Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to Washington on Sunday for a series of meetings with senior US officials, starting with US President Barak Obama. The main topic of discussion is likely to be Israel’s request for a substantial increase in US military aid to deal with the increased security threat following the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding Iran’s renegade nuclear program. Israeli officials say the JCPOA substantially strengthened Iran’s ability to support terrorist groups battling Israel as well as giving it a long-term path to nuclear weapons, making increased Israeli military power an existential necessity. In related news, Netanyahu announced Thursday that he is suspending the appointment of Ran Baratz as his new media chief following revelations that he made deeply disrespectful remarks about Obama and senior members of his Administration on his personal Facebook account. Read More
