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The Obama administration keeps making big mistakes that have a devastating effect on its own goals and interests. What is most amazing is how the implications of its actions are just not understood. Already, the current US policy has destroyed any chance not only of progress on the Israel-Palestinian front but of even holding talks at all. Let's review the situation. Israel announced in 1993, at the time of the Oslo Accords with the PLO, that it viewed construction on existing settlements as completely in line with the agreement. The Palestinians, during the ensuing 16 years, never made this a...

Dsvid Littman, 75, was awarded the Order of "Hero of Silence" last Summer 2009 by the Israeli Mossad for having been an undercover volunteer helping 500 children leave Morocco clandestinely in 1963. The Order of "Hero of Silence" is a very rare award. Only nine people have received it, seven whose identities remain classified. "drzz.info" obtained exclusive photographs of this private event taking place at the heart of Israel's intelligence community and featuring Ephraim Halevy, the Mossad's former director general, and the current Mossad's deputy director whose face has been "blacked" for confidentiality restrictions.

November 17, 2009 US Fury As Israel Approves 900 New Housing Units In Gilo Settlement James Hider in Jerusalem Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, has had strained relations with President Barack Obama 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”. Britain also condemned the controversial decision by Israel to go ahead with the major construction project in Gilo, which was built on land conquered in the 1967 war, calling the move “wrong.” The dispute brought...

"There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and any unilateral attempts outside that framework will unravel the existing agreements between us and could entail unilateral steps by Israel," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a high level gathering of Israeli and American policy makers at the Saban Forum in Jerusalem on Sunday night.

Joel Brinkley is a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times and now a professor of journalism at Stanford University Now we can say, with no real doubt, that the Obama administration has suffered its first major foreign-policy failure, and it's hard to see a way to recover. In fact, the administration's Mideast strategy has been nothing short of a debacle, borne of inexplicable naivete. Couldn't they see that presidents going back more than two decades had asked Israeli and Arab leaders to make exactly the same "gestures" - and none of those presidents had succeeded? Certainly it is...

Once again, US President Barack Obama has demonstrated his intention of "putting light" between America and Israel. His hostility towards Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during the latter's visit to Washington this week was breathtaking. It isn't every day that you can see an American President leaving the Prime Minister of an allied government twisting in the wind for weeks before deciding to grant him an audience at the White House.

Once again, US President Barack Obama has demonstrated his intention of "putting light" between America and Israel. His hostility towards Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during the latter's visit to Washington this week was breathtaking. It isn't every day that you can see an American President leaving the Prime Minister of an allied government twisting in the wind for weeks before deciding to grant him an audience at the White House.

If a photograph is worth a thousand words, a sharp newspaper cartoon is often worth the book. One Israeli cartoonist depicts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the missus arriving at the White House to meet with Barack Obama. Mrs. Netanyahu knocks at the front door with the explanation, "We just happened to be in the neighborhood." Another cartoon depicts the prime minister pulling up at the White House, and telling the driver to wait: "I'm not sure they're at home." With a few strokes of pen and brush, the cartoonists capture the prevailing Israeli dismay, frustration and controlled fury at...

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. Speaking at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington on Monday, Netanyahu urged the Palestinians to resume peace talks with Israel, but failed to offer any new commitment regarding the settlements, which the Palestinians have demanded be halted as a precondition for talks, nor did he present any new terms...

JERUSALEM – 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. Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. last weekend to address a convention of Jewish leaders. The prime minister's office had for weeks attempted to schedule a meeting with Obama, but no meeting was officially confirmed until Netanyahu was already on a plane on his way to Washington, sources in Netanyahu's office said. The only photos available to the media so far have been pictures of Netanyahu...

First, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to jump through hoops just to get a meeting with US President Barack Obama. When they did meet on Monday, the contents of their talks were either so negative or so classified that a near-total media blackout was placed on the gathering. Netanyahu left Israel for Washington on Sunday to attend and address the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. Weeks earlier, he had requested to meet with Obama during the visit, a typical occurrence any time an Israeli leader travels to the US. But this time, the Obama...

First, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to jump through hoops just to get a meeting with US President Barack Obama. When they did meet on Monday, the contents of their talks were either so negative or so classified that a near-total media blackout was placed on the gathering. Netanyahu left Israel for Washington on Sunday to attend and address the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. Weeks earlier, he had requested to meet with Obama during the visit, a typical occurrence any time an Israeli leader travels to the US. But this time, the Obama...

US efforts to revive the Middle East process floundered on Tuesday after President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held closed-door talks amid signs of friction. The two went into talks with the United States having renewed its opposition to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu left the White House after spending an hour and 40 minutes, without making the customary public appearance with the US president. "The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues," the White House said in a brief statement. "The president and prime...

After months of attempting to arrange a meeting with President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was finally about to secure one. There was a delay, however, in the date of the meeting as the Obama Administration sought to establish pre-conditions on the part of Israel before actually holding the meeting.

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 -- a rare occurrence. The meeting had been grudgingly scheduled early Sunday morning by the White House just a few hours before Netanyahu was to leave for the U.S. to speak at the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The ninth-hour appointment was a clear sign that relations between Washington and Jerusalem remain strained; Netanyahu had requested the meeting weeks ago. Also in attendance for part of the meeting was Defense...

(IsraelNN.com) 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 -- a rare occurrence. The meeting had been grudgingly scheduled early Sunday morning by the White House just a few hours before Netanyahu was to leave for the U.S. to speak at the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The ninth-hour appointment was a clear sign that relations between Washington and Jerusalem remain strained; Netanyahu had requested the meeting weeks ago. Also in attendance for part of the meeting was...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared that he wanted to immediately resume negotiations with the Palestinians Monday and rejected the charge that he wasn't interested in reaching an agreement. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addresses the 2009 General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America on Monday. Photo: AP "We need to move toward peace with a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose," Netanyahu told the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly during a trip to Washington. "My goal is not negotiations for the sake of negotiations; My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel...

Concerns are growing in Israel's government over the possibility of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders, a move which could potentially be recognized by the United Nations Security Council. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently asked the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to veto any such proposal, after reports reached Jerusalem of support for such a declaration from major European Union countries, and apparently also certain U.S. officials. The reports indicated that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over U.S. recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Such recognition...

WASHINGTON -- The Palestinians had hoped they would see a new day coming after the Bush administration’s eight-year capitulation to all that Israel wanted. But they were wrong. The Obama administration is moving down the same Bush road -- perhaps a little slower -- but nonetheless still enabling the Israelis to continue to violate international law and the U.N. Charter by annexing occupied Arab land. First, the new administration made it clear that U.S. policy opposed new Jewish settlements on the West Bank. This declaration was met with a thumping rejection from the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Then,...

(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has sent multiple messages to United States President Barack Obama threatening to quit, Channel 10 news reported Monday night. Abbas blamed Israel and the U.S. for pushing him to desperation, saying negotiations with Israel were at a stand-still and Obama had “abandoned” him. Abbas also mentioned the serious hit to his popularity caused by the delay of a United Nations vote on the Goldstone Report. The report accused Israel of war crimes in connection with the three-week Cast Lead counterterror offensive in Gaza. Obama responded to the threats by calling Abbas and calming him,...

It would be a boost in the arm for both of them. Not that they need it but they are birds of a feather.

Leah Rabin, the late widow of assassinated premier Yitzhak Rabin, used words such as "nightmare," "monstrosity," "corrupt" and "liar" to describe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in letters she wrote over a decade ago that have recently been obtained by Haaretz.

(IsraelNN.com) A major meeting of the Jewish Agency is set for Sunday. The crowd will be addressed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Natan Scharansky, the new chairman of the board of the Jewish Agency, will address the group for the first time. Discussions at the meeting will include the fate of Jewish education in the Diaspora, development of a a "new paradigm" relationship between Israel and the Diaspora, efforts to increase aliyah, and methods of helping to develop Israeli society.

Israel says PM did not consult Obama ahead of trip because meeting on peace process unnecessary. WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to visit Washington for the annual UJC General Assembly has surprised many on Capitol Hill and was apparently not coordinated with the Obama administration. An American source told Ynet Sunday that news of the visit had been received with reserved astonishment. The Obama administration has not yet responded to questions of whether a meeting with Netanyahu was forthcoming due to their surprise over the unscheduled visit. On the other hand, failure to invite Netanyahu to the White...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said Iran must agree to stop all uranium enrichment in any deal with world powers. The UN nuclear watchdog and world powers headed by the United States are trying to reduce Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium in return for supplying a medical reactor. They hope the deal will build trust on the way to persuading Iran to give up uranium enrichment, which they fear is part of an atomic weapons program, even though Iran says the uranium will only fuel power stations. "The crucial thing is that the international community pressure...

MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin congratulated on Wednesday the Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his 60th birthday, a Kremlin spokesman said. Medvedev reiterated Russia's intentions "to contribute actively to the settlement of a fair and solid peace in the Middle East on the basis of equal and safe security for all states and nations in the region." Putin praised what he described as a "constructive and open dialogue" between the two countries. "I am committed to enhancing further the cooperation between our countries' governments," the Russian premier said.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the presidential “Facing Tomorrow" conference Tuesday night that the world must end its dependence on oil "that strengthens terror and damages planet Earth.” He said that the dependence on “black gold” raises the price of oil and stunts economic growth in Africa and other poor areas of the world, as well as in developed countries.

Israel is planning to carry out military attacks in Iran after December, a French magazine reported Thursday overnight. According to a report in Le canard enchainé quoted by Israel Radio, Jerusalem has already ordered from a French food manufacturer high-quality combat rations for soldiers serving in elite units and also asked reservists of these units staying abroad to return to Israel. The magazine reports further that in a recent visit to France, IDF Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told his French counterpart Jean-Louis Georgelin that Israel is not planning to bomb Iran, but may send elite troops to conduct...

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed never to allow Israeli leaders or soldiers to stand trial on war crimes charges over their actions during last winter's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, furiously denouncing a U.N. report in a keynote address to parliament. Netanyahu's fiery rhetoric — and his decision to open the high-profile speech with remarks on the report — reflected the deep distress felt among Israeli leaders after a U.N. commission accused Israel of intentionally harming civilians when it launched a massive attack in Gaza to stop years of rocket fire. "This distorted report, written...

Muslim "extremists” are “spreading lies” by alleging that Israel is digging underneath the Temple Mount to cause the collapse of the mosques, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Cabinet Monday morning. The Arab world, including the Palestinian Authority, has increasingly accused Israel of the same charges over the past several years, and many Muslim and Arab leaders have told the Arab world that the Temples never existed.

TEL AVIV – Senior Palestinian Authority officials told WND the Obama administration offered their group guarantees that the U.S. would pressure Israel over a Palestinian state in exchange for the PA's withdrawal of support for immediate U.N. action over an investigation claiming Israel committed war crimes. The PA officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND the guarantees include pressing Israel to agree to a two-year timetable to negotiate a Palestinian state set along the pre-1967 lines – meaning a state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem. The officials said the Obama administration hopes to...

Jerusalem - A chosid he’s not—but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right at home at a bris whose honored guests included Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and several sidelock-sporting Orthodox men. After all, it was the bris of Netanyahu’s newest grandson, Shmuel, son of his daughter Noa, who became religious along with her husband Danny in recent years. Though not strictly Orthodox, Netanyahu is known to be respectful of Orthodox tradition. He follows in the footsteps of Israeli leaders like Ariel Sharon who paid reverential homage to Jewish Torah tradition by attending the circumcisions of their grandchildren. Before...

Netanyahu, has handed the Kremlin a list of Russian scientists believed by the Israelis to be helping Iran to develop a nuclear warhead. He is said to have delivered the list during a mysterious visit to Moscow.

Binyamin Netanyahu's UN speech last week was a masterpiece. It was frank, tough, emotional and most of all, very honest. Bibi pulled no punches as he called out the UN and its members for everything from sitting through the Iranian Despot's speech to the biased Goldstone report. To Paraphrase Harry Truman, he did not give them hell, he told them the truth and they thought it was hell. Most of the Speech's coverage has described it as a shot across the bow of Iran.Nothing could be further from the truth, Bibi's speech was a shot across the bow of the...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had some harsh words for the world during the government meeting on Thursday, saying that if the international community endorses the Goldstone Report on Israel's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last winter, the peace process with the Palestinians, as well as the global war on terror, would be dealt a fatal blow. "In the next 24 hours a vote will be cast in Geneva within the UN Human Rights Council," Netanyahu told the ministers. "I remind you that this very council has adopted more resolutions targeting Israel than resolutions targeting all other 180 countries...

