Republican Governors Chris Christie And Scott Walker Court Jewish Donors

• Big hitters stress Israel backing to Republican Jewish Coalition
• Billionaire Sheldon Adelson donated more than $90m in 2012

Associated Press in Las Vegas
theguardian.com, Sunday 30 March 2014 13.39 EDT

Two of the highest-profile Republican state governors on Saturday called for more aggressive leadership on America's challenges abroad, emphasising their support for Israel as they courted powerful Jewish donors.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker also stoked speculation about their own presidential ambitions as they discussed how to reclaim the White House in 2016.

Speakers at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual spring gathering largely avoided criticising President Barack Obama by name in remarks that were thick with rhetoric faulting Obama's foreign policy while offering few specifics.

"We cannot have a world where our friends are unsure of whether we will be with them and our enemies are unsure of whether we will be against them," Christie said. "In New Jersey, nobody has to wonder whether I'm for them or against them."

Walker declared that the nation needed a "swift and decisive" foreign policy, while insisting that the GOP must find a presidential nominee from "outside Washington".

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/30/chris-christie-scott-walker-jewish-donors-republican-governors