Republican presidential frontrunner Rudy Giuliani has assembled a staff of foreign policy advisors described by some as a “who's who” of Middle East and pro-Israel hawks.

Leading the pack is neoconservative leader Norman Podhoretz, who has of late been a leading advocate for military action against Iran.

The group also includes several advisors with extensive experience in the Israeli-Arab conflict, including Charles Hill, a top aide to former secretary of state George Shultz and one-time political counselor to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, and Martin Kramer, an Islam expert at Harvard University and a fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Jerusalem-based Shalem Center, both firmly pro-Israel organizations.

Ben Chouake, head of the pro-Israel political action committee Norpac, told the Jewish weekly Forward that Giuliani's selections show the former New York City mayor is “very serious about his approach to ensuring the security and safety of Israel.”

Giuliani's choice of advisors is also likely to play well to right-wing Jewish and Evangelical Christian voters, who are largely credited with putting George W. Bush in office.