Obama at airport

The presidential convoy has arrived at the airport behind a phalanx of yellow-jacketed Israeli policemen on motorcycles.

After a brief farewell, Obama is to travel to Amman.

Barack Obama is leaving Israel after a three-day visit that aimed to win the hearts of the Israel public — and seems to have succeeded.

Obama boards Air Force One on Friday afternoon with a very different image in Israel from the one with which he arrived on Wednesday. With repeated references to Jewish history, praise for Israel’s economy and technology, a very liberal sprinkling of Hebrew, and an intense dose of his trademark charisma, Obama drew adulatory press coverage. Since Wednesday, many Israelis seem to have developed what one might find hard to resist calling a crush on Obama; within days, polls in Israel will almost certainly show a jump in his popularity here.

“I hope the Israeli people now understand that Barack Hussein Obama is not against them,” Arad Nir, Channel 2’s foreign affairs reporter, said as the president traveled to the airport.

Udi Segal, the channel’s diplomatic reporter, says Obama leaves with good ties with the new Israeli government and “more influence over what’s going on here.”