Gingrich, Bachmann: Move embassy to Jerusalem

By: Rebecca Kaplan
Topics: Campaign 2012

(Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that as president he would move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a proposal designed to appeal to American Jewish voters. It also escalated the jockeying among the GOP candidates to be viewed as the most pro-Israel choice.

Rival candidate Michele Bachmann, a House member from Minnesota, said on Wednesday that she too would insist on moving the embassy. Bachman and Gingrich were among six GOP candidates who spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition's candidates' forum in Washington, D.C.

Jerusalem is the declared capital of Israel, but that fact is not internationally recognized because of the long-standing territorial disputes with the Palestinians.

Like other Republican candidates at the forum, Gingrich blasted the Obama administration's policy on Israel. The administration, he said, takes the position "it's always Israel's fault no matter how bad the other side is," and that "has to stop."

Gingrich also told the crowd that he would appoint former United Nations Representative John Bolton as his secretary of State.

Of moving the embassy, Bachmann said, "I already have secured a donor who said they will personally pay for the ambassador's home to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."

She told the audience, "Like you, my commitment is unequivocal and unchanging. We stand with Israel."

Referring to the leader of Iran, Israel's mortal enemy, Bachmann said, "Millions of Jews lost their lives. Today, a madman is speaking and once again it seems as if the world isn't really listening."

In an interview, Alan Solow, a longtime Obama supporter and the former chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, defended the president's record on Israel and pointed to statements from Israeli officials saying the relationship between the United States and Israel is as strong as or even stronger than it's ever been.

He also accused the Republican presidential candidates of using catchphrases instead of proposing solutions to the problems in the Middle East. "They present no vision of their own," Solow said.

Rebecca Kaplan
Rebecca Kaplan covers the 2012 presidential campaign for CBS News and National Journal.
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by stn_sage December 8, 2011 12:24 AM EST

These two candidates just DISQUALIFIED themselves for consideration in my mind!
They've showed they care more about Israel and what happens to it, then their OWN country!
They've shown that they GROVEL before foreign special interests!
And, if elected I want a president that serves the American public
and not an Israeli one!
Also, I wouldn't put it past either of these two to make Jerusalem or Tel Aviv the de facto overseas U.S.Capital!

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by mjordansound January 25, 2012 9:35 PM EST: Newt Gingrich already stirring up trouble along with his lobbyst supporters who belong in ISREAL and are citizens of that country.He should pay more attention to US problems not Israel problems,as other comment says we want a president for the USA not not some other country.