Jerusalem
CNN
—
The first stop was Riyadh.
Just a few months into his new administration, the president of the United States met the king of Saudi Arabia as part of an effort to push forward relations with the Arab world.
From there, it was off to another regional capital, where the leader of the free world gave a speech about a new vision for the Middle East.
Conspicuously missing from the itinerary was a stop in Israel.
The year was 2009, and the president was Barack Obama. His decision not to visit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had just returned to office, was viewed as an insult. It marked the beginning of what…
