McCain and Obama campaigns try to woo Jewish voters

Candidates' stand-ins debate

A crowd listened to representatives of the McCain and Obama campaigns court Jewish voters at the Congregation Kehillath Israel on Harvard Street in Brookline yesterday. (Justine Hunt/Globe Staff)

Lorraine Ranfeld, a registered independent, said she came to the debate in Brookline supporting John McCain, after Senator Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama in the primary. She left supporting McCain.

Needham residents Neil and Judy Sacks left the debate with stronger support for Obama and better informed on the candidates' positions on the Middle East.

They were among about 140 voters at Congregation Kehillath Israel, where representatives of the McCain and Obama campaigns were invited to court Jewish voters by discussing their candidates' positions on foreign policy issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the possibility of negotiations with Iran, and the threats the Jewish state may face from neighbors such as Syria and Lebanon.

The synagogue in Brookline hosted the two-hour forum, along with the Jewish Community Relations Council, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and the Israel Project.

Richard Heideman, the honorary president of B'nai B'rith International who stood in for McCain, said afterward that the debate was part of more Jewish voter outreach being conducted by both sides closer to the election.

"Jews are an important electorate but these issues are important to every American's safety, security, dignity, and our ability to stand up for our allies," he said.

Steve Grossman, former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, represented Obama, whom he called "a true friend of the Jewish people and the state of Israel." He focused on Obama's plan to become energy independent, divest from business with Iran, and ratchet up sanctions against the "rogue nation" to pressure a straining Iranian economy to recognize and respect Israel.

Heideman contrasted Obama's "inexperience" with McCain's leadership experience in the Senate and his military background. He chided Obama for saying he would agree to meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran without preconditions as "unforgivable, naïve, and unconscionable."

Heideman said McCain supported listening to generals in Iraq and the surge in order to continue building democracy. In response, Grossman quoted Obama: "I'm not opposed to all wars, I'm just opposed to dumb wars."

On possible peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Grossman said Obama will not stand in the way of independent peace negotiations even if some civil control is handed to the Palestinians over Jerusalem without denying Jews access to any part of the city.

Heideman disagreed. "The sanctity of the state of Israel cannot be negotiated away," he said.

When Grossman brought up McCain's association with James Baker, an adviser on Iraq to President Bush, the crowd chuckled and whispered.

When moderator Charles Radin, former Middle East bureau chief of The Boston Globe, brought up the right of return for Palestinians who left after the Jewish state was created in 1948, someone in the crowd yelled, "Oh, Jesus!"

Grossman said relinquishing the right of return would be part of the negotiations of a two-state solution and that Obama would support Israeli talks with Syria. Heideman said McCain would not support Israel talking with Syria because it sponsors terrorism and could cause security problems.

Radin then asked what made each side's vice presidential picks qualified, prompting outright laughter from the crowd. Heideman called the reaction to McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska "sexist," which the crowd then booed and yelled disapproval.

Throughout the debate, Heideman presented himself as what some Jewish voters today are considering becoming - a lifelong Democrat voting Republican in this election.

Afterward, Grossman said he hoped to counteract the phenomenon by dispelling myths about Obama that have become rampant in the Jewish community.

"I'm saddened by the salacious ads that have run suggesting Obama is supported by Hamas or is a Muslim," he said. "They have to hear what Barack Obama is saying in his own words. They need to know more about him because he is still pretty unknown in parts of the Jewish community."

In the pews and the lobby, debate-goers continued the discussion, with two men heatedly rehashing whether Obama is affiliated with Islam or is Muslim.