Israelis welcome Romney

Leaders forecast warm reception. Republican visitor has long, strong ties to Netanyahu.

JERUSALEM — Mitt Romney’s support for Israel will likely earn the presumptive Republican presidential nominee a warm welcome from Israeli leaders when he meets with them today — and a frosty reception from Palestinians, who fear he would do little to advance their stalled statehood dreams.

Romney touched down in Tel Aviv on Saturday night as part of a threenation foreign tour that began in Britain, where he attended Friday’s Olympics Opening Ceremonies and a swimming competition Saturday, and will end in Poland. He hopes it will boost his credentials to direct U.S. national security and diplomacy.

The visit to Israel comes at a time when its leaders are weighing a military attack on Iran, the neighboring regime in Syria is looking increasingly shaky and Mideast peace talks are going nowhere.

Romney, a longtime friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to play up his critique of President Barack Obama’s posture toward the Jewish state and his handling of Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons ambitions.

Israeli political scientist Abraham Diskin says Romney can expect an “enthusiastic” reception, both because of his solid record of pro-Israel comments — and because he’s not Obama.

“What interests Israelis is Israel,” Diskin said. “Romney has a very proIsrael stance. He is very suspicious of the Arab world. (Israelis) are very suspicious of Obama.”

In an effort to upstage Romney a day before he landed in Israel, the White House announced it was signing legislation expanding military and civilian cooperation with Israel.

Romney told the Israeli daily Haaretz before his arrival that Washington’s commitments to Israel should be “as clear as humanly possible” given the changes in the region.

“When Israel feels less secure in the neighborhood, it should feel more secure of the commitment of the United States to its defense,” Romney said.

With polls showing a close race, Romney hopes this showcase for his pro-Israel stance will help him woo traditionally Democratic Jewish voters and evangelical Christians who zealously defend Israeli government policy. Obama has not visited Israel since he became president.

Romney is to meet with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, President Shimon Peres and Israeli opposition leaders.

He will not see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas aide Nimr Hamad said, though he will be sitting down with the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, in Jerusalem. The Romney campaign said he only had time in his schedule to meet with one Palestinian leader and that Fayyad has an existing relationship with Romney. The Abbas camp did not offer an explanation for why no meeting was planned.

Romney’s relationship with the U.S.-educated Netanyahu dates back decades, when they briefly overlapped in the 1970s at Boston Consulting Group, and the two men share conservative outlooks. A Romney bankroller, Sheldon Adelson, is financing a free Israeli newspaper that reflects Netanyahu’s views.

Netanyahu has refused to endorse either presidential candidate, although his ties with Obama have been fraught.

“I will receive Mitt Romney with the same openness that I received another presidential candidate, then-Senator Barack Obama, when he came almost four years ago, almost the same time in the campaign, to Israel,” he said when asked last week on Fox News about the visit. “We extend bipartisan hospitality to both Democrats and Republicans.”

Romney — like most politicians who visit Israel — is likely to face questions such as whether he would endorse calls by some fellow Republicans to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and his stance on Israeli calls for Washington to release convicted spy Jonathan Pollard.

Romney has consistently accused Obama of putting too much pressure on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians and of being too weak on Iran. He says he wants to present a clearer military threat to the Islamic republic, with a stronger naval presence in the gulf. Tehran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons.

At a war veterans’ convention in Nevada last week, Romney accused Obama of being “fond of lecturing Israel’s leaders.”

“He has undermined their position, which was tough enough as it was,” Romney said. The “people of Israel deserve better than what they have received from the leader of the free world.”

Obama rejects the criticism and points to unprecedented security cooperation with the Jewish state.

CHARLES DHARAPAK / AP Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, arrive in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The Republican presidential candidate will meet with Israel’s top leaders — and one Palestinian official — during his visit to the Jewish state.