Congress increases aid to Israel
Congress approved a $170 million boost in aid to Israel as part of its new 10-year, $30 billion defense aid commitment. The money is part of a supplemental spending bill that includes $162 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The increase means that the U.S. government will give $2.55 billion to Israel in the next fiscal year. — jpost.com
Obama to visit Israel this month
Sen. Barack Obama will visit Israel starting July 22 or 23 for a two- or three-day visit, according to the Yediot Achronot newspaper.
The Illinois senator has confirmed he plans to come to Israel as part of a pre-election tour of the region but has not yet released dates.
According to the newspaper, Obama’s itinerary in Israel will likely include a visit to Sderot to show solidarity with residents who have suffered from Palestinian rocket barrages. Obama’s Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, made a high-profile trip to Sderot as part of a recent Israel visit. — jta
McCain polling well among religious Jews
Religious Jews support Sen. John McCain for president in much higher numbers than nonreligious Jews, according to a Gallup Poll released July 8.
Among the U.S. Jews who said religion is important in their daily lives, McCain and Sen. Barack Obama each received 45 percent of their support.
For Jews who said religion is not important, however, McCain picked up 26 percent to 68 percent for Obama.
The percentage of Jews who said religion was important fell well below the overall national average. Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed said religion is important to them, compared to 39 percent of the Jewish respondents.
Nearly 95,000 registered voters were interviewed as part of Gallup Poll Daily tracking between March and June. — jta
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California