-israel alliance. [applause] and please thank him for going to israel in a few weeks. [applause] this trip sends an important message to the people of israel and the world about america's commitment to the jewish state. ladies and gentlemen, i am honored to introduce and welcome a friend who stands with us now and had stood with us always, a steadfast supporter of the u.s.-israel relationship, the vice president of the united states, joe biden. [applause] >> that was really nice. thank you, mr. president. it's great to be here. it's great to be here. ladies and gentlemen, oh, what a difference four years make. i look out there and see an old friend, annette lantos. annette, how are you? her husband tom lantos, a survivor, was my assistant, was my foreign policy adviser for years, and tom used to say all the time, joe -- he talked that hungarian accent -- joe, we must do another fundraiser for aipac. [laughter] i did more fundraisers for aipac in the 1970s and early 1980s than -- just about as many as anybody. thank god you were not putting on shows like this. we would

come to israel, see what israel is all about. you need to the young generation. this is an amazing generation. i used to tell them i have a problem. i do not know what to do about it. do you have an idea. these people, 25, 26 years old, they came back with the most innovative idea. come and see them. they love you, love them. together, we can do it. >> lastly, the final word goes to senator john mccain. >> i have to tell my baptist friends that it is hard to do the lord's work in the city of satan. it gets harder every single day. your ambassador does the same every single day. he became a socialist in the ivy league. the only way to destroy the iranians is for them to leave the united states and israel will act together. egypt is the heart and soul of the arab world. we must pay careful attention. we must gauge our aid to egypt to their progress. we cannot just give them a blank check. we do not want to break the camp david accord either. that is a serious issue. everybody in this room has something to do besides be here this morning and this evening. i want to

israel and in the u.s. over iran he runs a role in this syrian uprising is really negligible because at the present moment there is the western powers of the us france britain. and at the same kind of. over fifty percent of the day. and then everybody you know who's israel and in the usa cannot think of anything other than through the prism of iran iran has nothing to do with the. syria point. rubbish which is the media being peddling it because if you if you attempt to put anything toward iran everybody in the west begins to feel threatened this is just like the use of and then you can accuse anybody of anything ok at the end of the day i think certainly the effect of the syrian revolution will be to weaken hezbollah because at the present moment the contact between iran and hezbollah is through syria and that's the point that is going to be weakened however i think israel knows hezbollah can do and israel cannot afford to lose civilians and civilians will be lost if there is an intervention with there is

a priority america's commitment and my commitment to israel and israel's security is unshakeable. it isn't chicle. but his pronounced allegiance to israel was not just a commitment of the past commitment to the future as well take a look at vice president biden had to say at the conference just this morning. this one from the moment the president took office he has acted swiftly and decisively to make clear to the whole world and to our israel that even if circumstances have changed one thing has not our deep commitment to the security of the state of israel that has not changed that will guide change as long as i am the our president and vice pres non-state. you know our. self. found. however despite the administration's open display of affection and outright promise to stand by the country through thick and thin a shocking new poll reveals that voters think obama isn't doing enough yes thirty nine percent of voters that obama is not supporting israel enough only thirteen percent say it's policies quote to support it so what to talk about this unwavering bonamy influence that rea

has done for israel. the president and i agreed to focus our discussion on three main issues -- first, iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, second, the deteriorating situation in syria, and third, the need to find a responsible way to advance peace with the palestinians. on the first point, iran has made it clear that it will continue to defy the will of the international community. time after time, the world's leading powers have tabled proposals to resolve the iranian nuclear issue peacefully, but i have to tell you the truth. diplomacy has not worked. iran ignores all these offers. it is running out the clock. it has used negotiations, including the most recent ones, to buy time to press ahead with its nuclear program, so thus far, the sanctions have not stopped the nuclear program either. sanctions have hit the iranian economy hard. that is true but iran's leaders grit their teeth and they move forward. iran enriches more and more uranium. it installs faster and faster centrifuges. it still has not cros

