J Street chief: Obama needs to connect with the Israeli people

Excerpt:

"Our view is that the most important thing that must happen is that the president, together with our other international allies, have to provide the map for the parties to get themselves out of the current stalemate. It involves some bridging proposals, some active ideas. There needs to be some sense of the timeline, there needs to be some sense of accountability - for instance, when the Palestinians are not coming to the table, they should be publicly held accountable, and if the Israelis are taking actions that are not helpful they should be held accountable. And that's more of an assertive role than has been played so far, and we are going to continue to urge the administration to do this because time is of the essence."

So should President Obama go to Jerusalem?

"The president should definitely go to Israel at the right moment. I don't know if this is the right moment, but he needs to connect with the Israeli people, he needs to assure them of his deep support for their security and their future, and he needs to make the case for why the compromises that must be made are so vital for everybody in the region, whether it's the American interests, the Israeli interests or the interests of the Palestinians or the people in the region."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165179.html

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly apologized to the visiting U.S. Vice-President yesterday, hoping to defuse a row over settlements that appeared to scuttle indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.

Joe Biden welcomed Mr. Netanyahu's statement but again criticized Israel's decision to approve construction of 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem, announced during his visit this week.

Israel's right-wing Prime Minister, who supports expanding Jewish communities in annexed east Jerusalem, said he had spoken to Mr. Biden and "expressed his regret for the unfortunate timing."

http://www.globaltvbc.com/entertainment/Netanyahu+apologizes+Biden/2673091/story.html