US attitude towards Israel could be changing: Republican Congressman

October 27th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The support for Israel among Americans remains constant and their support for action to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power has substantially increased, according to a survey. Some two-thirds of Americans consider Israel a strong and loyal US ally, as previous surveys have shown.

October 27th, 2009 Oregon congressman back to work after H1N1 virusWASHINGTON — Oregon Rep. Greg Walden is back at work after missing several days last week with a likely case of swine flu.

October 22nd, 2009 Fla. congressman amends 'Names of the Dead' siteWASHINGTON — A Florida congressman has responded to complaints he violated House rules by amending a Web site he created this week calling attention to people who die without health coverage. Rep. Alan Grayson removed a link from the "Names of the Dead" site Thursday that had directed people to his campaign Web site.

October 15th, 2009 Lawmaker questions NBA's dealings with Greek teamWASHINGTON — A U.S. congressman is asking NBA Commissioner David Stern why the league participated in games with a visiting Greek team that has allegedly breached contracts with former NBA players.

October 9th, 2009 TEHRAN - Mojtaba Zolnour, an aide to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly said that if the US or Israel attacks Iran, Teheran would retaliate and "blow up the heart of Israel". Zolnour threatened that "Even if one American or Zionist missile hits our country, before the dust settles, Iranian missiles will blow up the heart of Israel', The Jerusalem Post reports.

October 9th, 2009 TEL AVIV - Israeli leaders congratulated US President Barack Obama Friday on winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, saying they hoped it would add force to his efforts to push for peace in the Middle East. President Shimon Peres sent a message to Obama, saying "there are few leaders who succeeded in changing the mood in the world in such a short time", it said, Israel Radio reported.

September 30th, 2009 Dem congressman refuses to apologize for commentWASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman from Florida is refusing to apologize for saying that Republicans want Americans to "die quickly" if they get sick. Rep. Alan Grayson made his comments on the House floor Tuesday night while criticizing Republican health care proposals as a "blank piece of paper." "If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: die quickly," he said.

September 21st, 2009 McHugh sworn in as Army secretaryWASHINGTON — Former Republican congressman John McHugh has been sworn in as the new secretary of the Army. President Barack Obama named McHugh to the Army's top civilian spot in June.

September 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A Republican lawmaker was censured Tuesday in the US House of Representatives for shouting "you lie" during President Barack Obama's speech on health care last week before a joint session of Congress. The formal rebuke against Congressman Joe Wilson was approved 240-179, largely along party lines.

August 20th, 2009 AMMAN - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday the US administration of President Barack Obama was still adamant in its demand that Israel completely halts the building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a pre-condition for the resumption of peace talks with Israel. "We did not feel any retraction in the US attitude in this respect," Abbas told reporters after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

July 31st, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel has sought help from the US to build a nuclear power plant in the country, a media report said Friday. Israel has already conveyed its request to the US, the Ynet news service reported.

July 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A former American expert believes that the US has attained little success in changing Pakistan's attitude towards India. Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Teresita Schaffer said while Washington has repeatedly asked Pakistan to focus more on the internal threat posed by the Taliban rather than considering India as a major threat to its interests, it has failed to redirect Islamabad's concern towards the real danger.

July 15th, 2009 JERUSALEM - US President Barack Obama's reassurance to Jewish officials on US policy for Israel has failed to relieve their concerns about it. "This meeting does not allay my concerns because it confirms that this isn't just a willy-nilly decision by some Arabists in the State Department but part of a framework Obama thinks will solve all the problems in the region," The Jerusalem Post quoted a representative of a Jewish group, as saying.lthough Jewish officials welcomed Monday's intimate face-to-face discussion at the White House, they said it was insufficient to dispel their doubts about his approach towards Israel.

July 2nd, 2009 JERUSALEM - Congressman Robert Wexler, a close political ally of US President Barack Obama and a big Israel supporter, has said that Israel would lose nothing, and potentially gain everything, by agreeing to a temporary moratorium on construction in the settlements for a short period of time. Wexler on his third visit to Israel since December met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, a day after Defense Minister Ehud Barak and US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met in New York and decided that the discussion over settlement construction would continue.

April 28th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak has described Iran as the country posing the most central threat not only to the Jewish state, but also to the entire world. "Iran was "a threat to the entire world, as it is interested in changing the entire international order and is a source of instability in the Middle East and throughout the world," the Jerusalem Post quoted Barak, as saying.