Obama strives to overcome doubts among U.S. Jews

By Matthew Bigg - Analysis

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - If U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's trip to Israel is to be judged a success, one of the things it must do is help overcome doubts about him among some Jewish voters back home.

That is particularly true in Florida, a state whose support proved decisive for U.S. President George W. Bush in 2000 and which could help determine November's election.

Nationally, 74 percent of Jewish voters backed Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004, according to exit polls, making them a potential treasure trove of votes for Obama, this year's presumptive Democratic nominee. In Florida Jewish voters make up 5 percent of the electorate.

But many Jewish voters have significant doubts about the strength of the Illinois senator's commitment to maintaining the traditional U.S. position of stalwart support for Israel coupled with staunch opposition to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Questions about him have arisen among Jewish voters because of Obama's association with a prominent Palestinian academic and radical comments made by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, several south Florida rabbis said in interviews.

They are also concerned about links between his former church in Chicago and Louis Farrakhan, a militant black Muslim leader.

Some of those concerns were exacerbated by e-mails that circulated in the Jewish community this year spreading rumours about Obama that, while easily refuted, have proved persuasive to some people, they said. One e-mail erroneously said he was a Muslim.

At root, many Jewish voters are unsure what Obama stands for because he is newer to the national stage than his rival Republican John McCain, the rabbis said.