Netanyahu postpones visit to White House

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned June 1 visit to the White House following the deaths of nine protesters on a Gaza-bound ship boarded by Israel’s navy.

Netanyahu was to meet President Barack Obama following a weekend visit to Canada. Instead he returned home to Israel.

The White House visit would have been Netanyahu’s first meeting with Obama since a late March session at the White House in which the administration was accused of snubbing the Israeli leader.

Obama and Netanyahu spoke by telephone for 15 minutes and agreed to set up a meeting at a later date, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

While in Canada, Netanyahu met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa on May 31, but a joint press conference planned for afterward was canceled. The Israeli leader also missed a reception that Harper was to hold in his honor that evening.

Netanyahu received a welcome in Toronto fit for a rock star when he spoke before the start of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto’s 42nd annual Walk for Israel on May 30. There was a festive atmosphere in the auditorium with balloons, and an equal display of Israeli and Canadian flags being waved and worn.

Netanyahu also introduced Israel Defense Forces soldier Jonathan Feder to the audience. Last month, the prime minister offered the 23-year-old Vancouver native a free trip home to visit his family on the prime minister’s airplane. — jta & jpost.com