Yad Vashem

Importantly, Obama did also make a trip to the West Bank town of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas -- a stop many of his fellow U.S. politicians have left off their travel itinerary when visiting the Middle East.

But the U.S. senator's main focus on this leg of his eight-day, seven-country tour of the Middle East and Europe was Israel, not the Palestinian territories. And the audience he was speaking to was less Israelis and more Jewish voters back home.

Like his visit to the other six countries, Obama's main intention here was to burnish his foreign policy credentials, considered his Achilles heel in his run-off with the more experienced Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

But in Israel, Obama's visit had an added dimension: it was meant to send a clear message to U.S. Jewish voters that he is committed to Israel's security and to the ongoing strategic relationship between the U.S. and the Jewish state.

At Yad Vashem he also laid a wreath and left a message in the visitors' book. "At a time of great peril and torment, war and strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man's potential for great evil, but also our capacity to rise up from tragedy and remake our world," he wrote.

In Sderot, which has been hardest hit by rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, he held up a T-shirt he was given by the mayor with the words "I (heart) Sderot," emblazoned on it, and a rocket, rather than an arrow, piercing the big red heart. "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop them, and I expect Israel to do the same thing," he declared.

In his meeting with President Shimon Peres, Obama also made the type of noises that he and his advisers hope will allay concerns among Jewish voters in the U.S. His trip, he said, was meant "to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States and my abiding commitment to Israel's security, and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a U.S. senator or as a president."

Obama also met and posed for the cameras with all of the country's top leaders. After meeting Wednesday morning with Peres, he met with Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, both of whom clambered aboard the helicopter that took him to Sderot. He also met with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and later with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem.

"Obama didn't only meet with all past Israeli prime ministers, he met the current prime minister and all those who view themselves as future prime ministers," a Jerusalem resident quipped ironically.

At pains to dispel doubts about his commitment to Israel's security, Obama said that none of the Israeli leaders with whom he met "got any sense that I would be pressuring them to accept any kinds of concession that would put their security at stake."

Some U.S. Jewish voters are concerned that Obama, if elected, will be more sympathetic to the Palestinians than the current Bush administration. They also worry about his stated intention to engage Iran, which Israel believes is trying to build nuclear weapons, in dialogue.

"Obama has a problem with some Jewish voters," says Roni Bart, an expert on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. The Democratic presidential hopeful, Bart told IPS, had to find a way to "symbolise" his commitment to Israel's security and to the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, which explains his visits to Yad Vashem, Sderot and the Western Wall.

Most U.S. Jews, Bart says, don't vote based on a candidate's position on Israel, but rather according to a candidate's positions on domestic issues. "But there is a sizeable group (of Jewish voters) for whom the candidate's position on Israel is the most important issue," he said. "For this group the Palestinian issue and Obama's stand on Iran are very important. When it comes to Iran, for instance, they perceive him as being less open to the military option than his predecessors."

While Jewish voters only make up a fraction of the U.S. electorate, their impact is disproportionately high. That's because they turn out to vote in high numbers, are concentrated in some swing states like Florida, and donate money to candidates. In explaining the importance of the Jewish vote, Bart also points to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby in Washington, which he says is "one of the most organised lobbies in America."

Obama will also be aware of polling that currently shows him winning a lower proportion of the Jewish vote than any Democratic presidential candidate since polling began, says Bart. While Jews have traditionally supported the Democratic Party in large numbers -- usually around 85 percent, although that figure was down to around 76 percent when John Kerry ran against George Bush in 2004 -- polls now give Obama only 63 percent of the Jewish vote.

Many Israelis, certainly government officials, share the concerns that U.S. Jews harbour about Obama. On his visit to Ramallah, he told Abbas he would "not waste a minute" in engaging in Mideast peacemaking. "When Israeli leaders hear someone saying they are going to be 'more engaged' in peacemaking, they equate this, justifiably, with increased U.S. pressure on Israel to make concessions," says Bart.

But that's not the view of all Israelis. Many on the Israeli left have been critical of the lack of U.S. involvement in Mideast peacemaking during the Bush term, and argue that active, energetic U.S. engagement is essential in nudging Israelis and Palestinians towards an agreement. That seems to be the view of Obama, who has been critical of Bush's hands-off approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But Israeli prime ministers, says Bart, will always prefer a less interventionist and "more hawkish" U.S. president, and this explains why Israeli officials will be hoping McCain wins in November.

