Submitted by correspondent Tom Ifrach
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tells religious conservatives in Pennsylvania that he would do "the opposite" of what Obama has done regarding Israel, says, "I would not want to show a dime's worth of distance between ourselves and our allies like Israel" • Romney also says he would urge Turkey, Saudi Arabia to arm insurgents in Syria.
Eli Leon, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tells conservatives in Pennsylvania on Saturday that if he were president, he would "forge a strong working relationship with the leadership in Israel."
U.S. President Barack Obama is more concerned over an Israeli attack on Iran than the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told religious conservatives in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Romney said he would do "the opposite" of what Obama has done regarding Israel.
The Republican spent most of the day appealing to voters in Pennsylvania, a battleground state he said he would win in the fall, although Democrats succeeded in pushing his bus tour through the state off of its original itinerary.
"I am going to win Pennsylvania," Romney told a cheering crowd in Cornwall, a small town in the center of the state, as his campaign bus rolled through on the second day of a five-day, six-state tour.
Romney took some time out of his tour to address religious conservatives at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington via video uplink, telling the crowd, "[Obama has] almost sounded like he's more frightened that Israel might take military action than he's concerned that Iran might become nuclear."
His hawkish speech was the first time he's discussed policy toward Israel at length since becoming the likely Republican presidential nominee.
"I think, by and large, you can just look at the things the president has done and do the opposite," Romney said to great applause when asked about Israel.
Democrats accused Romney of distorting Obama's record on Israel. Spokesman Ben LaBolt said Obama has given Israel more security assistance than any other administration and has stood with Israel at the United Nations.
Romney said that if he were elected president, he would "forge a strong working relationship with the leadership in Israel," the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I would make it very clear that for us, as well as for them, it is unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation and that we're prepared to take any and all action to keep that from happening," he was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying, with applause drowning out his next line.
Romney also said that if he were president, he would be urging countries in the region, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to arm "the insurgents" in Syria's civil war.
"But perhaps overarching is this: I would not want to show a dime's worth of distance between ourselves and our allies like Israel. If we have disagreements, you know, we can talk about them behind closed doors. But to the world, you show that we're locked arm in arm," Romney was quoted as saying.
The non-profit social conservative Christian Coalition, founded by long-time conservative activist Ralph Reed and with hundreds of local chapters, opposes abortion and same-sex marriage and supports lower taxation and limited government. It is also a strong supporter of Israel.
Some evangelical voters have been skeptical about Romney, whose Mormon religion has at times been branded a cult by Christian conservative leaders. During the Republican primaries, many favored former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, an outspoken social conservative and Roman Catholic, over Romney.
Those Santorum supporters will likely not gravitate to President Obama in November: The Faith and Freedom Coalition's website portrays an angry Obama and the slogan "Stop Obama's War on Religion." But the Romney campaign wants to make sure conservatives don't merely sit out this year's elections.
