Obama’s Settlement Climbdown

Via Faiz Shakir, it seems that Joe Lieberman appeared on Bloomberg and joined efforts by congressional hawks to bail Bibi Netanyahu out of his clash with the United States government by putting pressure on Barack Obama to back off his opposition to settlement expansion:

Two weeks ago, Bill Galston (who, incidentally, is on the board of an organization that just hired AIPAC’s communications director) wrote:

There’s been a concerted effort under way to portray Barack Obama’s approach to the Middle East as badly out of step with Jewish opinion, and those Jews who support him as somehow marginal. I think the resolution adopted today by the Union of Reform Judaism should go a long way toward debunking that. The text isn’t exactly what I would say, but on all the core points they’re supporting the administration’s policies. Notable excerpts:

Daniel Kurtzer and Ariel Sharon light Hanukkah candles (Israel Government Press Office)

I’d say the developments reported by Ethan Bronner in The New York Times show that even very modest American pressure can force the Israeli government to try to do something to heal the breach. But it’s important to be clear that this doesn’t actually amount to very much:

JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister said Monday that his new government was extending its hand in peace to the Palestinians, declaring that he is ready to make a “historic compromise” if they return to the negotiating table with good will. Laying out the agenda for his new term, Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes to rejuvenate peace efforts, which remained frozen throughout Netanyahu’s just-completed four-year term.