Sarah Palin slams President Obama for interfering in Israeli 'zoning issue'

[bemildred]

Hours after a terror attack in Jerusalem, Sarah Palin on Wednesday night hammered President Obama for not standing strongly enough behind Israel, conceding too much to the Palestinians, and interfering in a local “zoning issue” – settlement building on the West Bank.

“I think there are many in Israel who would feel even more comfortable knowing that there is even a greater commitment from those who presently occupy the White House that they are there on Israel side, and that our most valuable ally in that region can count on us,” Palin told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren in an interview in Naples, Florida.

Palin was fresh off her two-day “trip of a lifetime” to Israel, where she met Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend and visited the Western Wall and other holy sites.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51863.html

[Zambero]

1. Sarah Palin: Staunch defender of Isreal (?)

Okey-Dokey, whatever Sarah says. Now if those foot-dragging Israelis and other Jewish types would only convert to Christianity, like ALL OF THEM and RIGHT NOW (or better yet, YESTERDAY), we can get this "End Days" thing onto a fast track!

:sarcasm:

[Ken Burch]

18. Sarah Palin: Staunch Opponent of Reality.

:eyes:

[azurnoir]

2. wow who'd of 'thunk' it Anthony Weiner and Sarah Palin

on the same side, bipartisanship ain't it grand?

[bemildred]

3. I must admit I am somewhat poleaxed trying to get my thinking process wrapped around this one. nt

[azurnoir]

23. it is a common enough phenomena

when it comes to US politicians and Israel

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. The staunchest defenders of Israel are often the evangelical Christians

[Ken Burch]

19. Yeah...the ones who still want to bring on the "Last Days"

You know, the end-of-the-world scenario in which Jews are forced to choose between conversion or death...

:eyes:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

22. Not sure if the evangelicals are predominantly end-of times or not

Though certainly some are.

[shaayecanaan]

5. AFAIK, Sarah Palin attends church about four times a year...

according to the rather sordid and trumpery interview given by her son-in-law to Vanity Fair. In any event, she is not particularly religious. Neither are her followers, if the footage from her rallies is anything to go by. There are not many ankle-length skirts on display, to put it mildly. The same can be said for the Tea Party movement, which is by and large not religiously obsessed.

The Christian stylings of the Tea Partiers are less about a religious yearning than they are a reaction to identity politics, a yearning for a collective voice, borne of the justifiable concern that an individual voice is easily lost in the political wilderness.

Its sort of like a Rangers v Celtics game, the fans might shout sectarian slogans at each other for the full 90 minutes but they`re not the kind of boys that you would see in church.

[oberliner]

6. Rangers and Celtics play different sports

Rangers are hockey, Celtics are basketball.

[bemildred]

7. Actually, that models the cognitive disconnect nicely.

But you are right.

[shaayecanaan]

11. Remember, I am one of her Majesty's loyal subjects...

generally speaking, when someone outside of the United States refers to Rangers and Celtics, they should be taken as referring to the beautiful game:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Firm

Briefly, Rangers and Celtics are the two strongest sides in the Scottish Premier League. Invariably the final match of the season is played out between those two teams. Rangers commands largely Protestant support, Celtics are the Catholic team.

The rivalry between the two sides has a large following outside of Scotland, particularly in Ireland, England and anywhere else where sectarianism still has a bite to it.

Football commentators often refer to the "90-minute sectarian" - a person who does not celebrate their Catholicism or Protestantism other than to go to football matches and sing chants at the other side.

[oberliner]

12. Fooled by your seemingly intimate knowledge of the American political landscape

For someone who does not live in the US you sure do follow all the nuances of American politics pretty closely.

In any case, being that this is a US-centered message board, I hope you can forgive my misunderstanding of your analogy.

[shaayecanaan]

21. Its in the blood...

politics is mother's milk to any Lebanese...James Zogby, Ralph Nader, etc...

[Ken Burch]

20. In Glasgow, Rangers and Celtic both play football.

(but not the American kind).

[bemildred]

8. Palin worships at the church of money.

I would give you 9-to-1 that is the ultimate object of the trip, money and its alternate form power. It would be amusing in a perverse way if she actually were elected President, because she would be so inept as to make Mr Bush look competent and sure of himself.

[oberliner]

13. Palin in Israel: is this about the evangelical vote?

It strikes me that what this is really about is the effort to aggressively court the evangelical wing of the Republican Party, which has become more ardently pro-Israel in recent years – and which is now far more supportive of the idea Israel should keep its West Bank settlements than a majority of Jewish voters. And that faction can make a difference, especially in the GOP primaries.

Could Israel, and hawkish support for those advocating a "not one inch" approach to dealing with the Palestinians, help Palin and Huckabee bridge the gap between the GOP's conservative Christian and Tea Party factions?

http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/political_insider/palin_israel_about_evangelical_vote

Mr. Mondoweiss, on the other hand, appears to agree with you.

