On his first state visit to Israel, President Barack Obama said Wednesday the United States “will do what is necessary” to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and was praised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his resolve.

During a joint press conference peppered with warm exchanges, two leaders who have not always seen eye to eye stressed points of agreement, even clarifying that both Israel and the U.S. believe it would take about a year for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon,

But there were also some signs of disagreement.

While Obama said “there is still time” to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of Iran’s uranium-enrichment program, Netanyahu emphasized the clock is ticking.

“Whatever time is left, there’s not a lot of time,” he said.

Praising Obama for mobilizing the international community, Netanyahu noted that “diplomacy and sanctions so far have not stopped Iran's nuclear program” and called for a “clear and credible threat of military action.”

Responding that all options are on the table, Obama said, “We will do what is necessary to prevent Iran from getting the world's worst weapons.”

---

Still, he suggested that the U.S. and Israel might have different timetables for how and when to respond.

“Each country has to make its own decisions when it comes to the awesome decision to engage in any kind of military action. And Israel is differently situated than the United States,” Obama said.

Netanyahu also spoke of “different vulnerabilities” but stressed the common ground.

“I appreciate the fact that the president has reaffirmed, more than any other president, Israel's right and duty to defend itself, by itself, against any threat,” he said.

The press conference, in which both men made statements and answered four questions, also focused on the situation in Syria and the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

“Israel remains fully committed to peace and to the solution of two states for two peoples,” Netanyahu said, adding that he hoped Obama’s visit and his meeting Thursday with Palestinian officials in the West Bank would “help us turn a page in our relations with the Palestinian people.”

Asked about claims that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime used chemical weapons Tuesday, Obama said the U.S. is still investigating but he is “deeply skeptical” of the government’s allegation that the opposition deployed the weapons.

“I believe Assad must go and I believe he will go,” Obama said. 

Meeting with Peres
The question-and-answer session came hours after Obama declared that Israel has "no greater friend than the United States," following a meeting with Israel’s President Shimon Peres.

Peres warmly praised Obama as “very knowledgeable,” adding there could be “no better” leader to take the peace process forward. He also thanked Obama for the “lots of sleepless nights” the president had endured in support of Israel.

Earlier Wednesday, Obama was met at Tel Aviv's airport by Netanyahu and Peres, along with a military band and a host of other officials and dignitaries.

All three men gave speeches that emphasized the friendship between the U.S. and Israel – Netanyahu spoke of the “unbreakable alliance,” Obama the “unbreakable bond.”

Obama, who began his speech with “shalom,” said he was “confident in declaring that our alliance is eternal.”

“The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend,” he said.

He said it was not an accident that he had made the first overseas trip of his second term in office to Israel.

“Across this region, the winds of change bring both promise and peril,” Obama said, likely a reference to the Arab Spring uprisings that saw an Islamist president voted into power in Egypt and a civil war erupt in Syria.

In his speech, Netanyahu thanked Obama for “standing by Israel at this time of historic change in the Middle East.”

“We deeply appreciate your friendship and we share your hope that the Middle East will enjoy a future of freedom, prosperity and peace,” he added.

Picking up on comments Obama made before the trip –- expressing the desire to put on a disguise and go to a Tel Aviv bar -- Netanyahu joked that he had lined up a few locations and “even picked out a fake mustache for you.”

Obama also viewed an “Iron Dome” air defense missile launcher, a U.S.-funded system that was brought to the airport for him to see. The system has helped protect Israelis from Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza.

 On Thursday, the president will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, where he can expect a mixed reception.

"It's not a positive visit," Wasel Abu Yousef, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is led by Abbas, told Reuters.

In Ramallah on Tuesday, Palestinian police scuffled with scores of demonstrators protesting Obama's visit.

Obama is likely to offer reassurance that the U.S. still supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

However, little progress on the peace process is expected during the trip.

'Horrible conclusion'
In an editorial Wednesday, the Haaretz newspaper said it would “take a good bit of imagination to expect a breakthrough over the next two days.”

“Here lies the central danger of the visit. The Israeli government and public could conclude, based on the polite tone of the president and the lack of a threat or demonstrative pressure, that Israel is now exempt from having to initiate steps toward resuming the peace process,” it wrote.

