Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council

The Pope's condemnations of antisemitism in general and Holocaust denial in particular were forthright and consistent.

What McGeough fails to adequately convey are the events that led Israel officials to decide that targeting a then-relatively unknown Hamas leader, on the streets of one of only two Arab countries at peace with the Jewish state, was a risk worth taking.

The Palestinian national movement started life with a vision and goal of a Palestinian Muslim Arab-majority state in all of Palestine - a one-state "solution" - and continues to espouse and aim to establish such a state down to the present day.

My name is Keith Dayton, and I head a small team of Americans, Canadians, British, and a Turkish officer who were sent to the Middle East to assist in bringing some order to the Palestinian Authority's security forces.

Pope Benedict XVI's five-day "pastoral pilgrimage of prayer and unity" for peace and reconciliation in Israel and the Palestinian territories in May passed without serious hitches - though his unusual speech at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial aroused controversy in Israel.

On the face of it, diplomatic commotion the morning after Binyamin Netanyahu's return to power followed familiar patterns of cordiality with neighbours and affection with allies amid continued friction with veteran enemies.

Can the United States and its European allies peacefully prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons? And if not, would Israel try to do so militarily, even if doing so greatly angered President Barack Obama?

When the dust settles, what will likely be remembered from Netanyahu's maiden trip to the US in his second term as prime minister is that the talks led neither to a breakdown of relations with the US, nor a breakthrough in Middle East diplomacy.

Israel's 60th birthday produced a treasure trove of gifts from Europe. There was excited talk about the prospect of a strategic dialogue and more excitement about a business dialogue.

Some commentators and officials are starting to link the two main items on the Obama Administration's Middle East agenda - Israel-Palestinian peace and the Iranian nuclear threat.