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The Obama administration has also broken a long-standing taboo against discussing Israel's nuclear weapons, by calling for Israel to declare and give up its weapons arsenal, said to number around 50 warheads. A senior State Department official said the US wants Israel to sign the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and commit to disarmament. What he has not done yet, is query the $3 billion in military aid which US taxpayers send Israel every year, although that could yet happen given the straitened times.
But Israel is meanwhile rattled by Mr Obama's willingness to attempt dialogue with Iran, seen by Mr Netanyahu and Mr Lieberman as the biggest threat to the Jewish state.
As he scans the Oval Office for friendly faces, Mr Netanyahu's eyes may light on two of Mr Obama's most trusted advisers, the White House chief of staff and former congressman Rahm Emanuel and the Presidents chief political adviser, David Axelrod. Both men are veterans of Chicago's rough and tumble politics, where Mr Obama cut his teeth - and both are also closely connected to Americas Jewish community.
Mr Emanuel's father was born in Israel, and during the 1991 Gulf war the future White House chief of staff served as a civilian volunteer helping the Israeli Defence Forces.
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