Obama in Jerusalem: I'm committed to Israel's security

[notfullofit]

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama pledged Wednesday that as
president he would preserve the close relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, and pledged that Israel's security would be a top priority in his administration.

"I'm here on this trip to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States and my abiding commitment to Israel's security and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a U.S. senator or as president," Obama said during a meeting with President Shimon Peres.

Obama, after vowing to immediately work for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations if elected U.S. president, plunged into the intricacies of the region's conflict Wednesday with a packed schedule of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

He visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and held meetings with Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, the Likud chairman and a former prime minister, said following their talks Obama promised never to seek to damage Israel's security. Both men agreed on the "primacy" of preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, Netanyahu said.

During his visit to Yad Vashem, Obama laid a wreath, lit a memorial flame, and deemed the place to ultimately be a place of hope.

"At a time of great peril and torment, war and strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man's potential for great evil, but also our capacity to rise up from tragedy and remake our world," he wrote in the visitors' book.

American tourists who passed him by at the memorial told him, "Remember what you see here," and he replied, "Yes, I understand, I understand," said Yad Vashem's director, Avner Shalev.

more..
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004747.html

[Vegasaurus]

1. Obama is no different than any other potential US leader

He will not turn his back on Israel, nor compromise her security, unless he is seeking another war.

[notfullofit]

3. Israel should not negotiate with Hamas.....Obama in Sderot

Israel should not negotiate with Hamas so long as the Islamist group poses a threat to Israeli citizens, US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday during his visit to the town of Sderot.

Obama said that if someone were firing on his home, where his two daughters were sleeping, he would do everything to stop the attacks – and that this is how he expects Israel to act as well.

During his brief visit to Sderot Obama also noted the terror attack in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Hizbullah attacks and the Iranian nuclear program, saying that all of these were genuine threats Israel faces alongside the Qassam rockets from Gaza.

At a press conference held towards the end of his visit, Obama was presented with an 'I love Sderot' t-shirt by the town's mayor, Eli Moyal.

''America must always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself against those who threaten its people,'' he said.


more

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3572036,00.html

[azurnoir]

4. So in other words

Obama prefers the current lull end? Is that the point, seems counter productive.

[Vegasaurus]

5. Good for Obama

for realizing that Israel is under threat and needs to be able to defend herself against her many, many enemies.

[azurnoir]

2. Commited to Israel's security

can mean many things when words are put into actions, just like an "undivided Jerusalem".