Candidates court Jewish support

On the Republican side, Giuliani has attracted some early support from Republican Jews. It helps that he ran a city with a large Jewish population and is well known for his strong ties to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He also made headlines for kicking Arafat out of a concert for world leaders in 1995.

"The Orthodox community in New York is obviously not the only Orthodox community in the country, but it's the largest," said one Jewish leader, speaking of the more conservative strand of Judaism. "And so far, they are going with what they know, and that's Rudy."

But around the country, other Republican Jews say that their brethren are not jumping into the fray. Although many Republican Jews view Giuliani and Sen. John McCain favorably, they're concerned about their electability.

And other top-tier candidates are less well known. "It's disconcerting," said Fred Zeidman, a Republican fundraiser in Houston and the chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, who has been raising money for McCain. "None of us are making serious headway in the Jewish community."

Some analysts said that donors may be more likely to give once the candidates discuss their Middle East policies. Positions may become clearer on October 16, when the GOP contenders gather in Washington to address the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Most of the candidates will be addressing an audience interested primarily in the Middle East for the first time, and some campaigns will use the forum to discuss where they stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their views on dealing with Iran.

Indeed, Iran has become the new bellwether for the Jewish community. Historically, Jewish voters were most concerned about whether candidates supported Israel. But support for Israel has become almost a universal policy position in Washington. The new test is how tough the candidates will be in combating the nuclear threat that Iran poses to Israel, and whether Israel should be allowed to take pre-emptive action.

In the end, analysts said, there are no leading candidates in either party whom Jewish leaders would be very unhappy to have as president. The question is, which one will show the greatest interest in the issues that Jewish voters value most.

The author is covering the presidential campaign as an NBC/National Journal reporter. He can be reached at .

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