Aluf Benn

A minute-by-minute update from the 2011 Jewish Federations General Assembly in Denver, Colorado.

In the face of dramatic regional changes, Prime Minister Netanyahu has allowed his rivals to set the agenda and has lead Israel to its lowest international standing in four decades, due to a series of misalliances, missteps and mistakes.

The political crisis has become a reality well before the Palestinians declare their independent state, writes Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn, leaving Israel isolated in facing Iran, Turkey and Egypt.

Conventional wisdom has it that President Assad will soon be history; until then, Prime Minister Netanyahu would be well advised to invest efforts in patching up relations with Turkey.

The time is ripe for the prime minister to dissolve the existing coalition and join forces with Kadima and Atzmaut. It would not only earn Israel points in the world, but also guarantee him a third term.

The current upheaval in the Arab world will have a profound impact on Israeli foreign and defense policy in the coming years; it has already proven that the policy of fencing ourselves in has lost its effectiveness.

Meir Dagan's warnings at Tel Aviv University Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership 'is absent of vision and responsibility' places him in opposition role, advocating 'military restraint and political initiative.'

Despite Obama's 'clarification' speech, neither he nor Netanyahu succeeded in convincing the other to change his stance. From the Israeli's point of view, that's just fine for now.

The positions Netanyahu presented on Capitol Hill, like his speech last week before the Knesset, were meant to reinforce his stance as the leader of Israel's right and to push aside the pretender to the crown, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

The prime minister's speech left him in the best position: the coalition is unified behind him, most of the public support his position in the polls, and his freedom of action is preserved. What more can a politician ask for?

The speech, whose purpose is to curb international pressure on Israel, gives Netanyahu a rare opportunity to reboot his leadership.

The speeches Netanyahu will make at the AIPAC conference and in the Congress are the speeches of his life, and will determine the rest of his term: a confrontation with the U.S. or reaching an understanding with Obama.

Netanyahu presented the American president with his four No's: No to a retreat to the 1967 borders, no to a retreat from the Jordan River, no to negotiations with Hamas, and no to a return of refugees to the Jewish state.

Netanyahu is likely to go further in concessions in Washington than he ever has before. But too late. He and his Palestinian counterpart Abbas have spent two years pushing their respective historical narratives instead of concerning themselves with a better future for their peoples.

Netanyahu has nothing to worry about - there's no chance the Palestinian leadership will agree to return to the negotiating table under these principles.

After Obama accepted Netanyahu's demands, the PM now cannot be apathetic to the U.S. president's proposal for 1967 borders.

PM leaves for Washington in shadow of two diplomatic crises – one with the United States that revolves around Netanyahu's former national security adviser Uzi Arad, the other with Russia.

For Israel, the risk that Syria President Bashar Assad would undermine calm of northern border less threatening than prospect of him toppled; Israel blames Assad and Iran for border infiltration on Nakba Day.

Obama's peace plan won't come until August, what gives Netanyahu another three months in which he will be able to stick to the status quo without any substantive concessions.

All signs show that Ehud Barak is planning his comeback to the Prime Minister's Office. And as crazy as it sounds, he has a better chance than most of getting there.

Though delivered 55 years ago, Moshe Dayan's eulogy for Roi Rotberg continues to articulate Israel's situation in its dispute with the Arabs

The spontaneous celebrations after bin Laden's death are reminiscent of a certain ancient superpower in whose image the United States was built.

Obama completed the task without compromising and without bowing to the terrorists. That action shows that human society has advanced little since antiquity. The empire pursues its enemies to the last, until its soldiers grab hold of the rebel's severed head.

Palestinian reconciliation provides Netanyahu with an escape from the rut he has fallen into because of the deadlock in the peace process.

There is no better introduction to Israel today than S.Y. Agnon's famous novel.