Explained Why Israel Isn’t a Top
Consideration for American Jewish Voters
Haaretz,
by
Jta
&
Ron Kampeas
Original Article
Posted By: M2,
12/5/2019 6:57:12 AM
It’s the perennial anomaly of Jewish voter surveys: Vast majorities feel an attachment to Israel, but relatively few are thinking about the Jewish state when they cast their vote.
On the day of last year’s midterm congressional elections, J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, asked Jewish voters to name their two most important issues. Just 4 percent chose Israel. The same survey found that 65 percent said they were somewhat or very emotionally attached to Israel. The J Street survey is not an outlier. The American Jewish Committee, a foreign policy and civil rights group, found a similar discrepancy in its 2015 poll, in which barely
Reply 1 - Posted by:
MattMusson 12/5/2019 7:11:32 AM (No. 253185)
Times have changed. An American Jewish restaurant owner near me has pictures on his wall showing he went to Israel, joined the IDF and fought in an airborne unit in the Lebanon. Today, Jewish Americans cannot be bothered to even think about Israel.
7 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
montwoodcliff 12/5/2019 8:24:49 AM (No. 253284)
A better question is, “Why are they liberals first and Jews second?”
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
udanja99 12/5/2019 8:31:11 AM (No. 253289)
#2, because it makes them FEEL good.
5 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
GO3 12/5/2019 9:11:39 AM (No. 253345)
I can think of a few reasons right off the top:
- they're largely secular.
- the earlier generations left the war, anti-Jewish pogroms, and daily harassment in the old world behind. Why care about the constant conflict in the ME even if Israel is threatened?
- Jews were instrumental in the rise of communism in the US in the 30s.
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
seamusm 12/5/2019 9:12:30 AM (No. 253347)
I don't begrudge American Jews for putting America first even if most of them get their liberal domestic priorities wrong. Israel as of distant concern speaks to their having lost (or never learned) the sense of grief and angry memories of what was done to their extended families simply because of their faith. It also says that 'plenty' even trumps the memories of 'want' and we certainly have 'plenty' in abundance here in America. But anti-semitic sentiments remain in the West and Jews as successful people will forever be targets. They don't just have Islamic hatred to contend with.
1 person likes this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Californian 12/5/2019 9:14:15 AM (No. 253355)
Why is it a problem that AMERICAN Jews don't put another country as their top priority? Why that racist expectation? We expect everyone but Jews to come here and be American. The question should be why do they vote for the liberals who hate them?
6 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
cor-vet 12/5/2019 9:17:07 AM (No. 253360)
I don't know why Jews would belong to a political party that really doesn't like them, but their not being staunchly pro-Israel is OK by me. We keep harping that immigrants assimilate and become Americans. Not hyphen Americans, but Americans. The American Jews have pretty much done that, and we should be OK with that. Americans can back the Jewish state without being a Jew. As business people, I would think Jews would vote Republican, but they followed the socialists in Europe in the 30's, and they apparently didn't learn anything from that.
4 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 12/5/2019 9:22:11 AM (No. 253367)
Pay wall.
2 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
udanja99 12/5/2019 9:27:03 AM (No. 253374)
#6, Jewish is not a race - it’s a religion.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
MDConservative 12/5/2019 9:33:56 AM (No. 253386)
Do second- and further generation Americans obsess over the "old country"? Do Catholics obsess over the Vatican? It is fairly apparent that the same phenomenon has reached American Jews.
4 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
earlybird 12/5/2019 10:10:55 AM (No. 253442)
Long ago it was written and posted here (I forget by whom) that most of our American Jews came from Europe and feel more connection to their home countries there than they do to Israel.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
bpl40 12/5/2019 10:19:43 AM (No. 253455)
American Jews are not Liberal. They have become Leftists. That is somewhat like being Muslim and explains most of it.
3 people like this.
Actions speak louder than words. If you CLAIM to support Israel but consistently vote for the party that has a much weaker record on the matter, then you do not really support Israel.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 12/5/2019 12:06:50 PM (No. 253545)
The problem is, voters are given the impression that Israel and American Jews go together. Israel has been our staunch ally and we have supported Israel. However, many American Jews are Leftist dems. The dem party has become anti Israel, even anti Semitic. If you speak against an American Leftist Jew it feels like you are being anti Semitic but that is no longer true.
If American Jews have walked away from Israel and their faith, they no longer deserve special consideration, especially if they are Socialist and enemies of this Country.
The American Jewish affiliation with the dem party has always puzzled me. This helps clear it up. Their masks are off.
1 person likes this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
DVC 12/5/2019 3:12:30 PM (No. 253733)
Subscription required site.
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
john56 12/5/2019 4:58:29 PM (No. 253801)
As Jackie Mason, the pride of Sheboygan, Wisconsin (place of his birth) says, Jews live like rich, white Republicans but vote like poor, black Democrats.
2 people like this.
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The age-old question.