Media Blackout Follows Obama-Netanyahu Meeting

[Israel Insider]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a one hundred minute meeting with US President Barack Obama Monday night which addressed the Middle East peace process, Iran and Israeli security.

About half of the meeting was one-on-one and half of which included four members of staff on each side. Barak, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, National Security Council head Uzi Arad and PMO adviser Yitzhak Molcho joined Netanyahu for the first half, while Obama and Netanyahu met privately in the second.

There was no photo opportunity nor press access to the meeting. In addition, Netanyahu canceled a scheduled briefing with Israeli reporters and Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled plans for radio interviews after the talks.

Both sides merely referred to a laconic statement put out by the White House. "The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues," said the White House statement. "The president and prime minister also discussed Iran and how to move forward on Middle East peace."

An Israeli source close to Netanyahu said that the contentious issue of Israeli settlement policy did not come up at all.

Pressed on the issue of the blackout, Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs would only say that "the President wanted to have a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu. That's what we're doing."

Earlier in the day, Obama met with about 60 senior representatives of Jewish federations following the cancellation of his appearance at the federations' conference Tuesday. Speaking at a White House reception, Obama urged the group to address health care legislation making its way through Congress. He also thanked them for the "countless hours of tzedakah [charity] performed every day of every week," according to a statement put out by the Jewish Federations of North America.

Participants told The Jerusalem Post that Obama did not address the issue of Israel or the Middle East during his brief remarks, but that several members of the crowd tried to raise the issue with him during his brief appearance.

[Robert Bernier]

Why we do not trust Obama.
Obama reaffirmed a UN-style moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorists who systematically and intentionally abuse their civilians as human-shield and target Israeli civilians on one hand, and the Israel Defense Force which is confronted by such terrorism on the other hand. President Obama also reinforced UN-style moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorism and hate education on one hand, and Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria on the other hand. Once again, there was the implicit message that Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria trigger Palestinian terrorism and constitute an obstacle to peace. Can we trust Obama ? http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2009/10/obamas-plans-to-leverage-goldstone.html

[James C. Wherry]

Honestly, I was surprised to see Wulf Blitzer raise this issue, last night.

I'm home sick, today, and I was watching TV and found the "documentary" on President' Carter's book on Palestine. He criticized Bush HEAVILY for refusing to talk to the Palestinians. In a real sense, I think this is what Obama is doing: he's refusing to talk to Israel, or at least accord it honor in the status of nations. With Iran moving ever closer to nuclear weapons, I'd be talking to Israel quite a LOT, thank you. Even if you do not agree with me that President Obama is ignoring Israel, is this really the way we expect Nobel Peace Prize winners to act?