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5/19/2009 9:58:38 PM 5/19/2009

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Fears in Israel of cooling US ties AFP, Jerusalem

The deep differences exposed during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meeting with US President Barac k Obama on Tuesday have stoked fears in Israel of cooling ties with its main ally. "Agreed to disagree," was the headline in the masscirc ulation Yediot Aharonot a day after the key Washington talks laid bare the disc ord on Middle East peac emaking and Iran. In the weeks prec eding the two leaders' first official meeting, Israeli newspapers had been filled with alarmist editorials that warned of a stark change of c ourse in US polic y towards Israel under Obama. Following the Oval Offic e encounter, some warned that the change of tone in Washington boded ill for the special relationship that Israel has enjoyed with its main bac ker over the years. "A new era has begun in relations between Israel and the United States," said Eytan Gilboa, a political sc ienc e professor at Bar-Ilan University. An editorial in the popular Ynet website wrote: "The honeymoon that lasted for dozens of years has apparently reached an end, and now, only now, will the normal life of the American-Israeli couple get under way." "Bibi's from Mars, Obama's from Venus," said another editorial in Ynet. In comments after their meeting, which inc luded a 90minute one-on-one session, Obama repeatedly underlined Washington's support for the c reation of a Palestinian state and said Israeli settlement ac tivities "have to be stopped." "There wasn't a single blister that Obama didn't step on," wrote Israel's sec ond largest daily, Maariv. Netanyahu again avoided c ommitting to the two- state solution or pledging to stop settlement activity, whic h his thedailystar.net/latest/updates.php?pid…

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5/19/2009 9:58:39 PM 5/19/2009

The Daily Star: Internet Edition Latest …

largely right-wing cabinet supports. In contrast to his predec essor George W. Bush, who was considered extremely sympathetic to Israel, Obama has vowed to pursue the peac e proc ess vigorously and has assembled a team experienc ed in the tric ky task of peacemaking in the volatile region. Obama's bac kground has also set him apart from his predec essors vis a vis Israel, analysts say. He has adopted a new approach that could mean a downgrading of sorts to the Jewish state's privileged position in US policy, they say. "The new Americ an president does not have a partic ular sentiment towards Israel," Gilboa said. "He is defending his interests and his global approac h to the Middle East, whic h inc ludes a rapproc hement with the Arab world at the expense of privileged relations with Israel. "If Netanyahu persists in his positions, there is a potential risk of confrontation that will translate into an enormous pric e for Israel," he said. Akiva Eldar, a veteran journalist with the liberal Haaretz daily, wrote: "I have never seen an official meeting in Washington that ended with so many differences being publicly expressed." Others dismiss the alarmist tone, however, saying that despite their differences the United States and Israel remain strategic allies. "For Israel, the Obama era has nothing to do with that of his predecessor George W. Bush, but the historic al American-Israeli ties, profound and numerous, c annot be put into question," said Gerald Steinberg, also a politic al sc ienc e professor at Bar- Ilan University. "We have to wait for the speech that Obama will give on June 4 in Cairo on his regional peac e approac h, but he has agreed with Netanyahu to admit to their differenc es in order to iron them out, and there is no question of pressure on Israel." Obama is due to present his regional polic y in what has been billed as a major address to the Muslim world in the Egyptian c apital on June 4.

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