U.S. and Israel Shift Attention -Sheryl Stolberg & Mark Landler
The meeting was laden with theatrics as the men shook hands vigorously in front of the cameras after a series of steps by the Israelis over the past few days to reduce tensions with the United States.
A single session in the Oval Office is not likely to have resolved a year and a half of deep policy differences. But on Tuesday, they sought to accentuate the positive.
[W]ith Democrats facing a tough time in the midterm elections in November, Mr. Obama has reasons for softening his public stance on Israel. Republican candidates have been courting Jewish voters, who ordinarily back Democrats, by trying to portray the president as anti-Israel.
And this time, Mr. Netanyahu was treated to a meal...
[New York Times]
New York Times Drops Bomb on Obama-Netanyahu Meeting -Uriel Heilman
With a White House meeting between Obama and Netanyahu scheduled for Tuesday, the New York Times did its best to complicate things with a lead story highlighting the use of U.S. tax-exempt funds in Jewish communities in the West Bank. The problem with this story is not errors of fact. Indeed, it's widely known and no secret that Americans can claim tax deductions for charitable donations to 501(c)3 organizations that contribute money to Jewish causes in the West Bank, from after-school programs for kids in Jerusalem's eastern suburbs to bullet-proof vests for security patrols in Jewish settlements.
But why run it as a double-column story with a two-page inside spread (complete with maps and online, interactive features) on the day Obama and Netanyahu meet? The Times positioned this story as if it's some big investigative scoop that requires response - presumably by U.S. authorities - when in reality it's an old and quite well-known story.
(JTA)
Keeping an Eye on the New York Times -Stephanie Gutmann
The Times admits that "Americans also take tax breaks in giving to pro-Palestinian groups," some of which channel money into ferocious anti-Israel incitement or recruit for blockade-busting flotillas staffed by men armed with knives and clubs, but the Times devoted only one paragraph to this side of the equation.
(National Review)
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UPDATES:
Don't Expect Obama Trip to Israel Any Time Soon
During Obama's meeting at the White House with Netanyahu, the Israeli leader publicly asked the president to visit Israel. Obama replied that he looked forward to it.
But on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that a trip is "not on the books for this year."
(AP-Washington Post)
When Obama Met Bibi - Rafael Bardaji
The current Israeli government is usually depicted in Washington as a radical, far-right demon, not ready to accept sacrifices in order to achieve the two-state solution, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
The Netanyahu government has made abundantly clear that it accepts the two-state solution and it has done the unthinkable - the announcement of a moratorium on further settlements.
The real problem here has not been Netanyahu, but actually the Palestinian Authority - always dissatisfied and always asking for more. The Americans should actually be twisting Abbas' arm.
(Strategic Studies Group-Spain)
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