The campaign of former Vermont governor Howard Dean is denying a newspaper report saying that questions about Dean’s support of Israel are delaying the endorsement of an influential black congressman.

The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday that Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, was delaying the announcement of his endorsement of Dean because of concerns among Jewish voters in Baltimore that Dean is insufficiently supportive of Israel.

The article quoted Art Abramson, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, as telling Cummings, “There’s a lot of questions in the Jewish community about Dean.”

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The report further said that Steve Grossman, Dean’s national campaign co-chairman and a former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, had called Abramson, but the outreach “hasn’t worked yet.”

Dean’s senior adviser for Jewish affairs and outreach, Matt Dorf, said there is “no delay in the endorsement,” which he expects late this week or next.

“Not only is the endorsement on, Dean actually has supporters in the Baltimore Jewish community,” Dorf said.

A spokesman for Cummings, Mike Christianson, confirmed that the report was wrong.

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