Israeli Jews: Romney more concerned about Israel’s interests than Obama

August 18, 2012 Leave a comment

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat introduces Mitt Romney in Jerusalem, July 29, 2012 - Photo by Elizabeth Levy

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat introduces Mitt Romney in Jerusalem, July 29, 2012 – Photo by Elizabeth Levy

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Washington, Aug. 18 – A new Peace Index poll says double the number of Israeli Jews say presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is more concerned about Israel’s interests than incumbent President Obama.

According to the poll, 40 percent of the respondents said Romney “assigns more importance to defending Israel’s national interests” while 19 percent answered the question with Obama. Ten percent said “both to the same extent” while 25 percent said they did not know and six percent said neither.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem, July 31, 2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem, July 31, 2012

Another finding from the survey is that a large majority of the public (70 percent) said Israel cannot rely on the recent promise by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the United States will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.

This survey holds importance because some Israeli Jews hold dual citizenship, are eligible to vote in U.S. elections and care about the next president’s relationship with Israel. A new organization called iVote Israel was started by American-Israelis with the goal of registering these people to vote in U.S. elections for a president “who will support and stand by Israel in absolute commitment to its safety, security and right to defend itself.”

iVote Israel’s goal is for American-Israelis to be fully represented. The 2000 Bush-Gore Presidential elections came down to 537 absentee ballots cast in Florida and 64 of those were cast from Israel. Thousands of Israelis who hold dual citizenship were residents in Florida.

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Romney attacks Ahmadinejad, Romney’s surrogates attack Obama’s Iran policies

August 18, 2012 Leave a comment

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Mitt Romney speaking to the Faith and Freedom Coalition June 16, 2012

Mitt Romney speaking to the Faith and Freedom Coalition June 16, 2012

Washington, Aug. 18 – Iranian officials have been ramping up their anti-Israel rhetoric recently in anticipation of al-Quds Day yesterday, the last Friday during the month of Ramadan. The event was created by Iran in 1979 and calls for the destruction of Israel.

Friday in Iran, millions of people demonstrated in the streets, shouting “Death to Israel.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again called for Israel’s destruction and said al-Quds Day is a time for unity among all human beings to remove the “Zionist black stain.”

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Ahmadinejad’s remarks remind Americans about what is at stake.

“America must lead the world in stopping Iran’s genocidal regime from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability. Ahmadinejad’s latest outrageous remarks are just another reminder of what is at stake. As I said recently when visiting Jerusalem, ‘We have seen the horrors of history. We will not stand by. We will not watch them play out again.’”

Members of the Iranian regime have for years publicly espoused statements saying Israel should be “wiped off the map.”

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Obama and Netanyahu to meet after U.N. General Assembly

August 13, 2012 Leave a comment

By Robert Pines, TIP Fellow

President Obama talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu as they walk from the Oval Office to the South Lawn Drive of the White House, following their meetings, May 20, 2011

President Obama talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu as they walk from the Oval Office to the South Lawn Drive of the White House, following their meetings, May 20, 2011

Washington, Aug. 13 – President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet this fall against the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly.  After addressing the General Assembly in New York, the two leaders will travel to Washington between Sept. 28 and Oct. 1 to discuss a range of issues facing the two nations.

Atop the list of concerns facing the U.S. and Israel is the Iranian nuclear threat, which Netanyahu has said “dwarfs all other” challenges.  Netanyahu’s address to the General Assembly, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 27, is thought to be among his last appeals to the international community to prevent Iran from obtaining atomic weaponry, reports Israel’s Channel 10 News.

In meeting with Obama, Netanyahu is presumed to be setting the stage for a potential attack on the Islamic Republic before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6.  Waiting any longer means taking on the risk of having to defy a new president, which Israel seeks to avoid.

Other issues to be discussed between the two leaders include the renewed Palestinian declaration of independence, the slaughter in Syria, and the political situation in Egypt and, in particular, the Sinai Peninsula.

