Israel Primary: Potential 2012 Candidates Flock To The Holy Land

Feb. 5, 2011 -- Des Moines. Manchester. Jerusalem?

Besides the key early primary states, few destinations appear to be as important to potential 2012 Republican presidential field these days as Israel.

Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee has spent the past week in Israel, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was there last month, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour left Friday for a five-day trip, and Sarah Palin has indicated she has plans to go later this year.

The trips offer potential candidates a chance to burnish their foreign policy bona fides with one of American's most important allies, and boost their standing with the Jewish and evangelical voters in the U.S.

Like many elected officials who have traveled to Israel recently, Barbour's trip is sponsored by a Washington, D.C.-based interest group. Barbour, who was scheduled to land in Israel Saturday afternoon, is going there under the auspices of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Matt Brooks, the group's executive director, who is accompanying the Mississippi governor on the trip, described the itinerary as "grueling" and "intense" without a lot of downtime.

Barbour's agenda includes meetings with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a Feb. 9 speech to the Herzliya Conference, a global policy gathering.

"Having an opportunity to go on these kinds of trips and to see the country first hand and to talk to the leadership and policy folks directly is an invaluable experience," Brooks said in an interview with ABC News. "This trip is extremely relevant and timely given what's taking place in Egypt right now."

Unlike some of his other Republican counterparts, Barbour has declined to criticize the Obama administration for its handling of the Egypt crisis, and it was unclear whether he will address the issue while overseas. Without getting into specifics, a source close to Barbour promised the governor would deliver a "serious speech" on Feb. 9.

The Republican Jewish Coalition also sponsored a trip with Barbour in 1994 when he was chairman of the Republican National Committee.