If I had to vote in a GOP primary of all the assumed 2016 presidential candidates, Rand Paul would not be my choice. That said, it is my contention that Rand Paul is being unfairly criticized about his stance on Israel.
Rand Paul never said he wanted to cut off aid to Israel, a stance that would worry some that the Senator may be an Israel-hating anti-Semite like his father. He has not shown that bigotry.
Rand’s stance, which I strongly disagree with and one of the reasons I would find it difficult to support him in a primary, was that he wanted to cut off all foreign aid.
In other words he never singled out the Jewish State for the aid cut-off, and that is a huge distinction. When asked by the mainstream media if that included Israel he said yes, but his policy was not an attack on Israel, a distinction that has been totally ignored by the Democrats.
Rand Paul has absolutely supported ending US aid to Israel, and he needs to stop trying to rewrite history. More: http://t.co/cLaZ96Jxgl
— D Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) August 4, 2014
ICYMI: Rand Paul insists he never proposed ending aid to Israel, forgetting he said it (more than once!) on tape. http://t.co/GfVkPLOcvR
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) August 5, 2014
The press has constantly tried to pry Israel away from the rest of the world in Paul’s policy. As recently as last year, the Kentucky senator still advocated for gradually ending all aid. Not because of any hatred of the Jewish State but because of America’s growing deficit. He made this point when he was in Israel, explaining that the U.S. couldn’t be a good friend to Israel if it went broke.
But when the chips were down and Israel needed support, Paul has offered that support. He introduced the Stand With Israel Act in late April and wrote a pro-Israel column slamming the White House in “National Review Online” on July 1.
Is that recent singling out of Israel for support a stance that Paul created to position himself for 2016? Absolutely. However, his position on foreign aid was never an attack on the Jewish State and to call it that is extremely unfair.
Cross-posted at The Lid
