WASHINGTON — President Obama, on a campaign to repair relations with Jewish voters, says his support for Israel is as unbending as his support of civil rights for black Americans.

In a interview with the Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg published Thursday, Obama linked Israel’s right to exist and the fight for civil rights, something he frequently evokes as a great American struggle.

“There’s a direct line between supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland and to feel safe and free of discrimination and persecution, and the right of African-Americans to vote and have equal protection under the law,” Obama said.

The president’s comments were released a day ahead of his visit to a prominent DC synagogue.