Gov. Huckabee is scheduled to keynote the upcoming 28th annual Beit El Dinner on December 5th. He along with Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, will address some 1,500 expected attendees.
Huckabee has been a staunch ally of Israel for quite some time. He has visited Israel 12 times. Huckabee lead a tour there in 2010 and has plans for an upcoming tour in January 2011. Huckabee is one of the few Republicans who has actively come out against a two state solution. He has shown strong support for Israel's right to sovereignty over the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, stating that America would not tolerate another country telling them where they could and could not build in New York. Huckabee added, “I think we can certainly advise as a friend to Israel,” he explained, “but we have no right to dictate and outright tell another country what it should or shouldn’t do.” Huckabee also stated, in regards to the threat of a nuclear Iran that he, “would support Israel doing whatever Israel needs to protect [itself].”
In addressing this group at the Beit El Dinner, Huckabee hopes to gain not only their vote but also access to their pocket books. In the recent U.S. midterm elections the Republican Jewish Coalition spent millions on campaign ads to affect the outcome. They felt their efforts were constructive as 1/3 of the Jewish vote went to Republican candidates. While 2/3 of American Jews did not help turn the country Red, they are disheartened with Obama and could look to the Republican Party come November 2012. Israel is still important to the Jewish population in America and many were upset with how President Obama not only handled his relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu but also with Obama’s policy on Israeli settlements. For many of the Orthodox Jews, the US relationship with Israel is a deciding issue. As this core group of voters looks to the 2012 horizon, Huckabee could gain their endorsements as well as their funding.
Another area Huckabee hopes to gain in addressing this group, is their confidence and trust in him as a key defender of Israel against the threat from Iran. The speech will give Huckabee the opportunity to address concerns by those Israeli panelists who in 2007 did not give him a high score on the Israeli survey called The Israel Factor. The Haertz newspaper panel (made up of analysts and academics) ranks the candidates according to how good or bad they will be for Israel and her interests. Using some analysis by the HaAretz’s US correspondent, the panel anonymously votes each month producing a score for each potential US presidential candidate. This At Beit El Dinner speech could be evaluated by the panel for it’s next set of evaluation rankings.
The Israel Factor panel began its 2012 analysis on November 14th with their rankings below:
While the panel did give out these initial scores, they did not give out intricate details behind the numbers.
We will have to see how Huckabee’s speech to the attendees at the At Beit El Dinner is received. The initial reaction from the dinner announcement article shows an enthusiastic group eager for Huckabee to jump into the 2012 race for the White House.
Below are recent articles regarding Israel. It will be interesting to note how many of these topics Huckabee touches upon in his speech:
Below are recent articles regarding Israel. It will be interesting to note how many of these topics Huckabee touches upon in his speech:
On Saturday, November 27th, Gov. Huckabee had Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Danny Danon, on his show.
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