Daybreak: A Pointless U.N. Meeting?

• President Obama still plans to meet with Israeli P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “on the sidelines” of the U.N. General Assembly this week. [NYT]
• This despite the fact that some officials in Jerusalem say the confab “may turn out to be a symbolic gesture.” [Ynet]
• One Palestinian official agrees: “They can have a photo opportunity, but they can’t announce the resumption of talks.” [NYT]
• The first synagogue in a Russian state-run prison was consecrated last week; the 11 Jewish prisoners there “refurbished the site and even made the menora and the bima themselves.” [JPost]