Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign hosted a conference call with Jewish leaders on Sunday. Senator McCain himself and the campaign’s Jewish surrogate in chief, Senator Joe Lieberman, addressed the call, and the final question of the day was asked by the Chief Rabbi of Efrat (and formerly the senior rabbi at Manhattan’s Lincoln Square Synagogue), Rabbi Shlomo Riskin.

Both senators reiterated Senator McCain’s commitment to moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem and to never pressuring Israel into a security decision it felt unsafe with. The senator also pledged a more active role in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, something Senator Obama himself has also pledged. More active involvement by the US has not always pleased pro-Israel advocates on either side of the Atlantic.

In addition, Senator McCain took a question from our friend and partner, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel’s regional director in bellweather Ohio, regarding what tax policies might a McCain administration champion to help working families. Senator McCain did not address school choice but he did commit to doubling the per child tax exemption.

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