“This would be a horrible conclusion. Obama and the United States are not a party to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The president of the United States is not the one who must live in a society that is being transformed as a result of the occupation and pushed to the margins of the international community,” it added.

The Jerusalem Post said that there would “admittedly” be “little if any headway” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, its editorial said the visit would be more than just a “charm offensive,” given the war in Syria and the prospect of Iran getting a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful means only.

“As the leader of the Jewish people, who have been threatened with destruction by Iran’s leaders, Netanyahu wants assurances that the U.S. will launch a military strike if necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran,” the Post wrote.

“Ideally, he would also like to define a mutually agreed upon ‘red line’ or the point at which it has been determined that diplomacy and sanctions are useless and military action must be taken,” it added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Rough ride ahead for Obama as Palestinians, Israelis lukewarm over visit

Israel to grill Obama over possible military strike on Iran

Plenty to discuss as Obama heads to Israel

Syria chaos looms large over Obama's Israel trip

TEL AVIV – Among Palestinians there is a coming president whose approach is creating quite a buzz of expectation.

With apologies to the White House, it is not Barack Obama, who is set to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on a three-day Middle East visit that kicks off Wednesday.

Indeed, his or her name is not even known. What is being awaited with mounting excitement is the winner of the latest reality TV show.

Called simply "The President," it is a search among the youths of the West Bank and Gaza for a candidate with the skills and charisma to lead a people still in search of their own state.

Some of the 1,000-plus hopefuls were gathered for a recording in Bethlehem over the weekend.

---

It was quickly obvious that these were well-educated, serious-minded young men and women thinking serious thoughts about the Palestinian territory's many economic, social and political challenges.

An irony was quickly apparent, too.

For many, President Obama's rise from outsider to Oval Office is an inspiration for their own ambitions.

But when it comes to helping realize their ambition for a Palestinian state, they have more or less given up on him.

"Not all Palestinians welcome Obama," said Bashar Falashat, a 26-year-old business studies graduate from Hebron. "Half see his visit as just a tourism trip. We need him to see the reality, to see how we are suffering, but most Palestinians believe that he will not change anything."

Several of the candidates think Obama's heart is with Palestine but his head is wedded to Israeli interests.

Twenty-one-year-old Akhla Salman studies psychology and social work in Jerusalem.

"I know America is the leading country for freedom and human rights, and I respect Obama because he is a good man," she said. "But between America and Israel there is a very strong relationship."

Near-zero expectations
Their near-zero expectations are being deliberately matched by the White House: Obama might be Nobel Peace Prize winner but he has no new plan to make peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Instead, the president will be in "listening mode" as he meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, and with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

According to a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute at Tel Aviv University, a majority of the Jewish public -- 51 percent -- believes Obama's attitude toward Israel is merely neutral, while 10.5 percent regard him as hostile.

Meanwhile, Israel's Arab minority sees Obama as being very much pro-Israel.

On the face of it, Obama's more passive stance ahead of the visit is good news for Aviela Dietch, a mother of three and someone with perhaps as little trust in Obama as in her Palestinian neighbors.

"I don't find that it is his place to tell us what to do here," she said.

Born in Milwaukee, Dietch is one of the three hundred thousand Jews who have made homes on the West Bank – land seized by Israeli forces in the 1967 war and occupied ever since.

These settlements, illegal under international law, are widely seen as the biggest obstacle to a peace deal. They are eating up territory earmarked for a Palestinian state.

Dietch lived in a hilltop community called Migron, unusual because it was deemed illegal even under Israeli law. Last autumn, after years of court action, the government was forced to demolish it.

"It was gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, to leave," she said as she walked past the few cabins and a small playground that still survive.

Her home now is just a few hundred yards down the hill, in another Jewish settlement.

Asked if she would be prepared to sacrifice that in the cause of peace, she replied without hesitation: "Of course not," she said. "And I don't think it would bring anybody peace. To ask us to sacrifice lives and homes we have been building up – there would be a civil war. A civil war."

The settlers are by no means representative of wider Israeli opinion but they are a big power in the newly formed Israeli coalition government.

That's one reason why Obama seems to have concluded there is no reason to waste energy and political capital on pushing along a peace process.

