Mitt and Bibi in January 2011. Image by Getty Images

Josh Nathan-Kazis July 3, 2012

Mitt Romney’s trip to Israel this summer signals a full-bore appeal to Jewish voters right around the time of the Republican convention in early September.

Romney’s trip is designed to highlight President Obama’s decision not to travel to Israel during his presidency, said Fred Zeidman, a Texas oil executive and prominent Republican Jewish Romney supporter.

“He’s going to the Olympics, and since he was over there someone on the inside said, ‘Hey, you’re that far why don’t you go to Israel, to point out once again the fact [of] your support of Israel, and by the way the president still hasn’t ever been,’” Zeidman said.

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)

Obama last visited Israel in July 2008, soon before that year’s Democratic convention.

The trip, first reported yesterday by the New York Times, will last less than two days. Romney is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and others, according to the Times.

When contacted by the Forward, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul declined to provide any further details about the trip.

The Republican National Convention is set to start on August 23 in Tampa, Fla. With Romney just back from Israel, lots of talk about the trip — and Romney’s proposed Middle East policy — is to be expected.

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