Sarah Palin congratulates Netanyahu on re-election

The former Alaska governor also thanked the Israeli public for backing the premier.

By ELIA BERGER
Updated: JUNE 25, 2015 09:51
Former Republican Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin speaks at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland February 26 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Former Republican Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin speaks at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland February 26
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Thursday applauded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for winning his fourth term in office.
"Congratulations, Prime Minister Netanyahu," said Palin on her Facebook page. She captioned a photo of her and her spouse, Todd, standing alongside the Israeli premier and his wife of more than two decades, Sara, a blue field of stars peeking from an American flag behind.
The picture, taken in 2011 at the prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem, shows the two couples smiling for the camera, the azure stripes of an Israeli flag swirling around a pole in the background.
 

Congratulations, Prime Minister Netanyahu. Thank you to the good people of Israel for supporting a leader who will stand...

Posted by Sarah Palin on Tuesday, March 17, 2015

The former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate also praised the Israeli public for backing a leader "who will stand up and fight for all the free world while other leaders sit down." Americans will sleep better knowing that "the voice of reason and strength in the beautiful nation of Israel" remains in power, she said in a second post on her Facebook page, which boasts over four million followers. "When Israel is safe, we are safe." 
 

Posted by Sarah Palin on Thursday, March 19, 2015

Senator John McCain's former running mate visited Israel for the first time four years ago, during the biblical festival of Purim. She toured holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, met with the Netanyahus at their home and signed the prime minister’s residency guestbook.
Palin has famously said she keeps Israeli flags in both her office and home. She stood up for Israel during last summer’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza, posing an eight-minute video online entitled “The Truth about the War in Israel.”
Palin joined a number of Republican politicians – from 2016 presidential hopefuls to governors to members of Congress – who took to social media to send Netanyahu their best wishes. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a likely 2016 presidential candidate, called Netanyahu a “true leader who will continue to keep Israel strong and secure.” Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he “has been an extraordinary leader for Israel.”
Netanyahu’s “electoral success is all the more impressive given the powerful forces that tried to undermine him, including, sadly, the full weight of the Obama political team,” Cruz said in a statement on Tuesday. “American officials should not be undermining the elected leaders of our closest allies, especially when Prime Minister Netanyahu's heroic – even Churchillian – opposition to a nuclear Iran has done such tremendous service to US national security.”
This sentiment was echoed by Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, who tweeted, “It appears Netanyahu overcame [the] force of the Obama $ & staff. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem.” And Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal posted: “Everyone knows that the Obama Administration was rooting for the Prime Minister to lose, but it’s time for the President to change course.”
Netanyahu has long enjoyed the backing of Republicans in Washington. In early March he spoke before a joint session of Congress, warning about the perils of a deal being forged between the Obama administration and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.