After being heavily criticized for not visiting the state of Israel during his first term, it looks the second-term President Obama will be making a trip there very soon. The White House said today that the president "discussed" the idea of spring visit with his counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then right round the same time of that statement, a local news station in Israel spilled the beans, by reporting that he will be there in March, just before the big Passover holiday. They also claimed that advance security teams are already on the scene in Israel and the West Bank. The White House confirmed that a working trip will take place this spring, with visit to Jordan, Israel and the West Bank, without confirming details or dates. The Hill also reports that new Secretary of State John Kerry could lay ground work for the visit by taking his own trip to Israel later this month. 

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Dashiell Bennett