Before President Obama had even left Ben Gurion airport on his short helicopter flight to Jerusalem yesterday, he visited a battery of Iron Dome anti-missile missiles. The pictures conveyed the most important message of his trip: as Iran edges ever closer to nuclear power status and Syria’s civil war threatens to spill over its borders, America’s guarantee of Israel’s security remains solid.

Normally, US Presidents do not need to offer this kind of reassurance, but by the standards of his predecessors Mr Obama’s relationship with Israel is not normal. He has never got on well with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister. Without a personal rapport, they both failed to advance the peace process during his first term, and a perception has set in among ordinary Israelis that while Mr Obama may understand their history intellectually, it has no place in his heart.

He will seek to correct that impression in a speech to students today that is arguably his most important in the region since his appeal to the Muslim world in Cairo four years ago. Platitudes will not suffice. In a recent poll just 10 per cent of Israelis reported having a favourable attitude towards him. If Mr Obama can start to rebuild their trust he may be able to shape public attitudes and influence policy in Israel’s new coalition government. If not, America’s roles as a leader in confronting Iran and as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will atrophy.

Read the article in full at the The Times.