Sarah Palin Criticizes Obama on Israel Policy; Calls Him 'Temporary Leader'

By Hannah Brown, iPoster Sunday, May 22, 2011

Former Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin criticized President Barack Obama's recent Mideast policy speech, saying he's flirting with disaster in not defending Israel.

In an interview with Fox News' Judge Jeanine on Saturday, Palin spoke in support of the Jewish state, saying, “Anyone who studies history, studies the Old Testament, studies geography understands that Israel now is surrounded by enemies at all times.

"It should be now that America takes a stand in defending our friends in Israel."

Obama has been drawing fire from Republicans after delivering a major speech on Thursday. In it, he stated, "The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Obama’s call to base peace talks on the 1967 agreement. He said Israel cannot go back to the 1967 lines in place before the Six-Day War when Israel took control of land in Jordan, Syria and Egypt.

Also rejecting Obama’s stance, Palin stated on Fox, "To tell Israel that now they have to pull back from their homeland, that they have to concede even more, and that they have to negotiate with terrorists, with Hamas, having been a part now joining in the unity government under Palestinian authority, we're flirting with disaster under President Obama's very clouded, very murky foreign policy as it applies to Israel.”

What the U.S. should be doing more than ever is “standing strong with Israel and saying, ‘No, you don't have to divide Jerusalem, you don't have to divide your capital city,’” she continued.

Obama declared in his speech that "a lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples. Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people."

The president reiterated his stance on Sunday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, saying the 1967 borders must be the starting point for Israel-Palestine peace negotiations.

Palin commented, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not need to be lectured by President Obama on the importance of peace. He understands it."

"I'm going to call him a temporary leader, because my goal is to make sure that President Obama is not reelected in 2012," she said on Fox.

"We the people need to rise up, saying we'll take a stand for Israel. We'll be on their side, no matter if our 'temporary leader' sides with terrorists and demands Israel negotiate with terrorists.

"Until President Obama is replaced by a president who understands the importance of treating our friends right and being strong against our enemies – until that happens – it's 'We the People' who have to rise up and make sure that Israel knows they have friends here."