Time has a way of sorting things out, and time will tell whether the image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barrack Obama at their White House meeting last week accurately reflects reality. The two men laughed, joked, and heaped praise on one another. They claimed to be on accord on issues ranging from negotiations with the Palestinians to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Observers, however, have a right to be skeptical. For years, their relationship has been portrayed as that of two men who don’t trust each other and rarely agree.

Preceding the White House meeting, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren reportedly said in a private conversation that there was a “tectonic rift” between the two countries. He later said that he was overheard incorrectly and that there was really a tectonic “shift.”

The two leaders have strong reasons to appear friendly and on the same page. Israel needs the U.S. America has been Israel’s strongest and most steadfast international ally. President Obama also needs to be perceived as supportive of Israel. He will no doubt run for reelection in 2012. He will not want to risk a diminishment in the support an overwhelming number of American Jews gave him in 2008.

Obama and Netanyahu had many reasons to smile for the camera. We will probably soon learn if the smiles were genuine? .