Poll: Number of Israelis Viewing Obama as ‘Positive’ or ‘Neutral’ Drops Sharply The percentage of Israelis who believe President Barack Obama has either a “positive” or a “neutral” view of Israel has fallen steeply in the two years since his visit to Israel in the spring of 2012, according to a Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) survey released during December. Of the respondents, 37 % said Obama has a “positive” position toward Israel, and an equal number said he had a “negative” attitude toward the country. Another 24% said he was “neutral.” click Israel Matters! 87 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Jerusalem or Israel? Supreme Court Appears Split on Passport Case A splintered US Supreme Court grappled recently with the thorny question of whether Congress exceeded its authority when it passed a law permitting the passport of an American citizen born in Jerusalem to reflect that the child had been born in Israel. Long-standing US foreign policy has been to maintain strict neutrality over the disputed status of Jerusalem. Under this policy, the passport of a citizen born in the city shows the place of birth simply as “Jerusalem,” with no mention of Israel or Palestine.click Israel Matters! 86 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Netanyahu: Hamas and Islamic State are "Branches of Same Poisonous Tree" In a blistering speech to the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hamas and the Islamic State group are “branches of the same poisonous tree,” both bent on world domination through terror, just as the Nazis were. Netanyahu also lashed back at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had accused Israel of carrying out war crimes and waging a “war of genocide” during the fighting in Gaza. Netanyahu said Hamas committed “the real war crimes” in Gaza by using Palestinian civilians as human shields.click Israel Matters! 85 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

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Congress Approves Additional Iron Dome FundingDivided on other issues, U.S. lawmakers united in support of Israel with the Senate recently approving $225 million for the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system. The House followed by voting 395-8 in favor of the measure. Senate approval came as the chamber wrapped up work before going on its five-week summer recess.click Israel Matters! 83 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Israel Condemns Plan in Washington to Work With Palestinian-Hamas AllianceIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted recently as saying that he was “deeply troubled” by the Obama administration’s decision to work with the new Palestinian government, signaling new strains in the often rocky relationship between Israel and the United States, two close and critical allies.click Israel Matters! 82 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

lsrael Suspends Peace Talks After Palestinian Authority and Hamas Unity BidIsrael has suspended U.S.- sponsored peace talks with the Palestinian Authority in response to its President, Mahmoud Abbas’ unexpected unity pact with the rival Islamist group, Hamas. “The government of Israel will not hold negotiations with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas, a terror organization that calls for Israel’s destruction,” an official statement said after a six-hour meeting of the security cabinet. click Israel Matters! 81 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

U.N. Human Rights Council Maintains Anti-Israel Bias with Five ResolutionsThe United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently voted in favor of five resolutions explicitly singling out Israel — the latest instance in a well-documented history of bias against the Jewish state.Four of the five resolutions approved by the top international human rights body castigated Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, and were approved by a 46-1 vote. The fifth resolution took aim at Israel’s legal administration of the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state has maintained since 1981, as well as the “suffering of the Syrian citizens… due to the systematic and continuous violation of their fundamental and human rights by Israel.” It received a 33-1 vote. The United States was the only voting member to oppose all five resolutions. click Israel Matters! 80 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Netanyahu at AIPAC: Palestinians Must Join Israel on the Side of Peace and HopePeace will begin when PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told AIPAC’s 2014 Policy Conference recently. “Abbas must recognize the Jewish state,” Netanyahu, the last major speaker of the three day, 14,000-person event, said. “In doing so, he’d be telling the Palestinians that, while we have a territorial dispute, the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own is beyond dispute. “Recognize it. No excuses. No delays. It’s time,” he told the audience. “The Palestinians need to stop denying history.” click Israel Matters! 79 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.