Ron Paul is Pro-Zionist

Ron Paul: Israel “Our Best Friend”
http://www.ronpaul2012.com/2011/12/08/ron-paul-israel-our-best-friend

Paul explains in the following interview how our current policies often undermine both Israel and our interests, how American foreign aid is a net negative for Israel, and how the United States’ habitual encroachment upon Israeli sovereignty consistently undermines that nation’s defense.

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Ron Paul Tells Newsmax: I Support Israel
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/paul-israel-support-wead/2011/12/07/id/420247

In an exclusive Newsmax interview, Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul confirmed his support for Israel, but cautioned that while the United States should be a “friend” of the Jewish state, America should not be the “master” of Israel.

Paul also says the United States should not dictate Israel’s borders or try to “buy her allegiance” with massive amounts of foreign aid. He argued that foreign aid has actually hurt – not helped – the Jewish state.

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Ron Paul tells Haaretz: I am not an Anti-Semite
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/ron-paul-tells-haaretz-i-am-not-an-anti-semite-1.404208

Haaretz: What was your reaction to your exclusion from the function held by the Republican Jewish Coalition, to which all the rest of the candidates were invited?

Ron Paul: Well, it was a bit surprising and disappointing. I believe that Israel is one of our most important friends in the world. And the views that I hold have many adherents in Israel today. Two of the tenets of a true Zionist are “self-determination” and “self-reliance.” I do not believe we should be Israel’s master but, rather, her friend. We should not be dictating her policies and announcing her negotiating positions before talks with her neighbors have even begun.

Haaretz: The RJC characterized your views on Israel as “misguided and extreme”. Why do you think they view your views in that way?

Ron Paul: I do not know, as I am the one candidate who would respect Israel’s sovereignty and not try to dictate to her about how she should deal with her neighbors. I supported Israel’s right to attack the Iraqi nuclear reactor in the 1980s, and I opposed President Obama’s attempt to dictate Israel’s borders this year.

Haaretz: In the Fox News presidential debate you expressed understanding and even sympathy for the Iran having nuclear weapons. But Israelis view an Iranian nuclear capability as an existential threat to their country. Do you disagree? Do you not believe Iranian leaders who say that Israel should be “wiped off the map”?

Ron Paul: I am against the spread of nuclear weapons. But I do understand why other nations want them and why they don’t accept the nuclear monopoly as it now stands. You cannot change an opinion you don’t understand. I understand it and would try to change it. However, there’s a key fact that it seems is being overlooked when my positions are discussed. I believe I’m the only candidate who would allow Israel to take immediate action to defend herself without having to get our approval. Israel should be free to take whatever steps she deems necessary to protect her national security and sovereignty.

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Audio: Ron Paul for President
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124307#.Tut59fIpoiJ

Op-Ed: Ron Paul Should be the Zionist Choice for US President
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/7552#.Tut6IPIpoiJ

It seems to me a Ron Paul presidency would be good for Israel and for the United States. Its foreign policy non-interventionism and its concern to protect national sovereignty would provide Israel with a greater impetus to increase its own independence and sense of national honor. I hope American Zionists will resist the immediate, meretricious attractions of American financial assistance for Israel. Ron Paul would both end this infantilizing, and even corrupting, aid and respect Israel’s national sovereignty.

Taking the long and deep view, Ron Paul should be the Zionist choice.

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Ron Paul, Zionist
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/12/ron-paul-zionist/249532/

There are good reason to include Ron Paul. He is, in one sense, a true Zionist, a believer in two core values of the Jewish liberation movement: Jewish independence and Jewish self-reliance. Independence is self-explanatory; self-reliance, in the context of national defense, holds that the Jewish state shouldn’t seek the help of foreign soldiers to defend it.
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I understand that this does not make Ron Paul a Zionist in the traditional American conception of the word. But in some ways, he understands Zionism in much the same way the original Zionists understood the term.