Israeli view of the election

I've been out of the loop with my travels, and am eager to get back to US election news, since Obama has sewn up the nomination finally (limping over the finish line) and Hillary is set to make the big speech in a couple days dropping out.

It has been interesting talking to Israelis about the election during my stay. They pay a lot of attention to it. "It's more important for Israel than the election of the Prime Minister of Israel," was one comment. All the reports about Israeli views are correct, in my experience. They were rooting for Clinton. They are very wary of Obama. Why? Because he has an Islamic background, and he does not understand the situation the west faces against the threat of Radical Islamic terrorism. Israel is on the front-lines of that struggle, Europe is next, and the US is the rear guard. They were happy with Obama's speech to AIPAC. "He knows he has to flatter us to win." They would much have preferred Hillary. "I feel like this is a family reunion," said Hillary to AIPAC, which was played on Israeli radio.

The view is that the Iraq War was a wasted effort, because the real threat is Iran. Iran must be confronted militarily. That is the hardened position. Obama might not do this, which is worrisome. But the Iraq War was bad because it was a distraction from the real threat, Iran. If the US won't attack Iran, Israel certainly will.