Obama sends Rabin memorial video, in bid to woo Israelis

Ha'aretz
U.S. President Barack Obama has videotaped a message to be shown Saturday night at the annual memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. The message will relate to the murdered prime minister's legacy and the need to advance the peace process.

...This is another step in Obama's attempt to speak directly to the Israeli public in light of the very low level of support he has among the Israeli public.

...Obama's advisers are worried about his lack of popularity and the expressed feeling that he is hostile to Israel. They believe this seriously harms his ability to advance the peace process with the Palestinians.

...the U.S. administration has started to increase the number of messages it is sending to the Israeli public on the peace process. For example, Obama published a New Year's greeting to the Jewish people for Rosh Hashanah, in which he spoke at length about his aspirations to advance the peace process. In addition, he sent a video recording to the President's Conference in Jerusalem, reiterating his commitment to Israel's security. Obama also released a special announcement a few days ago honoring the 15th anniversary of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. Full story