Campaigner works to connect Obama with Jewish voters

For Jeremy Goldberg, a Texan-born Republican turned Democrat turned Middle East peace activist, there is no question that Barack Obama is the candidate to bring much-yearned for change to American presidency.

As one of the leaders of the New York City chapter of "Generation Obama," a national grassroots organization run by young adults devoted to promoting the Illinois Senator, Goldberg is "absolutely convinced Obama is the candidate who offers the leadership, vision and judgment to handle the monumental changes needed in Washington."

Of the many facets included in his role with the group, Goldberg is also trying to connect Obama with Jewish voters - who he sees as being equally frustrated with the domestic and foreign policies of the Bush administration.

"He has an understanding and appreciation of the issues Jews are concerned with," explains Goldberg. "He can change the way the way the U.S. is viewed in the world, both with our friends and our enemies, which is in the interest of us and Israelis."

To an outsider it may seem such sentiments are easy to find in the liberal New York city landscape, but this is Clinton's turf.

After a few minutes with Goldberg, though, it becomes apparent all his endeavors are showered with the same enthusiasm.

Goldberg has been active in the political sphere since graduating from Georgetown in 1999, although it wasn't always on behalf of the Democrats. In fact, Goldberg was initially aligned with the Republican party when he completed his undergraduate degree.

But it was Bush's speech in 2000 at Bob Jones University, a school that bans interracial dating on campus and until 1971 did not accept African American applicants, that Goldberg realized the incongruity between his personal views on foreign policy and incumbent President Bush.

His subsequent U-turn led him back to D.C. where, after a stint at a New York consulting firm, MarchFirst, he decided to create PoliVoice Inc., a firm devoted to creating high-tech services for non-profits, which included political parties.

Eventually, Goldberg found himself in the offices of John Wallach, the founder of "Seeds of Peace," an organization dedicated to generating dialogues between youth, particularly Arab and Israeli teenagers. Wallach saw in Goldberg a younger version of himself, and was inclined to offer him a job as the director of corporate relations in New York.

If it wasn't for Bush's "axis of evil speech," Goldberg might have brought together the likes of Iranians, North Koreans and Iraqis, with several others from around the world, to participate in a youth program designed to resuscitate an already strained dialogue. Although the "rogue" state initiative was put on hold, Goldberg continued his cross-cultural work around the world, becoming an avid promulgator of, as he puts it, "humanizing the other," through his Seeds of Peace work.

And all before the age of 26.

"I believe there is value in building relationships, no matter how you foresee the future evolving. It was amazing to be part of an enterprise whose idea was to create co-existence, but after five years," reflects Goldberg on his time with Seeds of Peace. "I needed to rethink what I was doing."

It was then he returned to Columbia to get his Masters in international finance, with an emphasis on the Middle East. Although he was committed as a full time student, it only took a couple of minutes of listening to Barack Obama on the American television show "Meet the Press" to divert his attention. "I found every answer [Obama] gave to be atypical of the politicians who had been there before him," he says.

Soon after Obama announced his candidacy, Goldberg directed his extra-curricular efforts to getting the word out there.

"The political system in Washington was proving itself to be incapable of dealing with the challenges facing the country," says Goldberg. "Obama offers a combination of strength and judgment relevant to being a great president now."

His rallying efforts culminated in Generation Obama, an initiative that not only spreads the "Obama word", but also acts as a forum to engage young people in actively discussing the problems they are facing in America today.

Goldberg religiously attends Obama events in New York City, and went to Iowa in lieu of a vacation over the holidays to help spread the word before the January 3 state caucuses.

Part of the work, as Goldberg sees it, is getting the people to realize what Obama stands for, which is in essence why he is making a point to travel to ?2 degree weather and talk to native Iowans for hours about the senator.

"When they understand his policies and approach they will be more inclined to vote for him," he explains. Obama's main competitor may have a more famous last name, but that does not faze him.

"As soon as America is aware of what he stands for," Goldberg says, "they will follow their heart."

On his rounds in Iowa, Obama continues to woo voters with his earnest call for change, while back in New York, Goldberg makes his own rounds among influential young voters, many of which are unsure for whom they should cast their ballot. Every so often, he attests, Goldberg finds his campaigning inadvertently reaches out to those he wasn?t even targeting.

"While getting out of a cab the other day, the taxi driver stopped me," says Goldberg. "I had been on the phone in his cab discussing Obama. He said he was from Ghana, and then asked if he could shake the hand of a white man campaigning for Obama, a man who can change the world."

Goldberg smiles, "That just further motivates me to do what I got to do. Because what we do here, affects the world."

	Jeremy Goldberg: Barack Obama 'has an understanding and appreciation of the issues Jews are concerned with.'