Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House tonight with President Barack Obama after trying to rally support from American Jews for resuming Middle East peace talks without freezing settlements.

Netanyahu met for 1 hour and 40 minutes with Obama and left the White House without making any public remarks. The Obama administration, in a statement, said the president reaffirmed the “strong commitment” of the U.S. to Israel’s security and that the two leaders discussed Iran and “how to move forward on Middle East peace.”

Netanyahu leaves tomorrow for Paris, where he is scheduled to visit French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hours before his talks with Obama, Netanyahu addressed an annual conference of North American Jewish organizations and called for an immediate resumption of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

“I say to Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority: Let us seize the moment to reach an historic agreement, let us begin talks immediately,” Netanyahu said.

“My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians and soon,” he said, reiterating his call, made in June, for the establishment of a Palestinian state so long as it is demilitarized.

Clinton Trip

Netanyahu’s visit to Washington follows a trip by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Israel during which she tried to revive a peace process intended to lead to Palestinian statehood. Instead, she got mired in disputes over Israeli settlements.

In Jerusalem, Clinton publicly praised Netanyahu’s proposal to limit settlement expansion to the completion of about 2,500 new homes, calling the offer “unprecedented.”

Palestinians criticized Clinton’s remarks, recalling that Obama had earlier demanded a total freeze on settlement construction as a precursor for resuming peace talks. Abbas said on Nov. 5 that he no longer wants to run for re-election in January and aides expressed concern the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may erupt again in violence.

Appeal to Abbas

Netanyahu, in his speech to the Jewish organizations, directly appealed to Abbas to join him in negotiations.

Netanyahu said he would work for a durable peace with the Palestinians, and said Israel is willing to make concessions as long as they don’t compromise its security.

“With the support of the United States, peace can become a reality,” Netanyahu said.

Turning to Iran’s nuclear program, Netanyahu said, “We must stand together to stop Iran from realizing its nuclear ambitions.”

At the speech, police ejected a protester who stood up and shouted: “Shame on you! Peace for Israel and Gaza!” Netanyahu answered by quipping that he received a better reception at the United Nations, where he spoke in September.

The General Assembly last week overwhelmingly approved the so-called Goldstone report, which judged that Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, committed possible war crimes during a three-week conflict That ended early this year.

Before Obama’s session with Netanyahu, the president and members of his senior staff held a private reception at the White House with a contingent of members of the Jewish organizations.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Ferziger in Washington at jferziger@bloomberg.net; Janine Zacharia in Washington at jzacharia@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 21:46 EST