Jews Love Obama. Lieberman? Eh, Not So Much

As an American Jew, the things I heard from my fellow Jewish Dems who were Hillary supporters were unbelievable (actually in politics, I believe anything that comes out of the gutter). As far as the cultural/religious items that came up, the #1 complaint was that Obama wouldn't support Israel and following that, many Jewish Dems would jump ship to McCain. At some of them I laughed, others that were in my family got a more toned down response. I knew that they had no idea of what they were talking about and now I have my proof....and a bonus cookie to go with it.

From The Huffington Post:

Among the most high-profile Jews in Congress, Lieberman is viewed far more unfavorably than the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new poll. Only 37 percent of Jews view the Connecticut Independent in a favorable light compared to 48 percent who have a negative perception. As for Obama, 60 percent of Jews view him favorably while 34 percent view him unfavorably.

The findings were released as part of a recent survey of American Jews by the new progressive pro-Israel group J Street. They seem to upturn some of this year's conventional political wisdom.

Obama, who is set to travel to Israel this week, is often described in the press as facing significant obstacles to winning Jewish support, in part because of false claims that he is a Muslim. Lieberman, meanwhile, is regularly quoted disparaging Obama's credentials on topics considered dear to the Jewish voter's heart: toughness on Iran and support for the Jewish state. Asked recently whether he should be questioning Obama's commitment to Israel, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee responded, "why wouldn't I do that?"

Lieberman "does that" because he'll try anything to keep the war machine humming. The majority of American Jews do not like war for many obvious reasons and they see the Democratic party as a conduit to end the occupation in Iraq. So while Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew and Obama is a Christian, the Jewish segment of the population is smart enough to see the big picture and identify with the politician that best fits their views, both foreign and domestic.

Finally, Something To Counter The Vaunted AIPAC

The American Israeli Political Action Committee, known more succinctly as AIPAC has long been the dominant force in Washington concerning American policy towards Israel. It has thousands upon thousands of members and ridiculous sums of money to keep it active in political circles and thereby influential with the President, Congress and its staff. It has done many good things for the small state of Israel that sits among many autocratic governments in the Middle East, but it has also taken a fundamentalist, hard-right veer in its policy goals recently. Many Jewish liberals have been disappointed in them recently, and now there is going to be an alternative.

From The Washington Post:

The lobbying group will be known as J Street and the political action group as JStreetPAC. The executive director for both will be Jeremy Ben-Ami, a former domestic policy adviser in the Clinton White House.

"The definition of what it means to be pro-Israel has come to diverge from pursuing a peace settlement," said Alan Solomont, a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser involved in the initiative. In recent years, he said, "We have heard the voices of neocons, and right-of-center Jewish leaders and Christian evangelicals, and the mainstream views of the American Jewish community have not been heard."

Solomont is a top fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), but the organizers include supporters and fundraisers for both Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Many prominent figures in the American Jewish left, former lawmakers and U.S. government officials, and several prominent Israeli figures, as well as activists who have raised money for the Democracy Alliance and MoveOn.org, are also involved.

Too often, American Jews are grouped together as having one voice concerning Israel. Like Israel, there are many diverging views on what to do about Gaza, the West Bank and Arab-Israeli relations and specifically how America should be involved with those geopolitical affairs. For too long AIPAC has been the only "voice" in Washington and the Christian Right's influence on it has not been good for the multitude of political views concerning America and Israel. Although J Street PAC is dwarfed by AIPAC now, it is only their first year, so in time, this group can lead the way in letting every viewpoint be heard on the Hill.