Ron Paul and Jews*

*José Cohen*

Last Oct 26, the Republican Jewish Coalition <http://www.rjchq.org/> made
public the guests list for the debate that the important organization was to
hold the following month. They were all there: Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney,
Fred Tompson, John McCain, Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee. However, there
was someone missing: Ron Paul, the republican presidential hopeful from
Texas had been excluded.

The coallition expressed that Dr. Paul's anti-Israel position was
inadmissible whithin a Jewish and pro-Israel organization. Certainly,
although libertarian, the ideas of the republican candidate may seem
anything but orthodox. Paul advocates for a non interventionist position,
and among other things, he is completely against the foreign aid the U.S.
gives to the other nations, Israel included.

The latter has gained Paul the hatred of most of the American Jews
community. Many have even termed him an anti-Semite. Whether we like or
dislike Paul's ideas, naming him an anti-Semite or anti-Israeli is both a
serious insult to his dignity and an unrealistic accusation. There has never
been any statements made by Paul that can earn him such appellatives. It is
the contrary, Ron Paul thinks that the best way Israel can defend its
frontiers, is presicely by doing without the North American aid. So he has
stated <http://jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/105176.html>: "We have adopted
a foreign policy that has left Israel surrounded by militaristic nations
while undermining Israel's sovereignty by demanding that its foreign and
defense policies be essentially pre-approved in Washington." He later added:
"The United States should take care of its own sovereignty while at the same
time respecting the sovereignty of nations like Israel. That is the best way
to preserve security and prosperity for all.

One interesting detail is he was one of the few who
approved<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine/22Paul-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=4&n=Top/Reference/Times+Topics/People/P/Paul,+Ron&oref=slogin&oref=slogin>the
1981 Israeli bombing of Osirak (Irak) when practically all -including
Reagan's administration- condemned Israel.

More "anti-Semitic" statements from Paul: in an article in LewRockwell.comhe
wrote <http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul363.html>: "Most other Middle
East countries get money too, some of which ends up in the hands of
Palestinian terrorists (...) Yet while we call ourselves a strong ally of
the Israeli people, we send billions in foreign aid every year to some
Muslim states that many Israelis regard as enemies. From the Israeli point
of view, many of the same Islamic nations we fund with our tax dollars want
to destroy the Jewish state.(...)"

On the other hand, after voting no to a House of Representatives resolution
that, during the last Lebanon war, condemned HezbollÙ„ and supported Israel,
Paul explained it as follows <http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul335.html>:
"I follow a policy in foreign affairs called non-interventionism. I do not
believe we are making the United States more secure when we involve
ourselves in conflicts overseas. The Constitution really doesn't authorize
us to be the policemen of the world, much less to favor one side over
another in foreign conflicts."

Can anyone deduce anti-Semitism or anti-Zionism from these statements? Not.
What Paul is defending for his country is a legitimate non interventionist
position. His attitute does not relate to any anti-Semitic cliche. He does
not oppose the aid to Israel bacause he might consider Jews as outrageous
genocides that massacre the palestinian people, neither beacuase he may be a
die-hard anti-zionist opposing Israel's right to exist, and much less
because he could be sympathetic to palestinian terrorism, he does for
profound ideological motivations which answer to a complete libertarian
ideal.

Paul opposes the idea of the aid coming to Israel, but also to Egipt, Saudi
Arabia and Taiwan. Dislike antisemitics, Paul has no obsession whatsoever
with the Israel State. What is more, Paul's policy can actually prove
beneficial for Israel in many aspects, as have been explained by Walter
Block <http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block88.html>or Shmuel
ben-Gad<http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/7552>(both
Jews). There are even groups of Jews
<http://www.jews4ronpaul.org/home>and
Zionists<http://zionistsforronpaul.blogspot.com/>that support Ron Paul
and that does not make them less sympathizers of the
State of Israel. As it is explained by the boys of Jews4RonPaul:

"Zionists support a Jewish homeland. It is not required that Zionists
support the government's efforts to subsidize Israel to achieve a Jewish
homeland. (...) One can be a Zionist and and still support the principled
non-interventionist foreign policy that was championed by America's
Founders."

Exactly, Ron Paul has definitely no problem with Jews. And Jews should not
have it with him.

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