With 78 percent of Jewish voters going for President Obama in the 2008 election despite his tendency to trivialize Jewish-Americans’ concerns about Israel’s security, is it any mystery that during the past two years, the U.S. President has repeatedly sought to de-legitimize Jewish communities in the West Bank, and even in Jerusalem? Even more important, by all appearances, he is leaving Israel to deal with Iran alone. Of course, Congress has passed tough sanctions, but most observers agree such sanctions are coming years too late to arrest Iran’s nuclear program.

It would appear that, if some force is to stop Iran, it will probably have to be Israel. That said, the odds that the U.S. President will exercise strong leadership on Iran are much greater if U.S. Jews send a strong message this election. The Iranian regime is probably the greatest threat to humanity since Hitler’s Nazi movement. Israel is directly in the line of fire. Time for U.S. Jews to show some character and stand with our brethren overseas, as well as with the brave people of Iran, and let President Obama know our support for him is not simply a reflex. Much as we are proud to have an African-American President, Jewish-American voters must assess him based on deeds and record, not skin color, not blind ideological allegiance. In this era of the independent voter, knee-jerk party allegiance is counter-productive to any informed constituency seeking to advance its interests.

Send the President a message this midterm election that American Jews count by voting Republican straight down the line. We will be proud to support President Obama in 2012 - if and only if he has our back as well. Thus far he has not demonstrated adequate sensitivity toward, or support for, Israel - and times are precarious.

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