The highest hope is to cajole confidence-building measures out of Netanyahu: the release of some Palestinian prisoners, or perhaps progress on a temporary settlement freeze.

Indeed, in media briefings, Ben Rhodes, deputy National Security adviser, has placed the Israel-Palestinian conflict last on an agenda topped by Iran, Syria and wider regional turmoil.

'Operation Unbreakable Alliance'
These are issues which matter much more to mainstream Israel, and the best place to measure the mainstream is Tel Aviv – the beach-side city that is more Mediterranean than Middle Eastern.

"Personally, I was more moved by Bill Clinton, but Obama is totally reliable," said David Malka, a 52-year-old taxi-driver who works streets that were protected by the U.S.-funded Iron Dome missile shield during last year's conflict with Hamas.

That's a practical demonstration of the value of U.S. defense aid worth $3 billion annually, not to mention American diplomatic clout, a sort of Iron Dome that deflects unfriendly fire at the United Nations.

"He is a hundred percent committed to Israel's security and on Iran; if the moment comes, the U.S. has proved in the past that they help when we need help."

As for Iran, Israel and the U.S. are clearly working on different timetables. Obama told Israeli TV last week he believes Tehran is a year away of nuclear weapons; Netanyahu's "red line" is this summer.

The two leaders have notoriously cool relations -- and this visit is Obama's first to the Jewish state as president. Many here suspect Obama doesn't quite get what it is to be Israeli.

But most are as confident as the Palestinians are pessimistic, that the fifth serving president to visit Israel will be true to the trip's branding as "Operation Unbreakable Alliance."

Related:

More stories from NBC's 'On the Brink' series about Obama's Middle East visit

A Palestinian Rosa Parks is needed: Israel's segregated buses spark outrage

A $1 billion bet on peace: Qatar funds huge Palestinian settlement in West Bank

News analysis

Updated at 5:41 a.m. ET on Nov. 7: Barack Obama faces no shortage of foreign challenges as he enters his second term as commander in chief.

While it is impossible to predict what may come, here’s a look at 10 issues likely to emerge as priorities for his administration:

1. Possible Afghan collapse/civil war
The Afghan government has been propped up by American and NATO troops and money but has failed in its basic functions of establishing national trust, security and unity. Afghanistan could devolve into a civil war as U.S. troops draw down in 2014, with old rivalries re-emerging between the north and south/southeast.

Once again, the country could be torn by an ethnic war between the Pashtuns and the now-defunct Northern Alliance, a legion of Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara militias. The risk is that Afghan security forces will then split along ethnic lines and President Hamid Karzai, whom critics accuse of being an uncooperative U.S. ally, could become an even greater liability.

On a recent visit to Afghanistan I spoke to some Tajik villagers outside Kabul, who promised me they would start fighting once American troops leave. They said they would battle a group of pro-Taliban Pashtun villagers nearby. When asked if Karzai's troops would be able to stop a clash, one tribal elder told me, "The corrupt government in Kabul? It can't do anything."

The dangers of an Afghan collapse are many: Afghan deaths, a loss of American prestige, a loss of NATO prestige, a moral blow to U.S. troops and veterans, a Taliban resurgence, huge setbacks for women, and greater power for Pakistan and Pakistani extremists.

Read more Afghanistan coverage from NBCNews.com

2. Possible Iran implosion or explosion
Iran, which is being pushed to a breaking point by U.S.-led currency and banking sanctions, won't simply sit back and watch its economy crumble. Persia is 7,000 years old and will fight to survive.

The increasingly isolated country is likely to act in one of three ways: accommodation and negotiation, weaponization, or diversion.

Faced with the crippling sanctions, Iran could simply decide it is paying too high a cost to pursue its nuclear program and could opt for negotiations and reconciliation with the United States and other members of the international community. This is clearly the preferred option of American leaders.

---

The other possibilities are more problematic. Iran could rush toward a nuclear capability, deciding the best way to survive is to obtain weapons so horrific that no one would dare attack. A nuclear program has arguably worked as a deterrent for North Korea and other states -- would Moammar Gadhafi have been deposed and summarily killed if Libya had had nuclear weapons? Iranians might not think so.

