Israel: Ron Paul is anti-Israel says former aide

Haaretz

Ron Paul is not anti-Semitic but is anti-Israel, former aide says
Republican presidential hopeful 'wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all,' says former senior aide; Paul's spokesman says former aide has zero credibility, should not be taken seriously.
By Haaretz

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul supports calls for the abolishment of Israel as a Jewish state, and the return of it in its entirety to the Arabs, though he is not an anti-Semite, a former senior aide of the libertarian Texan congressman wrote in a blog on Monday.

“He wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all,” Eric Dondero wrote in his blog on the RightWing News website. “His view is that Israel is more trouble than it is worth, specifically to the America taxpayer.”

"He sides with the Palestinians, and supports their calls for the abolishment of the Jewish state, and the return of Israel, all of it, to the Arabs,” Dondero added.

Responding to the column, CBS News quoted Ron Paul's spokesman Jesse Benton as saying that, "Eric Dondero is a disgruntled former staffer who was fired for performance issues. "

"He has zero credibility and should not be taken seriously," Benton added.

A recent Public Policy Polling telephone survey of 597 likely Republican caucus voters in Iowa found Paul leading with 23 percent of the vote, followed by 20 percent for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and 14 percent for Gingrich, making Paul the leading candidate in the Republican race for the White House.

Paul’s views on Israel are already known to many. These views led the Republican Jewish Coalition, an organization of Jewish Republicans to exclude the Texan congressman from a debate they held in the beginning of December, explaining, "there is no reason to allow Paul to pretend he is anything but an extremist who is far outside of the mainstream, especially when it comes to issues concerning the U.S.-Israel alliance."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/u-s-elections-2012/ron-paul-is-not-anti-semitic-but-is-anti-israel-former-aide-says-1.403805