The Simon Wiesenthal Center is calling on Presidential candidate Ron Paul to immediately and directly address charges by his former longtime congressional aide, Eric Dondero, that the Congressman wishes that "Israel didn't exist at all" and that he supports the abolishment of the Jewish State. "While the Presidential campaign is not focused on Israel, these are serious charges. We must be fair to Ron Paul and give him the opportunity to clarify his position and he must be honest with the American people before they are asked to cast their vote for the most powerful office in the world," Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean said in a statement from the headquarters of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights organization.

 "Clearly, anyone who holds such views--which stand in stark contradiction to more than six decades of bipartisan American support for and friendship with Israel--does not deserve to occupy the Oval Office. On the eve of 2012, Israel continues to be the Middle East's only true democracy and America's only consistent friend and ally.  It is also home to the world's largest Jewish community, some six million Jews. Is Ron Paul the first presidential candidate prepared to turn his back on the Jewish State? The American people have a right to know," Rabbis Hier and Cooper continued.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

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