No love in the air as Obama finally calls Bibi

The tumultuous week which included Israel’s dramatic elections and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory came to a close with the left-wing parties licking their wounds and the right-wing factions scheming for a chance to hold more influence in the future government. The Hebrew media’s weekend editions, however, set their sights abroad, speculating over the expected implications Netanyahu’s monumental win will have on Israel’s relations with the United States and President Barack Obama.

Yedioth Ahronoth’s main headline announces that finally, days after the Likud party’s victory was made clear, “Obama has called to congratulate Netanyahu.” The paper reports that officials in Jerusalem “waited intently” for a call, and that last night, “the phone ultimately rang.”

In the Netanyahu-friendly Israel Hayom daily, Obama’s much longed-after phone call is mentioned in passing, and the paper notes that officials in Washington have indicated that the White House is considering a “reevaluation” of its relations with Israel, due to Netanyahu’s rejection of a Palestinian state ahead of the general elections. According to the paper, unnamed diplomats in Jerusalem urged the Obama administration to pressure Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rather than Netanyahu to reach a peace deal.

The paper’s top headline is reserved for Netanyahu’s future coalition options, reporting that the Likud may opt to hand over three main government ministries — finance, defense and foreign affairs — to other parties, while keeping most other portfolios for itself. A large graph showing the final results of the elections is also plastered on the daily’s front page, highlighting Netanyahu’s victory one final time.

Back on the fragile state of US-Israeli relations, Israel Hayom writer Boaz Bismuth offers that Netanyahu now has a chance to mend fences with the Obama administration, though Bismuth adds that he is not sure whether officials in Washington are even interested in such a fix.

“According to reports from Washington, it seems the elections only gave Obama a chance to engage in another feud with Netanyahu,” he writes.

The reports referenced by Bismuth are displayed on the front page of Haaretz, as American political pundit and senior columnist Peter Beinart offers a perspective from within the White House, where officials have apparently stated that the harm caused by Netanyahu is no less than irreparable. “You cannot retroactively cancel the ring of a bell,” one Washington official tells Beinart, referring to a series of controversial statements with regards to the Palestinians and to Arab-Israeli voters which were uttered by the Israeli prime minister over the past weeks.

Another front-page article in Haaretz brings up a series of proposed legislative efforts that were on the previous government’s agenda but were cut short due to the break-up of the coalition. It offers an analysis of which laws are likely to be raised by the next Knesset. Among the bills which will likely go up for debate once again are the Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People Law, a law to cut tax breaks for left-wing NGOs, and a law to curb the High Court’s authoritative powers, the article says.

Also in Haaretz, writer Amos Harel offers a lengthy and interesting analysis on Netanyahu’s next term as prime minister, assessing that the Israeli leader is unlikely to partake in any military campaigns in the coming years, if possible. Harel adds, however, that the prime minister will likely have to deal with growing pressure from the international community and the Palestinian Authority over the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“During his last two terms in office, while Netanyahu did engage in two military operations in the Gaza Strip, he did so as a person who was forced by a demon,” Harel writes. “[But] in the next government, Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni will not be there to serve as a sort of fig-leaf for Netanyahu in the eyes of the international community,” he continues, explaining that the Palestinian Authority will be working overtime to ensure that the Likud-led government will suffer delegitimization in the eyes of the world.

Finally, with no other significant reports in its agenda, Yedioth notes on its back page that uber-sophisticated songwriter and melancholy singer Suzanne Vega is set to make two appearances in the country over the summer (June 9 and June 10 in Tel Aviv), with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra set to accompany her as back up. Fifty-five-year-old Vega, a regular on Israeli radio throughout the 80’s, is known for her somber, folk-inspired hits “Luka,” and “Tom’s Diner,” among others.

“We are proud to host Suzanne Vega, one of the most talented singers of our day,” Philharmonic Orchestra head Avi Shoshani tells the paper. Vega’s response to the Israel concerts was not available as of Friday, as Yedioth apparently stuck to her advice: “Just don’t ask me how I am.”