Plain: Jerusalem is not a settlment
Plain: Jerusalem is not a settlmentIsrael news photo montage

Sarah Palin, the unofficial Tea Party candidate for president, told 85 GOP freshmen Congressmen in an open letter, “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, not a settlement.”

Writing on the Fox News website, the 2008 vice presidential candidate for the Republican party advised the new legislators, “You can stand with allies like Israel, not criticize them. You can let the President know what you believe… and stick to the principles that propelled your campaigns.”

He other comments on foreign policy regarded Iran and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. She urged the Republican newcomers to “stick to our principles: strong defense, free trade, nurturing allies, and steadfast opposition to America’s enemies. We are the most powerful country on earth and the world is better off because of it."

"Our president does not seem to understand this. If we withdraw from the world, the world will become a much more dangerous place.”

Palin, who visited Israel during her campaign with 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, called on the new Republicans to “push President Obama to finish the job right in Iraq and get the job done in Afghanistan; otherwise we who are war-weary will forever question why America’s finest are sent overseas to make the ultimate sacrifice with no clear commitment to victory from those who send them.”

Without mentioning a military attack on Iran, she said everyone “should be prepared to stand with the president against Iran’s nuclear aspirations using whatever means necessary to ensure the mullahs in Tehran do not get their hands on nuclear weapons. And you can stand with the Iranian people who oppose the tyrannical rule of the clerics and concretely support their efforts to win their freedom – even if the president does not.”

The Tea Party, which has instilled an old-fashioned patriotic and anti-big government zeal into the Republican party, has called for cuts in foreign aid. Palin advised the new Congressmen not to cut the defense budget when it comes to facing “so many threats – from Islamic extremists to a nuclear Iran to a rising China. As Ronald Reagan said, ‘We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.’

Palin’s open letter focused on undoing the “damage that has been done in the last two years,” since the election of U.S. President Barack Obama. She reminded the legislators that the Republican party campaigned on promises to cut government spending and repeal the health care law that President Obama pushed through Congress.

She also warned them against praise from certain media elements. ”When the left in the media pat you on the back, quickly reassess where you are and readjust, for the liberals' praise is a warning bell you must heed,” Palin declared. “Trust me on that.”