Tag Archives: Binyamin Netanyahu

“I … am in the position to grant nothing”

Posted on 08/31/2010 by Soccerdad

Via Daily Alert blog. An article in the UAE’s the National Abbas is a man in exile, even among his own All Palestinian political factions, bar one, have denounced the direct talks, some in harsher language than others. Only Fatah, … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, palestinian politics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Instransigence: a single use word

Posted on 03/09/2010 by Soccerdad

The Washington Post reports: Mitchell, who in January boasted that a peace deal could be done within two years, said he hoped the indirect talks would lead to direct negotiations as soon as possible and encouraged the parties “to refrain … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Constants and variables in the Middle East

Posted on 12/16/2009 by Soccerdad

Ethan Bronner writes about Israeli PM Netanyahu: After a long career supporting Israeli settlements in occupied land and rejecting Palestinian statehood, Mr. Netanyahu said last June that he accepted the two-state idea. Three weeks ago, he imposed a 10-month freeze … Continue reading →

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3 questions on the freeze

Posted on 12/10/2009 by Soccerdad

A few weeks ago when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced a freeze on construction in Judea and Samaria, there were a couple of points in his favor. According to Evelyn Gordon it helped Netanyahu shore up his political support. … Continue reading →

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It’s not in Israel’s hands

Posted on 06/18/2009 by Soccerdad

Meryl writes The unnoticed intransigence vs. the supposed intransigence, which analyzes a recent AP report about the Middle East. Meryl observes: If you read only the mainstream media reports on Israel, you come away thinking that it is the Israelis … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, palestinian politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

If you do it for us, we don’t have to

Posted on 06/15/2009 by Soccerdad

Isabel Kershner reports Netanyahu backs Palestinian state with caveats: But beyond the idea of a state, he seemed to offer little room for compromise or negotiation. … “Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about negotiations, but left us with nothing to negotiate as … Continue reading →

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The media’s anti-bibi brigades

Posted on 06/01/2009 by Soccerdad

One aspect of reporting on ties between Israel and the United States is to look for exaggerations in the extent of the rift between the two countries. We will see a lot of this in the coming years as journalists … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Media Bias | Tagged | Comments Off

Unsettling

Posted on 05/28/2009 by Soccerdad

The Washington Post reported the other day that the United States is pushing Israel to stop all “settlement” activity. And that PM Netanyahu caught flack on the topic from an unexpected source: formerly pro-Israel Congressmen: During meetings with congressional leaders … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 6 Comments

Working together

Posted on 05/22/2009 by Soccerdad

While some folks thought it was fun to tally up the points Bibi and Barack scored against one another, it appears that they actually did some things of substance. For one thing it appears that apart from Secretary of State … Continue reading →

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The sport of Bibi bashing

Posted on 05/21/2009 by Soccerdad

There’s something tasteless about headlining a “news analysis” Keeping score on Obama vs. Netanyahu (via memeorandum), but I suppose there will be a lot of this over the next three or four years as the media try to score points … Continue reading →

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The settlement panacea

Posted on 05/20/2009 by Soccerdad

In Upping the ante on Israel, David Ignatius notes that President Obama has asked the Arab world to start normalization with Israel. To give Israel some quick tangible benefits, the United States wants the Arabs to begin normalizing relations with … Continue reading →

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War by other means

Posted on 05/18/2009 by Soccerdad

In Mideast Contest of wills, Jackson Diehl outlines the likely priorities of both President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Contrary to what it would like Iran and the rest of the world to believe, Israel would not attack Tehran’s nuclear … Continue reading →

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The coming confrontation?

Posted on 05/15/2009 by Soccerdad

For now I’m going to persist in my illusion that Binyamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama are not headed for a major showdown next week when they meet. Steve Rosen wrote: The commentariat and the blogs are full of predictions that … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel, Politics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

When Bibi meets Barack

Posted on 05/12/2009 by Soccerdad

I don’t doubt that Prime Minister Netanyahu will have a major challenge next week when he meets with President Obama. But the chances for his success are not insurmountable. The problems he goes in with are that the President has … Continue reading →

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An agenda for J-Street

Posted on 05/12/2009 by Soccerdad

Short New York Times editorial: When PM Netanyahu visits with President Obama, Netanyahu ought to listen to his superior and faithfully do all that the President, in his infinite wisdom, asks him to do. The NYT has a perfectly obnoxious … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Iranian priority

Posted on 05/04/2009 by Soccerdad

Ethan Bronner analyzes Israel’s foreign policy orientation in Israel Faces a Hard Sell in Bid to Shift Policy. The analysis begs two questions. The first is to what degree is there a difference between Israel and the Untied States? In … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel | Tagged | 1 Comment

An Israeli bull in the Iran shop?

Posted on 04/26/2009 by Soccerdad

Jim Hoagland fears that President Obama’s plans for the Middle East are imperiled by Israel. In An Israeli surprise for Obama?, Hoagland writes: The review cannot be completed until Obama has what may be his toughest meeting yet with a … Continue reading →

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Netanyahu and the Palestinian veto

Posted on 03/26/2009 by Soccerdad

Regarding Israel’s incoming Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, the New York Times observes: “I think that the Palestinians should understand that they have in our government a partner for peace, for security and for rapid development of the Palestinian economy,” said … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 1 Comment

Coalition coalescing

Posted on 03/25/2009 by Soccerdad

Last week Barry Rubin suggested that Binyamin Netanyahu’s agreement with Yisrael Beiteinu that included party head Avigdor Lieberman as Foreign Minister was a ploy and that we wouldn’t know the true makeup of the Israeli government until the beginning of … Continue reading →

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When extremism counts and when it doesn’t

Posted on 03/17/2009 by Soccerdad

The Washington Post reported on the murders of two Israeli policemen the other night. Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the shooting was being treated as a “nationalistic” attack, the phrase Israeli police occasionally use for political violence carried out … Continue reading →

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