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'Seemed at ease'
Photo: AFP

Bibi’s from Mars, Obama’s from Venus

Smiles cannot hide deep gaps between US president, Israeli prime minister

WASHINGTON - Something like this was unheard of in Barak Obama’s White House. Since his inauguration on January 20, the young president met with more than 50 heads of state, yet there is no precedent for such lengthy meeting. Not at a time where the American president is forced to deal with a plethora of grave problems that do not allow him to waste time on a meeting without taking a tough decision in its course.

 

Barack Obama changed the rules of the diplomatic game in Washington, in the spirit of his pledge for change during the election campaign. He received Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a tête-à-tête that ran for longer than expected, while shunning protocol. Overall, the two leaders spent four hours together, mostly on their own and some of the time with their aides.

 

Obama entered the meeting with Netanyahu convinced in his ability to develop a personal relationship of trust, which is critical for any progress. He decided to do the job on his own, and only let in the aides later to put things in order. Both leaders wanted us to think this was a successful meeting. Both of them have a clear interest in conveying a sense of success.

 

Obama said the talks were exceptionally productive. For Netanyahu it was important that it be understood that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. An Israeli prime minister cannot survive over time if the Israeli public thinks he is ruining the special relationship with the US.

 

Netanyahu and Obama seemed at ease as they sat next to each other in the Oval Office facing the journalists and photographers. They leaned towards each other and exchanges pleasant smiles. Yet positive body language cannot cover deep gaps, and these were revealed quickly.

 

Who will stop smiling first?  

The Iranian issue was at the focus of the meeting. Obama stressed that until the end of the year it will be clarified whether there is someone to talk to on the Iranian side. This is a partial achievement for Israel, to have an American president set a timetable, even though he rushed to clarify that he will not set a target date for the Iranians. Netanyahu said he left the meeting with Obama more encouraged than he entered it in respect to the Iran issue. Are you satisfied by this timetable? I asked the prime minister. He turned his head as if he didn’t hear the question.

 

Netanyahu’s predecessor, Ehud Olmert, also left his meetings with President Bush happy and satisfied on the Iranian issue. Every time, he left the meetings in the Oval Office with a smile on his face. Yet Iran continued to fool the world and cross one red line after another.

 

If on the Iranian front we could recognize some kind of forward movement, on the Palestinian issue Obama and Netanyahu are still stuck in the bunker. One is from Mars and the other is from Venus, and both of them landed in the Oval Office.

 

It is quite clear that Barak Obama does not intend to shift America’s basic positions: Two states for two nations and a freeze on settlement construction. Obama intends to embark on a new and broader peace initiative in an effort to advance Israeli normalization vis-à-vis Arab states.

 

Netanyahu spoke of his desire to embark on diplomatic talks, yet it is unclear how this will be realized without recognizing the two-state vision and without a complete freeze on settlement construction. On that front, it is quite clear that the smiles on the faces of Netanyahu and Obama are about to be wiped off very soon. The question is who will stop smiling first.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.19.09, 11:38
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