JTA and Politico are reporting that the Obama Administration is seeking to work through its differences with Israel over settlements "quietly, professionally, and without rancor or ultimatums," according to an e-mail from an unnamed White House official.

Politico reported Wednesday that the e-mail was sent to Hadar Susskind, the Washington director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Susskind told the publication he could share the e-mail as long as it was not attributable to a named official.

The governments of Syria and Israel have begun discussions of a possible peace deal bewteen the two long-time enemies.

Syria wants to recover the Golan Heights, lost in the 1967 War against Israel.

Israel wants recognition by Syria and the cutoff of aid to Syrian-supported anti-Israel terror groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, of which have offices in Syria.

Libya has blocked a proposed compromise resolution on Gaza which would call for peace talks, relief for Gaza civilians and a stop to the Qassam attacks on Israel by Hamas.

All 15 states were minutes from signing the non-punitive declaration which for the first time ever condemns ongoing Qassam fire at southern Israel from Gaza, when Syria pressured Libya's ambassador to the UN, Giadalla Ettalhi, who this month assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council, to reconsider the bill at the last minute.

According to Palestinian Journalists, Hamas has artificially staged blackouts.

Less than 25% of the electricity in Gaza comes from the plant shut down (despite having fuel to continue operating).

While the Palestinian Authority and Israeli government have met every other week to discuss the creation of a two state solution, there are signs that state-sanctioned violence against Israeli civilians has dropped off.

However, acts by individuals, particularly those associated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad (both of which refuse to recognize Israel or abide by any peace agreement), as well as the Fatah affiliated "Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade" have continued (not counting the 200 rockets fired from Hamas-run Gaza into Israeli towns).

(reprinted from the Jewish Journal)
by Raphael Sonenshein

The release last week of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear ambitions stunned the nation's capital. After being buried for a year, the NIE has deflated the Bush administration's case on Iran by stating that Iran halted its program to develop a nuclear weapon in 2003.

The president is on the defensive trying to make a believable argument that he had only learned of the NIE last week. Democrats are jubilant that they can now safely attack the president's Iran policy, which is in tatters.

(reprinted from the Jewish Journal)

Iran's nuclear ambitions have emerged not only as a foreign policy issue but recently have become an American political issue, as well.

In response to the news offensive by the neoconservative movement and the Bush administration threatening military action against Iran and without backing any real new diplomatic initiatives, the new progressives have made opposing pre-emptive military action against Iran by the United States a major issue.

Washington, DC June 27, 2007 164 Republicans voted against expanding aid to Israel last week, opposing the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 2674), ignoring pleas from groups such as AIPAC to support expanding aid to Israel to $2.4 billion. The legislation passed anyway by a margin of 241-178.

In 2004, and 2005 the GOP-run Congress cut aid to Israel.

This year the Democratic Congress proposed expanding aid to Israel $2.4 billion with increases over the next couple of years.

Governor Schwarzenneger signed AB221, into law under pressure from Iranian and Jewish groups, who supported the bill to compel state pension divestment from companies doing business with Iran. The Jewish Journal recently highlighted -DFI-LA's efforts to spotlight Democratic support for the bill

Meanwhile Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) continued to hold up the federal enabling legislation in the Senate at the behest of the Bush Administration, who does not want to take on the oil industry. The bill passed the House by a vote of 411-6.