Barack Obama wooed Jewish voters and skeptical Israelis in interviews published Tuesday, voicing support for key Israeli demands in peace talks with the Palestinians.
Winning over Israel could help the Democratic presidential candidate gain favor with American Jews, who make up large voting blocs in key states like New York and Florida.
But he faces a difficult task. Israeli officials say privately they would prefer Obama's main rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, due to her experience and the backing her husband, Bill Clinton, gave Israel during his two terms as president in the 1990s. In contrast, Obama is relatively unknown here.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office declined comment.
In a conference call with Israeli and Jewish reporters from Florida on Monday, Obama sought to put such concerns to rest, backing Israeli positions on key issues in its dispute with the Palestinians. He also took aim at a "virulent smear campaign" on the Internet that has depicted him as an observant Muslim.
The interview was published in two Israeli dailies, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.
Obama said he opposes the "literal" return of Palestinian refugees to homes they fled in Israel. This position is similar to Israel's stance in the talks, which were renewed after a U.S.-hosted peace conference in November.
Palestinians insist that the refugees from fighting in 1948 and their descendants — who by U.N. estimates now number more than 4 million — be allowed to return to their original homes. Israel fears such a flood of Palestinians into its borders would endanger its existence as a Jewish state. Instead, it says refugees should be resettled in a future Palestinian state.
"The outlines of any agreement would involve ensuring that Israel remains a Jewish state," Obama said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Last spring, Obama said while he is committed to protecting Israel's security, he would also reach out to Arab leaders who are committed to recognizing Israel and renouncing violence.
President Bush hopes to get the sides to agree, by the end of 2008, on a final deal that includes the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
In the interview, Obama insisted that Palestinians set up a security force that can ensure militants cannot attack Israel, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz reported. A future Palestinian state must be able "to provide the security apparatus that would prevent constant attacks against Israel from taking place," Obama said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Obama said he opposes talks with the Islamic militant Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian moderates in June, until it recognizes Israel's right to exist, Haaretz said.
In addition to their lack of familiarity with Obama, Israeli officials could be concerned by Obama's commitment to offer Iran "carrots and sticks" on its efforts to produce nuclear weapons. Obama told the reporters that he believed there should be diplomatic contacts between low-level U.S. and Iranian officials, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Israel has strongly backed the Bush administration's efforts to impose tighter sanctions on Iran to persuade it to drop its nuclear program. Israel fears Iran, whose president has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction, is developing nuclear arms. Iran insists its program is for energy-producing purposes only.
Obama speaks to Jewish voters on Israel
Kennedy says he and the Clintons are still friends
Edward Kennedy may have thrown his political weight behind Democrat Barack Obama in the White House race, but he says that doesn't mean he harbors ill feelings toward his old friends, Hillary and Bill Clinton.
"Absolutely not. I'm not against the Clintons. I'm for Barack Obama," the Massachusetts senator and brother of the late President John F. Kennedy said on Tuesday.
"I've said I'm for Barack Obama. But I'm going to support Sen. Clinton or Sen. Edwards should they gain the nomination. It's imperative that the Democrats be successful," he said in an interview with NBC's "Today Show."
Kennedy, patriarch of one of the leading political dynasties in the United States, endorsed Obama at a raucous rally in Washington on Monday.
He was joined by his niece Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late president, and his own son U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy in backing Obama, a first-term Illinois senator who would be the country's first black president.
The endorsement was widely seen as a blow to Hillary Clinton, a New York senator who is Obama's chief rival for the Democratic Party nomination ahead of November's presidential election. Clinton would be the first female U.S. president.
Some analysts saw Kennedy's endorsement -- which cast Obama as an heir to the idealism of John Kennedy -- partly as a response to critical comments about Obama by Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Not true, Kennedy said.
"This race really isn't about President Clinton. It's a race of enormous consequence for our country. The stakes are extremely high when we look at the challenges that we're facing here at home and abroad," Kennedy told NBC.
Kennedy and Hillary Clinton exchanged a brief handshake when they both attended President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech on Monday evening.
