As President Obama attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York City a few blocks away, Gov. Rick Perry laid into the administration’s  ”naïve and arrogant, misguided and dangerous” policy in the Middle East, which he claims has resulted in Palestine’s push for statehood.

“Simply put, we would not be here today 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,” Perry said. “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.”

Perry’s remarks in New York City were his first heavily detailed foreign policy speech as he stood before a contingent of pro-Israel leaders and applied pressure on Obama, accusing him of isolating and undermining Israel.

“It is time to change our policy of appeasement toward the Palestinians to strengthen our ties to the nation of Israel, and in the process establish a robust American position in the Middle East characterized by a new firmness and a new resolve,” Perry said.

Perry said he supports a two-state solution only if it arises through direct negotiations between Palestinian leaders and Israel. Palestinian leaders are in New York this week pushing the United Nations to acknowledge its existence as an independent state, which would circumvent negotiations with Israel.

Perry expanded the speech beyond Palestine and Israel, touching on the need to stifle Iran’s ability to develop nuclear capabilities and to identify potential risks posed by the new administration in Egypt.

Newly elected Republican New York Congressman Bob Turner accompanied Perry and pro-Israel leaders at the speech.

Perry has confronted foreign policy issues in the Republican debates and delivered a foreign policy speech at a VFW convention in San Antonio, Texas.