Source: Back-channel talks but no US-Iran deal on one-to-one nuclear meeting

A less risky approach would be to provoke a diversionary conflict through Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Shiites in Bahrain, the Kurdistan Workers Party in Syria and Turkey, its position in the Strait of Hormuz -- or it could try to inflame anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment.

Iran also could try to attack the American economy through sabotage or cyber warfare. Cornered as it is, Iran could become the aggressor instead of -- as it sees itself -- the passive victim.

How Iran acts is up to its choosing but it's hard to see how it won't act -- for better or worse -- as the sanctions continue to bite.

Read more Iran coverage from NBCNews.com

3. Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood
The Arab Spring has empowered the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East and beyond. It and other ideologically similar and allied groups run the governments of Egypt, Tunisia and Gaza.

In Syria, the Brotherhood has a strong presence among the rebels and in Yemen, it runs half the government and much of the state's day-to-day functions. In Jordan and Morocco, the Brotherhood is the main opposition to the countries' ruling royal families. In leaderless Libya, it is an increasingly organized voice. And in Algeria, the movement's officials warn that their revolution is coming.

The Muslim Brotherhood's influence in the Middle East is likely to evolve in one of two ways. Military regimes that have been pushed aside could fight back and launch counter-Islamic revolutions, clawing back the Brotherhood's gains and keeping it tied up in internal political battles. This is already starting to happen in Egypt.

Analysis: Egypt's big turn under the Muslim Brotherhood

Conversely, the Muslim Brotherhood could consolidate its gains and dominate electoral politics in the Middle East for the next several years.

For the United States, the rise of the Brotherhood is not in itself a major challenge. Most of its leaders say they want good relations and economic ties with Washington. The problem, however, is Israel. The Brotherhood is fundamentally anti-Israel, and Washington is fundamentally pro-Israel.

While analysts can debate which presidential candidate is closer to Israel, both have expressed their commitment to it and its security -- just as every U.S. president has done.

But the Muslim Brotherhood will not make the same commitments to Israel's integrity and security. While campaigning to win the election in Egypt, the Brotherhood held rallies featuring speakers who called for the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Brotherhood does not understand why Washington chooses to befriend one small country at the expense of relations with millions of Arabs and over a billion Muslims. Washington rejects having to make this choice.

This rift could become a showdown and devolve into violence. The timing depends on American policy and outside provocations that can be either by design -- "peace" flotillas to Gaza, Hamas rockets, an Israeli assault on Gaza -- or by accident, such as bigoted and dumb Internet movies.

4. Cyber threat
The United States has spent a decade fighting terrorists with some notable and many debatable successes. But bombs aren't the only kind of threat. In fact, a successful cyber attack could cause national and international chaos far exceeding a bombing in a major U.S. city.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently warned about a possible cyber Pearl Harbor. Many military officials and analysts I know fully agree with him.

Panetta: Cyber intruders have already infiltrated US systems

5. Israeli strike on Iran
Israel may attack Iran's nuclear program if it believes sanctions are failing. The strike would likely delay but not stop the program, experts say. For the time being, Israel has decided to wait and see what impact the international sanctions have.

If Iran chooses a quick rush to make a bomb, Israel will most likely change course and opt for a military solution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made that point abundantly clear when he drew a red line at the United Nations and held up a picture of a bomb.

Read more Israel coverage from NBCNews.com

6. Revival of al-Qaida/Ansar al-Sharia
Al-Qaida's leaders have been killed and hunted, but the group hasn't gone away. Many al-Qaida factions have re-branded themselves under a new name: Ansar al-Sharia (partisans of Islamic law). Some of the militants also are finding new comfortable homes in the post-Arab Spring Middle East, blending into Salafist (Sunni fundamentalist) movements.

7. Rift with Pakistan
Pakistan and the United States have been locked in an uncomfortable marriage since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and arguably long before that.

US, Pakistan should 'divorce,' ex-ambassador to Washington says

Critics accuse Pakistan of taking American counter-terrorism money and military support, while at the same time supporting terrorist groups.

If the United States cuts off Pakistan -- which may happen as Washington becomes less reliant on Pakistani supply routes into Afghanistan -- Islamabad could become more belligerent, which would cause relations to deteriorate further. The withdrawal from Afghanistan will change the costly status quo that has existed with Pakistan since 9/11, and that change is unlikely to go smoothly.

