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Arriving in Israel, Obama Seeks to Offer Reassurance Arriving in Israel, Obama Seeks to Offer Reassurance
(about 4 hours later)
JERUSALEM – It took four years and a second term, but President Obama traveled to Israel on Wednesday for a richly symbolic state visit, bearing a message of solidarity to a wary Israeli public, and a promise to defend Israel from threats near and far. JERUSALEM – It took four years and a second term, but President Obama traveled to Israel on Wednesday for a richly symbolic state visit, bearing a message of solidarity to a wary Israeli public and a promise to defend Israel from threats near and far.
“Shalom,” Mr. Obama said after embracing President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who waited for him on a red carpet under the shadow of Air Force One at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport. “Shalom,” Mr. Obama said after embracing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, who waited for him on a red carpet under the shadow of Air Force One at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport. “I see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our nations,” he said.
“I see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our nations,” the president declared in a stately arrival ceremony after Mr. Peres and Mr. Netanyahu offered thanks to the United States for standing by its ally. At a news conference later, Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu labored to project a unified front on issues that have often divided them, from how best to confront Iran’s nuclear program to how doggedly to pursue an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
Mr. Obama did not mention the Palestinians by name in his brief remarks, speaking instead of Israel’s “neighbor.” Nor did he allude to Iran or Syria, the other top items on his agenda. But he invoked the Jewish people’s 3,000-year history in this land, referring to modern Israelis as “the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah.” Mr. Netanyahu even agreed with Mr. Obama’s recent assessment that it would take Iran about year to produce a nuclear weapon – a timetable that is longer than the Israeli leader’s warnings last fall that Iran would cross a nuclear red line by this spring or summer.
“I walk with you on the historic homeland of the Jewish people,” he said as Israeli and American flags rippled and sunlight glinted off the horns of an Israeli military brass band. Mr. Obama stiffened his warning that the United States would not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government – a prospect that chills Mr. Netanyahu because he fears those weapons could also be used against Israelis.
The tone was set at the airport when Mr. Obama invoked the Jewish people’s 3,000-year history in this land, referring to modern Israelis as “the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah.”
The president’s words seemed to presage a visit that will be heavy on symbolism and short on any proposals to advance peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.The president’s words seemed to presage a visit that will be heavy on symbolism and short on any proposals to advance peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr. Obama was almost immediately driven across the tarmac to inspect a battery of the Iron Dome air-defense system, a squat, mobile, desert-colored weapon pointed skyward. The system, built by Israeli companies but largely financed by the United States, is credited with intercepting more than 400 rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli cities and towns. Mr. Obama was driven across the tarmac to inspect a battery of the Iron Dome air-defense system. The system, built by Israeli companies but financed by the United States, is credited with intercepting more than 400 rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli towns.
His inspection was the first in a series of carefully choreographed stops designed to convey a single message: the president cares about the Israeli people and will do whatever is necessary to protect them from Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and other enemies. His inspection was the first in a series of carefully choreographed stops intended to convey a single message: the president cares about the Israeli people and will do whatever is necessary to protect them from Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and other enemies.
Mr. Obama, officials said, has not come bearing a bold, or even modest, proposal to revive long-stalled talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. His reference on Wednesday to the divide was cursory. Mr. Obama said he did not come bearing a new proposal to revive long-stalled talks between the Israelis and Palestinians because he wanted to see what was feasible, given current conditions.
“We stand together because peace must come to the Holy Land,” Mr. Obama said. “Even as we are cleareyed about the difficulty, we will never lose sight of the vision of an Israel at peace with its neighbors.” Rather, he is seeking to make a connection with the Israeli people, many of whom view him with a jaundiced eye after four years in which he did not come here and sparred with Mr. Netanyahu over issues like Iran and Jewish settlement-building in the West Bank.
Rather, he is seeking to make a connection with the Israeli people, many of whom view him with a jaundiced eye after four years in which he did not come here and sparred with Mr. Netanyahu over issues like Iran and Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The White House has energetically played down expectations for the visit, eschewing talk of “deliverables” – the diplomatic jargon for policy achievements – and suggestions that the trip represents a “reset” of the relationship between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu.
In more than four hours of planned meetings with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Obama is expected to discuss Iran’s nuclear program and the status of Western diplomatic efforts to curb it; the civil war in Syria, where the government and rebel forces accused each other on Tuesday of using chemical weapons; and the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The timing all but guarantees that no serious diplomacy can be done: Mr. Netanyahu has just cobbled together a new government with an untested collection of parties, and Mr. Obama, barely into his second term, is introducing a new secretary of state, John Kerry.
In his remarks, Mr. Netanyahu said: “Thank you. Thank you for standing with Israel.” Promoting the military and intelligence ties between the two countries was a safe subject: Mr. Obama announced that they would explore a new, 10-year military aid agreement.
Later at a televised appearance at Mr. Peres’s home, Mr. Obama and Mr. Peres expressed warm words for each other. Mr. Peres thanked Mr. Obama for his long days and “many long sleepless nights” spent “caring for our country and for our future.” Mr. Obama said he had succumbed to Mr. Peres’s charms and called Jerusalem an “eternal city.” Mr. Obama also spoke of the need for peace “between Israel and the Palestinians” — not referring to them as “neighbors” as he had earlier. The United States has already committed nearly $1 billion to the Iron Dome system, which was put into service in April 2011, shooting down short- and medium-range rockets fired from Gaza.
The White House has energetically played down expectations for the visit, eschewing talk of “deliverables,” the diplomatic jargon for policy achievements, and suggestions that it represents a “reset” of the relationship between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu. “They are constantly improving, so we have to improve our systems,” Yair Ramati, the director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, said in an interview. “Without the support of the United States, we will not be able to cope with this rate of change.”
