New Romney Ad Hits Obama for Never Visiting Israel as President, Not Saying Whether Jerusalem Is its Capital

A new Mitt Romney ad released Sunday hits at President Barack Obama for never visiting Israel as president and for not saying Jerusalem is its capital.

“As president, Barack Obama has never visited Israel and refuses to recognize Jerusalem as its capital," the ad states.

The 30-second spot, titled "Cherished Relationship," comes one week after the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's own trip to the Jewish state during a three-country foreign visit. Obama and Romney are both vying for Jewish voter support, with Obama last month signing a $70 million bill in approved funding for Israel’s “Iron Dome” rocket defense system.

The Israeli capital issue has picked up steam in recent weeks: Last month, White House press secretary Jay Carney refused to say flat-out whether the Obama administration considers it to be Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Several days later, a White House spokesman said Jerusalem is not currently the capital but could become it through negotiations. This is a different stance than the one then-candidate Obama took in 2008, when he said "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided.”