Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria are listed last.

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

Clinton, Hillary (D) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator (D-NY), cosponsored "A Resolution Condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and Their State Sponsors and Supporting Israel's Exercise of Its Right to Self-defense" (S.534) on July 18, 2006: "RESOLUTION Condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and their state sponsors and supporting Israel's exercise of its right to self-defense... Whereas both Hezbollah and Hamas refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist and call for the destruction of Israel: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate... (5) condemns the Governments of Iran and Syria for their continued support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and holds the Governments of Syria and Iran responsible for the acts of aggression carried out by Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel... (7) urges the President to use all available political and diplomatic means, including sanctions, to persuade the governments of Syria and Iran to end their support of Hezbollah and Hamas..." July 18, 2006 "A Resolution Condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and Their State Sponsors and Supporting Israel's Exercise of Its Right to Self-defense" (S.534)

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Gravel, Mike (Lib) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator (D-AK), stated in a Nov. 2, 2006 article titled "Stepping Back From Imperialism: Redirecting American Foreign Policy" on his official candidate website: "The linchpin to long-term stability in the Middle East is the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. The U.S., along with its European and Asian allies, and regional players (to include Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan under the auspices of the United Nations) must sponsor direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, including Hamas. The negotiations, with the goal of a two-state solution, must be scheduled as soon as possible. Sponsoring nations and organizations would guarantee the demilitarized borders of both parties, would guarantee Israel's right to survive and thrive, and would make a commitment to the Palestinians to raise their economic standards to that of Israel. An accomplishment of this magnitude would go a long way to defusing the radical Islamic confrontation with the West." Nov. 2, 2006 Mike Gravel

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Keyes, Alan (Ind) - Con Alan Keyes, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, stated in a Feb. 28, 2006 article titled "Alan Keyes on the Tovia Singer Show" on the Alan Keyes Archive website: "I think we're seeing some of these chickens now come home to roost in the form of this greater extremism, which, I believe, sadly, was encouraged by a policy that was not consistent in its application of the rubric of our anti-terror policy. We should not have been standing for the participation of Hamas, and we should not have regarded it as some kind of concession to go back on the understanding that this kind of element was not to be involved in any legitimate political process." Feb. 28, 2006 Alan Keyes

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McCain, John (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ), stated in a July 18, 2007 speech titled "John McCain Addresses the Christians United for Israe" on his official candidate website: "Similarly, the leadership of Hamas must be isolated. The Palestinian people are ill-served by a terrorist-led government that refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, refuses to renounce violence, and refuses to acknowledge prior peace commitments. The United States cannot have normal relations with such a government, one that deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians in an attempt to terrorize the Jewish population. The recent talks between the Israeli government and the government led by President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank are encouraging, and the United States should support this effort. We also must ensure that Israel's people can live in safety until a Palestinian leadership truly committed to peace emerges. No moral nation - neither Israel nor America - can allow terrorists to chart the political course of its people." July 18, 2007 John McCain

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	McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - None Found
	ProCon.org emailed the McKinney campaign on Mar. 26, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Apr. 11, 2008.

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Nader, Ralph (Ind) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, stated in a Mar. 7, 2008 article titled "Gaza Under Seige" on the Nader.org website: "Hamas, which was created with the support of Israel and the U.S. government years ago to counter the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has repeatedly offered cease-fire proposals." Mar. 7, 2008 Ralph Nader

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Obama, Barack (D) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-IL), stated in a Mar. 2, 2007 article titled "Obama on U.S. Policy in the Middle East" on the Council on Foreign Relations website: "The Israeli people, and Prime Minister Olmert, have made clear that they are more than willing to negotiate an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will result in two states living side by side in peace and security. But the Israelis must trust that they have a true Palestinian partner for peace. That is why we must strengthen the hands of Palestinian moderates who seek peace and that is why we must maintain the isolation of Hamas and other extremists who are committed to Israel's destruction." Mar. 2, 2007 Barack Obama

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Paul, Ron (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Ron Paul, U.S. Representative (R-TX), in a Jan. 22, 2007 article titled "Dr. Paul's Writings - Can We Achieve Peace in the Middle East?" on his official candidate website, stated: "It is time to challenge the notion that it is our job to broker peace in the Middle East and every other troubled region across the globe. America can and should use every diplomatic means at our disposal to end the violence in the West Bank, but we should draw the line at any further entanglement. Third-party outsiders cannot impose political solutions in Palestine or anywhere else. Peace can be achieved only when self-determination operates freely in all nations. 'Peace plans' imposed by outsiders or the UN cause resentment and seldom produce lasting peace." Jan. 22, 2007 Ron Paul