by visiting israel. [laughter] it's a chonda! don't fall for it, my chosen brethren, my he-bros. [laughter] he doesn't get you. [cheers and applause] this man doesn't get it. israel is a divided country that feels beseiged by terrorists, and whose politics are increasingly dictated by a small, hard-right minority. obama can't relate to that! [laughter] and if you need more proof that the president is no friend of israel, just do the math: back in 2007, president bush supported israel with $2.3 billion in foreign military aid. this year, president obama wants to bring that down to just $3.1 billion. [laughter] i know, it looks like it's going up, but remember, in hebrew you read charts from right to left. [cheers and applause] all right? [cheers and applause] and our worst fears about obama were confirmed when he appointed as secretary of defense former senator and man who just learned his dog died-- chuck hagel. [laughter] hagel has a history of troubling statements. he once said the jewy lobby intimidat

mentioning but still israel has peace with egypt as well as peace with jordan israel on the verge of reestablishing negotiations with the palestinians of course of the syrian responsible regime comes into power i'm sure that israel will be. interested in in gauging in a dialogue to see if the pieces is it is possible i do is really. to deal with your focus on circulation talking about bills comments regarding. the bill or about the u.s. role in this i think it's absolutely critical in essential that u.s. steps up its efforts aiding the opposition. supplying the opposition with even greater supply and funding the already been giving coordinating activity before we go to the break or you go to the break you can twenty seconds before we go to the break. the usa once said design out of many a position they want a particular opposition that is going to be that opposition that cannot be for instance from i'm not so that they cannot be from al qaida they cannot be islamist they cannot be shiite they cannot be with hezbollah they cannot be with iran so if they want to change the regime but t

the west bank and gaza from israeli control israel's rule is. israel is resisting tooth and nail withdrawing from approximately twenty two percent of historic powers dying what's the basis for the assumption that israel will relinquish relinquish complete control over the eighty percent of palestine it's had sovereigns sovereign sovereign control over since one thousand for the night that's just sheer silliness the only reason these. speculations now rise of one state it's because nothing is happening if nothing is happening on the ground and of course people will speculate about all sorts of things that are totally disconnected from politics if you take for example the first intifada the first into father was significant and to be number one it was a mass all right. we don't have enough time in your government my friend we have run out of time many thanks to my guest today in new york and in amman and thanks to our viewers for watching us here darkie see you next time and remember cross talk rules. is a. mirror image of iraq after inflation. tw

in the absence of israel being forced out of the occupied territories so the fact that israel opposes it is a given that's not something we should be even bothered to we should even bother debating the question is how do you get israel to budge and i think the point that move we know you are both making is you can't get israel to budge through negotiations the way you get israel to budge is the same way you got south africa the budge there has to be an international solidarity movement acting in concert with an indigenous resistance movement in the occupied territories and what's crucial it's also critical they have. to be united behind a program that the international community finds credible and the only program right now that the international community finds credible. on the june one thousand nine hundred sixty seven border and not just resolution of the refugee question ok can we talk about the refugee question because it's extremely difficult well as you know. the israel palestine conflict didn't began in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven when i got the patient it began in o

of israel supported by the americans is the one which is creating this trouble for israel as well as obviously the people in the region this is this is not going to change with changing whether you have a regime of assad or islamist or whatever other terminology is used the idea that somehow israel is actually concerned about having a democratic stable regime of course this is a term used for having a government that is going to be the same as the us government when it comes to the israeli situation do nothing about the israeli situation stop the people from fighting them and this is this is not going to change i think this is going to change whereby whatever happens the regime that is going to come is going to make israeli life more difficult and israel is going to have to take how sharon measures syria and the neighborhood indeed in lebanon. and i let him. know bill do you want to jump in there react to what we just heard thank you let me again focus on the regional perspective because this is not just one nation a state of trying to articulate. thought you have to realize there ar

kind of ion is, what future israel will look forward to? israel is not going anywhere. but especially for the young people in this audience, the question is what does its future hold? and that brings me to the ubject of peace. i know israel has taken risks for peace. reat leaders men ack ham rabreen.ts ack made credible proposals to the palestinians at annapolis. you withdrew from gaza and lebanon and then faced terror and rockets. across the region, you've extended a hand of friendship and all too often you've been confronted with rejection and in some cases the ugly reality of anti-semityism. so i believe that the israeli people do want peace. too also understand why many israelis, maybe an increasing number, maybe a lot of young people here today, are skeptical that it be achieved. but today israel is at a across roads. it can be tempting to put aside the frustrations and sacrifices that come with the pursuit of peace. particularly when iron dome rep else rockets, barriers keep out suicide bombers. there's so many other pressing issues that demand your attention. and