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Ryan lacks foreign policy experience but has solid pro-Israel record

August 11, 2012 2 Comments

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

By Melissa Weiss, Staff Writer

Washington, Aug. 11 – Rep. Paul Ryan, tapped this morning as presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s running mate, has amassed a solid pro-Israel track record since his election to the House of Representatives in 1998, but the ticket’s cumulative lack of foreign policy experience could be a stumbling block should a military attack against Iran come into play.

The Republican ticket has the fewest foreign policy credentials since 1936, when the election also focused on the economy and Republican Kansas Gov. Alf Landon and New Hampshire publisher Frank Knox lost the bid for the White House.

Among the five pieces of legislation co-sponsored by Ryan with regards to Israel, the most notable is H.R. 1553, which condemned Iran for its threats to annihilate both the United States and Israel. The legislation also supports Israel using “all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within reasonable time.”

Aside from co-sponsoring five pieces of legislation regarding Iran, Ryan has said little about the Islamic republic, even as an overwhelming 80 percent of Americans think Iran poses a serious threat to the U.S. and its allies.

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U.S. Congress tightens Iran sanctions

August 2, 2012 Leave a comment

By Alan Elsner, Editor-in-Chief

Washington, Aug. 2 – The United State Congress has approved new sanctions on Iran’s energy, shipping and financial industries, in hopes that increasing the economic pressure will persuade the Islamic Republic to halt its nuclear weapons program.

The House of Representatives voted 421-6 in favor of the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012, a set of measures aimed at depriving Iran of income from its energy production and shipping trade, the country’s largest export sectors. The Senate later approved the bill on a voice vote and President Obama is expected to sign it shortly.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran’s leaders remained unimpressed both by sanctions and threats of other actions.

“America and Israel have also made clear that all options are on the table. But these declarations have also not yet convinced the Iranians to stop their program,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

“However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them. Right now the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program. This must change and it must change quickly, because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out,” the prime minster said.

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Panetta issues tough warning to Iran

August 1, 2012 Leave a comment

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visit the Iron Dome Battery, August 1, 2012 - Photo by Dor Kaidar

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visit the Iron Dome Battery, August 1, 2012 – Photo by Dor Kaidar

By Alan Elsner, Editor-in-Chief

Jerusalem, Aug. 1 — U.S.  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Wednesday issued a strong warning to Iran that the United States would use military force if necessary to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

Panetta, who was visiting Israel, made his remarks outside the city of Ashkelon which has often faced missile attack from Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, with an “Iron Dome” anti-rocket defense system as a backdrop.

Panetta said several times that “all options,” including military force, are on the table to stop Iran, should sanctions and diplomacy — the preferred means of persuasion — ultimately fail.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Benny Gantz in Israel, August 1, 2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Benny Gantz in Israel, August 1, 2012

“If they continue and if they proceed with a nuclear weapon, … we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that that does not happen,” the Pentagon chief said.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, standing beside Panetta, said he sees an “extremely low” probability that sanctions will ever compel Iran to give up its nuclear activities.

The White House announced new sanctions on Tuesday and Congress is expected to enact new measures before the end of this week. On a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said the purpose of additional sanctions was to “affect Iran’s calculus” to get Tehran to negotiate seriously over its disputed nuclear program.

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Panetta denies discussing Iran attack plans during meeting with Barak

July 31, 2012 1 Comment

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Jerusalem, July 31, 2012

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Jerusalem, July 31, 2012

Washington, July 31 - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday night in Jerusalem after denying reports that the two were discussing Iran “attack plans.”

“I think it’s the wrong characterization to say we are going to be discussing potential attack plans,” Panetta told reporters during a press conference in Cairo before departing for Israel. “What we are discussing are various contingencies and how we would respond.”

When reporters asked Panetta if these potential plans include military options, he said the discussions would be “more about what is the threat that we’re confronting” in Iran’s nuclear program and sharing intelligence information.

