Romney Overseas - Part 2

On July 29, 2012 Romney gave a speech in Jerusalem where he hailed the city as "the capital of Israel," in apparent support of a position held by the Jewish state but never accepted by the global community. The comment was swiftly rejected by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and senior aide to President Abbas as "absolutely unacceptable" and "harmful to American interests in our region." (Palestinians want to establish a capital in East Jerusalem which has been in Israeli control since the 1967 war along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip.) Romney also pledged during a CNN interview to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- something the past 3 US presidents have declined to do while in office.

July 30 Romney said to an audience of affluent Jewish donors (he raised more than $1 million) "I was thinking this morning as I prepared to come into this room of a discussion I had across the country in the United States about my perceptions about differences between countries. You notice a stark difference in economic vitality" between Israel and the Palestinians (proceeding to badly flub the economic output numbers on both sides). "And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things," he said, citing an innovative business climate and the Jewish history of thriving in difficult circumstances. (Romney also noted that such difference is between other countries that are near or next to each other; Chile and Ecuador, Mexico and the United States.) In his remarks Romney also reflected on books he's read by Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Steel), David Landes and his adviser Dan Senor to help him better understand Israel. The Landes book, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, helped him understand decline in great civilizations. He said "If you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it's this: culture makes all the difference." The Huffington Post quoted Erekat as saying: "It is a racist statement and this man doesn't realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation. It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people. He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority." (Israel has had a blockade of the Gaza Strip in place since 2007, since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized the territory, which has affected the growth of the Palestinian economy. Israel allowed more food and non-military items into Gaza in 2010.)

In response Erekat said "Yesterday he destroyed negotiations by saying Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and today he is saying Israeli culture is more advanced than Palestinian culture. Isn't this racism?" The White House issued a statement saying the Obama administration continues to work on resolving the issue of the US Embassy "and others in a way that is just and fair, and respects the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians." After Romney made the fresh controversial statements, President Barack Obama's office urged Romney to clarify his comments. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "One of the challenges of being an actor on the international stage, particularly when you're traveling to such a sensitive part of the world, is that your comments are very closely scrutinized for meaning, for nuance, for motivation,"…the comments have left some people "scratching their heads a little bit,"…"But I would leave it to Governor Romney to further explain what he meant and what he intended when he said that." (Romney's position on Jerusalem, the eastern half of which Palestinians claim as the capital of a promised future state, runs counter to longstanding US policy.) "It's the view of this administration that the capital is something that should be determined in final status negotiations between the parties," Earnest said. "If Mr. Romney disagrees with that position, he's also disagreeing with the position that was taken by presidents like Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan."

In my December 31, 2011 - December Debate Continued, Romney said – he agreed with Gingrich overall saying - I think we ought to stick by our friends (Israel) but not jump ahead and try to negotiate. Romney said he’s not a bomb thrower (in regard to Newt’s comments) and said ultimately the Palestinians and Israel need to decide. This is not the message that Romney left the area with. In fact, at this point of his trip he has managed to anger the British and the Palestinians; heck, he’s probably irritated Mexico and Ecuador as well with his comments. I’ve read a lot of information lately about what’s going on in the world and I really think that I’m not an expert but Romney in his getting information from books thinks he understands the cultures of the world. This on top of going against everything the US has believed for decades does not make me feel that he understands the need of a good foreign policy. And, the fact that only 1% of the American people are concerned with this is really bothersome to me as we do not live in this world alone and the growth of our economy depends on other countries.   

Now, let’s go on to Poland.