MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

By Elad Benari, INN – “A second term for President Barack Obama could be bad news for Israel, according to Prof. Eytan Gilboa, Director of the Center for International Communication at Bar Ilan University and an expert on U.S.-Israel relations.

‘I am concerned that if Obama and Netanyahu are both re-elected, Israeli -U.S. relations are expected to go through a difficult period, for at least the first year of Obama’s second term,’ Gilboa told Arutz Sheva on Sunday.

He noted the bad blood been between Obama and Netanyahu during Obama’s first term and added that he believes that, given the fact that a second-term president has nothing to lose since he cannot run again, Obama will remember all the setbacks between him and Netanyahu. Gilboa added that Obama will particularly remember the feeling that exists today in the United States, according to which Netanyahu publicly endorsed Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Gilboa noted that it does not matter whether Netanyahu indeed supported Romney or not, since the main point is how things are interpreted in the U.S. The fact thatRomney used Netanyahu as part of his campaign and the fact that they both have the same donors and supporters, such as Sheldon Adelson, strengthen the feeling that Netanyahu was on Romney’s side and not Obama’s, he said.

‘I spoke with some members of Obama’s staff they feel that Netanyahu, in all kinds of moves he made, showed more enthusiasm for Romney than for Obama,’ he said. ‘They made the connections that Netanyahu was on Romney’s side, no matter the reality.’

… Obama’s essential tie with Romney is a real achievement for the president, who is entering election day with a low level of public confidence, with zero growth in the U.S. economy and unemployment at close to eight percent.

‘In such a reality, the fact that he is shoulder to shoulder with Romney is considered an achievement,’ said Gilboa, adding, ‘In any normal election Romney should win with ease. The fact that this is not happening shows Romney’s weakness.'” Read more.

Flashback: Israeli Security Official: Obama ‘Will Make Netanyahu Pay’ After Elections, ‘Relations Between Israel And The US Have Soured’ – “Israeli security officials on Saturday tried to downplay the Pentagon’s decision to significantly scale back its participation in a joint military exercise with Israel next month, but some government officials said the decision came as a response to the growing tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Obama administration. ‘This is the Obama administration’s response to the dinner party Netanyahu held in (Mitt) Romney’s honor,’ a senior member of the political-security cabinet told Ynet …” Read more.

Flashback: An Ally No More: ‘Under President Obama, the US Government Has Become Hostile’ to Israel – “… the Obama administration’s response to the calamitous election results [in Egypt] has been shocking. Rather than sound the alarm bells, US President Barack Obama has celebrated the results as a victory for ‘democracy.’ Rather than warn Egypt that it will face severe consequences if it completes its Islamist transformation, the Obama administration has turned its guns on the first country that will pay a price for Egypt’s Islamic revolution: Israel.” Read more.

Flashback: Israeli Prime Minister Slams Obama: The Arab World Is Moving Backward, Not Forward – “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday blasted Israeli and world politicians who support the Arab Spring revolutions and accused the Arab world of ‘moving not forward, but backward.’… Netanyahu also slammed Western leaders, and especially U.S. President Barak Obama, who had pushed Mubarak to resign from power. At the time this was happening Netanyahu said in closed talks that the American administration and many European leaders don’t understand reality.” Read more.

Flashback: Netanyahu Associate: Obama Detached From Regional Realities – “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s associates expressed their disappointment with Barack Obama’s speech Thursday, with one aide saying that the US president is detached from regional realities… Referring to the US president’s Mideast policy speech, a Netanyahu associate said: ‘He (Obama) didn’t deliver the goods…Obama apparently does not understand the reality in the Mideast.’” Read more.