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The Center for American Progress released a report this month recommending that President Barack Obama's Middle East peace plan should make a stronger attempt to win Israeli public opinion in favor of the two-state solution.

The report, titled "Window of Opportunity for a Two-State Solution," states that although the United States may not have a complete plan in place, support for the diplomatic efforts should be fostered -- by the U.S. and other global and regional powers -- in order to "seize the moment to move toward talking about tougher issues such [as] a deal on permanent borders, Jerusalem, and refugees." It continues to say that the qualm over the "legacy of cynicism shaped by the failures of the... 'road map'... and the Annapolis process" must be put to bed in order to rebuild public opinion in favor of a U.S.-led peace strategy.

"Israelis must be a vital part of this strategic communications campaign," the report states. "The push for a two-state solution will not likely succeed if Israel and its supporters come to believe that it is being imposed upon them. Any sustainable peace agreement will not be viable if the Israelis come to believe U.S. efforts undermine the bilateral relationship."

In order for Obama's peace process to take hold, the report states that the administration must manage the tension between baby steps taken to make the West Bank's Palestinian residents more self-sufficient and the strategic advances that would define permanent borders with an effective communication campaign. Under this pretense, the West Bank issue can be settled first, a foundation on which other issues tied to the conflict can be agreed upon. "[C]larity about Israeli settlements, including which ones will be dismantled" would lead to "construction in areas assigned to Israel and halt all construction in areas assigned to the future state of Palestine." If successful, this effort "could generate a sense of momentum" that would give credibility to the Palestinian Authority and move on to the more complicated issue of Jerusalem.

However, according to the report, this attempt at the two-state solution will not be successful without explicitly explaining a promise that the United States needs to keep: "It must be an absolute U.S. commitment that 'borders first' would not become 'borders only,' leaving other core issues such as refugees unresolved and likely producing something like the aftermath of the unilateral disengagement in Gaza," the report reads. "A strategic communications campaign would be vital to explain where this gambit fits within the push toward the goal of a final status agreement."

The United States seems to have bigger problems in Israel than just a communications issue -- the report cited a poll taken by the Jerusalem Post that showed a mere 6 percent of Israelis believe Obama is pro-Israel.

"These results, coupled with the negative coverage of the U.S. policies toward the Middle East in Israeli press, point to a need for a greater effort on the part of the United States to reconcile with the Israeli public," the report says.

In order to repair the U.S. administration's damaged image in Israel, the report suggests that the U.S. "needs to reassure its long-time ally that it will continue to support its security and work to maintain a close bilateral relationship" even though it may not agree on "certain tactical issues" as the peace process advances.

"Israel and the United States cannot afford to surprise each other with unexpected, uncoordinated initiatives that conflict directly with other's strategic position," the report states. "The alliance must be maintained through mutual consultation and trust," such as the U.S. and Israeli attitudes towards Iran.

The report's conclusion regarding Israeli-U.S. relations says that the Obama administration needs to invest in "steady diplomacy, enhanced public diplomacy, and continued security and economic cooperation" that should boost Israel's confidence, preparing it to strike compromises during the peace process.

"The U.S. ambassador to Israel, working with the White House and the [special U.S. envoy to the Middle East George] Mitchell team, should reinvigorate efforts to communicate America's support for the bilateral alliance and it moves forward in working for a two-state solution to the conflict," the report states. "At a key moment in the coming year, President Obama himself should visit Israel and address the Israeli public, perhaps even start his speech with a few words in Hebrew, to signal that the Cairo speech by no means was a show of preference for the Arab and Muslim worlds."