In a Rosh Hashanah greeting to Jews the world over, U.S. President Barack Obama called for the rejection of "the impulse to harden ourselves to others' suffering," urging empathy and "compassion to those in need."
The first African-American president also called for resistance to "prejudice, intolerance and indifference" and for a strong stance against what he described as "the scourge of anti-Semitism, which is still prevalent in far too many corners of our world."
Obama also expressed the desire to "work to achieve lasting peace and security for the state of Israel, so that the Jewish state is fully accepted by its neighbors, and its children can live their dreams free from fear."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell will meet Friday in order to determine whether a tripartite meeting with Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, will take place next week at the United Nations General Assembly. The hope is that the three-way meeting will serve as a catalyst for restarting the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Senior U.S. officials told Haaretz Thursday that Friday's meeting will resolve all differences in order to open the door for holding talks in New York.
The Palestinians are refusing to meet with Netanyahu unless he declares a comprehensive freeze on settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem.
Mitchell also met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan during his current visit to the region, and asked them to exert pressure on Abbas to soften his stance so that a meeting can take place at the UN. Mitchell also asked the two Arab leaders to rally the Arab world in undertaking goodwill gestures toward Israel.
Experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledge, in a secret report obtained by The Associated Press, that Tehran is capable of making a nuclear weapon and that it is developing a missile system that can deliver a nuclear warhead.
The document affirms what Israel, the United States and other western countries have maintained for some time regarding the real purpose of Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran has touted as having peaceful purposes.
According to the document, which Washington says is being withheld by the IAEA's outgoing chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, Iran has "sufficient information" to build a bomb. It also says Iran is likely to "overcome problems" on developing a delivery system - which means Tehran will be able to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile capable of striking western targets.