israel channel 2. >> mr.i ask you about syria, a practical question and a moral one. for the last two years, tens of thousands of innocent civilians are being massacred. no one in the united states is doing anything to stop it immediately. on a practical level, you have said today and also in the past that the use of chemical weapons would be a crossing of a red line. it seems like this line was crossed yesterday. what specifically do you intend to do about it? >> i'll answer the question in reverse order if you don't mind. i'll talk about the chemical weapons first and then the larger question. with respect to chemical weapons, we intend to investigate thoroughly exactly what happened. obviously in syria right now you have a war zone. you have information filtered out, but we have to make sure we know exactly what happened, what was the nature of the incident, what can we document, what can we prove? so i've instructed my teams to work closely with all of the countries in the region and international organiz

he must be powerful in israel. he must be popular in israel. barack obama, to be candid, has not been popular in israel as compared to bill clinton and george bush. what this speech was about was trying to do in one hour what those politicians had done through engagement week after week, was to show the israelis that he understands intellectually, politically, he understands why they feel special about their country. to bring all that together, and as andrea said, this speech was designed to do all that. barack obama has shown in his career that these big set-piece speeches are his probably best tool as a president and as a political leader. if he can launch it, this will be the way to launch it. >> what is interesting, also, another aspect he brought was really an emotional connection. i was here with you. he's talking as a parent and reached out to israeli parents and said, were you to speak to some of these young palestinians i spoke with this morning, you would wish them well, you would wish them prosperity and peace. how much, jamie, do yo

israel really is an skoesten shl issue. that is a question in israel's mind. whether the united states will change its policies at the moment, of course, that will depend on progress in iran. and there is real progress. the question is in iran, how close are they actually to in terms of enriching uranium to that 20% level. how much of it and how soon will they reach the 93% level which means they can make a bomb very quickly. and american intelligence, pretty -- they are pretty close to agreeing on what is happening in iran. what they don't necessarily agree on is what to do about it. >> we should note here for viewers at home, that the joint news conference that was supposed to have started at 2:00 or 2:05, we just received word that it will start at 2:25 instead. the joint news conference between netanyahu and president obama. when it happens, we will bring it to you live as well. louise, let me bring you in here to the conversation. what can we expect the president to say about the expansion of settlements, on palestinian land, another major issue on the ag

do visit israel. barack obama actually first went to israel in 2006 when he was still an illinois senator. he went again in 2008 when he was running for president. you'll know chris christie is serious about running for president when he schedules a trip to israel. mitt romney went to israel last year in a desperate attempt to exploit a republican lie, that there was some kind of difference between president obama and it's really prime minister benjamin netanyahu about what the borders of israel should be. romney was aided and abetted in that lie by netanyahu, who is an old friend of romney's. they worked together 30 years ago at a boston consulting firm. as we reviewed last night, netanyahu left no room for doubt, he wanted mitt romney to be the next president of the united states. and romney delivered a speech in israel that echoed netanyahu's talking points at that time on iran. >> we should employ any and all measures to dissuade the iranian regime from its nuclear course, and it is our fervent ho

israel's not going anywhere. israel has the wisdom to see the world as it is, but this is in your nature. israel also has the courage to see the world as it should be. you know, it was once said, in israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles. sometimes the greatest miracle is recognizing that the world can change. that's a lesson that the world has learned from the jewish people. and that brings me to the final area that i'll focus on. prosperity and israel's broader role in the world. i know that all the talk about security and peace can sometimes seem to dominate the headlines, but that's not where people live. and every day, even amidst the threats that you face, israelis are defining themselves by the opportunities that you're creating. through talent and hard work. israelis have put this small country at the forefront of the global economy. israelis understand the value of education and have produced ten nobel laureates. israeli's understand the power of invention and your universities ed

