Jerusalem, July 29 –

Obama prayed at the Western Wall.
Obama’s private Western Wall note was taken and then returned.
Obama’s motorcade interrupted the already stressful traffic within Jersualem’s center city.
Plenty of people who live in Israel had plenty to say about the Democratic favorite.
At the Super Sol grocery store, an olive skinned security guard figured that the Orioles hat I was wearing must mean I was an American. He went ahead and named all 50 states for me, and then before he could name all of the Presidents, I asked him who he wants to be the next U.S. President.
He said, “Obama.”
When I asked him why, “because enough Bush.”
But Bush isn’t running, I answered, McCain is. He said, “Who’s McCain.”
And that is a nutshell observation one could make. In our Jersualem hotel TV the world news stations were pumping a continuous feed of the senator from Illinois. McCain was like no where to be found.
Yehudis Schamroth, a Ramat Beit Shemesh resident, formerly of Baltimore was asked would Obama be good for Israel.
“No absolutely not,” she answered. “Obama thinks that he can convince terrorists to behave. The average Israeli knows that is impossible.”
Rachel, a law student, who lives with her husband Haviv Rettig near Tel Aviv, said that the average Israeli absolutely knows who John McCain is.
“The American election is followed very closely here as it is intimately tied to a possible timetable for an Iran strike should that be necessary and possible. Israelis joke that Obama is from an Arab or Muslim heritage, but I don’t think that there is any serious or widespread fear that he is a Muslim agent.
“As for being good for Israel,” she continued, “I have no idea. Obama has read his Machiavelli in depth and he has made campaign strategies if not a political career by remaining conciliatory while never revealing his cards. We have no idea what he thinks about Jerusalem or the peace process or Iran. His statements, while polite are ambiguous at best.
“So, as an Israeli I would not vote for Obama, he is just too much of a wildcard. However, as an American, I would for Obama. I would vote for him because a vote for him holds a kind of magic. It makes you believe that maybe the American dream is still true, that a bright, hard working, politically savvy outsider can rise to be a presidential candidate. It also makes you hope that perhaps America is a bit more race blind than we suspected and that is something to be deeply proud of as an American. I believe a vote for Obama really is playing a tiny role in history.”
Leah Yaffa had this to say.
“At this point in our history, one candidate is no different than the other. Each presidential candidate uses their political agendas to accomplish goals that I don’t believe are really part of the American publics’ knowledge. When it comes to Israel, I believe that America has an economic interest in Israel, and has nothing to do with civil liberties. Sine Iraq was an absolute disaster, their next step is to establish their presence in Israel. Whether it will come in the guise as saving the Palestinians from their oppressors or rescuing Jews from the Arabs, the U.S. military presence is almost guaranteed in Israel.
So I don’t believe that Obama will be good for Israel. He has already stated that the Palestinians deserve their own state. The man has no backbone or character. He is an obvious liar that bends to public opinion when it comes to earning their favor. The democratic approach does not work with the Arabs. Their culture nor religion allows this approach to statehood. How the president believes he can impose his American beliefs on this nation is nothing more than chutzpah. Just look at Iraq as an example.
Gavriel Zeitlin, a recent oleh, said that a “good” American president should encourage Israel’s people and government to make its own decisions, not based on what the international community wants.
He also said that he doesn’t think that Israel needs the U.S. looking over its shoulder for everything it does.
“What right does Barak Obama or any U.S. delegate have to tell Israel that it can’t build communities,” he said. “A U.S. president’s first action towards Israel should be inaction. Israel has a thriving economy, a powerful military, and I think that a wise president would look to Israel as a place to learn, and not to dictate terms.
“Obama really scares me,” he continued. “He seems to really flipflop his opinions on certain things depending on who his audience is. He could turn out to be a good president or a horrible one. I just don’t know what his stance is.”
Finally, since she was hosting me for 10 days, I decided to ask my daughter, DeDe Jacobs Komisar her take on Obama.
“Obama, my first association is the word hope which probably means that his campaign has done a bangup job of subliminal messaging and everything. I don’t think I’m a good person to use, because I’m an American olah, a liberal, who has been hoping for Obama since his appearance at the 2004 convention. Not exactly your average Israeli on the street.”