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2 The Jewish Herald • Friday, March 22, 2013 5 H IP


Julie Pace and Josef Federman


tering them everywhere. They are painted on the ground as directional markers for visiting dignitaries, and they are in Obama’s and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign-policy rhetoric as not- to-be-crossed warnings to Syria and Iran. As Obama prepared to tour a missile battery that


J


is part of Israel’s Iron Dome defenses, an aide at the Tel Aviv airport directed him to follow the red line on the tarmac. “Bibi’s always talking to me about red lines,”


Obama quipped, referring to Netanyahu by his fa- miliar name. Netanyahu has set “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear de-


velopment capabilities. Israel repeatedly has threat- ened to take military action should Iran appear to be on the verge of developing a bomb. The U.S. has pushed for more time to allow diplomacy and eco- nomic penalties to run their course, though Obama insists military action is an option. The issue has be- come a point of tension between the two allies. Obama himself has used the phrase to describe


limits that could prompt action against the Syrian government. Any use of chemical weapons by Syria, Obama has said, would constitute a “red line” that if breached could prompt direct U.S. intervention. It’s a threat that could be tested amid new accusations that the regime used chemicals in an attack in a vil- lage in the north of Syria. Referring to the painted red lines at the airport,


Obama joked that it was “a psychological ploy.” Netanyahu replied: “It was minutely planned.” His tone turned serious hours later, during a news


conference with Obama, when he was asked about their banter about “red lines.” “We did have a joke about that but obviously this


matter is no joke,” Netanyahu said. n


Obama found a lighthearted way to poke fun at


his Israeli counterpart as he thanked Netanyahu, his wife and two sons for the welcome they gave him at the airport. “I did inform the prime minister that they are very


good-looking young men, who clearly got their looks from their mother,” Obama said at the news confer- ence, prompting laughter from the government offi- cials and reporters in the room. Before Obama could continue, Netanyahu shot back:


“I could say the same thing of your daughters.” Never one to relinquish a chance to show common


ground, Obama said he and the Israeli leader had a shared strategy when it comes to matrimony. “Our goal is to improve our gene pool by marrying


women who are better than we are,” he said. n


Obama received a rock star’s welcome at Israel’s


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets President Barack Obama at Ben Gurion International Airport


international airport from Netanyahu, Israeli Pres- ident Shimon Peres and other dignitaries. Netanyahu’s new Cabinet, seated just two days


ago, lined up and excitedly shook hands with the president, who chatted with each one as he moved down the line. There were no signs of the sometimes frostiness


between Netanyahu and Obama. The two smiled, joked and warmly exchanged pleasantries through- out the day. In his speech at the airport, Netanyahu kidded


Obama about his desire to explore Israel incognito. Netanyahu said he could arrange a trip to the bars and cafés of Tel Aviv. “We even prepared a fake mous- tache for you,” he said.


n Among the guests invited to dine Thursday with


America’s first black president is Israel’s first black beauty queen. Yityish “Titi” Aynaw, 21, who was named Miss Is-


rael three weeks ago, is the first Ethiopian-born Is- raeli to wear the crown. Israel began airlifting Ethiopian Jews — the fa-


bled descendants of the Israelite tribe of Dan — three decades ago, but the community has complained of discrimination and has still struggled to integrate into Israeli society. Aynaw hopes to be a role model to her immigrant


White House Notebook: ‘Red Lines’ And Entourages Obama: ‘Bibi’s always talking about red lines’


ERUSALEM — Red lines. When it comes to the Middle East, President Barack Obama is encoun-


community — and says President Obama is her role model. In high school, she researched his biography and wrote a paper about his accomplishments. President Shimon Peres invited her to attend


Thursday night’s State dinner. She said, if she were to get a chance to speak to Obama, she’ll thank him for inspiring her. “He paved a road, for people who want to dream


and go far,” Aynaw told Israel’s Channel 2 TV. n


It’s no secret that Obama is left-handed. But, he


confessed to Netanyahu, it wasn’t always easy to be a southpaw. As Obama signed a guest book at Netanyahu’s


residence, the Israeli prime minister took note of Obama’s distinctive inverted writing style. Obama said that in Indonesia, where he lived as a


child, using your left hand was considered bad man- ners and that instructors tried to correct it. He said he stuck with it “even though I would get hit with the rulers.”


n Israelis and others awaiting Obama’s arrival at


the airport were surprised to see his signature black limousine sitting on the back of a flatbed truck. The U.S. Secret Service said the vehicle suffered


mechanical problems before Obama arrived but the agency wouldn’t say what happened. An aide was said to have filled the tank with regular gas in- stead of diesel. The disabled limo was swapped out for a backup,


and Obama went ahead with a busy day in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Secret Service says it plans for these types of glitches.


n The days before Passover are usually one of the bus-


iest times in Jerusalem, with Israelis swarming stores and supermarkets to get ready. But with Obama in town, downtown Jerusalem was eerily silent. Well accustomed to the traffic jams caused by visit-


ing world leaders, many residents stayed off the roads, fearing sudden closures, detours and backups. “The whole city is upside down, we can barely walk


and barely drive,” said Sophie Casper. “Look at this. It’s unbelievable!” More than 5,000 Israeli police officers were de-


ployed throughout the city, coordinating with Ameri- can security officials to secure roads for Obama’s mo- torcade, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Devora Avidan, a longtime Jerusalem resident,


said the streets looked much different than when President Richard Nixon visited Jerusalem in 1974 — the first-ever visit to the city by an American pres- ident. Then, Israelis were asked to line the streets to greet the president’s motorcade. Wednesday’s scene was more similar to Yom Kip-


pur, she said, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, when Jerusalem’s streets are empty of cars. “It was really nice.”


—With Daniel Estrin


Israeli Politicians Raise Polard Issue With U.S. President J


Gil Hoffman


ERUSALEM — President Barack Obama received repeated reminders


about imprisoned Israeli agent Jona- than Pollard during his visit to Israel on Wednesday. Obama might have hoped to avoid the


issue by empathizing with the Israeli public on the issue in an interview with Israeli Channel 2 last week. He said in the interview that he did not intend to release Pollard immediately and that the Israeli agent would have to go through normal legal processes. But at least two ministers mentioned


Pollard to Obama when they greeted him at Ben Gurion Airport: Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel and Cul-


Imprisoned Israeli agent’s wife asks students not to heckle Obama; at least two ministers mention Pollard


ture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat. “Please free Pollard,” Ariel managed to say. “Please don’t forget our brother Jonathan Pollard,” Livnat told Obama. There were signs saying “Yes you can


free Pollard” on the way from Obama’s hotel to his meetings with President Shi- mon Peres and Prime Minister Benja- min Netanyahu. Pollard’s wife Esther asked students


who were to attend Obama’s speech to the Israeli people on Thursday to treat him re- spectfully and not heckle him or organize a walk-out from the talk. She said, how- ever, that if they get a chance to speak to Obama personally, they can use that op-


portunity to urge him to free her husband. At least three people Obama was to


meet with over the rest of his visit in- tend to raise Pollard’s fate: Labor lead- er Shelly Yachimovich, Miss Israel Yi- tyish Aynaw, and bereaved IDF moth- er Miriam Peretz. “I will do everything possible to bring


about Pollard’s release,” Yachimovich said. “This is a humanitarian gesture of the first degree. Israel must do every- thing it can to bring about his freedom and I will do the best I can.” Yachimovich met Obama Thursday,


even though she is not yet opposition lead- er. Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz, who for-


mally holds the title, said he would not stand in Yachimovich’s way. Netanyahu invited Defense Minis-


ter Moshe Ya’alon, International Rela- tions Minister Yuval Steinitz, and Jus- tice Minister Tzipi Livni to participate in part of one of his meetings with Obama. He did not invite Finance Minister Yair Lapid or Economics and Trade Minis- ter Naftali Bennett, because they deal with internal issues. Obama told Lapid and Livni that he


was looking forward to working with them. He also gave Lapid advice that he received from his wife Michelle about his career choice. “Be careful what you wish for, [be-


cause] you might get it,” he said. —Jerusalem Post


Photo Miriam Alster/Flash 90


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