Read more Pakistan coverage from NBCNews.com

8. Mexico and the growing war on drugs
According to some estimates, Mexico has become the most dangerous country in the world. Around 50,000 people have been killed in the country's drug wars. It is unclear if Mexico's President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto will be able to contain the violence, which has spread south to Central America and is showing signs of leaking north into the United States.

Read more Mexico coverage from NBCNews.com

9. US 'pivot' to Asia/China slowdown
In 2011, China overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest economy after the United States. The Obama administration has acknowledged China's growing military and political power, and has pledged to "pivot" or deploy more than half of the U.S.' naval assets to the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the decade. This, some argue, has contributed to souring relations between the two powers.

Adding to the troubles, China isn't cheap anymore and Chinese workers are no longer as willing to accept poor conditions and little pay. Strikes are increasingly common. Removing dissent from Chinese Internet sites is a full-time job for government censors. Growth rates remain high, but the cost of living and labor demands are going up.

Factories are already moving out of China to cheaper labor markets in Indonesia and Bangladesh. If China's economic growth slows for a prolonged period, the world will be dramatically impacted. The country's economic expansion has driven up oil prices and has made parts of the Middle East, Russia and Brazil exceptionally rich. Could labor unrest threaten the ruling Communist Party's grip? Any move from this giant creates a huge wake that will quickly wash onto American shores.

Read more China coverage on NBC's Behind The Wall

10. United States: Drifting?
For a decade, the United States has made fighting terrorism its main foreign policy goal. This is by definition a reactionary policy and is limited in focus -- without a global vision or sense of destiny.

In contrast, American rivals appear to have grand plans in place. Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, seems intent on regaining its Soviet and Tsarist glory. Turkey is flexing its muscles regionally and is re-establishing some of its Ottoman legacy and prominence. China is looking to consolidate its hold on swathes of Asia and beyond.

Full coverage: NBCNews.com's The World is Watching series

But what does the United States want to do? What is our goal? It is impossible to be influential if we don't know where we are going -- and any malaise would be damaging to the national interest. World powers must move to survive. Drifting is sinking.

More election coverage from NBCNews.com:

• Victorious Obama 'more determined' in face of challenges
• Now that he's won, six splitting headaches waiting for Obama
• Democrats retain control of Senate with series of hard-fought wins
• One big winner in Tuesday's vote: health reform
• Romney's English cousin sad he lost, sort of
• Rape remarks sink two Republican Senate hopefuls
• In costliest-ever Senate race, Warren beats Brown for Mass. seat
• Maine's Harley-riding King vowed to 'shake up' D.C.
• Republicans easily maintain control of House
• Colorado, Washington approve recreational marijuana use
• Wisconsin's Baldwin becomes 1st openly gay senator
• Pence in as governor of Indiana; Hassan wins in N.H.
• World welcomes Obama's 2nd term - but many challenges loom
• Majority of voters see American on wrong track
• Top 10 foreign policy issues facing Obama

Follow NBC Politics on Twitter and Facebook

 

A Republican advocacy group on Friday launched a new print ad campaign seeking to exploit the Democratic National Convention's platform reversal over Jerusalem, charging that the Democrats are "split when it comes to supporting Israel” and are "no longer the party of our parent's generation."

The Republican Jewish Coalition -- a group that is largely funded by Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and few other wealthy GOP donors -- said  it will run the full-page ads next week in 11 Jewish newspapers in four swing states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada.

---

"At the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte, N.C., it's become painfully clear that this party is no longer the Democratic Party of our parents' generation," the ad states. "This week has witnessed a shocking series of events. These regrettable incidents reveal a party that has wandered far from its origins."

 

The ad campaign, part of a $6.5 million effort by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), is the latest sign that the Jerusalem controversy at the convention could have lingering impact on the fall campaign. 

When Democratic Party officials earlier this week realized the potential fallout from the platform committee's failure to include past language about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, they redrafted new language to reinsert it into the platform. That in turn led to an unexpected and divisive dispute on the convention floor on Wednesday: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the convention chair,  three times asked delegates to approve by voice vote a motion reinstating language declaring that "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel."

Despite a loud chorus of "No”s and some boos that appeared to be at least as loud as those shouting "Yes," Villaraigosa declared the motion to have passed by the required two-thirds vote.