[bemildred]

14. No reason it can't be both.

I am skeptical she really wants to be President, I mean she quit in Alaska.

And simply making a credible run for Pres. can pay off well, running for V.P. has already payed off for her well.

And she already has the evangelical votes, I'm not sure this will do much for her there.

It is also true that a credible Pres. candidate has to get some foreign policy chops, and she needs to be credible to get those contributions. This fits in with that.

[oberliner]

16. I think Michelle Bachmann is going to be this cycle's Sarah Palin

My prediction is that Palin will fade from the scene and Michelle, already the darling of the RW talk circuit, will be the lady of choice for the "conservative wing" of the Republican primary. I envision a showdown between her and Mitt in the primary. And I can see Mitt winning the nomination, and choosing her as VP to keep her from running third party with some other popular tea-party character like Paul Ryan or one of the other "smart" ones. Alternatively, if Chris Christie decides to run, the RW talk show crowd will rally behind him and he will win the primary and then lose spectacularly in the general election to the current president. Romney could give Obama a run for his money since "Reagan Democrats" and "independents" seem to think he is a reasonable guy, but, thankfully, the loud power-brokers of the GOP, like Rush Limbaugh and friends, will tear him apart in the primaries as they push for a "real" conservative, thus giving the election to Obama should things play out the way I imagine they could.

[bemildred]

17. Could well be. Bachmann is the fresh face.

It could be very amusing to watch them duke it out in a "debate", no?

I do agree that Palin is probably past her marketing zenith already.

[bemildred]

24. When you are right, then you are right:

Who Wins and Who Loses if Bachmann Runs in 2012?

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota seized the media spotlight on Thursday by merely leaking out the possibility that she might — someday, maybe months from now — form an exploratory committee to consider running for president.

The flurry of headlines was a testament to her ability to heighten interest by being dramatic, and even provocative, in her statements. Just a day earlier, for example, she warned against the “black-robed masters” in Iowa. In other words: judges. (The comment came in a speech in which she applauded voters for turning out three members of the Iowa Supreme Court who had voted to legalize gay marriage.)

Ms. Bachmann may yet decide not to run for president this year. But Republican strategists for her potential rivals believe she is serious about mounting a run for the Republican nomination, and they are planning accordingly.

A member of the House of Representatives since 2007, Ms. Bachmann has already built a nationwide network of supporters and donors, largely by championing the conservative causes that have made her popular with the Tea Party movement.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/who-wins-and-who-loses-if-bachmann-runs-in-2012/

(Warning, paywall.)

[Jefferson23]

9. This cracked me up, from Arutz Sheva, Palin's visit:

'Palin Asked: Why Apologize to the Muslims?'

by Gil Ronen

Popular conservative politician Sarah Palin understands the importance of the Temple Mount to the Jewish people, according to MK Danny Danon (Likud), who accompanied her on a visit to the Kotel Sunday.

Danon told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew-language service: "When we toured near the Kotel and in the tunnels near the Holy of Holies, she told me clear things without hesitating. She understands the importance of the place for the Jewish People and even asked me 'Why do you keep apologizing to the Muslims all the time?'"

"I explained to her the mistakes made by Moshe Dayan in 1967 and our mistakes in not fulfilling our rights in the Temple Mount and the Old City," Danon said. He was referring to Dayan's decision to hand back the keys to the Temple Mount to the Muslim Waqf immediately after the liberation of the Mount in the Six-Day War.

Danon noted that Israel has large-scale support in the Christian world but "we are afraid to take advantage of it. It's as if we are ashamed about ourselves. But there is great support and I felt it in the tour yesterday."

Palin was also welcomed by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, the Kotel Rabbi, who told her that not just the prayers of Jews are more readily fulfilled when uttered at the Temple Mount, but those of Gentiles as well. The rabbi told Palin that he believes she will be an even better "ambassador" for Israel after her visit than she was before it.

The prominent freshman MK said that Israel needs to explain to Christians that it is in their interest, too, to let Israel have control of the holy sites. He noted that in places like Bethlehem, where Muslims are in control, Christians are humiliated.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143035

on edit for clarity.

[bemildred]

15. Yes, I took a sardonic pleasure in that too.

It brings images to my mind, thoughts of Monty Python.

[azurnoir]

10. Palin U-turns before entering Bethlehem

The 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate and former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night and wrote an emotional greeting in his guestbook. However, her tour to the West Bank city of Bethlehem was canceled unexpectedly

British media reports claim Palin was making her way to the city when suddenly her vehicle, approaching the checkpoint, stopped for a few moments and then turned back towards Jerusalem.

IDF officials refused to explain why Palin backtracked and did not enter Bethlehem, however Defense Ministry officials claim the US politician neglected to submit a formal request to tour the West Bank, despite it being standard procedure for any foreign dignitary.


The Daily Telegraph hinted that Palin was not aware of the fact that Bethlehem is not Israeli territory, saying this is a common mistake amongst foreign tourists but not amongst politicians.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046016,00.html