Obama for America announces Rabbis for Obama

August 21, 2012 3 Comments

President Obama at ‪Jewish‬ American Heritage Month reception, May 30, 2012 - Photo by William Daroff

President Obama at ‪Jewish‬ American Heritage Month reception, May 30, 2012 – Photo by William Daroff

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Washington, Aug. 21 – The Obama for America campaign has launched “Rabbis for Obama,” a group of rabbis from various denominations and from around the country whose goal is to “engage and mobilize grassroots supporters.”

“These rabbis mirror the diversity of American Jewry,” said Ira Forman who is the Jewish Outreach Director for the campaign.  ”Their ringing endorsement of President Obama speaks volumes about the President’s deep commitment to the security of the state of Israel and his dedication to a policy agenda that represents the values of the overwhelming majority of the American Jewish community.”

The three co-chairs include Rabbis Steven Bob and Sam Gordon, both of  Illinois and both founding co-chairs of Rabbis for Obama in 2008, and Rabbi Burt Visotzky of New York, who was a vice chair in 2008. More than 600 rabbis have signed on to be part of Rabbis for America; this number is double the number from the 2008 Rabbis for Obama group.

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Washington Post: Two-state solution still in GOP platform

August 21, 2012 1 Comment

From Rosalind S. Helderman of the Washington Post:

TAMPA — The Republican party platform will continue to endorse a two-state solution as the path to peace between Israel and her Palestinian neighbors, at the urging of a top Mitt Romney adviser.

The 112-delegates gathering here to draft the party’s platform defeated three separate amendments that would have removed language endorsing two democratic states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, existing side-by-side.

U.S. policy has endorsed a two-state solution for years, as did Republicans’ 2008 platform. But several delegates sought to remove the language, arguing it undercut other platform language offering unambiguous support for Israel and would pressure Israel to negotiate. One delegate suggested the GOP’s platform too closely resembles the position of Democrats and President Obama on the issue.

The amendments were defeated at the urging of former Sen. Jim Talent, who serves on the committee as a representative from Missouri and is an adviser to Romney. He noted that a two-state solution is Israel’s own policy, endorsed repeatedly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“How do we express support for Israel if we offer an amendment that is pushing them in the direction of abandoning the policy they’ve chosen?” he argued.

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Obama: Chemical weapons in Syria a “Red Line” for U.S.

August 20, 2012 Leave a comment

By Jennifer Packer, Political Analyst

Washington, Aug. 20 – The United States has refrained from military engagement in the Syrian conflict, but that would change if there’s any sign that the Syrian regime is moving to or using chemical or biological weapons, President Obama said Monday.

“That’s an issue that doesn’t just concern Syria; it concerns our close allies in the region, including Israel; it concerns us. We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people,” the president said in an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room.

Syria’s stockpile reportedly includes mustard gas as well as nerve agents such as Sarin, Tabun and VX.

“We have been very clear (not just) to the Assad regime but also to other players on the ground (that) a red line for us is if we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus,” Obama said.

More than 20,000 people – most of them civilians, have been killed  in Syria’s year-and-a-half conflict.

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Obama leads Romney in recent panel survey of Israeli experts

August 20, 2012 3 Comments

By Melissa Weiss, Staff Writer

President Obama addressing AIPAC in March2012

President Obama addressing AIPAC in March 2012

Washington, Aug. 20 – President Obama bested presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on topics related to Israel in a recent panel survey of Israeli experts conducted by Israeli journalist Shmuel Rosner. The president garnered a score of 7.4 (out of 10) while the former governor of Massachusetts received a 7.2.

Because the results are based only on the answers of the panelists and not from a wider range of interviewees, the survey cannot be viewed as legitimate polling data, but rather provides an additional voice in the “who is better for Israel” argument being had among American Jews.

The panel is comprised of Israeli experts who were asked questions on issues ranging from Romney’s recent trip to Israel to the situation in Iran. A final question, asking panelists to rate both candidates on a scale of 1-10 (one being bad, 10 being good), the difference between the two was .2, the first time Obama has led over his competitor.

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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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Iran training militia in Syria: Panetta

August 15, 2012 Leave a comment

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta

By Alan Elsner, Editor-in-Chief

Washington, Aug. 15 – Iran is training a militia in Syria to defend President Bashar al-Assad’s beleaguered regime against the majority of citizens fighting to overthrow it, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.

In a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, Panetta said: “There’s now indications that they’re trying to develop or trying to train a militia within Syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime. So we are seeing a growing presence by Iran and that is of deep concern to us.”

Iran’s interference is adding to the killing in Syria, Panetta said, and “tries to bolster a regime that we think, ultimately, is going to come down.”

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the 18-month uprising that has led to the deaths of over 20,000 people, most of them civilians slaughtered by the regime, is beginning to wear down the Syrian army.

“I actually think that’s why Iran is stepping in to form this militia, to take some of the pressure off of the Syrian military,” Dempsey said.

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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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Romney’s Israel ad airing in West Palm Beach

August 9, 2012 Leave a comment

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Washington, Aug. 9 – POLITICO reports that Mitt Romney’s television advertisement promoting the cherished relationship between the United States and Israel is now on the air in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The ad highlights comments the presumptive Republican presidential nominee made during a speech in Jerusalem last week, including Romney’s controversial quote calling Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The ad is geared toward Jewish voters, including those who may have previously voted for President Obama but are upset with the president’s policies toward Israel. West Palm Beach has a sizable population of Jewish retirees.

More from POLITICO:

The source said the commercial’s running from Aug. 9-14 with about $50,000 behind it. The Romney campaign could add money to that buy or put up the ad in other locations, going forward, but at this point we’re not talking about a shock-and-awe messaging push.

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