VOA标准英语10月-Economy, Security Top Concerns of US Voters in Is

U.S. voters in the Middle East are mobilizing to cast ballots² ahead of Tuesday's elections. Among the biggest voting blocks outside the United States is that of Americans in Israel, where an estimated 125,000 U.S. citizens are eligible³ to vote. VOA's Luis Ramirez has more from Jerusalem.
　

An American voter at a ballot1 station in Jerusalem, 28 Oct 2008

Naomi Katz, an American who moved to Israel from Philadelphia 36 years ago waits in a long line to enter a crowded room that serves as a makeshift polling station in West Jerusalem. She says getting her absentee ballot in has not been easy.

"Not with the surroundings, not with this room! But certainly as I just received my ballot today, I could never have mailed it in time," she said. "Thank goodness it is here, so I can drop my ballot off because I want to express my opinion."

For Katz, like many of the voters casting absentee ballots from Israel, the economy and security are top concerns.

"Although I am an Israeli now, I am still an American and I feel that what happens to America is important for me," she said. "I hope the next president understands what happens here and how this country is endangered, and will protect us. I am very worried about it because we are in a very vulnerable position."

Many Americans who have immigrated⁴ to Israel maintain financial links to home. To most Americans, the topics of a nuclear Iran and militant⁵ Islamic threats from the Palestinian territories are distant foreign policy issues.

The chairman of the group Republicans Abroad in Israel, Kori Bardash, says that for these Americans the threats are a backyard concern.

"An American living in Israel really is on the front line in this war against terror that America is in its own war against," Bardash said. "With shared values, shared interests, an American in Israel really is focusing on those important issues."

John McCain and Barack Obama have both vowed⁶ staunch support for Israel and pledged to help protect its security. But voters here are split on who they believe will do more for the Jewish state.

The status of Jerusalem is a deciding factor for a number of voters interviewed.

In a June speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington, Obama called for Jerusalem to remain the undivided capital of Israel. But some voters here were angered when Obama's campaign later said he believes it is an issue to be negotiated with the Palestinians in final status talks.

One voter from the U.S. state of Tennessee says he distrusts Obama's statements on Jerusalem.

"What can you take from that? You do not know what to believe," he said. "He says both ways. So, it is anybody's guess on it."

Helping⁷ Americans in Israel cast their ballots is a group called votefromisrael.org, founded by Shimon Greenspan, a native of Long Beach, California. He says the group's goal is to get as many of the 125,000 eligible voters in Israel to get their absentee ballots in.

"Very often, due to the bureaucracy involved, a lot of people do not know that they can still vote regardless of whether or not they got their official ballot," Greenspan said. "There is a federal write-in ballot that many people could use, but they do not know about it. One of the things we are trying to do is get the word out about this ballot and let people know that it exists."

U.S. voter outreach programs like Greenspan's are virtually non-existent in the Palestinian territories, where U.S. citizens interviewed often said they are not aware of mail-in voting procedures and mobile services offered by the U.S. consulate⁸.

In the West Bank village of Jirjilia, Rateb Odeh Ali, a naturalized American citizen and retired⁹ storekeeper from the U.S. state of Illinois, says he will not vote. He says getting to the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem is impossible since Israeli soldiers will not let him past the checkpoints into the city.

"It is too hard to go," he said. "I should have a permit from the Israelis and that is too hard [to obtain]."

Israel has built a security barrier and restricted movement by Palestinians to prevent terrorist attacks.

For Odeh Ali, his U.S. passport is not enough to get him through. Driving several hours to the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, is also not an option for him. He says he is unhappy because as an American citizen, it is his right to vote. He says he is being prevented from exercising that right.

Jirjilia sits on a hilltop, its streets lined with lavish¹⁰ homes built by American retirees - people who were born here, immigrated to the U.S., became naturalized U.S. citizens, and returned after retiring.

Izhaq Odeh, 68, a retired grocer also from the U.S. state of Illinois, says that if he could get his ballot in, he would vote for Obama, despite the Democratic candidate's support for Israel.

"Obama really is fair for everybody, but McCain has gone too much to the right, which is the same thing like Bush," he said. "As an American citizen, I would not trust him."

His sentiments reflect those of many Palestinians in the West Bank, where Barack Obama has developed a following. Without the knowledge or means to get their absentee ballots in, the opinions of many Palestinian-Americans will go uncounted.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

4 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。