Ed Koch Could Endorse Turner To Send Message To Obama: Report

Ed Koch, the former New York City mayor who has spent decades as a local kingmaker of sorts, will endorse Bob Turner in the upcoming Ninth District special election as a rebuke of President Barack Obama's policies on Israel, the New York Post reports.

Koch, who has had an impact on elections in the past through advocacy and his NY Uprising movement, told the paper on Tuesday that he wanted the potential endorsement to be "a shot across Obama's bow."

Koch said that the President's recent statements on Israel, including his belief that the peace process in the region should begin with negotiations around the country's 1967 borders, risk alienating a historical U.S. ally in the Middle East.

He said his endorsement of Turner would be contingent on strong support for the country and an unwillingness to cut entitlement programs.

Turner, said a source close to his campaign, has promised to be a strong source of support for Israel if elected.

Assemblyman David Weprin, the Democratic candidate in the race, is Jewish and also an avowed supporter of Israel.

He told the New York Observers PolitickerNY blog last week that he too disagrees with Obama's proposal that Israel return to it's pre-1967 borders.