Jewish push polling?

Some Jewish voters claim they have been the target of anti-Obama push polling aimed at Members of the Tribe, according to the folks operating the new pro-Obama Web site: JewsVote.org. The Associated Press reported incidents in Florida and Pittsburgh:

Jewish voters in Florida and at least one other state are being targeted by a telephone survey tying Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to Palestinian causes, an advocacy group alleged Monday.

The Jewish Council for Education in Research says at least two women in separate states were push polled, or asked questions intended to influence voters while pretending to take a poll, on Sunday afternoon from a caller who said he was from Research Strategies.

Joelna Marcus says she became uncomfortable when the caller asked if she was Jewish, whether she was Orthodox and how often she attends synagogue.

The caller then asked if Marcus would be influenced if she learned that Obama had donated money to the Palestine Liberation Organization. The caller also asked how she would vote if she learned that someone on the Illinois senator’s staff had close ties to Palestine. …

Deborah Minden, who lives in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh received a similar call Sunday afternoon. After asking basic demographic information, Minden, 56, said the caller said, “I’m going to ask you some things about Sen. Obama and you tell me if it would make you more or less likely to vote for him.”

The poller then ticked off a list of accusations including that Obama’s church had made anti-Semitic statements and that Obama had met with Hamas leaders.

Jonathan Cohn, of the New Republic, says he received a similar call. And Politico’s Ben Smith says Jewish readers in Philadelphia and New Jersey say they have also been called.

According to Smith, at least one firm is denying that its the operation behind the calls.