WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican Party’s presidential contenders pledged allegiance to Israel and warned of “apocalyptic” Islamic terrorism on Thursday as they courted one of the nation’s most powerful Jewish donors.
While speaking in one voice at times, the GOP’s class of 2016 hopefuls also clashed over key foreign policy challenges — including whether to support Syrian leader Bashar Assad and Israel’s commitment to Mideast peace.
“Some in our own party — in the news today — have actually questioned Israel’s commitment to peace,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). “Some in our own party actually call for more sacrifice from the Israeli people. They are dead wrong, and they don’t understand the enduring bond between Israel and America.”
While he didn’t use his name, Rubio’s criticism was aimed at billionaire businessman and GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who told The Associated Press on Wednesday he has “a real question as to whether or not both sides want to make” Mideast peace.
“A lot will have to do with Israel and whether or not Israel wants to make the deal — whether or not Israel’s willing to sacrifice certain things,” Trump told AP. “They may not be, and I understand that, and I’m OK with that. But then you’re just not going to have a deal.”
Rubio and Trump were among 14 Republican presidential contenders on the speaking program for Thursday’s meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a group whose primary benefactor, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, spent more on the 2012 federal elections than any other donor.
His willingness to make a huge political investment helps explain why his signature group has attracted all of the major GOP presidential candidates to its forum in Washington — even though the man himself wasn’t among the hundreds in attendance.
“We need a president who will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
But in a clear break from Rubio and other Republican national security hawks, Cruz suggested the United States would be safer with Assad continuing in his role as Syrian president, just as the world would have been safer had Middle East dictators not been toppled in Libya, Egypt and Iraq.
“Toppling a government and allowing radical Islamic terrorists to take over a nation is not benefiting our national security interests,” Cruz said.
Cruz opened his remarks with moment of silence for the California shooting victims. Investigators there have not yet identified a specific motive for Wednesday’s shooting, which 14 people dead and many more wounded, but Cruz worried aloud that the attack was an act of “Islamic terrorism.”
“This horrific murder underscores that we are at a time of war,” Cruz told the crowd. “Whether or not the current administration realizes it or is willing to acknowledge it, our enemies are at war with us.
“I believe this nation needs a wartime president to defend it,” he said.
While there was no chance Thursday for the candidates to interact with Adelson, who is on a personal trip, many candidates already have met with him.
Each of the candidates is strong on the issues that concern Adelson the most, chief among them protection of Israel, said his political adviser, Andy Abboud.
“He has no plans now, or in the immediate future, to get involved in the primary,” Abboud said.
“The Adelsons are generally pleased with all of the Republican candidates and feel that the primary process will work its way out,” he said.
Still, the prospect of Adelson’s nod looms large for the GOP field. He almost single-handedly propped up former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential bid and was widely criticized for prolonging an ugly primary season.
Adelson is taking a more pragmatic approach to the 2016 GOP contest.
“It’s important to him that campaigns show that they can garner their own resources, build their own ground game and effectively mount a campaign that can win in the fall,” Abboud said.
Many of the candidates have been eager to portray themselves as close to Adelson.
Trump, who has said he is so wealthy that he doesn’t need the help of donors like Adelson, said in an Oct. 13 interview on Fox News, “I like Sheldon a lot. He’s been a person I’ve known over the years. We have a very good relationship.”
On the eve of the gathering, Trump declared himself a “big, big fan” of Israel in the interview with AP, and said chances for a lasting peace depend on the Jewish state. Rubio took issue with those comments on Thursday.
“I reject those who believe that Israel is the impediment to peace,” he said. “Let me be crystal clear: there is no moral equivalence between Israel and its enemies.”
He continued: “Israel stands on the front lines of our civilizational struggle against radical, apocalyptic Islam.”
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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
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