by Susan Rosenbluth,
Editor, Jewish Voice and Opinion

September 2008

For the pro-Israel community, Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin distinguished herself from her Democratic opponent almost as soon as she was introduced by Sen John McCain as his running mate last month. The 44-year-old Alaska governor’s very first reference to foreign policy dealt with stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, an issue that is as important to Israel as it is to the US.

Some commentators who know her said they were not surprised. She has been a leader on the issue of securing energy independence for the US and decreasing America’s need to buy oil from nations that do not share America’s—and Israel’s—foreign policies.

"Her interest in developing Alaska’s oil would lead to energy independence—or certainly something close to that—for the US. This would be of more value to the Jewish state than all the conventional pro-Israel speeches and proclamations of both parties combined," said Rabbi Aaron Reichel, an attorney and author in New York.

Middle East analyst and reporter Tom Gross believes there is "every sign" that Mrs. Palin will be better for Israel than Joe Biden, "who talks of his support for Israel in principle."

"The reality is, he has done his utmost to thwart keeping the possibility of a military option open to stop Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons. It’s no wonder he’s been dubbed ‘Tehran’s favorite senator,’" said Mr. Gross.

The official Israeli lobby, AIPAC, would not say which candidate is "better" for Israel. During the Republican Convention in St Paul, Mrs. Palin met for 45 minutes with some AIPAC leaders, including Sen Joseph Lieberman, the McCain campaign’s most prominent Jewish backer.

According to Michael Goldfarb, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, Mrs. Palin discussed "the relationship between Israel and American national security, and the threats to Israel from Iran and others."

"She was extremely well received," said Mr. Goldfarb, noting that Mrs. Palin was interrupted by applause twice.

AIPAC spokesman Josh Block agreed with Mr. Goldfarb. "We had a good, productive discussion on the importance of the US-Israel relationship, and we were pleased that Gov Palin expressed her deep, personal, and lifelong commitment to the safety and well-being of Israel. She expressed her support for the special friendship between the two democracies, and said she would work to expand and deepen the strategic partnership between the US and Israel," he said.

Members of the pro-Israel community who had been researching Mrs. Palin for several days were not surprised that her discussions with AIPAC went so well.

Within a few hours of Mr. McCain’s announcement of Mrs. Palin as his running mate, an online video showcasing hiking and tourism in Alaska surfaced. It features an extensive interview with Mrs. Palin in Juneau on her way to work and then in her office. As the camera pans her office, the two flags by the fireplace are plainly visible, one the Stars and Stripes and the other the state flag of Alaska. Near the window, there is a third pennant, small but unmistakably the blue-and-white flag of Israel.

The film had nothing to do with Jews or Israel and there was nothing to suggest that Mrs. Palin was preparing to host a Jewish audience. With only 4,000 Jews in the entire state, she was probably not seeking to attract Jewish votes.

According to Mrs. Palin’s attorney, Tucker Eskew, the flag is a permanent fixture in her office because, even though she has yet to travel to Israel, she is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state.

"She would describe herself as a strong supporter of Israel, with an understanding of Israel’s fear of an Iran in possession of nuclear weapons," said Mr. Eskew.

A Born-Again Christian, Mrs. Palin is described as supporting Israel for Biblical reasons.

The Juneau Christian Center, one of the churches she attends, is scheduled to hold a "Night to Honor Israel" this season.

"That’s quite a contrast with Obama’s Trinity United Church that published the Hamas Manifesto in its bulletin and whose pastor, Rev Jeremiah Wright, honored Louis Farrakhan," said Rabbi Reichel.

Another filmmaker also had the opportunity to see the Israeli flag in Mrs. Palin’s office. Elan Frank, a California-based Israeli shadowed Mrs. Palin for three days last spring while he was shooting his documentary about extraordinary women around the world.

Mr. Frank, 52, has resided in Los Angeles for the past 12 years. He first visited Alaska in 1983, when he was given a year’s leave from the Israeli Air Force, which he served as a fighter pilot.

Since then, he said, he has made it a point to revisit Alaska often.

He first conceived of the documentary as a study of Alaskan women. But soon he decided to broaden the scope. In the end, he sent film crews to Nepal and the Negev and decided to follow three Alaskan women himself—a teacher, a pilot, and the state’s new governor.

