SATURDAY, MARCH 16 • 8 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH 17 • 3 p.m.
AT
THE BERMAN
DtACO
President Obama at the Western Wall in 2008
"The best laid plans of mice and men..."
The Tony Award-Winning Acting
Company stars in a brilliant
performance of one of the
greatest novellas of all time.
For tickets call 248.661.1900
or go to theberman.org
Rim
l■
THE CENTER
www.jccdet.org
Ron Kampeas
Washington
$36 / Admission
$26 / Member
Presenti n g ..
PkiYh s T eater
Please Join Us February 16th @ 11am• Orchard Mall Center Court
JanetMarie 6 m'Arehibald
Imagine That!
Don't miss this chance to wiggle,
giggle, and have fun!
t431
r. 7
`444.0
ORC
WEST BLOOMFIELD • MICHIGAN
Orchard Lake Road • North of Maple
For more info visit: www.orchardmallwb.com
38
February 14 • 2013
What will be the goal of Obama's visit?
JTA
THE BERMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus
6600 W Maple Road • West Bloomfield, MI 48322
)1.1
Israel Bound
Interactive
for kids
s President Obama's plan to visit
Israel a sign that he's ready to take
another shot at Israeli-Palestinian
peacemaking?
The White House announced Feb.
5 that Obama would visit Israel in the
spring, his first trip there as president.
He did visit in 2008, when he was a
candidate for the Oval Office. This
trip also will include meetings with
Palestinian Authority leaders and a
trip to Jordan, the White House said.
Obama spoke of the visit in a con-
versation with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on Jan. 28. The
White House did not specify the dates.
The announcement appears to be
a signal that the president is seri-
ous about peacemaking, said David
Makovsky, an analyst with the
Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, which has close ties with the
Obama and Netanyahu governments.
"Part of the problem is that on all
sides, there's disbelief that peace is
possible Makovsky said. "He wants to
engage both societies about why you
can't give up. He wants to engage on
the gut level with Arabs and Israelis in
a way he hasn't until now:'
The two leaders have had something
of a fraught relationship. There have
been philosophical differences about
Israel's settlement enterprise and the
Palestinians, disagreements about the
red line for Iran's nuclear program and
perceived snubs on both sides.
During a March 2010 White House
meeting, Netanyahu was denied a
photo opportunity with the president
and Obama interrupted their meeting
to eat dinner. Last year, Netanyahu
gave an enthusiastic reception to
Obama rival Mitt Romney during the
2012 presidential campaign.
Netanyahu emerged weakened from
Israel's Jan. 22 elections, and aides
have told the Israeli media that they
believe voters stayed away from the
prime minister over concerns about
his rapport with Obama.
Aaron David Miller, a former U.S.
negotiator who now is vice president
of the Wilson International Center
for Scholars, says both Obama and
Netanyahu are being driven to a rap-
prochement by exigency: Netanyahu
by his weakened political position and
Obama by preserving his legacy.
"One guy is caught in circumstances
which require improvement, and the
other guy knows if he wants to get
anywhere he's going to have to figure
out if he can work with Bibi," Miller
said, using Netanyahu's nickname.
"It's a new beginning: Obama
can have a serious discussion with
the Israeli prime minister at a time
he's heading a new government"
said Dennis Ross, a counsel at the
Washington Institute for Near East
Policy who was Obama's top Middle
East adviser until a year ago.
"The president is interested in
connecting with the Israeli public. It
allows him to show he cares about the
peace issues, but allows him to do so
while discussing all the issues, includ-
ing Iran, Syria and Egypt."
Obama's new secretary of state,
John Kerry, said in his Senate confir-
mation hearing that preventing Iran
from acquiring a nuclear weapon and
advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace
would be his twin priorities in the job.
Local Reaction
Through spokesman Hy Safran, U.S.
Rep. Gary Peters (D-Detroit) said
he believes that by making Israel his
first foreign trip of the second term
President Obama is demonstrating
that he considers Israel's security a
critical national interest.
Israeli native Hannan Lis of