Slideshow: Democratic National Convention

The RJC ads suggest that the party's efforts to "fix" the Jerusalem problem are not over. The ads describe the floor scene as a "stunning spectacle" and quotes a press report depicting it as "an embarrassing moment for the party."

Meanwhile, Arab-American and Muslim delegates to the Democratic convention have decried the process by which the language was reinstated as clumsy and undemocratic.

James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute who serves on the Democratic party's platform committee, told NBC News  he was concerned that "Arab Americans will feel they got punched in the solar plexus.”

"This was  ham-fisted and a blunder,” he said. “... They stepped all over  the convention the way this was done." 

Read previous story: Dem official: Arab Americans 'got punched' over Jerusalem switch

Michael Isikoff is a national investigative correspondent for NBC News. Follow him on Twitter: @IsikoffNBC

 

 

JERUSALEM – Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney told an audience of supporters here Sunday that the United States has a "solemn duty and a moral imperative" to do whatever necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons that could threaten the existence of Israel, a vital American ally.

Romney focused on the specter of a nuclear-capable Iran and pledged the U.S. would never forget past horrors or turn its back on Israel.

"When Iran’s leaders deny the Holocaust or speak of wiping this nation off the map, only the naïve – or worse – will dismiss it as an excess of rhetoric. Make no mistake: The ayatollahs in Tehran are testing our moral defenses," Romney said. "They want to know who will object, and who will look the other way. My message to the people of Israel and the leaders of Iran is one and the same: We will not look away, and nor will my country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel."

---

"We have a solemn duty and a moral imperative to deny Iran’s leaders the means to follow through on their malevolent intentions," Romney said.

Romney reiterated his belief that Iran is a vexing national concern to both Israel and the U.S. – suggesting, as a Romney aide did earlier today that the U.S. would not block a unilateral Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear program if diplomatic options failed.

Mitt Romney would respect Israel strike on Iran, aide says

"We should employ any and all measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from its nuclear course, and it is our fervent hope that diplomatic and economic measures will do so," Romney said. "In the final analysis, of course, no option should be excluded. We recognize Israel's right to defend itself and that it is right for America to stand with you."

Romney had nothing but kind words for his host nation, praising Israeli values as fitting hand-in-glove with America's.

"Our two nations are separated by more than 5,000 miles. But for an American abroad, you can’t get much closer to the ideals and convictions of my own country than you do in Israel," Romney said. "We’re part of the great fellowship of democracies. We speak the same language of freedom and justice and the right of every person to live in peace."

Mitt Romney visits Western Wall, one of holiest sites in Judaism

In a line clearly inserted for his audience, Romney said it was "a deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel," earning his longest sustained ovation. (Israelis consider the united Jerusalem their capital, but many nations, including the U.S., have their embassies in Tel Aviv.)

The speech here Sunday capped a whirlwind day for the former Massachusetts governor, who met with top Israeli political leaders, Daniel Shapiro, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel appointed by Obama and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He visited one of Judaism's most holy sites, the Western Wall, and will dine, with wife Ann and son Josh, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family.

A cadre of top Romney donors, including New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, attended the speech and will also take part in a fundraising breakfast Monday that is expected to bring in seven figures for the campaign's war chest.

Political analysts have said that for Romney to win over Israelis (and perhaps American Jews and other supporters of Israel in the U.S.), he would need to show more warmth than President Barack Obama in his personal dealings here. Romney endeavored to do just that all day, calling Netanyahu, "my friend Benjamin Netanyahu."

He also chatted up Fayyed about the 2012 London Games.

Concluding his remarks Sunday, Romney alluded to the importance of presenting a united front with his host country.

"Standing by Israel does not mean with military and intelligence cooperation alone. We cannot stand silent as those who seek to undermine Israel voice their criticisms," Romney said. "And we certainly should not join in that criticism. Diplomatic distance in our public, between our nations, emboldens Israel's adversaries."

 

JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney made an unannounced trip to one of the holiest sites in Judaism, the Western Wall, on Sunday, as the presumptive GOP nominee continued his week-long overseas trip.

Romney, joined by his wife, Ann, and son Josh, along with a bevy of aides, was escorted by American and Israeli security through a throng of well-wishers, press and worshippers gathered at the wall on Tisha B'av, considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.

