Israel Matzav

Romney says no to Adelson

Mega-donor Sheldon Adelson has been pressing Republican candidate Mitt Romney to pledge to release Jonathan Pollard, pledge to move the United States embassy to Jerusalem, and swear off the 'peace process' as a waste of time. Romney is resisting Adelson on all three counts.

Romney has rejected the request so far, telling Adelson he would have to review the relevant intelligence material accessible to him as president before granting Pollard clemency, said the sources, who are relaying accounts of conversations from both Adelson and Romney. Romney “could not consider the Pollard situation because he doesn’t have access to the classified information,” one source said.

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The issue is apparently one of a handful where Romney differs from Adelson on Israel. The billionaire has also asked Romney to state publicly that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are a waste of time because the Palestinians are unwilling to make peace, according to the sources—and he wants a firmer commitment from Romney to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in what would be a de facto recognition of Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem. For his part, Romney has not said peace talks are a waste of time and has gone only partway on the embassy question, saying he would undertake the move in consultation with the Israeli government—a campaign promise other presidents have made. (Adelson has pressed Romney to pledge to move the embassy without consulting the Israeli government.)

So much for all the people who hoped to portray Romney as a puppet being operated by Adelson.

Labels: Jerusalem Embassy Act, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Jonathan Pollard, Middle East peace process, Mitt Romney, Sheldon Adelson

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:48 PM