Joe Biden defended his pro-Israel record and vouched for his running mate’s at a conference of Jewish Democrats.
Speaking Tuesday at the National Jewish Democratic Council’s Washington Conference, Biden noted his first meeting with former Israeli prime ministers Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin and the various pro-Israel pieces of legislation he has backed.
“I’ve spent 35 years of my career dealing with issues relating to Israel,” he said. “My support for Israel begins in my stomach, goes to my heart and ends up in my head.
“I guarantee you, I would not have joined Barack Obama as his vice president if I had any doubt, even the slightest doubt, that he shares the same commitment to Israel I share,” Biden said to a standing ovation.
The Delaware senator briefly mentioned “the smear campaign” against him – specifically citing the Republican Jewish Coalition’s charge that he once attempted to cut off aid to Israel – and said, “We have to ignore all the malarkey, distractions and e-mails and get behind Barack Obama.”
After his opening remarks on Israel, Biden stuck mostly to the economy and other domestic policies in his half-hour speech, which sounded similar to the vice-presidential nominee’s standard stump speech.
