Morning Update: Alabama’s Senate race puts Trump populism to the…

It was supposed to be a cakewalk for the Republicans: A special election to fill a vacant Senate seat in one of the country's deepest-red states. But Tuesday's vote in Alabama has turned into a hard-fought battle over both the limits of the nativist populism that carried Donald Trump to the presidency, and accountability for powerful men accused of sexual misconduct.

Officials: Trump mulls calling Jerusalem Israel’s capital

In this March 17, 2003, file photo, an Israeli border policemen guards the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv as other Israelis line up for U.S. visas. U.S. officials say President Donald Trump is poised to again delay his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Trump says will not move US embassy to Jerusalem for now

US President Donald Trump has said he will not go ahead with his controversial pledge to move the American embassy to Jerusalem until after pushing for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. "I wanna give that a shot before I even think about moving the embassy to Jerusalem," Trump said on former governor Mike Huckabee's TV show yesterday, referring to efforts to forge a peace between the two sides that has eluded career diplomats for decades.

Embassy debate ‘Most American Jews do not want Trump to move US embassy to Jerusalem’

The survey, conducted annually, is based on telephone interviews carried out during the month of August with a national sample of 1,000 Jews over age 18. Questions included topics such as respondents' political stances, their level of satisfaction with the new US administration, antisemitism, US-Israel relations, Jewish identity, and religious pluralism in Israel. Of the respondents, 9% were Orthodox Jews, 16% Conservatives, 2% Reconstructionists, 31% Reform Jews and 39% considered themselves "just Jewish."

Sentiment in US Congress tending away from ‘two-state solution’

The Jerusalem Post today reports a growing tendency among key United States congressman to look beyond the accustomed two-state solution for a Middle East peace model. The US-Israel Education Association , a pro-Israel Christian organization that among other activities sponsors tours of US Congressman to Israel, completed Saturday night a week-long fact-finding mission that included five Congressmen and one Senator.

Trump officially recognises Jerusalem as Israeli capital

New York, Dec 7 : United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday formally recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in the face of international criticism while asserting that he was "not taking a position of any final status" of the ancient city that is also claimed by Palestine. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking immediately after Trump's announcement, delivered criticism couched in diplomatic terms, saying he was "against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians."

White House Sends Jared Kushner into Israel to Kickstart Peace Efforts

On Wednesday, the President's son-in-law and envoy is to join national security aide Greenblatt, who arrived in the country on Monday, to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior aides in a first step to kick-start a peace process that has been largely stalled for 25 years. The White House acknowledged any deal would be lengthy, and difficult.

Jared Kushner will return to Jerusalem to jump-start peace talks

Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, will visit the Middle East later for meetings in Jerusalem and the West Bank aimed at trying to jump-start peace talks. Kushner will arrive in Jerusalem Wednesday for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will then travel to Ramallah, in the West Bank, for meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Trump says he never ‘mentioned the word’ Israel in meeting with Russians

It's a far cry from Trump's campaign rhetoric that accused Muslims of hating America - even repeating unfounded claims that hundreds of Arabs cheered the destruction of the World Trade Center from across the river on 9/11. He pointedly sidestepped any mention of the thorny issues that have stymied all previous attempts at a peace deal, including the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlement construction and the Palestinians' demand for a sovereign nation.

Trump, Abbas Call for Revival of Palestinian-Israeli Peace Talks

Palestinian protesters shout slogans and hold placards outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem during a demonstration in support of prisoners refusing food in Israeli jails, on May 23, 2017, during a visit of the US president to the West Bank town. President Donald Trump called for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian relations after he met Tuesday in Bethlehem with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

President Trump’s Trailblazing Pro-Israel Actions

Many were waiting for President Trump's trip to Israel to decide whether Mr. Trump's pledges of friendship and support for Israel were as real today as what had been enunciated during his presidential campaign. Some had suggested that Mr. Trump had been "deep-stated" by those within the establishment who were ambivalent regarding the important alliance between our country and Israel.

Trump arrives in Israel, with Israelis worrying about his mindset

US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, during the welcome ceremony, Flanking them are the Israeli President Rueben Rivlin and his wife, Nechama, on the left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sarah, Monday. US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, during the welcome ceremony, Flanking them are the Israeli President Rueben Rivlin and his wife, Nechama, on the left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sarah, Monday.

Trump asks Mideast to extinguish extremism

Speaking Sunday to Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, Trump described the conflict as a "battle between good and evil" rather than a clash between the West and Islam. Trump all but promised he would not publicly admonish Mideast rulers for human rights violations and oppressive reigns.

In Israel, Trump’s success hinges on the news back home

US President Donald Trump's first visit to Israel couldn't have come at a worst time for his presidency. With crises at home surrounding an escalating investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russian operatives, and new disclosures that bolster allegations he tried to shut down the probe by firing FBI head James Comey, the American president faces serious adversity as he takes on an ambitious international agenda.

Saudi King Confident Trump Can Solve Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Foreign Minister Says

The king of Saudi Arabia told President Donald Trump on Saturday that he's optimistic about the U.S. leader's ability to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir. At a press conference alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Jubeir said Trump and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had a " very, very good and very wide-ranging conversation" that covered United States-Saudi relations, common concerns about Iran and combating extremist groups, the Syrian civil war and the Saudi war in Yemen.

Trump offers to be ‘mediator’ for Israeli-Palestinian peace

This week, in a joint appearance at the White House with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, Trump talked in general terms about working together to reach an agreement to live in peace, and in more specific terms about defeating ISIS and security cooperation with Israel , but said nothing at all about Palestinian self-determination or a Palestinian state. In a joint news conference with Abbas, Trump said that attaining peace in the bitter conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians may not be "as hard as people have thought".

Trump aide lays out ‘disruptive’ approach on eve of Mideast talks

Donald Trump's national security adviser described his boss's foreign policy approach as "disruptive" on the eve of the U.S. president's first White House meeting with the Palestinian leader, saying his unconventional ways could create an opportunity to ultimately help stabilise the Middle East. WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's national security adviser described his boss's foreign policy approach as "disruptive" on the eve of the U.S. president's first White House meeting with the Palestinian leader, saying his unconventional ways could create an opportunity to ultimately help stabilise the Middle East.