The final product has footage of Mrs. Palin at work and at home. Mr. Frank filmed her with her family, "making sandwiches for her daughter, watching television." She even played the flute for him.

Mr. Frank said he found her charming, "honest, and direct."

"She’s under a lot of pressure, but she always has time for everyone," he said.

One of the first things he noticed in her office was the Israeli flag, which he made certain to film.

"I was very surprised to see that and when I asked her about it, she said she loves Israel and she had friends who visited the country and brought her the flag," he said.

But all this love for Israel does not mean Wasilla has been free from religious controversies. Last month, another place of worship that the Palins attend, Wasilla Bible Church, hosted David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, who addressed the congregation.

Mrs. Palin was in the church when Mr. Brickner suggested that the long history of devastation, including recent terrorist attacks, that have been visited on Jerusalem is punishment for Jewish refusal to accept Jesus. As part of his talk, Mr. Brickner described the way his group attempts to target Jews in Israel and elsewhere.

According to a transcript of Mr. Brickner’s sermon posted on the Church website, he discussed the subject of "judgment."

"Judgment is very real, and we see it played out on the pages of newspapers and on the television," said Mr. Brickner, explaining that when his own son, Isaac, was in Jerusalem, he witnessed the incident in which a Palestinian used a tractor to rundown civilians.

"Judgment—you can’t miss it," said Mr. Brickner.

When his talk was completed, the church’s regular pastor, Larry Kroon, engaged in some fundraising for Jews for Jesus and prayed for Jews to be "saved."

Through Mr. Goldfarb, the McCain campaign spokesman, Mrs. Palin assured the press that she did not know Mr. Brickner would be speaking that day, and that, in any case, she did not share Mr. Brickner’s views.

Mr. Kroon confirmed that Mrs. Palin had no way of knowing that Mr. Brickner was going to be the speaker.

"Governor Palin does not share the views he expressed, and she and her family would not have been sitting in the pews of this church for the last seven years if his remarks were even remotely typical," Mr. Goldfarb wrote in an email.

Another female Republican governor, Linda Lingle of Hawaii, who is Jewish, said she was not surprised to learn that Mrs. Palin is a staunch supporter of Israel.

"She is a very religious woman and religious Christians are the greatest supporters of Israel," said Ms. Lingle.

To those who dismiss Mrs. Palin as "only a mayor of a small town" and "governor of a distant state," Ms. Lingle, 55, said Gov Palin has "had a balanced budget; she’s had to deal with every issue from the environment to energy and healthcare to education and public safety, and she’s done it in a way that every governor does, which is: you make the final decision for which you’ll be accountable."

According to Ms. Lingle, this is different from serving in Congress. "When you’re a governor, you’re the one to make a decision. It’s a great, great preparation for a job such as vice president," she said, adding that Gov Palin has had more on-the-job experience than the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen Barack Obama (R-IL) has had.

She said she is convinced the Republican Party will attract growing numbers of Jewish voters because "the Republicans have a much stronger position on Israel."

As governor, Mrs. Palin has met with David Akov, Israel’s Consul General for the Pacific Northwest Region of the US. The two reportedly discussed cooperation between Israel and Alaska on issues such as counter-terrorism initiatives.

During their meeting, Mr. Akov said he invited Mrs. Palin to visit Israel. She told him she would like to visit and added that her state’s residents "love Israel."

Jewish leaders of the 4,000-strong Alaskan-Jewish community speak highly of their governor.

"The Jewish community should be very excited that Sarah was selected. She has been very conscious of the Jewish community here in Alaska and now, with the opportunity of her new position, she’ll have the opportunity to look at the Jewish community globally," said Terry Gorlick, an Alaskan Republican-Jewish activist who said he knows Mrs. Palin well and has worked with her on several issues.

He said he has engaged in conversations with her about Israel and, from comments she has made concerning Israel’s security, Mr. Gorlick said he could state with conviction that "Sarah’s absolutely pro-Israel."

Just recently, he said, she signed a resolution honoring Israel on the state’s 60^th birthday.

Alaska’s AIPAC chairman, David Gottstein, said he has spoken to Mrs. Palin about arranging a trip to Israel. He said she was eager to travel to Jerusalem, but, to date, scheduling conflicts—and a new baby—have prevented her from traveling.

