Romney’s & Santorum’s Ron Paul Problem

As you’re undoubtedly aware, most of the Republican candidates have been falling all over each other to prove that they’re bigger Zionists than Herzl.  Support for Israel is undoubtedly the number one issue for most of the Jewish Republicans whom I know.  They are convinced that Obama is dangerous for Israel.

So here comes Ron Paul, with his background of support for REAL antisemites, anti-Zionists and assorted racists, and what is the attitude of the Republican field?  Both Santorum and Romney have said that if he does receive the nomination (as unlikely as that is) they would vote for him.

Gal Beckerman at Forward.com underscores Paul’s Jewish problem and asks a pointed question:

Here’s how his senior aide for over a decade, Eric Dondero, characterized Paul’s views: “He is… most certainly anti-Israel, and anti-Israeli in general. He wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all. He expressed this to me numerous times in our private conversations. His view is that Israel is more trouble than it is worth, specifically to the America taxpayer. He sides with the Palestinians, and supports their calls for the abolishment of the Jewish state, and the return of Israel, all of it, to the Arabs.”

Dondero also said Paul didn’t think the United States should have entered World War II simply for “saving the Jews.”

For all these reasons, Paul has been condemned by the Republican Jewish Coalition and was not invited to its candidate forum in early December. Matthew Brooks, RJC’s executive director, said Paul had been rejected for his “misguided and extreme views.”

But why has the RJC stopped short of condemning Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, the other big winners in Iowa and the front-runners going forward?

Why indeed?

How can anyone who loves Israel support this man?  Beckerman continues:

This is a problem. The party that makes a point of wearing its pro-Israel bona fides on its sleeve and that has a strategy of gaining Jewish votes by targeting Barack Obama’s supposedly destructive policies toward Israel now has this albatross around its neck. Paul himself might not come close to the White House, but he has now tainted candidates like Romney and Santorum and the rest of the Republican establishment who refused to repudiate him.

I think it’s fair to call upon Romney and Santorum to condemn Ron Paul.  As for the Republican Jewish Coalition, which has seen fit to do so, how can they possibly give a pass to anyone who would vote for him?