Obama offers prayer at Western Wall
Demo tells Israel he's committed to its security
Obama placed a small note inside a crevice in the ancient wall, a custom observed by many. He made his brief stop as he completed a trip to the Middle East in which he met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as Jordan's King Abdullah II.
Orthodox men at the wall for morning prayers ran down the steps to get a look at Obama. Many reached out to shake his hand, although one booming voice called out, "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale!"
Obama's visit lasted less than 15 minutes. He was flying to Europe immediately afterward for stops in Germany, France and England before returning home over the weekend.
Earlier in Sderot, Israel, Obama on Wednesday professed "an unshakable commitment to the security" of Israel, whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.
"The way you know where somebody's going is where have they been. And I've been with Israel for many, many years now," he said on a day that bore striking similarities to campaigning in the United States.
Obama packed more than a half-dozen meetings, a stop at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, a helicopter tour of the country and a visit to a house hit by Hamas rockets into his only full day in Israel during his trip to the Middle East and Europe.
He also rode past an Israeli checkpoint into Ramallah on the West Bank, where he assured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of his support for a two-state resolution of the region's long animosities. Later, entering a session with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Obama said his talks with Abbas indicated "there's a strong sense of progress being made" toward peace. Olmert nodded and said, "Indeed."
Obama's major focus was clearly reassuring Israelis — and by extension millions of Jewish voters in the United States — of his commitment to the survival of the Jewish state. He leads his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, among Jewish voters, but his support falls short of what Democrat John Kerry drew four years ago.
Obama said Israelis could be certain of his commitment to Israel's security by looking at "my deeds."
"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.
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