With the conventions behind us and about 50 days left, the candidates are looking to garner whatever swing voters they can to firm up the election. Not surprising, Florida is a swing state, and appealing to Jewish voters there could prove crucial to an election victory. Yet, even with the Republican Party claiming that it may gain as much as 30 percent of the so-called Jewish vote this year (not much to brag about, really), the majority of voting Jews still seem to migrate to the Democrats. It begs the questions: Why do Jews seem more comfortable within the Democratic Party? What is it about the changing times that have some people fearing a slow migration of Jews toward the right?
I have heard an argument from people who are fairly smart,
well studied, and truly committed to the Jewish religion that "the GOP of the
last 20 years is evil incarnate. No question about it!" I was shocked that
anyone who disavows racism, embraces the doctrine of open-mindedness that is
often associated with the liberalism most Democrats champion, could generalize
like that about a party of people in a manner they would abhor if it were aimed
at other groups of people.
Yet, the hatred, or apprehension toward Republicans for Jews
runs deep, even to people who seem reasonable in any other instance. So rampant
is this fear that when a Jewish philanthropist and businessman named Sheldon
Adelson openly supports the Republicans, he gets vilified even by Jews.
Notwithstanding the unpleasant characterizations, Adelson
and his wife are quite altruistic people. They give significant sums to support
many worthy causes related to Israel, education, and medical research. They
sponsor drug rehabilitation centers that also offer employment to those who
successfully complete the program, they award grants for cancer research, and
are deeply involved in Jewish continuity through such programs as Birthright
Israel and others.
Far from evil incarnate, their benevolence represents the
best of both Jewish and American values. However, given the criticism of
Adelson, it would appear that some very smart people would abandon reason for
madness when it comes to the Republican Party, feeling that Jews can find
comfort in candidates who better reflect the values of social justice -- a
tradition that goes back to Moses and Sinai -- and they believe that only in
Democrats can those be found
Oddly enough, the Democrats are not traditionally the party
of inclusion. There was a time not so long ago when the Democratic
Party held what was called "The Solid South." Their platform included enforcing
segregation, maintaining Jim Crow laws, and pushing for more racial divides. Democratic
President Harry S Truman's support of the civil rights movement began the
change in the party's thinking, and it was not until 1964 and the passage of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that the Democrats started to come around.
Jews advanced the civil rights movement, which was initially
championed by Republicans. Republicans abolished
slavery through Abraham Lincoln, defeated the Slaveocracy, and gave blacks the
vote during Reconstruction in the late 1860s. Until the New Deal of the 1930s,
blacks supported Republicans by large margins.
Even in the South, where blacks were often not allowed to vote, they often
received Federal patronage jobs from the Republicans. So the notion of Democrats
being a natural fit for Jews seems a bit precarious -- convenient today, maybe, but
not natural.
Every party has its fringes; the GOP is known to attract
the likes of white supremacists, or the separatists, while the Democrats
attract groups with seemingly counter intuitive platforms, such as "Queers for
Palestine," and those who managed to get the issue of Jerusalem removed from
the national platform before the convention last week. None of those groups are
very friendly to the Jewish cause, and both parties have to manage discord
among its members over its platforms.
There is the school of thought that believes Republicans
of today are more aligned with Jewish ideals. Some - maybe, but not all for
sure. The alignment between the religious right and the GOP is not necessarily
a Jewish interest. Those who believe that falsely see the support for Israel by the GOP as a result of a
deeply rooted belief in Dispensationalist Christianity, believing that establishment
of Israel in 1948 was seen as the beginning of the return of Jesus.
Dispensationalism in its very basic form suggests that with Israel back in their hands, all Jews can now return to their homeland; then as the Book of
Revelation predicts, an epic battle will take place in
Israel, commonly referred to as Armageddon (Jews call it Megiddo) in which good
triumphs evil. In that war, two-thirds of the Jews in Israel will die and the
other third will convert to Christianity to usher the return of Jesus, who will then rule for 1,000
years as king.
That flawed belief is what frightens some Jews, but hence, the relationship
becomes more terrifying than comforting. History often is harbinger of what the
future holds, and history shows that Jews have been persecuted under the
pretext of Christianity more than for any other reason. That is what sticks in
the craws of those intellectuals who would paint every Republican with one big
brush. Notwithstanding, some of the broadest support for Israel today comes
from Christians such as Pastor John Hagee and his more than one-million strong
Christians United for Israel - who has worked hard to dispel the notion of a Christian ulterior motive.
As for the issues that often mire these races, such as abortion
rights or marriage equality, Jews usually align themselves with the Democrats
even though personally, most would not support either. These issues do not rank
so high for Jews, and one possible answer is that Jews employ a "live and let
live" attitude toward politics, believing that for them to enjoy their rights
they have requires fighting for the rights of others, as well. Another answer
is that issues like those are usually not widespread within Jewish communities,
and, when they do come up, are simply dealt with without too much community
involvement.
As for Israel and this president, on paper and by most
reasonable measures President Barack Obama certainly has done right by Israel. Still,
he and his advisers have managed to say and do things that cast significant doubt
even among those who want to believe him. The latest is the alleged refusal to
meet with Benjamin Netanyahu later this month, even after the Jerusalem fiasco
at the Democratic Convention last week, and the apparent apology on Wednesday
to the Muslim community after a Libyan mob killed U.S. Ambassador Chris
Stevens over a Youtube movie appeared mocking Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
There is this rampant gut feeling going around certain
circles that Obama is not a true supporter, and in fact, an apologist for
Islamic outrage, and that he just did what was politically expedient. If so,
and assuming Obama is re-elected in November, never having to face Jewish voters
again, he will be freer to follow his
heart rather than his politics. If the gut fear is right, and his heart is in a
different place than his past politics, a second Obama term could be a very bad
time for Israel.
The notion that Jews have a party is flawed. The traditional ties to Democrats and the old-time
fear of who and what the Republicans might be is more of an American phenomenon,
rooted in many years of political associations rather than religious dogma. If it were religious belief, each party, depending
on the issue can claim some alignment with Jewish values. In the end, Jews will
vote for who they feel can serve their community's needs better, and also who
will act on Israel as they hope; and that conclusion is as ambiguous as the
outlooks of Jews of the left and right leaning streams are often disparate
Juda
Engelmayer is a senior
vice president of the New York public
relations agency , 5WPR