"She has ties and interests in the Holy Land," said Mr. Gottstein, who added that although he is a Democrat, he sees Mrs. Palin as "someone who could be effective across party lines."

Although the Democrats have chosen as their Presidential candidate a man with almost no experience in government, Democrats, including their Jewish members, seized on Mrs. Palin’s nomination as cause for scorn, citing her lack of job-related foreign-relations skills.

National Jewish Democratic Coalition executive director Ira Forman pointed out that she has not been to Israel herself.

"In Governor Sarah Palin, McCain chooses a running mate with zero foreign policy experience. For a party which claims it is trying to reach out to the Jewish community, McCain’s pick is particularly strange. Prior to her selection, Palin apparently never spoke publicly about Israel," said NJDC executive director Ira Forman.

Mrs. Palin’s supporters say that, as a governor, she brings greater administrative experience to the table than do either Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden.

"Almost every President during the past century has originally served as a governor with virtually no foreign experience until he assumed the Presidency. In four or eight years, Palin will be more suited than most of them to be President based on experience, since she will gain experience as vice-president before likely assuming the Presidency. Most governors, such as Clinton and Carter, vaulted directly into the Presidency," said Rabbi Reichel.

He pointed out that if he is successful, Mr. Obama, "whose experience in foreign policy is negligible," would have to learn on-the-job.

"If Obama can become ready to serve as President on Day One, Palin can surely be ready to serve as Vice President by Day One," he said.

In fact, Ms. Palin’s political career began when she served two terms on the town council of Wasilla, about a one-hour drive northeast of Anchorage. She then served two terms as mayor of the city, before being elected governor.

She was elected president of the Alaskan Conference of Mayors and chair of the Alaska Conservation Commission. As governor, she has served as chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multi-state government agency. She also was named chair of the National Governors Association Natural Resources Committee.

"The US and Israel can have every confidence that, like McCain, Mrs. Palin is a doer who means what she says—not someone like Joe Biden who may come out with fine sentiments but seems unwilling to get to grips with fundamental problems posed by Iran and Syria," said Mr. Gross.

Perhaps the most vicious attack against Mrs. Palin came from Rep Robert Wexler (D-FL) a far-left member of congress who serves as a surrogate for Mr. Obama.

Calling the selection of Mrs. Palin for vice-president "a direct affront to all Jewish Americans," Mr. Wexler, who is Jewish, accused the Alaska governor of having supported the very controversial far-right wing author and pundit Pat Buchanan in his run for the White House in 1999-2000.

"Pat Buchanan is a Nazi sympathizer with a uniquely atrocious record on Israel, even going as far as to denounce bringing former Nazis to justice and praising Adolf Hitler," said Mr. Wexler.

He based his condemnation of Mrs. Palin on news reports which said she had worn a "Buchanan 2000" button when Mr. Buchanan made a campaign stop in Wasilla.

Mr. Wexler concluded that she must have been a supporter of Mr. Buchanan, who was not even running as a Republican, but rather as a candidate of the Reform Party.

But Gov Palin never supported Mr. Buchanan. She knew, however, that it might appear that way, and to correct any wrong impressions, she wrote a letter to the Anchorage Daily News before Mr. Buchanan’s visit. "When presidential candidates visit our community, I am always happy to meet them. I’ll even put on their button when handed one as a polite gesture of respect," she wrote.

In fact, Mrs. Palin supported one of Mr. Buchanan’s opponents that year, Steve Forbes. She also served as one of Mr. Forbes’s campaign officials.

Four years earlier, in 1996, Mrs. Palin allegedly attended a fundraiser for Mr. Buchanan when he was running as a Republican in the Presidential primaries. He now says he remembers seeing her, but the record shows neither she nor her husband gave him any money.

Mr. Buchanan’s sister, Bay, who serves as a political consultant and is, like her brother, a frequent television commentator, said Mrs. Palin might have been at a fundraiser for Jerry Ward, a local Alaskan ally of Mr. Buchanan.

The record shows none of the Palins gave Mr. Ward any money either.

Some pundits suspect the Palins might have attended one of Mr. Buchanan’s fundraisers "more out of curiosity than anything else."

