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Rick Perry unloaded on President Obama’s Israel policy yesterday — picking up an attack that has already dented the president’s popularity — then scooped up New York cash for his surging campaign.
On the second day of a New York swing that coincided with Obama’s trip to the United nations, the Texas governor ripped Obama for putting too much pressure on Israel and accused him of “appeasement.”
“Simply put, we would not be here today, at the precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn’t naive, arrogant, misguided and dangerous,” Perry fumed.
“The Obama policy of moral equivalency, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a dangerous insult,” he continued, saying he would stand with Israel “as an American and as a Christian.”
Joining him at an event at the W Hotel in Union Square was Republican Rep. Bob Turner, who captured Rep. Anthony Weiner’s congressional seat, aided by a revolt among some Jewish voters who were frustrated by the Obama administration’s positions on Israel.
Also challenging Obama on Israel yesterday was Republican Mitt Romney.
“What we are watching unfold at the United Nations is an unmitigated diplomatic disaster,” said Romney, calling it the “culmination of President Obama’s repeated efforts over three years to throw Israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position.”
After taking it to Obama, Perry continued his fund-raising jaunt through New York, including a $1,000-per-plate luncheon. In the evening, he attended a reception at the posh Upper East Side Lotos literary club organized by former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg.
Additional reporting by Lisa Riordan Seville