakers on Tuesday refrained from condemning a deadly Israeli attack on Gaza-bound ships carrying humanitarian aid.

The Obama administration appears to be rebuffing calls from some Jewish groups for the United States to be more assertive and public in defending Israel regarding the flotilla incident.

Vice President Joe Biden defended Israel's handling of the raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, departing from the Obama administration's posture of wait and see. Biden said Israel has an "absolute right" to defend its security interest

Obama offered Netanyahu guarantees that the U.S. would not let any decision made during the recent NPT review conference 'harm Israel's vital interests.'

An Israeli government official said the White House asked Netanyahu for concessions in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in exchange for U.S. opposition to the establishment of a United Nations commission to investigate Israel's commando raid of a flotilla earlier this week that resulted in the deaths of nine violent activists.

The Obama administration considers Israel’s blockade of Gaza to be untenable and plans to press for another approach to ensure Israel’s security while allowing more supplies into the impoverished Palestinian area, senior American officials said Wednesday.- describes flotilla defensive measures as a "deadly attack"

US to probe American death in Israeli raid- "We will look into the circumstances of the death of an American citizen, as we would do anywhere in the world at all times," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. Crowley declined to specify who is "evaluating the facts" surrounding the death of the dual US-Turkish national, whom he identified as Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old born in Troy, New York.

Obama is calling the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip "tragic" and says the loss of life that resulted was unnecessary. Obama stopped short of condemning the actions of Israeli forces, saying that the U.S. wants to wait for an investigation.

VIDEO: Obama advisor Brennan refers to Jerusalem as "Al Quds"

Seventy Second Week in Office

The White House is encouraging an Irish aid ship bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip to avoid a possible repeat confrontation with Israel and instead sail to the Israeli port of Ashdod to deliver its supplies.

The White House said on Friday Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip was unsustainable and urged a Gaza aid vessel sent by pro-Palestinian activists to divert to an Israeli port to reduce the risk of violence.

The United States continues to supply weapons and other security systems to Lebanon's security forces amid rising tensions with Israel

VIDEO: Helen Thomas Mocks Gibbs Over White House's Lack Of Condemnation Of Israel's Act Of War

VIDEO: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today called anti-Jewish remarks by Helen Thomas “reprehensible”

Controversial remarks about Israel by veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas drew sharp criticism from the Obama administration on Monday

The United States has asked Israel to investigate an incident in which an American woman lost an eye after being shot by Israeli forces with a tear gas canister during a pro-Palestinian protest in Jerusalem

Obama-Hamas connection?

In less than a week, the Obama administration left Israel hanging out to dry three separate times: UN Security Council, the administration succumbed to the rush to criticize Israel in a statement, at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva it failed to sway opinion, and at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, the United States joined the consensus on a statement condemning Israel

The Netanyahu government’s attitude to the United States shows it is “waiting for President [Sarah] Palin, an Obama official reportedly told Peter Beinart, writing for the Atlantic Monthly news site.

Under Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation

Obama has updated America's official vision of Israel's future to stress that the Jewish state must ensure equal rights for Israeli Arabs

White House rejected Israeli intel, blocked use of anti-riot gear against flotilla: Diplomatic sources said the White House rejected Israeli intelligence assessments that the six-ship flotilla contained weapons and Islamist fighters trained to resist any boarding operation.

Seventy Third Week in Office

Obama Administration to Support Anti-Israel Resolution at UN Next Week

US officials on Friday denied reports that the Obama administration plans to support the establishment of an international UN-monitored commission to investigate last week's flotilla raid.

Was the White House involved in the Israeli Flotilla incident?  Speculation grows of White House involvement to create an event to force Israel to capitulate to Obama concessions.  Implications of a conspiracy.

Seventy Fourth Week in Office

The White House welcomed Israel's new rules for its land embargo, which has drawn heightened international criticism since a deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. "We believe that the implementation of the policy announced by the government of Israel today should improve life for the people of Gaza," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Another crisis between the Netanyahu and Obama administrations looms over housing in Jerusalem, this time because of Jerusalem’s plan to wreck 22 illegally built Arab homes to make way for an archaeological park. The Jerusalem municipality proposal also calls for making legal 66 other Arab buildings built without permits.The U.S. State Department said Monday afternoon it is “concerned” over the plan that “we think undermines the trust that is fundamental in making progress to the proximity talks and ultimately in direct negotiations.”

There are profound differences between the Obama administration and Israel when it comes to the perception of the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran

Seventy Fifth Week in Office

Rashad Hussain, Obama’s special envoy to the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Saudi-based body formed in 1969 to “protect” Jerusalem from the Israelis, announced a new title this week for Obama. According to Hussain, Obama is America’s “Educator-in-Chief on Islam.”

Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, painted a dark picture of U.S.-Israeli relations during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem last week. Israeli diplomats say Oren described the current situation as a "tectonic rift" in which Israel and the United States are like continents drifting apart.

The Obama administration is still not saying what it will do if and when the U.N. calls for another international investigation into the Gaza flotilla incident.

A senior Hamas figure said Friday that official and unofficial US sources have asked the Islamist group to refrain from making any statements regarding contacts with Washington, this following reports that a senior American official is due to arrive in an Arab country in the coming days to relay a telegram from the Obama Administration.

