Johnson, Humphrey, McGovern, Carter, Reagan (twice) Bush-1,
Clinton (twice), Gore, Bush-2, McCain, Romney, and Clinton. These are the Presidential
candidates I voted for in my lifetime thus far. One might notice that these
candidates are not of a single party or even single political philosophy. In
fact I can’t think of more polar opposites than Ronald Reagan and George McGovern.
I mention all this now in order to show that I do not vote party.
I vote for the individual based on who I
think will better serve the country and pursue policies that I support. Sometimes
it is just a matter of the lesser of 2 evils. Sometime it is because my views
actually align with the candidate. But it is never because of the party they
belong to.
Which brings me to the current occupant of the White House. He will be
running against the the last man standing in what is current field of about 20 Democrats.
It is way too early to endorse anyone. What I will however
say is that all the choices in both parties are not… shall we say ideal. Some of course being a lot worse than others.
I thought about my voting record in light of an article by
Frank Newport in Gallop entitled
American Jews, Politics and Israel. Which addresses some of the
following questions:
How do Jews vote?
How much of that is support based on a candidates support
for Israel?
How important is the Jewish vote anyway in light of the fact
that we comprise less than 2% of the population?
How do secular Jews compare to religious Jews in the voting
booth? What are the percentages of each?
One thing made unsurprisingly clear is that about 70% of Jewish
voters still vote for Democrats. The question is why?
Let me first state unequivocally that Jews - like any one else - vote their consciences on all issues confronting the American people and the world. We do not vote solely on what is good for Israel regardless of our religious orientation or denomination. But that does not in any way mean that we cannot factor in our beliefs and feeling about Israel. We do. It is that aspect of our vote that is the basis of the following observations.
Assuming all else is equal, why do so many Jews vote
for Democrats when it is the Republican party that is by far more unconditionally
supportive of the Jewish State than Democrats are? I don’t think that is
arguable. Whenever I hear Democrats supporting Israel it usually includes
criticism of one thing or another (e.g. settlement policies; unfair treatment
of West Bank Palestinians; blockading Gaza; or disproportionate responses to
attacks from Gaza; or just saying that they love Israel but oppose their
current government.) It is always couched in terms of a friend giving another
friend advice for their own good.
Republican support has increasingly been less conditional
and much warmer. Often using the same explanations for Israeli actions Israel itself
does. This is a far warmer approach than Democrats.And now with Trump in office, without going into details there
has never been a warmer relationship between the US and Israel. And yet most Jews
still vote Democrat.
Why is that?
I think it can be boiled down to how much one relies on
biblical teachings as their guide in life. That can be seen by how much support
Israel gets from Evangelicals. They comprise
a much larger and more significant percentage of the population. Their values are taken almost
entirely from the bible. Of which our Torah is their old testament.
They actually
believe those parts of the bible that say God will bless those that bless the
Jewish people. They know that God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people.
Replacement theology has been ‘replaced’ - and they now recognize what religious Jews recognize. That the Jewish claim to Israel is biblical. And its capital is Jerusalem. Evangelicals
are more pro Israel than most Jews. Their support rivals that of the
more extreme religious Zionists settlers who believe that we must settle all of
the land of Israel at all costs.
Of course Evangelicals are not the only ones that believe
the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Religious Jews do. The only
differences among religious Jews is in what we do about it under current conditions.
This can explain why in spite of the fact that 70% of Jewish
voters vote Democrat, about 80% of religious Jews vote Republican. Or more specifically
voted for Trump in 2016. And will very likely vote for him again in 2020. Religious
Jews and Evangelicals see a President whose relationship with
Israel is closer than that of any President in US history (with the possible exception of Harry
Truman). Democrats like to point out that this ‘warmth’ has not given Israel a
single tangible advantage. That Israel is no better off now than they were
under Obama. And perhaps are further away from peace than ever.
I would argue that we are not further away from peace at all. I do not see it happening under any President.Regardless of how warm he is to us. Or to Palestinians. Personally I see no difference with respect to peace prospects now than I did under
Obama or his predecessors.
In the meantime Jerusalem is now recognized by the US as Israel’s
capital and has moved its embassy there to great fanfare. This has been followed by a few other
countries. It’s nice for a country to hear the leader of the free world and his
administration supporting Israel without any of the qualifications so often
heard in the past. It’s nice to finally have a UN Ambassador that has taken
on the blatant almost virulent anti Israel bias that permeates that ‘august’
body. It’s nice not to have to worry that our closest friend and ally will not
refuse to veto a one sided anti Israel resolution by the UN Security Council
To illustrate how supportive religious Jews are of Republicans and even the President - some close relatives of mine from
New York were here for Shabbos. They are Orthodox Jews whose lifestyle is
similar to my own. They are what I have called centrist (small c). When the subject of Trump came up, they were shocked at my ambivalence
toward him. They could not believe I wasn’t 1000% behind Trump. They voted for
him in 2016 and can’t wait to vote for him again in 2020. They see all the things I
see. But they completely discount the negative as unimportant and see Trump as
the new champion of the Jewish people.
I believe that is how 80% of Orthodox Jews see him. True
or not, they see Democrats increasingly being dominated by the leftists who tend to be anti Israel.
Meanwhile secular Jews and mainstream Christian denominations (at
least their leaders) do not value the biblical connection to Israel at all. They see what Democrats see: an unfair bias towards Israel; a powerful country
that treats its Arabs unfairly; a country the boycotts Gaza - denying them
needed supplies and medicine; a country that shoots first and asks questions later. A country that supports violent settlers on the West Bank; and a country becoming more religiously fundamentalist. All Democratic talking
points. Aided and abetted by new and younger Democrats which they see as
sincere and maybe even the future of the Democratic Party.
If you are a secular Jew these days, you are far more likely
to abandon your Judaism than you are to care about Israel. Much less care
about the biblical claim to it by the Jewish people.
Back in the day of FDR, it made sense for Jews to be
Democrats. Back then antisemitism found a far more sympathetic home in a
Republican Party that tolerated exclusion of Jews and other minorities from
country clubs, hotels, and certain neighborhoods. Jews back then had not yet
‘arrived’ as equals among the elite. The idea of the daughter of a President
marrying a Jew to great celebration by the media could never have
happened then. Democrats were the champions of the underdog (still are). They
fought for all equality for all. And
were far more likely to be sympathetic to underdog Israel surrounded by mighty
Arab armies sworn to ‘drive us into the sea’ than blue blood Republicans were.
It was a no brainer for a Jew to be a Democrat then. But now
the tables have turned. It is the Republican party that is far more sympathetic
to Israel than Democrats. True - there has been bi-partisan support for decades.
But Democrats are far more likely to be critical now than they used to be. They might characterize it
differently – saying that they only disagree with the current Israeli government.
Or that their critiques are based on what they think is in Israel’s best
interests. But the fact remains that Republicans don’t do that. And yet most
secular Jews are still Democrats. Old habits die hard, I guess. For most secular Jews - Israel is not on their radar all that much. This is what Jewish support for the Democratic party has morphed into. It is nor longer based on what is good for the Jews. It is based on humanistic principles - caring nothing about biblical ones.
