News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, who said Tuesday night he has clinched the nomination, and Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain are setting out to win the Jewish vote. Jews traditionally vote Democratic, and Sen. Obama has succeeded in overcoming a negative image influenced by a black anti-Semitic preacher. He has tried to downplay his middle name "Hussein" and recently told Jews in a Florida synagogue that his first name means "Baruch" (Blessed). He is to speak at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference Wednesday evening, two days after Sen. McCain spoke there.

Sen. McCain has claimed that Hamas terrorists are rooting for a victory by Sen. Obama, who has said he would not talk with Hamas but would sit down with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a position he recently softened.

The Republican nominee, a Vietnam war veteran and former prisoner of war, recently toured Israel, including Sderot, and Sen. Obama is expected to visit the Middle East in the near future.