some of the young people that he was addressing inside israel were in fact palestinian citizens of israel he made no acknowledgement of that but of course this was not symbolism aimed at the palestinians he did make in his speech some very important remarks about justice his speech was quite powerful in terms of the rights of palestinians to justice the problem was his. actions his actions were very clear we're going to continue doing what we're doing we're not going to hold israel accountable we're not going to condition our aid etc so even at the level of symbolism if he had gone to the grave of yasser arafat for instance and said whatever i may think of some of the things our fed has done he was seen as the father of modern palestinian nationalism and in that way i recognize his his importance to his people that's all he would have had to say he chose not to do that the real factor here was far more about iran where there was a great deal of pressure being put on the israeli government by the u.s. to say stop pushing us towards war and in fact that's the one thing that benjamin netanya

that israel is an economic hub. are among the most educated populations in the worldful there is great potential here if these two opposing sides would actually work together. that's why he has been stressing economic development as a possibility. >> now a $40 billion a year mutual trade relationship that dennis ross helped nurture along. thank you, dennis, and i should say nbc middle east adviser in chicago, jeffrey goldberg here. we'll be right back. no. there was that fuzzy stuff on the gouda. [ both ] ugh! when it came to our plants... we were so confused. how much is too much water? too little? until we got miracle-gro moisture control. it does what basic soils don't by absorbing more water, so it's there when plants need it. yeah, they're bigger and more beautiful. guaranteed. in pots. in the ground. in a ukulele. are you kidding me? that was my idea. with the right soil... everyone grows with miracle-gro. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always havin

because that would flood the state of israel with palestinians i can see israel's point of view so some compromise arrangement will have to be made in respect of refugees but the other was that the lines are fairly clear one needs two states with east jerusalem as the capital of palestine what of the main problems with achieving the two state solution then is the determining factor in the middle east israel wishes to expand its territory and it does this by means of expansion of settlements does this by constructing an alleged security war within poster need to review which has resulted in the seizure of palestinian land and we are going to see. some form of legislative control exercised over the area see that is rural palestine by israel so you know the words we see de facto annexation of palestine taking place and what is really sad for me is that this is so obvious but the international community turns a blind eye united states european union russian federation china the whole international community simply turns a blind eye to facts that are very very clear fredricka thank you very

but today israel is at a crossroads. it can be tempting to put aside the frustrations and sacrifices that come with the pursuit of peace, particularly when iron dome repels rockets, barriers keep out suicide bombers, there are so many other pressing issues that demand your attention, and i know that only israelis can make the fundamental decisions about your country's future. [applause] >> i recognize that. i also know by the way that not everyone in this hall will agree with what i have to say about peace. i recognize that there are those who are not simply skeptical about peace but question its underlying premise. have a different vision for israel's future, and that is part of a democracy, that is part of the discourse between our two countries, i recognize that. but i also believe it's important to be open and honest especially with your friends. i also believe that. [applause] >> you know politically given the strong bipartisan support for israel in america, the easiest thing for me to do would be to push this issue

what israel is trying to do here is they've noticed how israel is linked very quiet during the syrian uprising and that is because israel for its chance to get what it can from this particular. unrest north of its border in syria and what israel is looking for is always what israel is looking for is to increase its life and holdings so israel will be looking to seize the golan heights and keep it as a quote unquote security zone for israelis defense and of course in the golan heights we have the licenses which of coming to the news in recent weeks also we have water resources which israel needs very badly so it's a it's a bit of an opportunist agenda with regards to israel and syria and of course the deal with iran is also just to keep. in a permanent state of conflict over in the middle east as well and during that backing israel and whatever is and israel's joining us on a course put together practicalities come in let the money it costs on top of the sequester of the financial side of this we were just seeing spending cuts not taking huge effect in the u.s. where the money to suppo

tonight on the eve of president obama's trip to israel, a conferring with the former u.s. ambassador to that country martin indyk. the stakes are high. the question on the table can the president restart the middle east peace effort that eludes the region. conversation with martin indyk coming up right now. >> there's a saying that dr. king had, he said it's always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we're only halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have a lot of work to do. wal-mart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and my contribution to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: when president obama touches down in israel on wednesday, he'll bring with him a full agenda. first, there is the expectation that meaningful peace talks between the israelis and palestinians can be restarted. with the new secretary of state john kerry along on this trip, some in the administration hope a new spirit of collaboration can

