Made in Israel: Romney’s Iran Campaign
by JEFF
KLEIN As Mitt Romney completes his electoral swing through
Jerusalem, it is tempting to view this as just a cynical campaign maneuver. No
doubt the candidate – in an effort coordinated the Republican Jewish Coalition
and Bill Kristol’s Emergency Committee for Israel — aims to peel off some Jewish
support from Obama, especially in states like Florida, and to seek votes from
the large right-wing Israeli-American expat community. Also, a fundraising
affair in Jerusalem ($50,000 minimum ticket) promises to add quite a few shekels
to his campaign coffers. But that’s only part of the story. Romney is no Willard-come-lately when it comes to
serving the interests of Israel. His ties to the Israeli Right and especially
Likud Party President Benjamin Netanyahu go back many years. Mitt met Ben in
when the two were business school graduates in Boston. Romney, with a Harvard
MBA, and Netanyahu (then calling himself “Benjamin Nitai”) from MIT’s Sloan
School, worked together at Th…