Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington, D.C. Sunday morning for a hastily-scheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. However, the prime minister's staff is taking pains to play down expectations for the meeting, which his spokesman said had not been cemented.
"We're not confirming anything," Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev told Israel National News on Sunday morning. "We are hopeful that there will be a meeting, but that's all."
Immediately following his "possible" meeting Monday with Netanyahu, Obama will leave for Texas to participate in memorial services for the victims of the mass shooting at the Fort Hood army base. The last-minute talks were apparently squeezed into the president's schedule overnight.
Although he dutifully delivered the standard vow that "America's bond with our Israeli allies is unbreakable," the American president warned Israelis Saturday night in a pre-taped video message to thousands in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square that "Israelis will not find true security while the Palestinians are gripped by hopelessness and despair."
The comments were part of a message delivered at a memorial for former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, assassinated 14 years ago in the same spot where the event took place. Rabin's convicted killer, Herzliya resident Yigal Amir, was caught and sentenced to life in prison. 
Israelis will not find true security while the Palestinians are gripped by hopelessness and despair.
Obama decided to cancel his appearance at Tuesday's United Jewish Communities General Assembly in order to attend the memorial. The president will be sending in his stead his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to address the 3,000 prominent Jewish guests who had expected to meet and greet Obama.
A star-studded cast of Israeli officials and international Jewish leaders will address the General Assembly in the state of Georgia, led by Israel's prime minister, who is scheduled to speak on Monday. Also on the speakers' dais will be Defense Minister and Labor party chairman Ehud Barak, Kadima party chairwoman and Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren and Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky.
Regev also made clear that Netanyahu would focus his efforts on wooing the North American Jewish public back into Israel's corner. Recent polls have showed a slow erosion of understanding and support among American Jews for Israel's defense and foreign policy issues.
"The prime minister knows the importance of Jewish communities abroad," noted Regev, "and is especially aware of the importance of the North American Jewish community."