“May God bless America, and may He bless and protect the Nation of Israel” (Governor Mitt Romney, Republican candidate for president of the US, Jerusalem, July 29, 2012).
With this extraordinary declaration, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and Republican candidate for the presidency in November’s elections in the United States, gave the most ringing endorsement of Israel of any US president or presidential candidate since Harry Truman went against almost his entire cabinet and the “special relationship” with Great Britain, and recognized the independence of Israel in 1948.
Gov. Romney’s campaign team is filled with supporters of Israel, and there can be no doubt that, if he is elected, his administration will treat Israel as a special and honored friend and ally. He would be the first Mormon president of the US, and the Mormons have a special regard and concern for the Israelis, in the same way many evangelical Christians do. It should be noted that this is no new attitude on the part of Romney. He has a long history of taking pro-Israel positions. It is significant that the speech was entirely lacking in the usual scolding of Israel by US politicians because of the lack of a final settlement with the Palestinians.