As presidential race heats up, Obama touts rabbinical support

Hundreds of Jewish clergy have signed on to support re-election bid, more than double the number at this stage of 2008 campaign

President Obama’s fortunes with Jewish voters remain a source of endless scrutiny, but one thing’s for sure: He’s got more support from rabbis than in 2008.

The Democrat incumbent’s re-election campaign emphasized the point Tuesday, releasing a list of hundreds of American rabbis who “are proud of the president’s record and leadership” on a variety of economic and social issues, as well as his “deep commitment to the security of the state of Israel.”

Posted on the Jewish Americans for Obama page of the president’s website, the announcement notes that the group totals “over 613 rabbis” — presumably an insider’s reference to the number of mitzvot commanded by the Torah.

The figure is “more than double the number” of Jewish clergy who initially joined Rabbis for Obama in 2008, and draws its membership from every denomination. The list, which the campaign hopes to expand before the Nov. 6 election, currently includes rabbis from 39 states, as well as Washington DC and — for some reason — Canada and Israel.

A cross-referencing of the Rabbis for Obama and Newsweek’s 2012 America’s Top 50 Rabbis by JTA’s Daniel Treiman found that ten leaders were found in both categories: Sharon Brous, Rolando Matalon, Burton Visotzky, Irwin Kula, Shai Held, Zalman Schachter, Andy Bachman, Laura Geller, Rachel Cowan and David Ingber.

Obama’s Republican opponent has created his own organization of Jewish supporters, Jewish Americans for Romney, but appears not to have specifically targeted the rabbinical vote so far.