Danon denies 'endorsing' Perry, interfering in US politics

After Netanyahu says Likud MK should not have intervened in internal US politics, Danon claims he supports all US politicians that back Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
MK Danny Danon 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
MK Danny Danon 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Likud MK Danny Danon on Sunday denied claims that he interfered in internal US politics and improperly gave his endorsement to Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, saying he supports every American politician who voices support for Israel.
Danon told Israel Radio that he has "met with several candidates," including Sarah Palin and Herman Cain, as well as with Democrats that have shown support for Israel.
RELATED:Congressman shows support for Israeli W. Bank sovereigntyComment: The Palestinians’ illegitimate UN gambit
The Likud MK stated that he prefers anyone over US President Barack Obama, "whose policies have led us to where we are."
Danon said that many US politicians have told him that Obama's policies toward Israel do not represent the sentiments of the American people.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CNN on Friday that Danon should not have attended a recent internal American political event featuring Perry.
Asked about the deputy Knesset speaker's participation in the event and "effective endorsement" of an American Republican presidential candidate, Netanyahu said, "I don't like this either."
The back-and-forth followed a question posed to the prime minister about whether he thinks US President Barack Obama "threw Israel under the bus," to which he answered, "I'm not going to get into internal American politics."
Saying he had no prior knowledge about Danon's participation in the US political event, Netanyahu said that if he had known, "I would have told him to stay out of American politics."
Danon was complimentary of Netanyahu's speech to the UN General Assembly on Friday, saying he represented Israel loyally.
Reacting to the opposition's criticism of Netanyahu's performance at the UN, Danon said that they should be praising Netanyahu for his true presentation of Israel's positions.
In response to Kadima comments that Netanyahu is "all words and no action", Danon said that the public had chosen Likud because they were tired of the promises of the former governments, from which they realized that nothing was going to materialize. He added that there was no instant solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but rather that it needed to be managed.