Obama: ‘Bibi and I have a terrific, businesslike relationship’

Published on March 14, 2013

President Obama said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have "a terrific, businesslike relationship."

Netanyahu tackles tricky coalition-building

Published on February 7, 2013

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Thursday with Yair Lapid, the surprise runner-up in an election last month, to try to draw him into a broad government that could bridge Israel's religious divide.

Who is Yair Lapid? [VIDEO]

By JewishJournal
Published on January 22, 2013

Shmuel Rosner, Senior Political Editor of the Jewish Journal, speaks with Jewish Journal Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Rob Eshman about the results of the Jan. 23 Israeli election.

Two Israeli guest writers on the recent events

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on December 6, 2012

Computer woes force Likud to extend hours in primary vote

Published on November 25, 2012

Polls will remain open past midnight in Likud Party primary voting following computer malfunctions at several polling stations.

Netanyahu, the bomb and the Memes

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on September 28, 2012

Obama in rabbis call: No ‘space’ with Israel on Iran, but also no red lines

Published on September 14, 2012

President Obama told rabbis in a pre-Rosh Hashanah conference call that there is "no space" between the United States and Israel on Iran, but added that he would not make public a red line that could trigger a strike against Iran.

Can Mofaz influence Netanyahu?

Published on June 25, 2012

With his recent return to the top ranks of Israel’s government, Shaul Mofaz is receiving plenty of attention in high places for emphasizing renewed talk of peace with the Palestinians. It’s yet another high point in a relatively short political career — after 35 years of military service — that is making Mofaz a heavyweight on his country’s political scene.

Friends or foes?

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on June 8, 2012

Benzion Netanyahu: In life and death

Published on May 15, 2012

Two momentous events occurred recently in the life of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week, he dropped a bombshell on the Israeli public by forging, under the cloak of night, a coalition with Kadima, his party’s leading rival in the Knesset. This move, which forestalled early elections expected in September, demonstrated yet again Netanyahu’s formidable political skills, in this case by co-opting his most dangerous parliamentary foe.

Why the dumbest decision is also the wisest

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on May 9, 2012

With Obama and Bibi both running, is 2012 a replay of 1988 or 1992?

Published on May 1, 2012

If Israel goes to elections as expected this summer, will it be a replay of 1988 or 1992? Both Israeli election years also were American presidential election years, as 2012 is.

Bibi’s back on Time list of 100 most influential

Published on April 19, 2012

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made Time magazine's 2012 list of the 100 most influential people in the world for the second year in a row.

Bibi, Peres invoke Iran threat during Yom HaShoah ceremony

Published on April 18, 2012

Israel's prime minister and president invoked the Iranian threat during remarks at the annual Yom HaShoah ceremony at Yad Vashem.

Peres, Bibi bringing up Pollard release with Obama

Published on March 5, 2012

Israeli President Shimon Peres asked President Obama to release convicted spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard.

Obama offers Netanyahu assurances over Iran

Published on March 5, 2012

President Barack Obama, aiming to head off any premature Israeli strike on Iran, sought to assure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that the United States would always "have Israel's back" but said there was still time for diplomacy.

Barak to meet with Panetta in Washington

Published on February 27, 2012

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is traveling to Washington to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Leon Panetta, and other key U.S. security officials.

Arab Spring inflating Israel’s defense costs, Bibi tells U.S. Jewish leaders

Published on February 21, 2012

The Islamization of the Arab Spring movement has placed "enormous pressure" on Israeli defenses and progress in the peace process, Benjamin Netanyahu told American Jewish leaders.

Don’t strike Iran before Madonna concert, Facebook page begs Bibi

Published on February 13, 2012

A new Facebook page is calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from striking Iran's nuclear sites until after Madonna performs in Israel.

Bibi bypassing Cabinet on extending yeshiva students’ military service law

Published on January 26, 2012

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bring a vote on extending a law that allows yeshiva students to delay their military service directly to the Knesset floor, bypassing his Cabinet.

Bibi praises EU oil sanctions on Iran

Published on January 23, 2012

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Monday a European Union decision to place sanctions on Iranian oil exports, but said it was unclear if the move could thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "I think this is a step in the right direction," Netanyahu said at a meeting of his Likud faction in parliament.

Israeli, Palestinian negotiators agree to meet again

Published on January 4, 2012

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met face to face for the first time in more than a year and agreed to meet again.

Bibi expresses pride in Israel’s rights record

Published on December 8, 2011

Ahead of international Human Rights Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu burnished Israel's credentials.

Bibi calls for tougher sanctions on Iran

Published on November 23, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for stronger sanctions on Iran than those imposed this week by the United States, Britain and Canada to try to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Bibi and Abbas share Photoshopped smooch in Benetton ad

Published on November 17, 2011

A new Benetton ad campaign depicts Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas kissing each other.

Netanyahu comments on protests get music remix [VIDEO]

Published on August 1, 2011

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become the latest target of Israeli musician Noy Alooshe and his satirical music videos.