Panetta said the two also would speak about the Iron Dome. In the last decade, Israelis in the north and south have suffered bombardments by Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. In response, Israel developed the Iron Dome system in 2007 to defend against short-range rocket and artillery attacks. The system integrates vertically launched interceptor missiles with a mobile control center as well as an advanced radar component.

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80 percent of Americans see Iran as threat to U.S. and its allies

July 31, 2012 1 Comment

By Alan Elsner, Editor-in-Chief

Washington, July 31 – Four out of five American likely voters see Iran’s nuclear weapons program as a threat to the United States and its NATO allies, according to a new poll commissioned by The Israel Project (TIP).

The poll of 800 likely voters in the upcoming U.S. presidential election found that 39 percent considered the Iranian nuclear weapons program a very big threat and 41 percent thought it was a moderate threat to the United States and the nations of NATO. Only 12 percent said it was not much of a threat and six percent said it was no threat at all.

The poll, conducted by polling firm Public Opinion Strategies July 18-19, carried a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.

Eighty percent of likely voters believe Iran is building nuclear weapons, despite the Tehran government’s constant denials. Only 10 percent thought it was not. Moreover, there was a high level of consensus across party lines on this, with 72 percent of Democrats, 81 percent of Independents and 89 percent of Republicans convinced the Iranians were building nuclear weapons.

Sixty percent say Iran’s nuclear program poses a very big threat to Israel and another 27 percent say the program is a moderate threat. Iranian leaders have frequently vowed to wipe Israel off the map.

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As Iran talks again fail, Ros-Lehtinen urges “game-changing sanctions”

June 19, 2012 Leave a comment

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Washington, June 19 – Talks on Iran’s nuclear program between Iran and the P5 + 1 ground to a halt Tuesday night in Moscow as no progress was made in resolving the issue.

The P5+1 – Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany – demanded that Iran stop enriching uranium to a 20 percent level, a key step in the process of creating nuclear weaponry. The bloc also asked that Iran ship out existing stockpiles of enriched uranium and close the Fordo complex where much of the suspected nuclear work is thought to occur.

Iran continued to insist that its right to enrich uranium be recognized and that sanctions be lifted.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said that additional talks are a “dangerous diversion” and urged “game-changing sanctions.”

“The P5+1 negotiations with Iran have failed again,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. “More talks are not the answer, but only a dangerous diversion. Time is rapidly running out to stop the nightmare of a nuclear-weapons-capable Iran from becoming reality.”

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Campaigns debate relationship with Israel, Iran at TIP briefing

June 18, 2012 3 Comments

By Ari Bildner, Staff Writer

Former Rep. Robert Wexler, President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace; Foreign Policy Advisor, Obama 2012 Campaign

Former Rep. Robert Wexler, President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace; Foreign Policy Advisor, Obama 2012 Campaign

Mary Beth Long, Co-chair of the Romney campaign’s Middle East/North Africa policy working group

Mary Beth Long, Co-chair of the Romney campaign’s Middle East/North Africa policy working group

Washington, June 18 – Advisers to the Romney and Obama campaigns sparred Monday about the American response to the Iranian threat and the U.S.-Israel relationship at a Capitol Hill briefing organized by The Israel Project.

“This administration has gone beyond the call of duty” in strengthening the bilateral relationship, said former Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler, who now heads the non-partisan S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.

Wexler gave several instances he said highlighted the “unprecedented” cooperation between the U.S. and the Israeli government.

Mary Beth Long, a foreign policy adviser to Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, argued that defense department budget cuts could limit America’s ability to pursue its regional interests in the future.

“We need to increase our ability to project credible defensive capabilities into the Middle East,” she said. Long also said the administration was perceived by many of “being more concerned with Israel going to war than Iran than Iran building a nuclear weapon,” a line Romney used when speaking to the Faith and Freedom Coalition on Saturday.

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