Israel is trying to prevent a big defense contract between the United States and Saudi Arabia from going through.   The deal includes the purchase of scores of new F-15 fighter jets and the upgrading of the 150 F-15s already in the Saudi air force. Israel expressed a number of reservations to the Americans over the past month, and the issue is expected to come up in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meetings in Washington on Tuesday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak raised the deal in meetings with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and National Security Advisor General Jim Jones two weeks ago in Washington. Israel also made its reservations clear at a meeting in Tel Aviv between top Israeli defense officials and a delegation led by U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy.

An Obama-linked public relations firm has taken on a new job: Making Israel look bad on behalf of Qatar.  Fenton Communications is working with Qatar on the Al Fakhoora project – an Internet campaign dedicated to breaking Israel's blockade of Hamas in Gaza.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is relying on former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s initiative as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu flies to Washington. White House officials refuse to comment on former President George W. Bush’s written promises to Israel.

The Bush letter to Israel, no confirmation by the Obama administration on its definitions of borders

Obama has approved military sales to three Arab League states in advance of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that the settlement freeze will not continue

Senior White House officials say there is "absolutely no rift" between the United States and Israel as President Barack Obama prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday

Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked Tuesday to dispel rumors of a U.S./Israeli rift.

White House Meeting Over, Obama Avoids Question on Freeze

Photo: Netanyahu goes through the White House back door again.  Greeted by staffer.

VIDEO: Obama Bristles at Reporter’s Question on if His “Distancing from Israel” was a Mistake

Obama backs down from his position: tells Binyamin Netanyahu that the United States will not encourage a Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference unless all countries "feel confident that they can attend” and on condition that Israel is not singled out.

 Obama is 'still evil,' say Israeli lawmakers

Obama said in an Israeli TV interview broadcast on Thursday it is highly unlikely the Jewish state would surprise Washington with an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. "

Obama: Israelis suspicious of me because my middle name is Hussein

Obama to Abbas: I will make every effort to ensure Palestinian statehood-  U.S. President calls Abbas days after meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu to voice support for Palestinian leadership.

Jerusalem’s planning commission ended the de facto building freeze Monday night by approving building 32 new housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev, where 50,000 Jews lives in the northeastern part of the city.

Obama has rejected another Israeli request for advanced combat platforms. Diplomatic sources said Obama refused a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israeli access to a proposed stealth variant of the F-15E fighter-jet.

Seventy Eigth Week in Office

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday criticized US President Barack Obama for failing to provide him with clear answers to a number of questions regarding the future of peace talks with Israel. Abbas also confirmed that Obama has been exerting pressure on him to enter direct negotiations with Israel.

U.S. upgrades status of Palestinian mission in Washington ... on the 9th of Av

Seventy Ninth Week in Office

Abbas: Obama Promised Continued Construction Freeze

PLO Flag to Fly in Washington D.C.

Obama appointee Donald Berwick is heavily involved in the anti-Israel Physicians for Human Rights organization

Obama was behind British Prime Minister Cameron's attack on Israel

Eightieth Week in Office

Obama Reaches Out to Jews, Excludes Pro-Yesha Zionists

Israel blames U.S., France for arming Lebanon

Eighty First Week in Office

'Investigate US aid to Lebanese army'- A Florida congressman is seeking an investigation into whether American equipment was used by Lebanese forces who fired on Israel last week or if the soldiers had received US-funded training

The Obama administration plans to sell advanced F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia

State Dept. delayed 24 hours to condemn recent Lebenese attack at Israel border

The Spanish Government decides to Fund Freeze Continuation Campaign for building on the Israeli West Bank... right around the time Michelle Obama is in Spain

The Obama administration, citing evidence of continued troubles inside Iran’s nuclear program, has persuaded Israel that it would take roughly a year — and perhaps longer — for Iran to complete what one senior official called a “dash” for a nuclear weapon

Eighty Third Week in Office

Obama's recess appointment, Dr. Donald Berwick, to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is a key figure in Physicians for Human Rights, an international organization that in recent years has been an aggressive and dishonest critic of Israel.

WH Visitor Logs Suggest J Street Contributed To U.S.-Israel Diplomatic Crisis J Street representatives met with the Obama administration frequently during the flare-up resulting from Joe Biden's visit to Israel.

The controversial imam behind a proposal  to build an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero has advocated a plan that is widely regarded here as promoting the eradication of Israel as a Jewish state.

Eighty Fourth Week in Office

Obama will visit Jerusalem in coming months to press for a Middle East peace deal to be signed this year and implemented within a decade, according to a leaked White House report.

Are U.S. tax officials punishing Zionists who won't toe the White House line? Right-wing Z-Street sues IRS over claims it withheld tax breaks because campaigners' policies clashed with Obama's: 'This is a clear violation of the First Amendment.'

Obama 'to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah to press for peace'

Israel rabbi remarks on Palestinians 'deeply offensive': US

US Funds Left-Wing Palistinian Authority ‘Peace Partner’ PR Campaign

Jews killed on road where Obama demanded removal of checkpoints

On the eve of Middle East peace talks set to get underway at the White House Wednesday, the White House has condemned the attack Tuesday claimed by Hamas that killed four Israelis near Hebron, in the West Bank., then says..."We note that the Palestinian Authority has condemned this attack,"

The United States will not participate in a joint military exercise hosted by Turkey if Israel is not invited to join, a US embassy spokesperson said, according to a Wednesday report by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

Obama press conference on the second day of Rosh Hashana

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