to make a visit to israel. the israelis felt kind of sidelined by the cairo speech which he opened his first term with, and they did not necessarily like the tone of that speech. they were waiting for some sign that he also had a concern with the israeli public. he resisted his entire first term and decided to make this his first trip of his second term, as a way, maybe, of making up for not going in his first four years. >> let me ask you -- will this visit helped to start to restart or bring about a revival of the peace process? >> well, i think the chances seem unlikely at this moment, that we will see any major breakthrough in the coming weeks or months, but you never know. it is possible. i do not think that is the primary goal of his mission, but i think the fact that his new secretary of state, john kerry, is very interested in doing exactly that at least leave that possibility open, and i think what will be much more interesting is not what happens while he is there on the ground but what happens after

it is two trips in one to israel. the public part, you'd be hard- pressed to find a ford minivan'' worth of israelis that are anti- american. they want to like an american president. whatever their differences, for the most part, every stop along the visit is designed, choreographed to touch deeper chords in israeli society, whether it is the shrine of the books, or the stop at hertzel's tomb, or talking to israeli kids about their future in the 21st century. these are things obama will do very well at. i think this trip -- i would be surprised if it is not a success. there'll be some pickups, -- some hiccups, but the big piece, the public part i think is going to be successful to the extent it can. the way i see it, some say obama is just checking a box. i think he sees that the way towards managing his relationship with the israeli government runs through the israeli public. it does not mean that netanyahu is completely poll focused. i think the issue of iran as a gut issue for netanyahu. it is not just looking at p

obama just wrapped up his first presidential trip to israel and palestine during his three day visit he spent ninety nine percent of his time in israel meeting with officials making symbolic gestures and touring the country and yet in palestine he spent nearly hours briefly meeting with the palestinian authority and visiting a church what do you fail to see in the short time he was there was hundreds of palestinians protesting his visit and in signs of messages like this one obama stop supporting israeli war crimes or secure the release of forty eight hundred palestinian prisoners or america as the head of terrorism one protest many were don and martin luther king masks in an attempt to invoke the spirit of the civil rights movement in south african apartheid was a far cry from the imagery of obama in israel you know ward the medal of distinction by the israeli government a first of its kind for any american president so here to talk about the significance of this trip and the prospects for peace between the two countries i'm joined now by phyllis bennis director of the new internati

with israel.kes us both stronger. it makes us both more prosperous. and it makes the world a better place. >> reporter: and this has been a lot about imagery on this trip. one of the images today was president obama and prime minister netanyahu touring the iron dome missile defense system as pointed to by president obama to show his support to israel. 300 million went to fund this, an improvement in the last gaza war and president obama points to that as his support for israel. he has a battle selling himself in israel, only 10% of israelis say they like president obama and he's going direct for a hard sell, megyn, when he goes before a national television audience and talking to students and why he is in favor of israel and going forward, how he hopes to help the jewish state in a second term. >> megyn: thank you. and in honor to president obama's visit to jerusalem, the israeli embassy in washington releases an unusual animated video featuring the two leaders and a classic song from the 1980's s

and we want to know how you see a bomb israel intentions in israel that's what we're asking in our poll and. let's see what the opinions are there right now the vast majority think the whole trip is nothing more than a p.r. stunt almost a fifth bomber is trying to buy time and restrain needs route from striking nearly ten percent think the u.s. media should be focusing more on palestine and a tiny minority actually expected to bring the region closer to pace cost you a vote where you have to do is going to come. up ahead daniel bushell thinks it's a tough questions and he's shy of the truth and. jorge rios an argentinean student at seventeen other similar students from foreign countries all paid a private company between twenty thousand and four thousand dollars so that they get to take part in a u.s. state department work study program he was promised forty hours of work per week at a common fast food restaurant with a decent salary but the reality he claims was quite different he was actually only given around four hours of work per week what was expected to be on call twenty four sev