GOP Candidates to Jews: We Love Israel

Republicans love to talk about how much they support Israel—but who are they trying to impress? While Mitt Romney is clearly trying to capitalize on (traditionally Democratic) Florida Jews' disappointment with President Obama's Israel policy, The Guardian notes that Newt Gingrich, for example, boasts about his support of the Jewish state in hopes of appeasing Christian evangelicals, who deny any Palestinian right to the disputed territory based on the Bible. Jews, on the other hand, who make up 6 percent of Florida's electorate, see through the rhetoric. "What we're seeing in the political conversation right now is that politicians go out of their way to talk about how supportive they are of Israel," said one Florida rabbi. "My sense about the voters in my congregation is that they're sophisticated and that they're always concerned about Israel but Israel is not the only issue on which they vote." In fact, any Jewish voters who might gravitate toward the Republican Party do so because they're concerned about the economy.