"It is a tremendous mistake for Barack Obama to select as a foreign policy adviser the one person in public life who has chosen to support a bigoted book," said Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. The story by Ben Smith of the Politico details the reaction of some Jewish activists to the inclusion of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, in his foreign policy team.

Brzezinski, 79, stepped into the crossfire this summer when he published an essay in the summer issue of the journal Foreign Policy, defending a controversial new book about the power of the "Israel Lobby" in American politics.

"There are people in the community that question Barack's commitment, but it's not based on anything solid," said the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Ira Forman.

Still, people involved in Jewish and America-Israel politics across the political spectrum expressed surprise at Brzezinski's high profile in the campaign. Indeed, the former national security adviser has been at odds with elements of the American Jewish community since the Carter administration.

"Brzezinski was a major obstacle to bridging the divisions between the president and the Jewish community," said Mark Siegel, who was Carter's Jewish liaison until resigning in 1978 in a dispute over the sale of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. "I'm very, very surprised that someone would have him directly involved in a presidential campaign."