Israel braces for Obama

Israeli leaders have become accustomed to President George W. Bush's reticence to push them into making tough decisions. In Barack Obama, they are bracing for a president who may not be so accommodating.

Obama's plan to engage Iran in direct negotiations over the Shiite Muslim state's drive to enrich uranium to produce nuclear weapons could limit Israel's option to use military force to block the program. And his pledge to be actively involved in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians could lead him to exert pressure against settlement-building and travel restrictions on the Palestinians in the West Bank.

"There could be more pressure on Israel to take more risks, like removing security checkpoints in the West Bank,'' said Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. "The Iranians will exploit Obama's willingness to talk to them to play for time.''

More from Peter Hirschberg at Bloomberg

Tags: Gaza, Iranian threat, Livni, Netanyahu, Obama, diplomacy

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You are worried about President Elect Obama, an intellectural who is working for peace, for our children's futures. and you guys aren't upset about the christian evangelicals who want to bring the "end times" to Israel????? Strange bedfellows indeed. I suppose if the end times are coming soon we don't have to worry about the future, we can just eat and play!!!!

Comment by Artist on November 10, 2008 at 12:28am: Re: the video that WhatIsTruth posted.....
horrifying. Can one say Hitler-Jungen?
Somewhere else innocent and blind people shook their heads and said. "oh, it could never happen here"
Never Forget!

Hashem, I pray Bibi wins the election. The combination of Obama and Livnik will not bode well for the future of Israel!

Comment by christian friend of israel on November 9, 2008 at 6:35am: RonaldH said it all. I sure hope Bibi wins this time. On Israel's economy: when anyone with serious money asks where I think it is reasonably safe to park their money I tell them that maybe they should consider Israel. I think G_D is going to prosper her in this time to help prepare for some challenges ahead. I can say that on purely secular grounds also.

Comment by Whatistruth? on November 8, 2008 at 8:33pm: Get ready Israel. Here's a taste of things to come:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vynzd9cpQRQ

Comment by RonaldH on November 8, 2008 at 7:27pm: Hirschberg's article describes the situation pretty well. Israel really needs to begin a new chapter in her story. That will only happen if Netanyahu can form a governing coalition. On the other hand, Livni will help Obama paddle Israel's boat down the river to a port called Destruction. A Likud majority will allow Israel to survive this extremely dangerous period in history. First, Israelis have to believe and accept the fact that they don't have to obey Washington's dictates. Say no; say no thank you; say whatever. Just do not march into the valley of the shadow of death because Obama, Rice, Emanuel, and co-conspirators in the US say 'march'. The US will not hurt you more than the Islamists will. The Islamists are not your partners, no matter what Washington dreams they might be someday. 'Someday' can be a very long time from 'Today'. Some think Israel is small; Israel is weak; Israel is poor. Actually, entering this most dangerous period, Israel is in the best economic position in her lifetime vis a vis the US, Russia, Europe-virtually every other nation in the world. If you haven't noticed yet, a big Depression is storming around the globe, which will rain hardship and suffering on much of the world. Most nations are broke. The differences in insolvency among the nations are just a matter of degree. Israel is the one nation among them that is likely to feel the least economic pain thanks to good economic policies. So Israelis should use this period to stand up for themselves; assert their rights to the Holy Land. Sacrificing for peace makes no sense. Only in Israel is 'peace' painful. Wake up Israel. Vote for new leadership and a new direction.