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Daybreak: Envoy Withheld Amid Crisis

Plus a flashpoint J’lem shul, the right hits Obama, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
March 16, 2010
Netanyahu, Sunday.(Jim Hollander-Pool/Getty Images)
Netanyahu, Sunday.(Jim Hollander-Pool/Getty Images)

• U.S. envoy George Mitchell, scheduled to head to the region today in advance of the proximity talks, has put his trip on hold pending an Israeli response to U.S. concerns. [AP/Gulf News]

• U.S. diplomats want Prime Minister Netanyahu to quash the 1600 planned new houses in East Jerusalem; however, in a speech, Bibi noted that every PM dating to Golda Meir has built there and argued that doing so doesn’t hurt the city’s Arabs. [JPost]

• Most observers believe the Obama administration was genuinely shocked by the building announcement, and now must articulate how its rancor fits (and doesn’t fit) with broader regional strategy: chiefly, opposing Iran. [Politico]

• Because its rededication happened to take place Monday, Jerusalem’s Hurva Synagogue has become a lightning rod for Palestinian anger at the announcement. The structure is located in the Jewish Quarter—not an area that reasonable parties dispute. [NYT]

• Sholom Rubashkin, the former kosher slaughterhouse honcho since convicted of federal financial fraud, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider his case. [FailedMessiah]

• Several senior House Republicans, led by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Virginia), lashed out at the administration for its chastisement of Israel. [JPost]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.