Mitt Romney's religious appeal to Jews

Mitt Romney's Jewish supporters find solace in the fact that, like them, Mitt Romney comes from a "religious minority."

An "emphasis for Romney in his appeal to Jewish backers is the shared experience of being in a religious minority," the Jerusalem Post wrote Monday morning. "Romney, 64, is a Mormon. 'Mitt and I can appreciate coming from another heritage,' his wife, Ann, told the Republican Jewish Coalition in April."

The Post cites Romney's "readiness to compromise in order to seal a deal" as another prominent Team Romney selling point for Jewish backers.

Gallup released polling last week showing Pres. Barack Obama's approval rating is falling among Jewish voters. During June 2011, 60 percent of Jewish Americans liked the job Obama is doing — a figure 14 percent higher than Americans in general, but still a significant drop from Obama's 68-percent favorability rating among Jewish voters in May 2011 or the 78-percent approval rating Jews gave Obama at the time of his 2008 election.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency examined two competing schools of thought regarding the cause of Obama's falling Jewish numbers in an article published Sunday.

"The question is whether Obama's Jewish popularity dip since '08 stems from the same cause of his fall generally — America's persistent economic problems — or whether it has to do with the president's policies on Israel. Apparently the interpretation depends on who is answering: Democrats and Gallup say it's the economy; Republicans say it's Israel."

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