Jewish voters are complaining of a poll that, after confirming their religion, asks a series of questions that appear aimed at alarming Jewish voters, including linking Barack Obama to Palestinian terrorist groups.
Debbie Minden of Pittsburgh described receiving the call from "Research Strategies" late yesterday afternoon. And a Key West woman, Joelna Marcus, reportedly received a similar-sounding call from the same group, according reports from the Obama-backing organization JewsVote.org and from a liberal blog.
Minden, a psychologist who lives in the Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, said the poll -- which came from an identified number -- began with relatively inocuous questions about what organizations she belongs to, whether she prefers CNN or Fox News, and how Obama and McCain compare on a range of issues, from national security to hte economy to education.
The caller also asked whether she was Jewish.
"It sounded like a real poll," Minden, 56, asaid.
Then the caller asked, as she recalled: "Would it change your mind about Obama if you knew that his church was anti-Israel? Would it change you rmind if you knew that the leaders Hamas had endorsed Obama? Would it change your mind if you knew he had met with the leaders of Hamas?"
She also said one question asked whether it would change her mind if she learned he were a Muslim, though she didn't recall the precise wording.
The poll lasted about 15 minutes, she said.
Marcus gave a similar account to JewsVote's Mik Moore, who wrote in an email that Marcus was asked if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that he had given money to the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Marcus couldn't immediately be reached. If you've gotten a similar poll, or know someone who has, please get in touch.
UPDATE: Jewish readers in New Jersey and Philadelphia report getting the call, as did The New Republic's Michigan-based Jonathan Cohn, who took notes, and lists the negative messages:
Obama has had a decade long relationship with pro-Palestinian leaders in Chicago
the leader of Hamas, Ahmed Yousef, expressed support for Obama and his hope for Obama's victory
the church Barack Obama has attended is known for its anti-Israel and anti-American remarks
Jimmy Carter's anti-Israel national security advisor is one of Barack Obama's foreign policy advisors
Barack Obama was the member of a board (sic) that funded a pro-Palestinian chartiable organization
Barack Obama called for holding a summit of Muslim nations exlcuding Israel if elected president
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Jewish_voters_complain_of_antiObama_poll.html?showall
