One of the sore spots in the foreign policy of U.S. President Barack Obama has been his relationship with Israel. The special relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv has been one of the cornerstones of U.S. diplomacy, a lodestar for U.S. presidents since the founding of the state of Israel.
The strength of that relationship reflects Israel's status as the first and strongest democracy in the Middle East, the alliance with the U.S. and, to the consternation of some, the power of the Israeli lobby in Washington.
Since taking office, Mr. Obama has been accused of ignoring Israel and showing favoritism toward the Palestinians. In one of his first overseas trips as president, he went to Egypt to deliver a speech that aimed to re-establish the U.S. relationship with the Arab and Islamic world.