Friday, May 20, 2011

Supporting Ron Paul is Kosher

Despite what some would call Ron Paul's Israel Problem, one website, Americans for Israel, maintains that Ron Paul is the most pro-Israel presidential candidate although he supports cutting aid to Israel because he also supports cutting aid to Israel's surrounding Islamic rivals who altogether receive three times what Israel does.

The website itself seems a bit sparse though--and was probably created in 2008 for the specific purpose of drawing pro-Israel people to Ron Paul. Therefore this is not some well-known pro-Israel group that naturally decided to endorse Ron Paul. Nonetheless, there appears to be some support among presumably, predominantly pro-Israel Jews for Paul, with one Facebook group having 154 members on the day this was published.

The website also claims that withdrawing aid from Israel would allow it more reign in protecting itself from aggressors--without having to ask permission from the US.

The real question is whether tentative support from a US president is the only thing standing in the way of Islamic countries ganging up on and attacking Israel. Would Ron Paul have to pledge an alliance with Israel in order to deter a large-scale attack? Possibly not, since Israel has nukes galore.

Whether the viewpoints expressed by Americans for Israel make sense in light of these questions is for the analysts to decide, but said viewpoints nevertheless are thought provoking.

UPDATE 6-4-11
Walter Block has posted a neat summary of the benefits Ron Paul's policy of no foreign aid would bring to the state of Israel. The question is whether they make up for the loss in benefits from foreign aid.

One thing is for certain: unless Ron Paul can appeal to evangelical Christians who comprise the majority of the Christian Right, then he will be very limited in the primaries.

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