SDEROT, Israel – From the solemnity of a Holocaust museum to a dusty village battered by Hamas rockets, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama professed "an unshakable commitment to the security" of Israel on Wednesday, whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.

"The way you know where somebody's going is where have they been. And I've been with Israel for many, many years now," he said on a day that bore striking similarities to campaigning in the United States.

Mr. Obama sidestepped a question of whether he would condone an Israeli attack to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But he said he was confident that in several private meetings, he made clear to Israeli politicians that he would not pressure them to "accept any kinds of concessions that would put their security at stake."

During his only full day in Israel, Mr. Obama fit in more than a half-dozen meetings, a stop at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, a helicopter tour of the country and a visit to a house hit by Hamas rockets.

He also rode past an Israeli checkpoint into Ramallah on the West Bank, where he assured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of his support for an independent Palestinian state. Later, entering a session with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Mr. Obama said his talks with Mr. Abbas indicated "there's a strong sense of progress being made" toward peace. Mr. Olmert nodded and said, "Indeed."

Mr. Obama's major focus was clearly reassuring Israelis – and by extension millions of Jewish voters in the United States – of his commitment to the survival of the Jewish state. He leads his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, among Jewish voters, but his support falls short of what Democrat John Kerry drew four years ago.

Mr. Obama said Israelis could be certain of his commitment to Israel's security by looking at his deeds.

"Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon," he said.

However, Mr. Obama does not serve on the banking committee, and Mr. McCain's campaign seized on the mistake.

"Not only is it not his committee, but he's not even on the committee, he didn't vote on the bill, and he had nothing to do with its passage," spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a written statement issued Wednesday.

But the Obama campaign banked several memorable images during the day, including Mr. Obama donning a skullcap at the Holocaust memorial and President Shimon Peres saying, "God bless you," outside his official residence.

The Associated Press