President Obama heads to Jordan on Friday to meet with key U.S. ally King Abdullah. The leaders are expected to hold a joint news conference after meeting to discuss an array of pressing Middle East concerns. Chiefly among them: the conflict in Syria and Israeli-Palestinian relations. On Thursday, President Obama delivered a much-praised address in Jerusalem in which he called for a “new beginning” between the two sides. The speech appeared to open a new chapter of U.S. involvement in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, including an appeal directly to the public and a broader discussion about justice. Some are comparing the president’s address to his 2009 Cairo speech, both as a departure from the usual U.S. rhetoric on the issue and as a direct message to the people instead of just political leaders. “Political leaders will not take risks if the people do not push them to take some risks,” the president said. “You must create the change that you want to see.” The speech mirrors President Obama’s domestic grassroots reach-out efforts, but comes on a larger and potentially more significant stage. The question is: will it be an effective tool at achieving peace? We’ll discuss that and more when we see you at noon ET on msnbc.
PANEL
Sam Stein, Political Editor and White House Correspondent, The Huffington Post/msnbc contributor (@samsteinhp)
Heather McGhee, Vice President, Demos (@hmcghee)
Jake Sherman, Congressional Reporter, Politico (@jakesherman)
Josh Green, Senior National Correspondent, Bloomberg Businessweek (@joshuagreen)
GUEST
Cecile Richards
Michael Moss, Investigative Reporter, The New York Times/Author, Sugar Salt Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us (@mossmichaelc)
Robert Gifford