The battle for South Florida’s Jewish vote is gaining intensity in the final month of the presidential race.
One indicator: U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, the “independent Democrat” from Connecticut, is still campaigning in south Palm Beach County’s synagogues for John McCain.
At the Chabad of Boca Raton, Lieberman launched today his third major campaign swing in South Florida for McCain this year. He was joined by state Rep. Adam Hasner, the Florida House majority leader from Boca Raton who leads a national Jewish support group for McCain.
Hasner and Lieberman blasted Democrat Barack Obama's foreign policy views, and ridiculed his willingness to meet with leaders of Iran without preconditions. They touted McCain as a friend of Israel, noting that the Arizona senator has made it a campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a step sought by Jewish leaders in this country.
“I want somebody who has been tested in crisis, and who has always kept his cool,” said Lieberman of McCain. “Senator Obama has a pro-Israel voting record. But McCain has more. It’s in his gut. In his kishke. He knows the history…and of the historic claims to Jerusalem…He knows Israel is our most reliable ally.”
Hasner and Lieberman acknowledged that polls show McCain trailing Obama in Florida and nationally.
“With 29 days to go, don’t count John McCain out,” Hasner told about 150 people at the Chabad of Boca Raton, which is located off Military Trail. “This is going to be a close election in Florida, and more members of the Jewish community are going to vote for John McCain than any other candidate in past history.”
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If you look squarely into the beaming face of Sarah Palin, your initial impression might be that she is Jewish. Anyone who is highly familiar with typical Jewish facial characteristics, however, would quickly be able to see that this is probably not true. Nevertheless, this Evangelical Protestant woman who is poised to become the next vice president of the United States reportedly has at times worn a small Israeli flag on her lapel, in addition to having another small flag that protrudes from a window frame inside her Alaskan gubernatorial office.
Why does Sarah Palin seem to be so Jewish? First, it probably has something to do with the Biblical first name she received from parents who most likely were strong believers in the Bible. Second, Sarah Palin is, as Rabbi Joseph Greenberg, the director of Chabad-Lubavitch in Anchorage wrote, a “remarkable, energetic, and good person.” In addition to personally attending several Jewish cultural events in her state, Governor Palin, in a meeting with David Akov, Israel’s consul general for the Pacific Northwest, reportedly told him that Alaska’s residents love the State of Israel while also informing him of her own desire to visit the Holy Land.
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Chabad Lubavitch
Chabad Telethon - The Dancing Rabbis
