In his major address to the Muslim world in Cairo today, President Obama once again argued that the freezing of Israeli settlements was a central element to achieving peace in the Middle East.
"Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's," said Obama. "The United States Read More
Representative Eliot Engel expects the Obama administration to call him sometime over the next week to enlist his support in a new effort to exert tougher and more public pressure against Israeli settlements.
He said they won't like his answer.
"What concerns me, frankly, about both the statements of the secretary of state Read More
Back in February, soon after Gillibrand's appointment to replace Hillary Clinton–and right around the time the Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu was forming a new government in Israel–she went further than most Democrats in the Read More
If you haven’t heard of J Street, you’re not alone. The self-styled “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group was launched a year ago, but it’s mostly toiled in the formidable shadow of AIPAC, the half-century-old lobbying powerhouse that has long been regarded as the voice of the American Jewish community on matters relating to Israel—and that, Read More
Last month, both defenders and critics of Israel predicted that a new hard-line coalition government in Israel would prompt a more vigorous political debate about Israeli policies here in the United States.
At the time, some supporters of Israel argued that an Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, an opponent of a two-state Read More
The composition of the new Israeli governing coalition under Benjamin Netanyahu, a peace-process skeptic, has raised questions about just how far the Obama administration will be willing to push America's Middle East ally, if necessary, toward negotiations.
In a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel released a few Read More
Will the rise of an Israeli government led by an opponent of the peace process make it more politically acceptable in America to criticize Israel?
Abraham Foxman says yes.
"It's already changed," said Mr. Foxman, whose position as national director of the Anti-Defamation League makes him the media's go-to person for quotes on perceived anti-Israel Read More
Notwithstanding the concerns some pro-Israel supporters have expressed in recent days about the tone of her statements, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has gone about the business of being a forceful diplomat, promising yesterday to engage in "aggressive diplomacy with all sides" in the Middle East to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza.
Today, Read More
It now looks likely that Benjamin Netanyahu will lead the next governing coalition in Israel after receiving the conditional support today of Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party.
That is likely to make life more difficult for the Obama administration, which is in favor of the two-state solution that Read More
In a story in today's Observer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand suggests that she'll play an assertive role in the Senate on Middle East policy, indicating at one point a hypothetical willingness to push a Netanyahu-led Israeli government toward negotiations for a two-state solution.
In a phone interview yesterday, Gillibrand also showed herself to be seriously Read More
