Politics | Election 2008 Israelis Favor Mac; US Jews Like Obama Israelis wonder about Obama; former Bush aide campaigns among American Jews By Gabriel Winant Posted Oct 28, 2008 11:11 AM CDT Copied In this Wednesday, July 23, 2008 file photo, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, left, shakes hands with US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, right, in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Barack Obama may be surging at home, but Israelis prefer John McCain to the unfamiliar Democrat by a 12-point margin, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Israelis perceive Obama as dovish, and less likely to give Israel the green light on military action. “McCain is seen as a safe bet,” says an Israeli expert on US politics. American Jews, on the other hand, support Barack Obama by a 3:1 ratio. Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer has been traveling to swing states trying to convince Jews to break with tradition and vote Republican, the Wall Street Journal reports. There’s little evidence that Jewish support for Democrats is softening, but Fleischer is hoping to switch just a few votes in key states. Read These Next The sheriff says he's never seen a worse case of child sex abuse. We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. Journal pulls a controversial paper on arsenic after 15 years. Google exposes man's butt, is ordered to pay him $12.5K. Report an error