"Obama is perceived more as a Carter-like president and McCain more as a Bush-like president," he says. "Between these two models, any Israeli prime minister will always prefer President Bush over President Carter."

In a speech before the Israeli parliament in May, President George W. Bush went further than any of his predecessors in voicing praise for the self-proclaimed Jewish state. Referring to Israelis as a "chosen people," Bush pledged Washington's unwavering support against Israel's traditional nemeses, including Iran and the resistance parties Hamas and Hezbollah.

In statements heavy on Judeo-Christian religious references, Bush went on to describe Washington's alliance with Israel as "unbreakable."

Similar sentiments have been echoed by Bush's would-be Republican successor, Sen. John McCain, who has also pledged "eternal" U.S. support for Israel.

"Israel and the U.S. must always stand together," McCain declared before the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee in early June. "We are the most natural of allies. And, like Israel itself, that alliance is forever."

Calling Israel "an inspiration to free nations everywhere," McCain barely addressed longstanding Palestinian aspirations for statehood. Like Bush, he denounced regional actors opposed to Israel's occupation of Arab land, referring to Hamas as "the terrorist-led group in charge of Gaza."

Neither Bush nor McCain so much as mention -- let alone criticize -- Israel's inhumane treatment of Palestinian populations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This treatment includes frequent military assaults often targeting civilians; the use of targeted assassinations; the ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip, which has brought that territory to the brink of starvation; the continued construction of Jewish-only settlements on occupied Palestinian land; and the forced removal of non-Jewish, Arab inhabitants from the city of Jerusalem.

Arab analysts, meanwhile, express little surprise at such blatant pro-Israel bias, coming as it does from a political party thoroughly influenced by neoconservative movement, of which Israeli ascendancy is a central tenet.

More disturbing to Arab critics of U.S. policy is the fact that Democratic presidential contenders have shown just as much zeal for Israeli supremacy as their Republican rivals.

In his own speech to AIPAC in early June, Obama stressed the need for a "more nuanced" approach to U.S. Middle East peacemaking. He stunned many, however, when he went on to state that Jerusalem would "remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."

Although Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, its claim to the city has never been recognized by the international community. Officially, the status of Jerusalem -- which Palestinians also want as capital of their future state -- is supposed to be determined in long-awaited "final status" negotiations.

Obama again disappointed Arabs by reiterating his overt support for Israel during a two-day visit to the Hebrew nation last week.

"I'm here ... to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the U.S. and my abiding commitment to Israel's security," Obama told Israeli President Shimon Peres July 23. Later, he told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of his "unshakeable commitment to Israel's security."

Obama went on to repeat his earlier statement that Jerusalem "will be" the capital of Israel, although he added that the issue should ultimately be decided in negotiations. He also backed Israel's refusal to negotiate with Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip for more than one year after winning legislative elections in early 2006.

While in Jerusalem, Obama visited the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, where he laid a commemorative wreath. He also visited the southern Israeli town of Sderot, the occasional target of short-range rockets from the Gaza Strip, where he reaffirmed his support for Israel's right to defend itself "against those who threaten its people."

By contrast, Obama spent less than one hour in discussions with Palestinian Authority officials -- President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad -- in the West Bank. Not surprisingly, he did not meet with any Hamas representatives.

Obama's blatant obeisance to Israel, despite an electoral campaign promising voters "change we can believe in," has led many Arabs to despair of the notion of unbiased arbitration by Washington -- under the leadership of either candidate.

"Obama paid his respects to dozens of Israeli victims in Sderot while neglecting to mention the thousands of recent Palestinian victims of Israeli violence," Thabet said. "How can anyone expect him to be evenhanded on the issue when he becomes president?"

According to Abdel-Halim Kandil, a political analyst and editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Sout al-Umma, neoconservative ideology "is not exclusive to the Republicans but permeates both political parties" in the U.S.

"When it comes to Israel, there's virtually no difference in Republican and Democratic party policies," Kandil said. "The Democratic administration of [former president Bill] Clinton, for example, consisted of even more Jewish Zionists -- including the defense secretary [William Cohen], the secretary of state [Madeleine Albright] and the national security adviser [Samuel Berger] -- than the current Republican Bush administration.

