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Obama’s Favorite Isn’t Netanyahu as Israelis Head to the Polls

President Barack Obama makes a statement to the press after a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House March 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. — President Barack Obama makes a statement to the press after a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House March 3, 2015 in Washington, DC.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Terry Atlas and Jonathan Ferziger

March 17, 2015, 3:00 AM UTC

There’s little doubt about whom U.S. President Barack Obama favors in Tuesday’s Israeli elections.

After years of public acrimony between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, a victory by Isaac “Bougie” Herzog, co-leader of the Zionist Union, would give the president the opportunity to reset strained U.S.-Israeli ties at a critical time for his policies in the region.