Mending the U.S. and Israel Rift and Dissecting the Iran Deal
Pastor Dewey Moede
Mending the US-Israel Rift!
Welcome to the program, everyone, and a Happy Passover to all our listeners! The recent Israeli elections ended in a surprisingly strong win by Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party. But it seems US President Barack Obama is trying hard to turn his victory into a defeat. The sharp criticisms and diplomatic threats from the White House towards Netanyahu have even many Democrats in Washington crying, ‘Enough!’ Now the Obama administration insists that Bibi’s election-eve rhetoric about Arab voters and his supposed abandonment of the two-state solution both call for a “reassessment” of the US-Israel relationship. This is a familiar threat to those who follow the Middle East closely, and it signals that the frayed ties between Washington and Jerusalem sure could use some healing. But just why is Obama so upset with Netanyahu? Is it fair criticism or payback for something else? What does the White House mean by a reassessment? What steps does the Administration have in mind to punish Israel? And what should both sides be doing to resolve their differences? Mending the US-Israel Rift! That’s our focus this week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll have an update and analysis on the recent tensions between Washington and Jerusalem and what we can expect in the weeks ahead. Our guest analyst will beDan Diker, a leading Israeli strategic affairs expert with the Voice of Israel news site and the InterDisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
The Obama administration has been coming down hard on Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu following his surprisingly strong election victory in mid-March. So what’s behind this open rift in US-Israel relations and how can it be mended. Here to help us get to the bottom of this is Dan Diker, a respected Israeli strategic analyst with the Voice of Israel news site. He is also affiliated with the Institute on Counterterrorism at the IDC in Herzliya and served a former secretary general of the World Jewish Congress. So let’s go over to Jerusalem where Front Page senior producer David Parsons is standing by with this week’s guest.
ICEJ Report
The Passover holiday has arrived this weekend and in our next segment we want to go back over to Jerusalem to hear about what the Christian Embassy has been doing to help needy Jewish families in Israel to celebrate this important biblical festival. So here’s Front Page senior producer David Parsons with more.
Join hosts Earl Cox, Ben Kinchlow and David Parsons for this week’s Front Page Jerusalem, on a radio station near you or visit our website to download the MP3 and to subscribe to program podcasts
This week, US President Barack Obama and other world leaders announced a last-minute breakthrough in the marathon talks with Iran over its renegade nuclear program. A final agreement still needs to be negotiated by the end of June, but the deal reached on the shores of Lake Geneva contains some major compromises for the West. For instance, it will allow Tehran to continue to operate 6,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium at its Natanz plant, while also allowing Tehran to keep all its other nuclear facilities intact. The deal is also sketchy about the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Nor does it tie sanctions relief to changes in Iran’s aggressive behavior in the region, including its support for global terrorism, its military ventures in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and its calls to destroy Israel. As a result, officials in Jerusalem immediately rejected the deal as a threat to Israel’s survival. So what exactly was agreed to in Lausanne, Switzerland this week and what still needs to be negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 powers? What are Israel’s objections to the deal? How can Jerusalem impact the final agreement due to be completed by June 30th? And will this mean that Israel has to act on its own to defend itself from the Iranian nuclear threat? Dissecting the Iran Deal! That’s our focus next week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll have Israel’s official response to the nuclear agreement concluded with Iran in Switzerland this week. Our special guest will be Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs. He’s a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has been in charge of the Iran portfolio for the Israeli government over recent years.
