Advocates of strong U.S.-Israel relations have aimed for decades to keep Israel from being a divisive issue in American politics. Yet Israel is one of very few foreign policy issues already rating attention in the 2012 presidential election.
Republican candidates recently staked their claim to the "pro-Israel" mantle in front of the Republican Jewish Coalition Forum. President Barack Obama made his case on Dec. 16 to 6,000 Reform Jews gathered in Washington.
Studiously avoiding talk of peace, two states or America's interest in the diplomatic resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most Republican candidates express unqualified support for Israeli government policy and unprecedented backing for Israeli settlement beyond the pre-1967 Green Line.