NEWT SEES OBAMA AS A THREAT TO ISRAEL

GINGRICH: ‘OBAMA ENDANGERING ISRAEL’

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER
JPOST CORRESPONDENT IN WASHINGTON

The Jerusalem Post
May 4, 2009

Former US House speaker Newt Gingrich on Sunday blasted the Obama administration for setting itself on a collision course with Israel and endangering the Jewish state, ahead of his address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

They are systematically setting up the most decisive confrontation that we've ever seen," the leading Republican politician told The Jerusalem Post, referring to news reports about the administration's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"There's almost an eagerness to take on the Israeli government to make a point with the Arab world," he said, speaking to the Post ahead of his speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference.

He called US President Barack Obama's program of engagement on Iran a "fantasy," and his Middle East policies "very dangerous for Israel." He summed up Obama's approach as "the clearest adoption of weakness since Jimmy Carter."

Instead, he maintained, the US should be sending the message to Israel that "we are for the survival of Israel" and that "we are not going to tolerate Iran getting nuclear weapons."

He added that creating prosperity among Palestinians was important, and that the US should be helping their leaders grow their society and crowd out Hamas.