Netanyahu to address AIPAC
in Washington on Iran 48 hours before Purim
(Click here to watch tonight at 8:30 PM EST)

The event is to run from 8:30 to 10:30 pm EST. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will speak towards the end of the event. We hope to have more details later.

Obama plans to pressure Netanyahu not to strike Iran;
White House meeting set for Monday

 
Netanyahu and Obama, shown in May 2011
Photo / AP, Charles Dharapak

High-level meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu are set for Monday at the White House. This could be the last face-to-face meetings between the two leaders before Netanyahu makes his final decision whether to go it alone on Iran.

“At the White House on Monday, President Obama will seek to persuade the Israeli Prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to postpone whatever plans he may have to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months,” notes an important new article by Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic. “Obama will argue that under his leadership, the United States “has Israel’s back,” and that he will order the U.S. military to destroy Iran’s nuclear program if economic sanctions fail to compel Tehran to shelve its nuclear ambitions.”

Goldberg’s article has triggered a series of other similar articles in the mainstream media, confirming the coming pressure by Obama against Israel. “President Obama plans to caution Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week against attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, urging patience while international economic sanctions take full effect,” reports the Washington Post.

Click here to read Obama's Interview with the Atlantic

Iran will be the top issue in Netanyahu's meeting with Obama

Peace talks with the Palestinians dominated President Barack Obama's meeting last year with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu but will barely warrant a mention at their White House session Monday or in speeches to a powerful pro-Israeli lobby. Dealing with Iran's nuclear program is now the issue commanding urgent attention.

Transcript:
Obama's AIPAC Speech

Obama speaks at AIPAC 2012
Photo / AFP-Getty Images, Jewel Samad

President Obama addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Comittee in a speech on Sunday. Below, are some key quotes from his speech:

"We will do what it takes to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge - because Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat."

"Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak, President Peres - each of them have called for two states, a secure Israel that lives side by side with an independent Palestinian state. I believe that peace is profoundly in Israel’s security interest."

"We all prefer to resolve this issue diplomatically. Having said that, Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States - just as they should not doubt Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs."

Major Tornado Outbreak Across U.S. Occurred on Friday;
Single Day Record for March is Broken with
At Least 77 Confirmed Tornadoes

A massive tornado outbreak occurred in the U.S. on Friday, with a total of at least 77 confirmed tornadoes according to the Weather Channel. The outbreak spanned across 10 states. During the day, the National Weather Service issued 269 tornado and 335 severe thunderstorm warnings. Areas affected by the storms included West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama and other Gulf Coast states. At least 39 fatalities have been attributed to the storms.

The state of Kentucky was placed under a state of emergency as storms made their way across the region. Several small towns in southern Indiana were destroyed. The outbreak surpassed the previous March calendar day record of 74 tornadoes from March 11-13, 2006.

Click here to see more information on Friday's tornado outbreak

The tornado outbreak occurred last week on the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. The peace process was one of the topics of discussion. Clinton had met with Obama earlier that day at the White House, but it is not clear what they discussed. Clinton had also met with the Quartet's Mideast Envoy Tony Blair on Thursday. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also met with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta last week.

Flashback:
Over 40 Tornadoes Hit U.S. After Obama
Calls for Peace Deal in AIPAC 2011 speech;
Joplin, MO Devastated by EF5 Tornado

In his AIPAC speech last year, President Obama called for a two-state solution based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps. That very same day, over 40 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. as a major tornado outbreak continued. An EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri caused catastrophic damage. The devastation was so severe, that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu started off his AIPAC speech the next night by offering his condolences to those affected.