"These people occupy most of the top political and military positions throughout the American political system," added Kandil. "Anyone who thinks Washington can serve as a fair mediator in the Israel-Palestine conflict -- under Republicans or Democrats -- is delusional."

Kandil said the chief neoconservative objectives are "securing Israel's presence in the Middle East, the return of the Jews to Israel, and the eventual construction of the Jewish temple on the site where the al-Aqsa mosque now stands."

According to Thabet, the neoconservatives in Washington have exploited U.S. military might to neutralize regional opposition -- mainly of the Islamic variety -- to Israel.

"They have used U.S. military force to spread their version of democracy, which excludes all forms of political Islam -- be it Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas in Palestine or the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood," Thabet said.

Some local observers suggest that the neoconservatives in the current Bush administration, many of whom hold dual U.S.-Israel citizenship, are beholden to Israel.

"These people have a greater attachment to Israel and world Zionism than they do to the U.S.," said Magdi Hussein, secretary-general of Egypt's Labor Party, which has been frozen by the government since 2000. "But they have tried hard to convince the American public that U.S. and Israeli interests are one and the same."

Arab analysts further note that the neoconservative influence extends beyond the U.S. political system and into western mainstream media.

"The Zionist lobby can make or break any would-be presidential candidate," Hussein said. "This isn't due to its large voting numbers, but to its enormous influence on the media -- both in the U.S. and in Western Europe."

According to Thabet, the Zionist influence on the U.S. media has grown dramatically since the early 1980s. "Since then, neoconservative elements have bought up many important American media institutions, including major news outlets," he said.

"This, along with the establishment of numerous research centers and think tanks, has been their primary means of promoting the neoconservative agenda in the U.S.," Thabet added.

Kandil said most Arab governments -- in contrast to the people they represent -- are in any case not particularly interested in evenhanded U.S. arbitration of the conflict.

"The Arab regimes don't look to Washington as a fair mediator -- they look to Washington to keep them in power, despite their lack of legitimacy and popularity," Kandil said. "The Israel-Palestine dispute can only reach a just resolution when the Arabs choose leaders able and willing to carry out the popular will."

In the first address given by a British premier to the Knesset, Brown said Iran now faces "a clear choice to make: suspend its nuclear program and accept our offer of negotiations or face growing isolation and the collective response not of one nation but of many nations."

Israel, the United States and some other countries accuse Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, but the Islamic republic denies the charge, insisting that its nuclear program is only for civil purposes.

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany offered Iran financial and diplomatic incentives to halt its controversial nuclear activities at a Saturday meeting in Geneva, and gave Iran two weeks to respond.

If Iran did not accept the incentives, the next step would be to ratchet up sanctions against Tehran, possibly including sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry, Israeli daily Ha'aretz quoted British government officials traveling with Brown as saying.

Speaking prior to Brown, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also stressed that Israel could not reconcile with a nuclear Iran, branding Iran not only a menace to Israel but a "global threat."

Their remarks surrounding Iranian nuclear program came amid swirling speculations that Israel is planning an attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Israel will not hesitate to attack if its key interests are threatened.

Earlier in his speech, Brown said his country has an " unbreakable" friendship with the Jewish state, and slammed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of Israel's right to exist, calling it "totally abhorrent."

Brown's speech at the Knesset marked the end of his two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territory, his first to the region since assuming office in June 2007.

Brown arrived in Israel late Saturday after visiting Iraq. His first stop in Israel was Yad Vashem, the country's official Holocaust memorial and he attended a ceremony for the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany.

Later on Sunday, he traveled to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and pledged to deliver political and economic support to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Prior to the meeting, Brown paid a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem to mourn for the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during the Second World War, and laid a wreath next to the eternal flame.

The British leader arrived in Israel late Saturday night for his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territory as prime minister, aiming to give a new push for the sluggish peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and to focus on economic reconstruction and development in the region.

Following the meeting with Peres, Brown met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where he pledged more political and economic support to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), reiterating that a strong and sustainable Palestinian economy is a key necessity for improving the political and security situation across the region.

Brown is also to hold talks with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert after they attend an business conference in Jerusalem Saturday evening.

On Monday, he will become the first British Prime Minister to address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and meet with senior officials and opposition figures, before his departure in the early afternoon.