E-Mail This Article to a Friend Choose the Jews With the Jewish vote up for grabs, Democrats use the DNC to make their pitch BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

THIS PAST SUNDAY, the day before the start of the Democratic National Convention, sought-after speakers had plenty of events — including a Planned Parenthood shindig — to choose from. But the place to find the Democratic Party’s heavy hitters was at the World Trade Center, site of the "Jewish Community Celebration." An array of party luminaries — Mayor Thomas Menino, convention chair Bill Richardson, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, 2000 vice-presidential candidate Senator Joe Lieberman, and the party’s mega-celebrity, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton — spoke to a crowd of more than 2000, hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other Jewish organizations. You’ll notice that among those speakers, only Lieberman is Jewish.

In part, that level of attention from the Democratic elite is intended to thank the Jewish community for its support in the past. But it’s also a sign that the Democrats are fighting for the Jewish vote in November — and a recognition that they can’t take that support for granted.

In 2000, George W. Bush received only 19 percent of the Jewish vote, according to exit polling. That’s about as much as any Republican presidential candidate has gotten since Ronald Reagan ran in 1984. But Bush’s poor showing coincided with Lieberman’s presence on the Democratic ticket, a historic first for Jews. "Karl Rove clearly has a strategy to get that up to 30 percent," says Kerry-campaign finance director Alan Solomont. Bush has given strong support to both Israel and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, while condemning and acting against fanatical Islamic terrorists. This has led several prominent Jewish leaders to voice their support for Bush and encourage others to do the same — most notably, in 2002, Jack Rosen, then–president of the American Jewish Congress. In January, an American Jewish Committee poll showed Bush taking roughly 30 percent.

"Jewish Americans aren’t necessarily as apt to vote for Democrats as in the past," says Tara Wall, the Republican National Committee’s press secretary for outreach. "I think we will see an increase in the percentage of support for [Bush] in this election." Wall oversees some 7000 "team leaders" doing outreach to target groups, including Jews, for the RNC. The Bush-Cheney campaign has its own outreach effort, led by Michael Lebovitz. This effort may be paying off: the Republican Jewish Coalition claims that its membership is swelling, and there have been reports of successful fundraising efforts in the Jewish community.

This may seem like a tempest in a teapot; we’re talking about a shift of maybe 10 percentage points among a small voter demographic. But that could be enough to tip swing states like Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey. "[The election] is going to be decided by little old ladies in Orlando and Miami," says Larry Lowenthal, executive director of the American Jewish Committee’s Greater Boston chapter. "Because they are smart, and they vote."

NOT EVERYBODY buys the theory that the Jewish vote is up for grabs. "Be leery of the historical comparisons," says Congressman Barney Frank, who is Jewish. "They are being made by people who don’t know what they are talking about." Jay Footlik, the Kerry campaign’s head of Jewish outreach, concurs. "This is the fifth presidential campaign I’ve worked on, and the fifth time I’ve heard that the Republicans are going to challenge the Jewish vote," he says. But despite their seeming confidence, both Frank and Footlik are working hard to secure that vote. And the key to doing it, they say, lies with Bay State Jews, who need to go forth to the battleground states and spread the word about John Kerry’s record on Israel and other Jewish issues.

According to the Kerry camp, the troops are hearing the call. "We’re putting together a group of Kerry supporters in the Jewish community here, who have begun to organize and are going to travel around the country to explain to our friends in other communities what a good friend John Kerry has been," Solomont says. This group of traveling menschen includes veterans like former DNC chair and 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman, Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, attorney and Anti-Defamation League civil-rights chair Richard Glovsky, and consultant and DNC delegate Charles Glick.

The party also seeks to mobilize new recruits. Solomont spoke a week ago to a group of more than 250 people at a Young Jewish Democrats gathering, urging them to take up the Kerry cause. In particular, he exhorted them to go vote-canvassing in battleground states. One potentially persuasive face is Kerry’s brother Cameron, a converted Jew who returned last week from a visit to Israel with Footlik. "John’s got a 20-year absolutely perfect record of standing by Israel," says Cameron Kerry. "The Jewish community in Massachusetts knows him well and is comfortable with him. And we need to do more to get that word out there. We’re going to fight for every vote."

The Democratic Party has done much to further that fight. Twenty-two Democratic House and Senate members have volunteered as debaters in a challenge issued by the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) last week. They stand prepared to debate Bush-Cheney representatives in Jewish venues in battleground states. Furthermore, the party’s new platform contains the most pro-Israel language ever, from either party: "The Democratic Party is fundamentally committed to the security of our ally Israel and the creation of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace between Israel and her neighbors. Our special relationship with Israel is based on the unshakable foundation of our shared values and mutual commitment to democracy and we will ensure that under all circumstances Israel retains the qualitative edge for its national security and its right to self-defense." Indeed, the speeches on Sunday were bluntly — even surprisingly — strong on the subject of Israel. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a former ambassador to the United Nations, blasted the UN as filled with Israel-haters, and rejected criticism of the controversial security wall in the West Bank. "The wall is right, the wall is right," Richardson chanted.