The campaign is heating up, and you need to stay informed! The Jews for Obama Newsletter gives you the information you need to stay in the loop and keep winning over your friends and family to supporting Obama.

Photo courtesy of ABC News. Click here for story.

Barack Obama's tremendous warmth toward Israel and his commitment to work energetically toward a solution to the conflict were clearly visible in the intense coverage of his recent visit.

Don't miss the Jews for Obama exclusive report on the visit, featuring news, analysis and videos!

Israelis for Obama at the Kotel

Jews for Obama's Technology Department produced 2' by 8' banners based on the well-known Hebrew “Baruch Obama” bumper stickers, combined with a phrase from Obama's AIPAC speech, as well as our own Mogen Obama logo.

We contacted a few groups of Israeli supporters of the campaign and arranged to FedEx the banners to Tony Jassen, the head of Israelis for Obama. Although FedDex did not get there Absolutely Positively Overnight, our posters made Aliya and soon started being seen!

Click here for an Israelis for Obama slide show.

Photo courtesy of The San Francisco Sentinel. Click here for story.

In a stunning blow to President George W. Bush and presumptive presidential nominee John McCain, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has endorsed Barack Obama's timeline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. In a July 19 interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, al-Maliki said, “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.”

Although al-Maliki subsequently claimed to have been mistranslated, it was his own interpreter who translated his remarks, and The New York Times confirmed their accuracy in a direct translation from the Arabic transcript. Clearly, al-Maliki's denial was as staged as his original endorsement.

While no one can know for certain what al-Maliki hopes to accomplish by aligning himself with Obama, one thing is clear: the American people, the Iraqi people, the Iraqi government, and Barack Obama all share the desire to see US troops withdrawn quickly from Iraq, while John McCain says that bringing the troops home is “not too important.”

Photo courtesy of limittaxes.org

Larry Hunter has been working from the “Right” side of the aisle for over 25 years. He was a member of the Reagan White House, a Chief Economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of the co-authors of the 1994 Republican “Contract With America”, and a member of Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign team. This week, he joined millions of others and pledged his support for Senator Barack Obama (read the op-ed or view the video).

Hunter says that Obama will respect the constitutional boundaries of the executive branch, boundaries which George W. Bush has repeatedly overstepped and which John McCain would continue to disregard. He also believes Obama will promote “a humbler engagement with our allies, while promising retaliation against any enemy who dares attack us. That's what conservatism used to mean.”

Dennis Ross (right) speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak

Senator Obama was joined on his visit to the Middle East by veteran American diplomat Dennis Ross. Ross recently left his post at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy to formally endorse Obama, become one of his top advisers on the Middle East, and accompany Obama on his trip.

Obama's choice of Ross as a senior adviser and Ross's commitment to support him make it clear that Obama will bring back the serious engagement in the peace process that has been missing during the past seven and a half years.

A July 19 Time magazine article discusses why Ross's presence is so important. “Ross, a career foreign service officer, was lead negotiator on Israeli-Palestinian issues for Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and he got the two sides as close as they've come to a peace deal before stepping down after the 2000 election.... After he left government, the 59-year-old diplomat headed up a hawkish pro-Israel think tank in Washington, and signed on as a Fox News foreign affairs analyst.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a former Hillary Clinton supporter, on July 14 addressed the 94th National Convention of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, in support of Senator Barack Obama.

“Barack Obama shares the core values to which we as sisters of Hadassah are committed. Senator Obama is committed to the health and education of women, children and families. He is committed to the protection of our rights and our liberties as Americans and he is committed to the safety and security of Israel. It is these shared core values that drive me to take every opportunity to campaign on his behalf and that places me here before you this morning.” She went on to say that “by every objective measure — voting records, statements, actions — Senator Obama has proven to be an unwavering friend to the State of Israel and a formidable foe to the forces of extremism and anti-Semitism.”

Click here to read Rep. Schultz's full remarks.

Obama Organizing Fellow Liz Braunstein in the field

This spring, roughly 10,000 young people applied for approximately 3,000 places as Obama Organizing Fellows. The Fellows are spending their summer registering new voters, canvassing undecideds and organizing Get Out the Vote programs.

Liz Braunstein is one of a number of Fellows who focus on organizing Jewish voters. She has returned to her native Bergen County, New Jersey, which has a large and diverse Jewish community. Liz, who will start at NYU Law School this fall, sat down with J4O editorial board member Matt Funk to talk about her experiences.

Liz discusses the concerns and priorities of Jewish voters in New Jersey and shares tips and facts to educate undecided voters. She also talks about how a lifelong enthusiasm for Jewish religion and culture, together with her admiration for Senator Obama, impelled her to join the campaign.

Liz will be lending her wisdom and experience to Jews for Obama as we start our own Get Out The Jewish Vote project next week. Stay tuned for details on how you can participate, and send us your contact info so we can get in touch with you.

Click here to read the interview.

Beginning in this issue, the Jews for Obama Newsletter will bring you inspiring thoughts for Shabbat from different parts of the Jewish world.

This short “Taste of Torah”, from Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, learns from this week's Torah Portion, Matot, how even the smallest action can make a huge difference.

Good Shabbos!

(Jews for Obama has selected this material for our newsletter in the spirit of including a bit of Torah in everything we do. This material is not intended to be political in nature. The referenced individuals and institutions do not necessarily agree or disagree with the statements and positions of Jews for Obama.)

Like most overachieving Jewish activists, we at J4O are always looking for ways to surpass ourselves. In that spirit, this week we bring you not one but two bits of humor to send laughter deep into your kishkes.

Think Israelis are paying careful attention to the US presidential campaign? Maybe so. After all, as this video shows, Israelis on the street can... sort of... pick Barack Obama and John McCain out of a lineup... of two people.

Watch the video from The Media Line!

A while ago, Jews for Obama received a curious request for our free bumper stickers:

name: Miles Kahn
address: New York NY 10019

“I'm going to FL to produce a story on Obama's ‘Jewish Problem.’ Should be fun to debunk the myths. If you could send a couple of bumperstickers and posters, I'd love to use them in my story. It's for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

Needless to say, our initial reaction was, “You're pulling my leg!” When we got over that, we sent posters, buttons, and bumper stickers. Seven weeks later, the story finally aired. Alas, all of our paraphernalia ended up on the cutting-room floor, but they still managed to produce something vaguely amusing.

Actually, we laughed until it hurt, and you will too.