E-mails are circulating on the Internet suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama is anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Obama cleared up a few of these rumors himself on Tuesday night's MSNBC presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, but there are still some things you should know.

With the Texas and Ohio primaries now less than a week away, it's important to clear the air. Why is all this coming out now? Here are a few reasons.

1. On Sunday, Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan, who once called Judaism a "bloodsucking religion," endorsed Obama in their hometown newspaper, The Chicago Tribune.
2. A recent Newsweek article entitled Obama: Good for the Jews? fueled further speculation around Obama's stance on the United States' top ally in the Middle East.
3. The Clinton campaign is looking to differentiate itself from Obama, now on the Israel front, by fueling concern about the Illinois senator's affiliations. 

"We early on made clear that the rumors about [Obama] being a Muslim and the Madrassa school, those kinds of things, we made very clear that these were false statements and should be exposed for that," says Ken Jacobson, deputy national director for the Anti-Defamation League. "We've been very clear from the beginning that whatever one's views on a candidate, they should not be based on false statements, which there's no evidence to support."

Leaders of Jewish organizations also defended Obama in an open letter slamming an e-mail rumor that suggested Obama was a Muslim pretending to be Christian who really was working for al-Qaeda. We've also debunked previous e-mail rumors that Obama is a Muslim and that he's unpatriotic because he doesn't wear an American-flag lapel pin.

What Happened at the Debate?

Asked Tuesday evening by MSNBC debate moderator Tim Russert whether he accepted Farrakhan's support, Obama answered, "I have been very clear in my denunciation of Minister Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments … they are unacceptable and reprehensible." He went on to say he didn't ask for his support and that is campaign is not engaging in formal or informal activities with Farrakhan.

When confronted by Russert on whether he explicitly rejected Farrakhan's support, Obama said, "I can't say to somebody that he can't say that he thinks I'm a good guy," and finishing, again, with reminders that he denounced Farrakhan and his past anti-Semitic statements, which Obama said should speak for his position.

Later, under a semantic attack from Clinton, who argued he wasn't being strong enough on Farrakhan, Obama qualified his earlier statement, saying, "I have to say I don't see a difference between denouncing and rejecting. There's no formal offer of help from

Minister Farrakhan that would involve me rejecting it. But if the word 'reject' Sen. Clinton feels is stronger than the word 'denounce,' then I'm happy to concede the point, and I would reject and denounce."

"I have been a stalwart friend of Israel's," Obama later assured Jewish Americans and others watching the debate. "They are one of our most important allies in the region, and I think that their security is sacrosanct, and that the United States is in a special relationship with them, as is true with my relationship with the Jewish community." Read the entire debate transcript here.

Debunking the Rumors

Moderate Jewish organizations say Obama's congressional record and public position statements suggest he is an Israel supporter, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), America's pro-Israel lobby, where Obama spoke in March 2007 about strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship. Download the speech here.  

There have been at least four Senate votes on bills involving Israel since Sept. 6, 2007, according to Library of Congress records, but Obama hasn't voted on one, according to the senator's voting database compiled by The Washington Post. Then again, Sen. Hillary Clinton has only voted on one of these bills. Both candidates have been on the road campaigning much of the time. 

Other questions have circled around Obama's relationship with his former Chicago pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who has been an Israel critic. Wright's daughter runs a publication called Trumpet, which awarded Farrakhan an honor for "greatness," Newsweek reports. Obama has said he disagrees with giving Farrakhan that award.

Also, the Clinton campaign is trying to gain traction by differentiating its candidate from Obama. On a campaign call with American Jewish-organization leaders, Ann Lewis, a senior Clinton campaign adviser, said Obama's "chief-foreign policy adviser" is Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was the national-security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. (In actuality, Brzezinski told Newsweek he only advised Obama "on occasion." Obama's chief foreign-policy adviser "is the job of a triumvirate who once worked for Bill Clinton: Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Greg Craig," Newsweek reports.)

Carter has also faced charges of anti-Semitism for his recent book on the Mideast and numerous TV and print interviews in which he appeared hostile to Israel. A Wall Street Journal interview with the former president quoted him as saying Obama would almost "automatically be a healing factor in the animosity now that exists, that relates to our country and its government," which sparked concern among Jewish groups leery of Carter's potential impact on Obama.

Obama has emphasized diplomacy over the continued maintenance of blockades along the tumultuous Gaza strip, which has drawn criticism from some Israel advocates and conservative pundits. But Obama has "done his best" to put out the flames, according to this commentary on Mother Jones in which author Justin Elliott cites a letter Obama wrote to U.N. Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad urging the Security Council to condemn rocket attacks against Israel and writing that he understood why Israel was "forced" to close Gaza's border crossings.