Bibi in Arab TV interview: Peace talks can be in Ramallah

Published on July 20, 2011

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an interview on an Arabic-language television station suggested Ramallah as a possible site for the immediate restarting of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Why isn’t J Street supporting Bibi?

Published on July 13, 2011

A little-noted announcement has slipped by everyone’s radar: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is ready immediately to restart negotiations without preconditions with Israel but that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “refused to return” to the peace table. Unbelievable, no?

Bibi warns protesters planning new border breach

Published on June 2, 2011

Palestinian protesters planning to breach Israel's borders again will be halted, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Netanyahu, speaking Thursday evening at a conference in Jerusalem, said Syria and Iran and the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups are behind the planned mass protests planned for Sunday.

Netanyahu: Israel cannot prevent UN recognition of Palestinian state

Published on May 30, 2011

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that no one can prevent the recognition of a Palestinian state in the United Nations in September.

Bibi’s Heckler: To Seize or Not to Seize

By Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
Published on May 25, 2011

U.S.: Hamas can’t be peace partner until it recognizes Israel

Published on May 24, 2011

The White House declared on Tuesday that a two state solution would be in the interest of both Israel and the Palestinians, but stressed that it would not view Hamas as a partner for peace until the Islamist movement recognizes Israel.

For Obama, Bibi tensions subside, political problems begin

Published on May 24, 2011

That Israel problem President Obama had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Old news. That Israel problem Obama has with Congress? And with his party? That's just beginning.

At AIPAC, effort to shift focus back to agenda: Iran, foreign aid, Capitol Hill relationships

By Ron Kampeas
Published on May 24, 2011

Let’s get past this U.S.-Israel relationship thing, so we can get on with important stuff, like the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Netanyahu at AIPAC: ‘Israel is America’s indispensable ally’

Published on May 23, 2011

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke at AIPAC Policy Conference Monday night, reassuring the public that Israel remains the United States' 'indespensible ally', despite his rejection of U.S. President Obama's call for a peace deal based on 1967 borders last week.

Is Obama good or bad for Israel?

By David Suissa
Published on May 23, 2011

During this latest episode of the long-running Israel-America reality show – which began Thursday with President Obama’s infamous “1967 lines” speech, followed by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s defiant response at the White House the next day, and, finally, Obama’s more conciliatory address at the AIPAC convention on Sunday-- I vacillated between my emotional “Sephardi hothead” side and my calmer “Ashkenazi tachlis” side.

Jewish groups plan ads for Bibi visit

Published on May 19, 2011

A number of Jewish groups are planning wide-reaching ads timed for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington. J Street paid for a full-page advertisement in Thursday's New York Times featuring an appeal by about 90 leading Israelis, including retired generals, noted scholars and prize laureates, calling on Israel to recognize Palestinian statehood and negotiate a deal with the Palestinians based on 1967 lines. The ad already has appeared in Hebrew in Israeli newspapers.

Speeches vs. reality

By Uri Dromi
Published on May 17, 2011

As I write these lines on May 17, the Middle East is caught between events and speeches. The events are the Arab spring, which actually started in December 2010, when a man burned himself to death in Tunisia, sparking a chain of pro-democracy uprisings all over the region; the skirmishes on the Israeli borders with Lebanon and Syria; the killing of Osama bin Laden; and the expected U.N. General Assembly motion in September, recognizing a Palestinian state. The speeches are the one President Barack Obama is delivering on May 19 (the day this newspaper appears in print) on the Middle East and North Africa, and three speeches by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: the one he gave in the Knesset on May 16, the one he will give on May 23 before the U.S. Congress, and, finally, the one he will deliver at AIPAC.

Obama and Bibi appear on same page

Published on May 17, 2011

Crush terrorists and then make peace. Through quirks of timing, it’s a narrative that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally can agree on when they meet this week in Washington.

Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day

Published on May 1, 2011

"Israel is the historical commemoration to the victims of the Holocaust," President Shimon Peres said at a Yad Vashem ceremony marking Yom Hashoah.

Letters to the Editor: Ryan vs. Obama, Bibi, Palestine and dancing rabbis

Published on April 26, 2011

It is very telling that in both of the articles criticizing Paul Ryan’s courageous budget proposal, many words (and much hand wringing) are expended defending existing entitlements that are bankrupting our nation but not one word addresses the unsustainable cost of these programs or how we will pay for their escalating costs (“Obama’s Way: Maintain Support for Social Programs” and “Threat to Food Stamps Lies Hidden in Ryan’s Plan,” April 22).

Bibi needs a plan, fast

By David Suissa
Published on April 12, 2011

I had a lively debate with the founder of J Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, April 11 at Temple Israel of Hollywood, and as much as we disagreed sharply on many issues relative to Israel, there was one item on which we were in complete agreement: The Palestinians’ steady march toward unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September is a disaster-in-waiting for Israel.

Justin Bieber Didn’t Decline Meeting with Israeli Children

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on April 12, 2011

Bibi cancels Bieber meeting over reported snub of beleaguered kids

Published on April 12, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly has canceled a meeting with pop star Justin Bieber after the singer refused to meet with children from southern Israel.

Netanyahu to answer questions on YouTube

Published on March 15, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will answer questions from people around the world when he appears on YouTube's World View. Netanyahu will be the third world leader to appear on the citizen-powered interview program with his live-streamed interview on March 23.

The Itamar murders: Double incitement

Published on March 15, 2011

You've got to hand it to Bibi Netanyahu, who somehow managed to turn international outrage over the brutal massacre of a young Jewish family on the Shabbat as they slept in their beds into widespread criticism of his aggressive settlement policy. The most frequent question I get in speaking to Jewish groups around the country is "Why doesn't Israel get better PR advice?" The answer is simple: the problem isn't PR, it's policy and the way it's announced to the world.

With pressure mounting, will Bibi go left or right?

Published on March 14, 2011

Israel is staring at a fork in the road, with potential disaster along either path. On the path to the left lies a major Israeli peace initiative that deals with all the core issues under dispute with the Palestinians. On the path to the right lies more waiting, possibly with some kind of offer of an interim peace agreement with the Palestinians, until conditions are right for something more.

Bibi sends Obama letter requesting Pollard release

Published on January 4, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neyanyahu wrote President Obama urging clemency for Jonathan Pollard. "At the time of his arrest, Jonathan Pollard was acting as an agent of the Israeli government," Netanyahu wrote in his letter, sent Tuesday. "Even though Israel was in no way directing its intelligence efforts against the United States, its actions were wrong and wholly unacceptable. Both Mr. Pollard and the Government of Israel have repeatedly expressed remorse for these actions, and Israel will continue to abide by its commitment that such wrongful actions will never be repeated." Netanyahu read his letter Tuesday evening to a Knesset plenum discussion. His letter, Israel's first formal request for Pollard's release, came a day after similar urgings from over 500 clergy in a letter to Obama.

Clergy, Bibi urge Pollard release

Published on January 4, 2011

More than 500 clergy signed a letter to President Obama urging clemency for Jonathan Pollard. The letter was delivered a day before Prime Minister Benjanim Netanyahu reportedly sent a letter to Obama issuing a formal clemency request. Netanyahu was scheduled to read his letter Tuesday evening to a Knesset plenum discussion. "After more than two and a half decades in prison, Mr. Pollard's health is declining," reads the letter sent Monday from rabbis representing all streams, as well as a number of leading Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy. "He has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, and by all accounts has served as a model inmate. Commuting his sentence to time served would be a wholly appropriate exercise of your power of clemency -- as well as a matter of basic fairness and American justice. It would also represent a clear sense of compassion and reconciliation -- a sign of hope much needed in today's world of tension and turmoil."

Obama-Netanyahu meeting looks good, but what did they talk about? [VIDEO]

Published on July 6, 2010

The optics were perfect, but the meaning was elusive.

Bibi’s Next Move

By David Suissa
Published on April 13, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Mahmoud Abbas “bamboozled” Benjamin Netanyahu by playing hard to get and refusing to come to the
peace table. Abbas’ move precipitated an unfortunate tug of war between the United States and Israel, as the new Obama administration, eager to win favor with the Arab world, pressed Israel for more and more concessions to get the talks going.

Survey: Jews back Obama, Bibi

Published on April 9, 2010

A solid majority of American Jews support Barack Obama's and Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of U.S.-Israeli relations, according to a new survey.

Bibi: Rahm Emanuel is a “self-hating Jew”

Published on July 9, 2009

At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off. In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference at the Knesset that was slated to begin in 15 minutes. This was the start of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's panicked, disproportionate response to the criticism senior Kadima politicians had leveled at him three hours earlier.

The day after Bibi and Barack: Depends who you ask

Published on May 20, 2009

Not even 24 hours had passed and already the Obama-Netanyahu summit was assuming Rashomon-type qualities, with partisans reading their own fears and beliefs into the encounter.

Bibi gets his first date thrill, but what about the relationship?

Published on May 19, 2009

With a presidential pledge to hang tough on Iran under his belt, Benjamin Netanyahu could be forgiven for thinking Barack Obama was an easy first date.

Wait until he hears about what happens when the relationship gets serious.

Obama-Bibi: The Preview

Published on May 18, 2009

The pundits and papers are weighing in as Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu get set for their first White House meeting:

AIPAC gets ripped from both sides as it navigates Bibi-Obama gaps

Published on May 7, 2009

As Olmert Exits, Creeping Doubts About His Ouster

Published on March 31, 2009

After finally leaving office this week, Ehud Olmert will have his hands full fighting the corruption charges against him.

LABOR JOINING BIBI: Kosher Stamp or Fig Leaf?

Published on March 24, 2009

Depending on one’s interpretation, Labor’s decision to join Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition grants Israel’s incoming government either a kosher seal of approval or a fig leaf to disguise a right-wing agenda.

Briefs: Secular candidate new Jerusalem mayor, Netanyahu would nix talks

Published on November 13, 2008

Secular businessman Nir Barkat appeared to be the new mayor of Jerusalem, according to exit polls.