‘Sarah Palin could have been a Shliach’

By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz

The Chabad envoy to Alaska on Thursday praised State Governor and recently nominated Republican candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin for her steadfast support for Israel.

“Based on my personal acquaintance with Governor Palin, I can confidently say that if she is elected, the Jewish people and the State of Israel will have a great friend and admirer in the White House,” Rabbi Yosef Greenberg told Haaretz.

Greenberg has lived in Alaska for the past 17 years and he is coordinating Chabad activities in the state, where some 6,000 Jews live. He said that he meets the governor for friendly chats on a regular basis and that he has almost free access to her office.

Even in her previous role as the mayor of Wasilla, Greenberg continued, she maintained very good relations with the local Jewish community.

He said that when the Wasilla Conservative congregation inaugurated a new synagogue a few years ago, they were pleasantly surprised by her decision to attend the ceremony, even though she had not been invited.

She said at the event that she felt it was right to attend in order to express her satisfaction with the fact that people of the Jewish faith have a house of worship.

For Israel’s 60th anniversary in May, Palin passed a resolution recognizing Alaska’s relationship with Israel.

“She is a very impressive woman with a dedicated sense of purpose,” Greenberg said. “Had she been a Chabadnik she would have certainly been an envoy, because she is constantly working for the greater good.”