Despite recent tension and barbs by Republicans over his policy toward Israel, US President Barack Obama is pulling ahead in support among Jewish voters, Buzzfeed reported.
According to an unreleased Gallup poll given to Buzzfeed, Jewish voters support Obama over rival Mitt Romney at a ratio of 70 to 25, about the same proportion that supported Obama to Senator John McCain (69 to 25) at the same point in the 2008 election.
The polls reflect data compiled from July 1 to September 10.
Last week, Romney slammed Obama's handling of the Iranian threat, saying "Iran has not changed its nuclear course one iota by virtue of this president's policies."
Tensions over Iran policy have also come to the fore over the US administration's refusal to accept Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's demands that it set "red lines" for Iran over its nuclear program.
Netanyahu’s comments on Iran triggered a backlash among some in Washington and the American media over the past week, accusing him of undermining Israel’s closest ally and trying to influence American politics.
In an unusual public display of criticism from an influential member of the US Senate, California Democrat Barbara Boxer wrote a letter to Netanyahu Wednesday to express “my deep disappointment over your remarks that call into question our country’s support for Israel.” She went on to describe them as “utterly contrary to the extraordinary United States- Israel alliance.”
Boxer, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a regular at pro-Israel events, described herself in the letter as “one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in Congress.”
In an interview with the Post, Netanyahu dismissed allegations that he is manufacturing a crisis with Obama to boost Romney in the run-up to the November 6 election as “completely groundless."
Hilary Leila Krieger and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.