Kadima leader Tzipi Livni became the first Israeli politician to criticize Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s landmark speech to the United Nations in an interview she gave on Saturday afternoon to Channel 2. Livni said that Netanyahu made a mistake when he invoked the horrors of the Holocaust in his criticism of Holocaust-denying Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They needed to be reminded about the UN Charter, or at least they needed to be be shown up as hypocrites. And that is exactly what Netanyahu did! He also reminded them that the Jewish people hold a deed to the Land of Israel,...

In answer to one journalist who asked whether he might not be lending credibility to Ahmadenijad by addressing his denial of the Holocaust, Netanyahu chose to focus on a prescient experience he had with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, 25 years ago.

WASHINGTON -- It's amazing how simple moral clarity slices through the toxic drivel that has come to define the United Nations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strode into the world's billion-dollar debating society yesterday and, in calm, deliberate tones, reminded us all of the real purpose for the UN's existence -- so long forgotten. The day before, the UN hosted the leech from Libya, Moammar Khadafy. His rambling rant would have made him a laughingstock, except that he remains one of the world's greatest terror enthusiasts. Then came Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- the Iranian leader's second marquee speech at the UN in...

Israel is looking like the new leader of the Free World. The previous leader, the United States, resigned this role last week at the United Nations to take the position of global community organizer.

A true leader addresses a difficult topic in a challenging environment, and shines.

Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame? Have you no decency? A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place...

Israel PM Netanyahu’s Address to UN 64th General Assembly - Text, Video (Photo) Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN asks the world body "have you no shame" for hosting the Iran President who denies the Holocaust? Netanyahu reminds the world that England defended herself against Nazi rocket attacks by leveling cities in Europe while Israel went house to house in Gaza placing her own troops at risk to avoid civilian casualties. And it was Israel which was named as the aggressor by the UN for defending herself against Hamas terror rockets on her cities and towns. Why did...

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people. The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on...

General Debate of the 64th General Assembly Statement by H.E. Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of the State of Israel The United Nations, New York, 24 September 2009 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people. The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and...

The Wall Street Journal report on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech at the UN General Assembly today caught my attention: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a blistering attack on the floor of the United Nations Thursday on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying the hearing granted the Iranian president the night before amounted to a "disgrace of the U.N. charter." Mr. Netanyahu dramatically held up copies of minutes of the meeting of Nazi officials in 1942 where plans were made for the extermination of the Jews, as well as constructions plans of Nazi concentration camps. "Are these protocols lies?" he asked, waving...

Full Netanyahu UN Speech Part 1 of 4 Netanyahu Speech part 2 Netanyahu Speech part 3 Full Netanyahu UN Speech Part 4 of 4

SHALOM? How close is President Obama to Israel? The degree of his affection is subject to interpretation. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, suggested the relationship is tepid, telling the Politico that Mr. Obama does not appear to be a "true friend" to the Jewish nation. Some beg to differ, however. "Mr. Cantor has decided to position himself as the arbiter of who is and who isn't pro-Israel in this country. Setting aside Cantor's lack of sterling professional foreign-policy credentials, is it wise for him to set himself up as such a figure?" asks Ira N. Fornan, CEO of...

Mark Levin says, "I heard a leader at the United Nations today," in Benjamin Netanyahu. Mark added, "The Netanyahu speech was the speech our President should have given." (Audio after the jump.)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a blistering attack on the floor of the United Nations Thursday on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying the hearing granted the Iranian president the night before amounted to a "disgrace of the U.N. charter." Mr. Netanyahu dramatically held up copies of minutes of the meeting of Nazi officials in 1942 where plans were made for the extermination of the Jews, as well as constructions plans of Nazi concentration camps.

The speech given earlier today by Benjamin Netanyahu to the United Nations was one of the best I've heard a politician given in all the years I've been following politics. While I have no doubt the speech will be universally lauded for its excellence, the question remains just how much of a difference it will make. That remains an open question. Netanyahu delivered a powerful indictment over holocaust denial, Iranian aggression, and the UN's utter apathy in the face of it all.