"Maybe Buchanan’s isolationist foreign policy turned them off. Maybe it was even something Buchanan said about Jews that kept their checkbook shut," suggested Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "In a sane political world, this would define Good Judgment. Instead, it’s used to indict her judgment."

Mr. Kampeas did not deny that Jews knew, even back in 1996, that Mr. Buchanan was virulently anti-Israel. "Can we reasonably expect a small-time Alaska mayor to share our depth of knowledge to the extent that she wouldn’t even bother to check him out? By setting such impossible standards, we’re killing political curiosity, we’re creating a political environment so safe, it’s doomed to stagnate," he said.

On MSNBC, Mr. Buchanan called the allegation that Mrs. Palin had supported him for President "ridiculous" and nothing more than the Democrats trying to tie the vice-presidential candidate to him, a move Mr. Buchanan said should backfire.

"If they do that, you end the moratorium on Rev Jeremiah Wright because Barack Obama’s pastor and spiritual leader for 20 years did run an antisemitic church, does run an anti-White church, and has engaged in racist rants," he said, suggesting that if the Democrats and their supporters attack Mrs. Palin because she attended a Buchanan fundraiser, Mr. Obama should be attacked again for attending Mr. Wright’s church.

Kory Bardash, spokesman for Republicans Abroad Israel, called the issue of the Buchanan button "absurd."

"What is absurd is that Sarah Palin wore a button one time and Barack Obama sat in a church of an antisemite, anti-Israel preacher and absorbed his teachings for over 20 years. I leave it to the intelligence of the voter to determine who has a more troubling record," he said.

Mr. Bardash, whose group helps Americans living in Israel register to vote, said he was receiving many calls from Democrats.

"Most of the people contacting our group to vote are registered Democrats who are crossing over to vote for this year’s pro-Israel candidate, John McCain," he said, explaining that Mr. Obama’s associations with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and several pro-Palestinian Arab radicals, such as Prof Rashid Khalidi, "are of great concern to Democrats and Republicans alike."

He warned that Mr. Biden’s "sketchy" record concerning the threat posed by Iran "should be troubling for all Americans in Israel and in the US."

Many of Mrs. Palin’s supporters have been concerned by what they see as media bias working against the Alaska governor.

Mr. Wexler’s untrue accusation about Mrs. Palin’s supposed support for Mr. Buchanan was repeated by an official Obama spokesman, Mark Bubriski, as a statement to the Miami Herald.

"How is it that the media, so committed to fighting the smears against the Obama campaign, is more than happy to allow this one to fester," said Thomas Lifson, in a post to the Arutz Sheva blog. "Would a Pat Buchanan supporter have an Israeli flag in her office?"

Political analyst Ben Smith, writing on the Politico.com website, agreed. "A Palestinian flag would have told a different story," he said.

Back in Alaska, where Gov Palin’s approval ratings are high and she enjoys a reputation for integrity based on successfully weeding out corruption in her state’s government, the Jewish community seems pleased by her sudden national success.

Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, of Anchorage Chabad, said Mrs. Palin has been very supportive of a Jewish museum he is building there. At the organization’s annual gala—which she has attended faithfully as governor—she was game to volunteer for hora lessons.

"From the time she became governor, she has always supported the Jewish community and Israel. She always comes to our events, and she is really a very amazing woman," said Rabbi Greenberg.

Alaska’s 4,000 Jews make up about 0.5 percent of the population. A full 70 percent of them reportedly light candles on Friday night; compared to only 32 percent of all American Jews.

Asked about Mrs. Palin’s grasp of foreign affairs, Rabbi Greenberg admitted she may need some catching up. "But she is a quick learner, and besides, every President has advisers around. She is a very good person; she is very honest, a very dedicated and wonderful mother," he said.

Rabbi Greenberg said he was personally impressed by Mrs. Palin’s "remarks of hope and faith" when she gave birth to a child with Down’s Syndrome four months ago.

She told Rabbi Greenberg she accepted her special-needs child and knew that "G-d doesn’t give you something you can’t handle."

"It was straight out of the Lubavitch book," said Rabbi Greenberg. "We all feel that the governor is a remarkable, energetic, and good person."