Why supporters of Israel should support Ron Paul

"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none."--Thomas Jefferson, first inaugural, 1801

Supporters of Israel (I am a strong supporter, and have been there many times) have voiced anxiety over Ron Paul's stance on Israel.  He has been variously smeared by the statist right, left, and their mainstream media shills as anti-Semitic or anti-Israel.  This is not the case.  His attitude is consistent on every subject, as he is anti big government, anti foreign aid to all nations, anti militarist.  This is easily verifiable to anyone willing to spend the time reading Dr. Paul's articles and interviews. 

I am a big supporter of Ron and Rand Paul, and will financially support their current and future campaigns.

This is taken from a 2007 op-ed piece from israelnationalnews.com, probably the only right-wing news service in Israel, before the 2008 presidential campaign, now relevant again for 2012.

15 November 2007

by Shmuel Ben-Gad

"He opposes US foreign aid to Israel.

Since the Six Day War, US presidents and presidential candidates have tended to speak of the US and Israel as great friends and allies. They have also tended to favor the shrinking of Israel's borders. This has reached a low point under the Bush administration, which is the first one to explicitly make its policy the establishment of an Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Thus, the US alliance with Israel has been a decidedly mixed blessing.

Israel receives military and financial assistance, and also some diplomatic support at the United Nations, but the US puts pressure on Israel to surrender parts of the homeland. Even worse, this relationship seems to foster a mentality of dependence amongst many Israelis who, it seems, cannot imagine Israel defying the United States in any major way.

In the upcoming presidential election, however, there is a chance to change this dramatically, by electing Congressman Ron Paul, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Dr. Paul favors a non-interventionist foreign policy. He has written:

"Yet, while we call ourselves a strong ally of the Israeli people, we send billions in foreign aid every year to some Muslim states that many Israelis regard as enemies. From the Israeli point of view, many of the same Islamic nations we fund with our tax dollars want to destroy the Jewish state. Many average Israelis and American Jews see America as hypocritically hedging its bets.... It is time to challenge the notion that it is our job to broker peace in the Middle East and every other troubled region across the globe.... 'Peace plans' imposed by outsiders or the UN cause resentment and seldom produce lasting peace.... The fatal conceit lies in believing America can impose geopolitical solutions wherever it chooses."

In this, Dr. Paul is hearkening back to what George Washington counseled in his famous farewell address: "The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible."

 

read the rest here.