---

Several top Romney donors were also seen at the wall, escorted by aides. A contingent of Romney donors have traveled here for a Monday fundraiser at a Jerusalem hotel.

Romney was shown a diagram of the second Temple, of which the wall is the only remnant.  The destruction of the second Temple by Roman forces nearly 2000 years ago is one of the events mourned on this day, contributing to big crowds gathered there Sunday.

The Rabbi of the Western Wall read Romney a passage, and Romney placed his hand on the wall and appeared to pray. Ann Romney prayed at a separate section of the wall reserved for women. In keeping with tradition, both Mitt and Ann Romney wrote personal messages or prayers on pieces of paper and tucked them into cracks in the wall. An aide said it would not be appropriate to disclose what the couple wrote.

Mitt Romney would 'respect' Israel strike on Iran, aide says

As the Romneys left the wall amidst a crowd of people, Mitt Romney reached out and shook hands with supporters, and many Israelis shouted political messages at him as he passed.

“Mitt Romney! God will make you president because you came to Israel!” one man shouted.

"Free Jonathan Pollard," shouted several other men, referring to an American citizen convicted of spying for Israel, whose case has caused some friction between the two closely allied nations.

Earlier in the day, Romney met with Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli president Shimon Peres. On Sunday night, Romney is due to deliver a speech on the importance of the American-Israeli alliance from Jerusalem, where he will be introduced by the city's mayor.

Romney looks for political lift in Israel after London miscues

Romney aides said the speech would focus heavily on the importance of the alliance, and the shared values that undergird it.

Excerpts released by the campaign indicate it would also address anxieties over the dangers posed to Israel and the world by a nuclear-armed Iran, which a Romney adviser earlier said was an "existential threat" to Israel, adding that a Romney administration would "respect" a unilateral Israeli effort to eliminate Iran's nuclear program if sanctions and other peaceful options failed.

"Today, the regime in Iran is five years closer to developing nuclear weapons capability," Romney was expected to say in his remarks. "Preventing that outcome must be our highest national security priority."

More world stories from NBC News:

• Military drafted in to fill empty seats at London Olympics
• Mitt Romney would 'respect' Israel strike on Iran, aide says
• 2 US climbers found dead on Peruvian peak
• Elephants slaughtered, orphan found in latest Africa poaching
• 'Heavy skirmishing' reported in Syria's biggest city
• Chinese pollution protesters turn violent in clash with police
• Syria regime 'reeling, armed to the teeth' with chemical weapons

News on NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

 

JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney would “respect” Israel's use of military force to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a senior aide said on Sunday as the Republican presidential candidate began his visit to Jerusalem.

"If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision," Romney's senior national security aide Dan Senor told reporters traveling with the candidate.

---

While stopping short of endorsing a preemptive military attack, the comment seemed to differ with President Barack Obama's attempts to convince Israel to avoid any such move.

Gov. Romney’s first meeting was Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who greeted him as a “personal friend and friend of Israel.”

Shaking hands underneath U.S. and Israel flags, the pair signaled that Iran would be top of the agenda in their discussions.

Netanyahu said: "We have to be honest and say that all the sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota. And that's why I believe that we need a strong and credible military threat coupled with the sanctions to have a chance to change that situation."

Later, Gov. Romney and his wife Ann visited the city's Western Wall.

Sunday’s comments came as a senior Israeli official denied a newspaper report that President Barack Obama's national security adviser had briefed Netanyahu on a U.S. contingency plan to attack Iran should diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear program.

The Israeli liberal Haaretz daily on Sunday quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying the adviser, Thomas Donilon, had described the plan over dinner with Netanyahu earlier this month.

"Nothing in the article is correct. Donilon did not meet the prime minister for dinner, he did not meet him one-on-one, nor did he present operational plans to attack Iran," the senior official, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

• Elephants slaughtered, orphan found in latest Africa poaching
• London protesters decry 'Corporate Olympics'
• 'Heavy skirmishing' reported in Syria's biggest city
• In shadow of the Games, London celebrates
• Chinese pollution protesters turn violent in clash with police
• Syria regime 'reeling, armed to the teeth' with chemical weapons

News on NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook