Next week we will be voting in New Hampshire for the presidential nominees. One of the important issues for Jews to weigh is how American policy will affect Israel. Here are statements taken from the official campaign websites of the remaining Republican candidates. President Obama does not have anything posted on his campaign website, but he does have a record. I will look for a couple of representative essays supporting and critiquing his record on Israel.
In the meantime, here are some Republican excerpts, verbatim from their websites. Bear in mind that U.S.-Israel relations are also part of some wider contexts — energy policy, counterterrorism, the U.S. and the Arab Spring. You can view excerpts of speeches the candidates gave at a recent Republican Jewish Coalition forum here.
Newt Gingrich (no mention of Israel on official website)
Jon Huntsman (no mention of Israel on official website)
Ron Paul (only mention:) …stopping foreign aid…
Rick Perry
As Governor Perry said during tonight’s debate, “Obviously, Israel is a special ally, and my bet is that we would be funding them at some substantial level. But it makes sense for everyone to come in at zero and make your case.”
Governor Perry is a friend to Israel and understands the challenges faced by the country. He has visited the country several times and has personal relationships with Israeli leaders. While in Israel in 2009, he was also awarded the Defender of Jerusalem Award.
Governor Perry recognizes Israel as a unique and vital political and economic partner for the United States in the Middle East. Our mutual commitment to democracy and free market principles makes us allies in the defense of western civilization.
Governor Perry understands Israel’s security challenges, particularly the threat of Iran, and the need to work together to counter this threat. Especially after the most recent IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear activity we must not let any daylight show between our two nations.
Governor Perry understands the need to continue to work toward a solution to the Palestinian problem, but does not believe weakening Israel is the road to peace. A strong Israel is in the best interests of the United States and the region.
Governor Perry believes that the actions by the Palestinians to circumvent the appropriate diplomatic process and go directly to the United Nations to seek a unilateral declaration of statehood is unacceptable and a direct threat to our friend and ally, Israel.
Under Rick Perry’s presidency, any consideration of Palestinian statehood will depend upon a complete recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the total rejection of terrorism and Palestinian leaders sitting down directly with Israel to negotiate a settlement. The aid and support of the United States will be based on the Palestinians meeting these requirements.
Mitt Romney — THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE ARAB SPRING: ISRAEL
Israel is the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East and a beacon of democracy and freedom in the region. The tumult in the Middle East has heightened Israel’s security problems.
Indeed, this is an especially dangerous moment for the Jewish state. It has deteriorating relationships with Turkey and Egypt. It faces longstanding dangers from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, a violent and highly unstable Syria, and a nuclear-aspiring Iran whose leadership is openly calling for Israel’s annihilation.
To ensure Israel’s security, Mitt Romney will work closely with Israel to maintain its strategic military edge. The United States will work intensively with Turkey and Egypt to shore up the now fraying relationships with Israel that have underpinned peace in the Middle East for decades. The United States must forcefully resist the emergence of anti-Israel policies in Turkey and Egypt, and work to make clear that their interests are not served by isolating Israel.
With regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Romney’s policy will differ sharply from President Obama’s. President Obama and his administration have badly misunderstood the dynamics of the region. Instead of fostering stability and security, they have diminished U.S. authority and painted both Israel and ourselves into a corner. President Obama for too long has been in the grip of several illusions. One is that the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is the central problem in the region. This has been disproved repeatedly by events, most recently and most dramatically by the eruption of the Arab Spring. But it nonetheless led the administration to believe that distancing the United States from Israel was a smart move that would earn us credits in the Arab world and somehow bring peace closer. The record proves otherwise. The key to negotiating a lasting peace is an Israel that knows it will be secure.
The administration’s errors extend in other directions as well. President Obama has repeatedly and unilaterally created new preconditions for restarting peace talks. The result has been to encourage Palestinians simply to hold out and wait for Washington to deliver more Israeli concessions on a silver platter. Why, after all, should the Palestinians even negotiate with Israel if the White House is pressuring Israel without extracting any price from the Palestinians in return?
As president, Romney will reject any measure that would frustrate direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He will make clear to the Palestinians that the unilateral attempt to decide issues that are designated for final negotiations by the Oslo Accords is unacceptable. The United States will reduce assistance to the Palestinians if they continue to pursue United Nations recognition or form a unity government that includes Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s
destruction. The United States needs a president who will not be a fair-weather friend of Israel. The United States must work as a country to resist the worldwide campaign to delegitimize Israel. We must fight against that campaign in every forum and label it the anti-Semitic poison that it is. Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is not up for debate.
Rick Santorum
[W]e must cease our verbal, moral, and diplomatic equivalence as between good and evil. Syria does not deserve an ambassador; its protesters deserve support; Israeli housing starts should not be put on the same moral plane as Hamas terror attacks; and China should be challenged on religious liberty rather than be given a veto on the human-rights activists we wish support.
…we must stand by Israel, especially at a time when it appears increasingly to be standing alone. The recent dislocation of the old order in the Middle East will usher in a new one, and anti-Israeli elements are working overtime to take advantage of the opportunity.
Leave a Reply