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN OR WHO NO LONGER MEET OUR CRITERIA      Biden, Joe (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Dodd, Chris (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Edwards, John (D) - Not Clearly Pro or Con John Edwards, former U.S. Senator (D-NC), in a Jan. 23, 2007 article titled "Edwards: 'Iran Must Know World Won't Back Down'" on www.rawstory.com, stated: "While Iran is the greatest threat now, but just as alarming is the one on your doorstep. Hamas, with Iranian support, doesn?t make any mistake of its intentions to wipe out Israel, and repeatedly makes calls to raise the banner of Allah over all of Israel. Israel made many concessions. Many settlers gave up their land in order to advance peace. Israel can take more steps to advance peace like bolstering Abbas against Hamas. While Israel is willing to go back to negotiating table, little has been seen on the Palestinian side. We instead have seen chaos and violence on the street, and no revocation of violence against Israel." Jan. 23, 2007 John Edwards Top      Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Giuliani, Rudy (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, stated in a press release titled "Immediate Threats: Remain on Offense Against the Terrorists" on his official candidate website (accessed Jan. 8, 2008): "Hamas is a brutal terrorist group that murders the citizens of our ally Israel, and also has a significant role in the worldwide jihadist network of terrorists waging war on us." Jan. 8, 2008 Rudy Giuliani Top      Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found     No position found as of Dec. 13, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Huckabee campaign on Jan. 4, 2008 with this question. They did not respond to our email.   Top      Hunter, Duncan (R) - None Found     No position found as of Jan. 11, 2008. ProCon.org also emailed the Hunter campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email.   Top      Imperato, Daniel (3rd/I) - None Found ProCon.org emailed the Imperato campaign on Jan. 21, 2008 with this question. Mr. Imperato provided a response to this question and 26 others during a recorded 45-minute telephone interview with ProCon.org on Mar. 11, 2008. On Mar. 21, 2008 Mr. Imperato no longer met our eligibility criteria for inclusion on this site, and we stopped transcribing his verbal responses as of that date.   Top      Kubby, Steve (3rd/I) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Steve Kubby, a Libertarian candidate and founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Jan. 10, 2008 email to ProCon.org: "The decision as to whom should be allowed to join Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is a decision for the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach for themselves." Jan. 10, 2008 Steve Kubby Top      Kucinich, Dennis (D) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative (D-OH), in a June 16, 2007 article titled "Dysfunctional Debate, Dysfunctional Policies" in The Nation, stated: "The chaos and factional violence in Gaza that ultimately led to the Hamas military takeover of the Presidential Compound and the National Security Guard building demonstrates a failure of President Bush's strategy in matters relating to Hamas." June 16, 2007 Dennis Kucinich Top          McEnulty, Frank (3rd/I) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Dec. 20, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated: "The only group that should be allowed into any Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on behalf of the Palestinians should be the recognized governing body of the Palestinian areas." Dec. 20, 2007 Frank McEnulty Top      Richardson, Bill (D) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated in a July 26, 2006 interview with Tavis Smiley on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): "[Tavis Smiley]: Diplomatically, how would Bill Richardson go about engaging in a conversation with terrorists? [Bill] Richardson: Well first, you don't deal with terrorists, but you deal with those that supply terrorists...With Hamas, you do have to draw the line. This is an entity that basically is intent on the destruction of Israel. They have got to find ways to renounce that. Unless they renounce that, the entire international community shouldn't talk to them. And that doesn't mean that the Europeans have leverage on Hamas. So what you do work with the Europeans on Hamas. So you don't have to do it directly, but to not engage, to not try to pressure these terrorists, by basically not having a permanent envoy, now, I hope we will do that." July 26, 2006 Bill Richardson Top          Romney, Mitt (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in a Feb. 3, 2007 press release titled "Governor Mitt Romney on Senator Hillary Clinton and Iran" on his official candidate website: "She [Hillary Clinton] argued that our strategy of engagement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War was a model for how we could deal with Iran. I believe this strategy to be a mistake, and yesterday, to a group of fellow conservatives, I said as much. Advocating engagement displays a troubling timidity toward a terrible threat. The right strategy is not engagement, but economic and diplomatic isolation. Instead of responding to my policy criticisms, Senator Clinton has chosen to attack me personally. Let's take a step back and consider the broader and more pressing issue at hand - Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas and the threat they pose to us, Israel, and the civilized world. Ten days ago, I was in Israel and heard firsthand from those who have been on the front lines of the war against the Jihadist radicals... Rather than attacking me, why doesn't she join me in calling for a policy that puts even more pressure - not less - against these adversaries?" Feb. 3, 2007 Mitt Romney Top    Smith, Christine (3rd/I) - Pro Christine Smith, a Libertarian candidate and a social and political activist, stated in a Feb. 27, 2008 email to ProCon.org: "Yes. It's none of our business--we should stay out of it." Feb. 27, 2008 Christine Smith Top      Tancredo, Tom (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Dec. 20, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Thompson, Fred (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator (R-TN), stated in an article titled "Israel" on his official campaign website (accessed Jan. 11, 2008): "Hamas is another terrorist organization that must also be disarmed and disbanded. The United States should not recognize any Palestinian government run by Hamas, nor provide it financial assistance until Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist, renounces violence and terrorism, and adheres to all previous Palestinian agreements with Israel. The continued build-up of advanced weaponry by Hamas is a sign that the group does not desire peace and, though Israel should demonstrate restraint, it may be forced to take action against this growing threat." Jan. 11, 2008 Fred Thompson Top      Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date

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