When GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin met Sallai Meridor, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, on Oct. 27 during her three-city tour in Virginia, she apparently thought he still held his former job, head of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

“I look forward to hearing about your work with the Jewish Agency and all the plans that we have,” the Associated Press quoted the Alaska governor as telling Meridor in Leesburg, Va. “We’ll be working together.”

Palin has previously expressed unreserved support for Israel and its right to defend itself in the face of threats such as Iran, telling Katie Couric of CBS News that the United States would not criticize the Jewish state if it decided to attack Iran.

After Palin’s campaign publicized the meeting, Meridor’s office issued a statement saying the two had discussed the mutual relationship between the United States and Israel and the challenges faced by both countries, as well as the Iranian nuclear threat and the issue of peace in the Middle East.

Later Oct. 27, Meridor and Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, met, after which Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s office issued a statement saying Biden and Meridor “had a full discussion of the opportunities and challenges that Israel and the United States face together, from stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons program to the pursuit of peace between Israel and its neighbors.”

Biden spokesman David Wade added, “Sen. Biden reiterated his and Sen. Obama’s unshakeable commitment to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and to ensuring Israel’s security.”

Election '08: The Jewish Perspective