(Jerusalem Post) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will return to Washington on July 6, a month after the Gaza flotilla incident caused him to cancel his previously scheduled visit. The reception is expected to be warm and public, a direct contrast to the last meeting, in March when Netanyahu was ushered in and out of the White House at night without so much as an official photo. The overture to Netanyahu is viewed as the administration officially burying the hatchet that ruptured relations between the two countries for much of the spring. It's a move that happens to coincide with the wishes of those American Jewish groups who argued that the public bad blood was bad for everybody, including America's efforts to move the peace process forward. Said one Jewish activist of White House officials, "They've come to the conclusion that they really do need the AIPACs, the ADL supporters....It's a statement on where the real power still is." William Daroff, director of the Jewish Federations of North America's Washington office, said, "The lesson here is that the administration needs to always keep in mind the need to communicate with the Jewish community and the pro-Israel community.... Despite what some people say, the most representative and most efficient vehicle for communicating with the Jewish community is through the national mainstream Jewish organizations." Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said, "I think they respect that we represent the great center of American Jewry," but stressed, "If the ideas we expressed had not been valid or persuasive, it would have had less effect."
2010-06-25 09:25:58Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive