Jews Keep Watch on Obama's Global Tour

A poll by Makor Rishon, an Israeli daily newspaper, showed that Israelis have some of the lowest levels of support for Obama of any country in the world. In France and Germany, both stops on Obama's tour, respectively 65 percent and 67 percent of the population said that they would vote for him if they could.

However, only 27 percent of Israeli's said they would like to see him become president, with John McCain being the preferred choice of 36 percent.

Jewish voters are likely to be critical in the campaign, especially in key battleground states such as Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The visit to Israel could help Obama make inroads among some Jewish voters, who have been wary of his candidacy. But the complexity of Middle East politics may also be a sensitive area for Obama. He attracted attention in June when he told a pro-Israeli lobby group that Jerusalem must remain Israel's undivided capital, only to change his position the next day to say the issue should be negotiated by all parties.

The 12,000-mile tour will take Obama to Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Germany, France and Britain as he seeks to bolster his national security credentials, one of his greatest electoral liabilities. Obama will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Jordanian King Abdullah and several other foreign officials.

The main issues he will address with leaders in Europe and the Middle East include early withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq and an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan; climate change; nuclear proliferation; and the possibility of face-to-face negotiations with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Obama, who will not be accompanied by his wife Michelle, but will take US reporters, including three television news anchors, who are scheduled to hold prime-time interviews with him on consecutive nights.

Obama's visit to Europe, Israel and Jordan is a campaign trip, paid for by him. However, the visit to Iraq and Afghanistan is part of a congressional delegation which is paid for by taxpayers.