U.S.-Israel Relations | The American Task Force on Palestine

Americans still favor Israelis to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Oren Kessler - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

Americans continue to view Israelis far more favorably than Palestinians, according to a poll released this weekend ahead of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US President Barack Obama. Seventy-one percent of Americans said they had positive views of Israel, compared with just 19% who said the same of the Palestinians, according to a Gallup poll conducted over the first week of February. Republicans were more likely to be well disposed toward Israel than independents or Democrats, with favorability ratings at 80, 71 and 65%, respectively.

Israel would be wise to listen to Obama's advice on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama didn't wait for his private meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to clarify his position on Iran's nuclear program. Speaking at the annual conference of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the U.S. leader urged everyone to set the war drums aside.

Obama and the Sanctity of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Mostafa Zein - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

When US Administrations translate sanctity into reality, they find only Israel, especially in times of presidential or parliamentary elections, when sanctity turns into financial and media support for this or that candidate, and when the hundreds of millions of dollars become the main voter. Barack Obama has not departed from this golden rule since he reached the White House. When he was a candidate for the presidency, he visited Israel. He wore the Jewish skullcap (kippah) during his visit to the holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.

The Emergency Committee for Israel Cries Wolf
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Yorker
by Connie Bruck - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

In the last few days, just before the highly-charged meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, and, also, the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting, where both Netanyahu and Obama were to address about fourteen thousand Israel supporters, the Emergency Committee for Israel moved into high gear.

Iran, Israel and the United States
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel share responsibility for the strains in their relationship. But there should be no doubt about Mr. Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security. When he warns that an Israeli attack on Iran could backfire, and that “there is still a window” for diplomacy, he is speaking for American and Israeli interests.

Obama assures Netanyahu on efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joby Warrick, Scott Wilson - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

President Obama sought to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but their meeting concluded with U.S. officials unsure whether the president had succeeded in persuading the Israelis to hold off on unilateral military action.

Olmert to address J Street conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yuval Karni - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will appear before the J Street organization at the end of the month, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday. The liberal advocacy group is scheduled to hold its annual conference in Washington at the end of March. The event will be attended by some 2,500 Jewish leaders, senior government officials and congressmen. Olmert will be the guest of honor and the main speaker at the event. J Street is considered a left-wing Jewish lobby which aims to promote a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel's brinkmanship, America's peril
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Doyle McManus - (Opinion) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am

Last week, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, confirmed a no-longer-surprising fact: the Pentagon has sent the White House a menu of options for going to war with Iran.

Obama’s unequivocal support for Israel won’t sway his diehard detractors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am

There are many people in both America and Israel who wouldn’t believe Barack Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security even if he sang Hatikvah, enlisted in the IDF and did reserve duty guarding an isolated West Bank outpost. These people are now dissecting the president’s speech to the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Sunday in a way that will offer incontrovertible proof that it ranks a close second after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s pledge to wipe Israel off the map.

Obama and Netanyahu to meet under the shadow of Iran and their own histories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- As if their own fraught history and the prospect of a nuclear Iran weren’t enough, Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu will bring to their meeting on Monday each nation’s vexing and at times self-contradictory relationship with war. Obama, facing what could be a tough re-election battle, must reconcile dueling American impulses: to stand up to bullies and to keep away from protracted bloody involvements overseas.

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