Can Obama-mania win over Israel?
A poll commissioned by the Anti Defamation League finds that about 60% of Israelis say they have a favorable opinion of Obama.
However, Obama-mania only goes so far.
The bad news for the president is that an even bigger majority of Israelis support the idea of taking out Iran's uranium enrichment facilities-regardless of whether the United States approves or not.
And to make things just that more interesting, Obama will have to deal with a more hawkish Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
With the two leaders slated to meet in Washington in a couple of weeks, the poll numbers served as a place setter for both sides, which have already begun to stake out early ground. At the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly told attendees behind closed doors on Sunday that any move to confront Iran would be predicated on Israel making progress in negotiations to create a Palestinian state.
But only 32 percent of Israelis support Obama's policy regarding Israel, according to the poll. What's more, 51% oppose the U.S. conducting direct talks with Iran without preconditions. And when it comes to taking military action against Iran-even if the U.S. opposed the move-some 75% of the respondents said they would support such a decision.
Still, at this point, Washington is not spoiling for a fight with Iran. What with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan-not to mention the weak economy-Obama has enough to deal with for the present. So it is that the U.S. has made tentative gestures toward Iran since Obama took office, the most notable being a videotaped overture the president sent to Iran in April. (The U.S. also invited Iran to attend an international conference on Afghanistan earlier this year.)
The more conciliatory line has not gone unnoticed in Israel, where it is at odds with the stance voiced by Netanyahu, who has warned about the destabilizing effect in the region should Iran develop nuclear weaponry. Iran, which has refused to halt its uranium enrichment work, says it plans to use the fuel for peaceful purposes.
In advance of what might be an especially frank conversation between the two leaders-the U.S. is Israel's main supplier of military hardware and foreign aid-Netanyahu, who briefly addressed the AIPAC conference Monday evening on a big-screen satellite hookup, portrayed Iran's nuclear program as a "common danger" both for "Arabs and Jews."
"The challenges today present great opportunities as well," he continued. "The common danger is echoed by Arab leaders throughout the Middle East, Europeans, by many responsible governments around the world, I can put it in one sentence: Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons."
Regarding his upcoming visit to Washington, Netanyahu said, "I've met president Obama, I respect him and I look forward to seeing him in Washington in couple of weeks. We plan to continue our common quest for prosperity and for peace."
Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that tete a tete?