By HERB KEINON | Front Lines – the week that was | Jerusalem Post

If you thought this week saw a big influx of visiting US government officials – and indeed it did, with visits from US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, National Security Adviser Jim Jones and NSC Middle East adviser Dennis Ross – then hold your socks.

Eric Cantor.
Photo: Courtesy: United States Congress

Over the next two weeks, some 60 US congressmen, nearly 15 percent of the 435-member House of Representatives, will be gracing our shores, most of them freshman representatives, all of them on trips sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The first group, the Republican delegation – arriving Monday for a week – will be headed by Eric Cantor of Virginia, the sole Jewish Republican in the House. Besides that distinction, Cantor is also the minority whip, which makes him the No. 2 Republican in the House, behind Minority Leader John Boehner. A week later, the Democratic delegation will come to town, headed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

Cantor, 46, is a name that appeared on the US national radar screen about this time last year, when he was part of Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s “Veep Sweepstakes,” one of the names being considered as a possible running mate. Characterized in a Time magazine profile earlier this year as “the Newt Gingrich of his generation,” and as “one of the few rising stars in a party struggling to reinvent itself,” his name is regularly floated as a possible GOP candidate in the 2012 presidential race.

During their week-long stay here, Cantor and his delegation will be meeting the country’s top leadership, including President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and opposition head Tzipi Livni. They will also be going to Ramallah to talk to top Palestinian Authority officials, including Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.

Before leaving the US, Cantor spoke by phone Wednesday with The Jerusalem Post about settlements, President Barack Obama, American Jews, Iran, Syria and the current status of Israel-US ties. What follows are excerpts from that conversation.

You were quoted in November as saying that a strong US-Israel relationship was a top priority for you, and that you would be outspoken if US President Barack Obama “did anything to harm those ties.” Has he?

I’m very concerned about some of the reports indicating some disagreement and pressure being put on Israel regarding construction in the settlement areas, as well as Jerusalem in particular. I feel that any kind of emphasis on the issue of natural growth in the settlements is a distraction from the real urgent crisis in the region, which is the nuclearization of Iran.

For More of the Interview, Please click the link below:
Diplomacy: ‘Settlement issue distracts from Iran’