In the interest of full disclosure, I did not come up with the headline for this article. It’s the headline of a Facebook page started on Wednesday, Feb. 6 by Israelis who want the American president to come to Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and speak directly to the Israeli public. This request touches the deepest cords of Israel’s collective consciousness and expresses a desire that is more than just a social network event. Israelis want to conduct a conversation with US President Barack Obama. More precisely, they want him to start talking to them.

Over the past four years, the US-Israeli public dialogue has been confined to very narrow arguments. These include the personal relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the extent of the US security commitment to Israel, Israel’s commitment to the peace process and even Obama’s personal sentiments toward the Israelis. Into this morass there seeped off-the-record briefings to reporters, mutual and uncomplimentary character assessments, recurring crises of confidence and above all, a sense of continuous discord.

Many Israelis — I believe the vast majority — have absolutely no doubts regarding Obama’s personal commitment to Israel’s security and to the extent of the contribution mounted by the previous administration to this security. The prime minister is being blamed in the United States for placing himself squarely as a Republican supporter in the recent elections, and in Netanyahu’s circles, Jeffrey Goldberg’s famous column (which read that Obama regards Netanyahu as a “political coward”) is being treated as payback and blatant interference in the Israeli elections. Let us assume, after this brief summary, that it takes two to tango.

Both in terms of history and of substance, US-Israeli relations amount to much more than this trading of blame. The shared interests of both nations, as well as the fundamental principles upon which they both were built, have established the foundation for fruitful dialogue. As an Israeli, I will allow myself to assume that this is productive for both sides. But also, and no less important, it’s about the inside stories Israelis and Americans tell themselves. When cynics attacked Obama during his first run for the White House, saying he was offering false hopes, he responded in his famous New Hampshire speech that “in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.”