Obama to visit Israel for talks

Seeking to bolster his standing on foreign relations and to prove his strong ties with Israel before the November elections, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has announced plans to travel to the Middle East this summer.

Mr Obama will visit war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop in the Middle East for talks in Jerusalem and Amman, and drop in on three European capitals: London, Berlin and Paris.

More..

How Jewish is Barack Obama?

So Hilary Clinton has finally admitted what the rest of us have known for weeks now. Barack Obama is going to be the Democratic candidate in this year’s US presidential election. So is he Jewish?

More..

Obama woos Israel lobby

The largest-ever conference of pro-Israel activists convened in Washington DC this week. It took a political flavour as presidential candidates used the event to tout their pro-Israel credentials and tried to court the Jewish community for support in the coming November elections.

The main message sent out by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) focused on the need to take tough measures against Iran. Presidential hopefuls followed suit, promising to increase pressure on Tehran, if and when elected to the White House.

More..

Why President Obama could be good for Israel

A more involved US president might boost the peace process

Barack Obama has so far managed to defy one expectation after another. He has come from being a virtually unknown greenhorn to defeating Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate. And he may yet become America’s first ever black president, as well as one of its youngest.

So would President Obama repudiate the whispering doubts about his pro-Israel and Jewish-friendly credentials that have accompanied his campaign?

More..

Obama's liberal Jewish fools

American Jews are so intent on voting anti-Republican that they are trying to elect an anti-Israel Democrat

Are American Jews the equivalent of chickens voting for Shabbat?

They have persuaded themselves that Barack Obama is a friend of the Jewish people, because Obama put his hand on his heart and swore
undying friendship to the state of Israel.

More..

Obama out to prove pro-Israel credentials

As Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama moves toward securing his party’s nomination, attacks on the candidate’s views on Israel and the Middle East are intensifying.

Mr Obama, who is now on a collision course with President George Bush and with Republican nominee John McCain over his more equivocal policy on Hamas and Iran, has made a point of answering every attack and of increasing his effort to prove his pro-Israel credentials to the US Jewish community.

More..

Obama: Israel promise

Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama moved to reassure US Jewish voters about his support for Israel. “You will not see, under my presidency, any slackening in commitment to Israel’s security,” he told The Atlantic magazine. A new survey found that 61 per cent of Jewish voters would choose Mr Obama over Republican hopeful John McCain, with 32 per cent of the Jewish vote. However, most Jews still support Hillary Clinton.

More..

AJC praise by Obama pastor

The former pastor of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has praised Jewish leaders. Reverend Jeremiah Wright, accused of likening Israeli policies to apartheid and blaming the US for bringing the September 11 terror attacks on itself due to its foreign policy, made a point of publicly thanking Melanie Maron, an American Jewish Committee leader, and “my good friend and Jewish author Tim Wise”.

More..

Race still on after US poll win

The Democratic race for the party’s nomination is no closer to a result despite Hillary Clinton’s win in Tuesday’s primary elections in the state of Pennsylvania. According to exit polls, Mrs Clinton benefited more than Barack Obama from efforts to lobby the local community, with 55 per cent of Jewish voters supporting her and only 45 per cent giving their vote to Mr Obama. Both contenders had made a special effort to reach out to Jewish voters in Pennsylvania.

More..