The Obama 2012 campaign lashed back at Texas Gov. Rick Perry after the Republican frontrunner today blamed the Palestinian statehood crisis playing out at the United Nations on the president.

Perry, campaigning in New York City, said the world was “at this very precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn’t naïve, and arrogant, misguided and dangerous. The Obama policy of moral equivalency, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a very dangerous insult.”

Read more about Perry’s comments.

Asked for a response, Obama campaign adviser and former Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla, said, “Apparently Governor Perry needs to do some homework on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and particularly on Israeli security needs. His speech was riddled with misunderstandings of the conflict and with falsehoods about President Obama’s superb record on Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak, and President Peres have all praised President Obama publicly for his work on Israel’s behalf and unprecedented US-Israeli security cooperation under Obama’s leadership. With all due respect to Governor Perry, what does he know about Israel’s interests that Netanyahu, Barak, and Peres dont know?”

Wexler, currently the president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, charged that “Perry misrepresented Obama’s statements on the 1967 lines — as Netanyahu and Barak have both affirmed, the President said that Israel should NOT have to return to those lines. President Obama has consistently embraced the principles in support of Israel that Governor Perry outlined in his speech — publicly calling for the disarming of Hamas, recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland of the Jewish people, and the direct negotiations to resolve the conflict. In fact, it is ironic that Perry chooses this week to level these unfounded criticisms at the President — since President Obama and his administration have been working tirelessly to head off the Palestinian’s unilateral statehood declaration at the UN this week.”

Wexler continued, saying that “Perry’s demand that the US defund the Palestinian Authority would effectively dismantle the Palestinian security forces, forces that America built and trained — which would significantly endanger Israel security and the safety of ordinary Israelis. Perry’s demand is also in direct contradiction with an Israeli report that defunding the PA would not be in Israel’s interests.”

-Jake Tapper