Mitt Romney, speaking today at a gathering of Jewish Republicans, will vow that if elected his first trip abroad as president would be to Israel.

Romney will join other contenders for the GOP presidential nomination at a forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Committee. Romney will also sharply criticize the Obama administration’s handling of Middle East affairs as not sufficiently pro-Israel, according to this report. And he is expected to call for the International Criminal Court indictment of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on charges of inciting genocide.

The only major Republican presidential candidate not invited to participate in the forum is Ron Paul. The Texas congressman has said the U.S. should end foreign aid to Israel, and he has spoken out against any potential Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program — and the RJC has characterized his views as “misguided and extreme.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount