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Netanyahu hangs hopes on US midterm elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mistakenly believes that a Republican US Congress would pressure President Barack Obama to change his policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledges applause as he arrives to address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in Washington, March 4, 2014. Netanyahu urged world powers on Tuesday not to allow Iran to retain the ability to enrich uranium, saying it must be stripped of all nuclear technologies with bomb-making potential. REUTERS/Mike Theiler (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3G15H
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The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on Oct. 16-17 was an especially joyous one for the Republican group led by the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest supporters, likely rubbed their hands in glee at hearing US Secretary of State John Kerry’s address on Oct. 16, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. The gift they got from the Obama administration went far beyond any expectations.

Kerry could not claim in his defense that the link he made between the Jewish state and the Islamic State (IS) was an “unfortunate slip of the tongue.” The argument that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “fuels” the recruitment of young people to the ranks of IS and stirs “agitation” on the Arab street was a recurring refrain in Kerry’s speech.

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