The timing all but guarantees that no serious diplomacy can be done: Mr. Netanyahu has just cobbled together a new coalition government with an untested collection of parties, and Mr. Obama, barely into his second term, is introducing a new secretary of state, John Kerry. Israeli officials claim that Iron Dome has been a huge success, intercepting 86 percent of the 521 incoming rockets it engaged in the Gaza conflict. Some American missile-defense experts have questioned that figure, putting the hit rate at closer to 10 percent.
Promoting the military and intelligence ties between the two countries was a safe initial subject. The United States has committed nearly $1 billion to the Iron Dome system, which was put into service in April 2011, shooting down short- and medium-range rockets fired from Gaza. The centerpiece of the visit will be a speech on Thursday by Mr. Obama at the convention center in Jerusalem, where he will address an audience of young Israelis. There, the president said he would speak in more detail about the need for a renewed peace effort.
“They are constantly improving, so we have to improve our systems,” said Yair Ramati, the director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, in an interview. “Without the support of the United States, we will not be able to cope with this rate of change.” Mr. Obama will also raise these issues, including the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, earlier on Thursday, when he visits the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli defense officials claim that the Iron Dome system has been a spectacular success, intercepting 86 percent of the 521 incoming rockets it engaged in the Gaza conflict. Some American missile-defense experts have questioned that figure, putting the hit rate at closer to 10 percent. White House officials said they were encouraged that Mr. Netanyahu, whose stomach for peace talks has often been questioned, said at the news conference, “Israel remains fully committed to peace and the solution of two states for two peoples.”
The centerpiece of the visit will be a speech by Mr. Obama at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, where he will address an audience of young Israelis, assembled by several universities. Mr. Obama also is expected to redress what some Israelis regarded as a major affront in his speech to the Muslim world in 2009, when he declared that the aspirations for a Jewish homeland were rooted principally in the tragedy of the Holocaust. During his less than 48 hours on Israeli soil, Mr. Obama will lay a wreath at the grave of Theodor Herzl, the writer who is viewed as the father of modern Zionism, who died decades before World War II.
The president “just thought it was important to be able to speak to the Israeli people as well, given that he has not traveled here yet as president, and having that kind of conversation with the public will ultimately be helpful in deepening the relationship,” said Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, who is drafting Mr. Obama’s remarks. Mr. Obama will also view the Dead Sea scrolls, Hebrew texts that symbolize the ancient link of the Jewish people to this land.
Mr. Obama also is expected to redress what some Israelis regarded as two affronts in his landmark speech to the Muslim world in 2009. In that speech, also written by Mr. Rhodes, he dwelt on the suffering of the people of Palestine and declared that the aspirations for a Jewish homeland were rooted principally in the tragedy of the Holocaust. On Wednesday, Mr. Obama spoke briefly in Hebrew, saying, “It’s good to be back in the land of Israel.”
During his less than 48 hours on Israeli soil, Mr. Obama will lay a wreath at the grave of Theodor Herzl, the writer who is viewed as the father of modern Zionism, and view the Dead Sea scrolls, Hebrew texts that symbolize the ancient link of the Jewish people to this land. He continued his comments in English. “We stand together because we share a common story,” he said of the United States and Israel, noting that both countries were made up of pioneers, patriots and immigrants.
These stops were added, with the encouragement of Israeli officials, to the more traditional stops at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and the grave of Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister who was assassinated in 1995, to counter the impression that Mr. Obama left in his speech in Cairo in 2009.
In his remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Obama spoke in Hebrew, saying, “It’s good to be back in the land of Israel.”
“We stand together because we share a common history,” he said of the United States and Israel, noting that both countries were made up of pioneers, patriots and immigrants.
On Mr. Obama’s drive to the King David Hotel, sparse crowds lined the streets. Several protesters held up signs calling for him to pardon Jonathan Jay Pollard, an American who is serving a life sentence after being convicted of spying for Israel in 1987.On Mr. Obama’s drive to the King David Hotel, sparse crowds lined the streets. Several protesters held up signs calling for him to pardon Jonathan Jay Pollard, an American who is serving a life sentence after being convicted of spying for Israel in 1987.
Mr. Obama has said Mr. Pollard must serve his prison time, but in Israel, where leaders have long championed his cause, his advocates appear to be well organized. Mr. Obama has said Mr. Pollard must serve his prison time, but in Israel, his advocates appear to be well organized. Protestors hung banners urging a pardon from balconies across the street from the residence of Mr. Peres, where he and Obama planted a magnolia tree brought from the United States. Later, it was dug up for the quarantine Israel requires of imported agricultural products.
Mr. Obama will visit the West Bank twice, to meet with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The president’s visit got off to a bumpy start when one of his limousines had a mechanical failure and needed to be replaced just before he arrived. Local news media reported that the driver had mistakenly filled the tank with diesel fuel rather than gasoline.
Some analysts have questioned why the president will visit the Church of the Nativity, an enduring symbol to Christians, while not stopping at either the Western Wall, which is sacred to Jews, or Al Aksa Mosque, which has similar status among Muslims. A spokesman for the Secret Service, Edwin Donovan, said the cause of the breakdown was not clear, but that the government had backup limousines on hand to deal with these kinds of problems.
White House officials said stopping at the Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, would have required an extreme security cordon. The Israeli authorities, they said, also did not encourage it.
On Friday, Mr. Obama will travel to Amman, Jordan, to meet King Abdullah of Jordan. His talks there are expected to be dominated by the strife in Syria, which has driven hundreds of thousands of refugees across the border into Jordan.