Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama vigorously shook hands today at the White House in a meeting that helped to dispel the past few months of tension between their respective countries.
Yesterday, Israel said that they would take steps to ease the blockade on Gaza. A list of items that are supposed to encourage economic growth in Gaza has been reviewed and repealed. Today President Obama said that the bond between Israel and the U.S. is “unbreakable.” Netanyahu said he looked forward to taking “concrete steps” to peace.
After March, when talks about how to diplomatically proceed with Palestine reached an impasse, relations were at their worst. Today marks a return to a relationship based on good appearances.
In the West Bank, the New York Times reports a list of groups that have given large, tax-deductible sums to Jewish development. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has stalled the building projects that were announced in March to be constructed in East Jerusalem in hopes of kick-starting a peace process.
While critics say that this is simply political posturing, the fact that cameras were allowed to photograph the Prime Minister and the President is reassuring to many Jews who hope for peace and a strong friendship between Israel and the U.S.
