As Republican presidential candidate John McCain has come and visited Israel in a show of solidarity, so now has Barack Obama come to our corner of the world. Yesterday on Wednesday, he has proclaimed that he has an “unshakable commitment to the security of Israel” whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.

He also mentions his unwavering commitment to the state by commenting

“The way you know where somebody’s going is where have they been. And I’ve been with Israel for many, many years now.”

Writers note: I have never once heard about this relatively unknown U.S. Senator and his commitment to Israel before his whirlwind tour for presidential candidacy this past year. Perhaps that is oversight on my behalf or dare I say, ignorance, but I’m unclear whether or not all of his “commitment” is genuine or just presidential campaign fodder.

Fitting in over a dozen meetings, memorial visit to the Holocaust museaum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, a pre-dawn visit to the Kotel where he placed a note in the wall, helicopter tour of the country and a visit to the rocket-torn town of Sderot to see first hand the damage the rockets inflict daily, were all part of one free day in Obama’s schedule. Scheduled meetings for the following days were between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Tzipi Livnor, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to only name the beginning of the list.

Passing through a military checkpoint in Ramallah, Obama met with President Abbas to assure him of his continuous support of a two-state solution. Later on in the day, Olmert responded in agreement to Obama’s claim that his talks with Abbas “indicates a strong sense of progress being made.”

A Hamas official in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, criticized Obama’s visit to Sderot as

“part of the American policy of bias towards Israel and giving legitimacy to Israeli crimes against our people. His remarks today give cover for the occupation’s nonstop crimes against our people.”

Photo Credit: Noam Bedin

When questioned by reporters if he would condone Israel about an attack on Iran to stop nuclear weapon developments, Obama politely and diplomatically sidestepped it. Also perhaps falsely promoting his support to Israel, Obama mentions that “Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don’t obtain a nuclear weapon,” he said.

However, Obama does not serve on the banking committee, and McCain’s campaign seized on the mistake. “Not only is it not his committee, but he’s not even on the committee, he didn’t vote on the bill, and he had nothing to do with its passage,” McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Hmm...one has to wonder whether Obama’s visit to Israel was not only to calm some Israeli’s apprehension about this next U.S. Presidential candidate or whether it was a show put on to impress the millions of Jewish voters in the States that he has not yet clinched the deal with?