By Alan B. Katz

For those of us who have focused extensively on the Iranian nuclear development program – and been hugely disappointed by the failure of the West to put teeth into its sanctions – the announcement by the McCain campaign to nominate Alaska governor Sarah Palin came as not much more of a surprise than campaign tickets announcements usually do.

Although largely unknown – who heard of Dan Quayle before 1988? – vice presidential nominees generally send the media scurrying for biographical information.  What message has this nomination sent to Israel’s supporters?  Based on what is known about her, it appears that she is of the same mind as Sen. McCain, ie, a strong supporter of Israel and its right to self-defense.

It is comforting to many to know that Gov. Palin has been warmly received by a number of major Jewish American organizations such as AIPAC.  Nevertheless, certain issues have been created – such as her position on Jews for Jesus, for which there is no evidence that she supports to any degree its philosophy  – even if made out of whole cloth for the purpose of delegitimizing her and the entire ticket much in the way certain issues were dispatched to discredit Sen. Obama.

To be sure, there were other candidates for the ticket with better known pedigrees.  Yet, Sen. McCain’s choice of the Alaskan governor means, if nothing else, that they share the same views on the major issues confronting the United States and American international interests.

There is little doubt that Iran will acquire a nuclear capacity within the next four years.  It is inconceivable that McCain would select a VP who was not entirely “on board” with his major foreign policies.

Senator McCain has a long and distinguished record as a strong supporter of Israel.  As central as Israel and the Middle East are going to be in the next four years, there is no evidence that Gov. Palin harbors any antipathy for Israel, and every reason to believe she stands shoulder to shoulder with Sen. McCain.

Alan B. Katz is an Attorney & the author of Fighting Back: Letters from the Diaspora (What the Media Aren’t Telling You about the Middle East Conflict), which defends Israel and its people in the face of extreme adversity and an onslaught of media inaccuracies and misinformation. He has authored numerous articles on the Middle East conflict and is published in print and online media.

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