Obama's Early Moves Alleviate Jewish Apprehension

During the election season, some Jews refused to support Barack Obama, or did so reluctantly, because they were wary of his level of commitment to Israel. President Bush wasn’t the most popular president, but nobody can deny that he was a great friend to Israel. John McCain supported President Bush’s Middle East policies and was a good bet to continue strong American-Israeli ties. But, because of issues discussed in previous blog entries, the Jews threw their overwhelming support towards Obama on Election Day. Obama’s first moves as the president elect have gone a long way towards quelling any remaining Jewish fears.

 
Obama’s appointments to his cabinet and national security team have reassured Jews that he is committed to continuing America’s strong relationship with Israel. Also, three main components of Obama’s foreign policy strategy, defusing North Korea and Iran, and achieving a Palestinian-Israeli agreement, are carry over’s from the Bush administration’s approach (2). Obama also seeks to strengthen international institutions and doing so will help to stabilize the fear-dominated atmosphere of the Middle East and indirectly benefit Israel.

Obama’s appointments embody his stated commitment to Israel. He appointed Senator Hillary Clinton, a long time Israel supporter, as Secretary of State. Pro-Israel groups are confident in Clinton’s ability to broker a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and have welcomed her appointment. Obama’s National Security Policy Working Group, which is one of the transition teams that will help to shape policy, includes several pro-Israel members such as James Steinberg; Dennis Ross, the Clinton administration’s top Middle East envoy; Jeremy Bash; and Daniel Shapiro, who led Obama’s Jewish outreach during the campaign (3;4).

Some Jewish observers are uneasy over the appointment of General James Jones, a former NATO commander, as national security advisor. He is known for cultivating closer NATO-Israeli ties, but in his most recent role as a monitor of Israeli and Palestinian compliance with peace agreements, he drew the ire of Israeli officials for his tough criticism of Israel, although he was equally as critical of the Palestinians. However, many Jewish skeptics feel that Jones will be held in check by the numerous pro-Israel Obama appointments (3).

Four of the staffers named to the Obama White House are Jewish. The most prominent of the four is chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who is ardently pro-Israel. Emanuel is known for his “killer instinct”, and his inclusion in Obama’s cabinet has effectively put to rest most Jews concerns with Obama’s impending administration (1). David Axelrod was also named as a senior adviser; Ron Klain as chief of staff to Vice President-elect Joe Biden; and Mona Sutphen as a deputy chief of staff. As a result, there will be a pro-Israel sentiment within Obama’s cabinet.

Obama’s foreign policy ambitions sound very familiar to those of President Bush and his appointments include many who previously served under the Clinton administration, an administration that is widely viewed as being pro-Israel. That, along with the fact that Obama has also surrounded himself with numerous close advisers who are proponents of the Jewish state, has eased the concern of many Jews. Obama’s stated intentions, and his action’s unspoken messages have alleviated Jewish concerns about his foreign policy intentions regarding Israel.

For Further Reading:

1. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/09/1000859/rahm-emanuel-attack-dog-policy-wonk-committed-jew
2. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/12/02/1001297/on-foreign-policy-obama-and-bush-sounding-similar
3. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/12/01/1001271/obama-names-national-security-team
4. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/24/1001192/jews-praise-obama-appointees
5. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/26/1001228/pro-israel-figures-on-obama-team

Jews Come Through For Obama, Stay True to Their Roots on Election Day

This campaign season began, as campaign seasons often do, with many pundits wondering whether Jews were becoming more Republican. The uncertainty of how Jews would respond to Barack Obama’s candidacy only added to the speculation, and many Republican leaders were predicting unprecedented Jewish support for John McCain.

Throughout the campaign, Obama weathered unprecedented malicious attacks meant to misrepresent his religion and ethnic background. Just a few short months ago, as his polling numbers among Jews hovered around 60%, it looked very unlikely that he would come anywhere close to matching John Kerry’s level of Jewish support (75%). But on Election Day, the Jewish electorate pledged its overwhelming support for the newly elected president as exit polls show 78% of Jews voted for Obama while only 21% voted for McCain (1).  

As the campaign progressed, the Jewish electorate was able to sift through the smoke created by allegations that Obama wasn’t a “genuine born American” and that he was “a hidden Muslim” to see that Obama is a man who shares their values and is a product of a background they can readily relate to. Surprisingly, it was Obama’s diverse background and progressive views that sold the Jews, not his pro Jewish polices on Israel and healthcare. Ari Wallach, leader of jewsvote.org, described Obama’s background as “feeling so Jewish, it feels like an Ellis Island archetype. People felt more comfortable when I talked about where he came from, it resonates so deeply- surprisingly among older Jews” (2).

Obama’s wide margin of victory among the Jewish vote played a key role in many swing states. The Jewish vote may have actually provided the margin of victory for Obama in Florida. The National Jewish Democratic Council calculated that Obama’s margin of victory among Florida Jews, 238,214, was larger than his overall margin of victory in the state, 205,000. The NJDC also calculated that the Jewish vote provided large margins of victory for Obama in key states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia, and made up 73% of Obama’s margin of victory in North Carolina (1). These calculations provide an accurate estimation of the Jewish vote’s influence on the election, but may not be entirely accurate on a state level because they are based on the available national exit poll data- exit polls for Jewish support at the state level have not, and may not be released.

John McCain initially received strong Jewish support, but lost ground as the election took its course. At first, Jews were impressed by McCain’s moderate views and his willingness to reach across the isle to get things done. This view of McCain suffered greatly when he pandered to the Republican base and chose the ultra-conservative Sarah Palin as his running mate. Ultimately, McCain only received 21% of the Jewish vote because his smear campaign against Obama was unable to distract the Jewish electorate from recognizing Obama as a progressive candidate who more accurately matched their values.

The recent economic meltdown might have played as big a part as anything in bringing the Jews to Obama. Like the rest of the electorate, Jews saw the economy as one of the most, if not the most, important issues in the election. Since Obama and the Democrats held the decided advantage on this issue, his winning the Jewish vote may have stemmed from his rather than from any kind of recognition of shared values. It is possible, though unlikely, that the Jewish electorate has become more Republican and that the dire state of the economy only delayed this reality.

It is unclear whether Obama’s retention of the Jewish vote was candidate specific or a reflection of the economic crisis, or a combination of both, but what is very clear is that the Jews, as usual, overwhelmingly supported the Democratic candidate for president. The mythical Republican conversion remains just that, a myth. Obama, being the transcendent figure that he is, has a chance to solidify Jewish support for the next generation as he continues his historic path and attempts to redefine the Democratic Party. As long as the Democratic Party remains the more progressive party, Jews will continue to support them in large numbers.

For Further Reading:
1. http://blogs.jta.org/politics/
2. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/05/1000783/jews-looked-past-worries-to-embrace-obama
3. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/05/1000800/op-ed-why-jews-voted-for-obama

Which Way Will the Jewish Vote Go?

On the eve of the election, I would like to address the successes and failures of both John McCain and Barack Obama’s campaigns in regard to courting the Jewish vote. Historically, the direction of the Jewish vote has been directed by Jew’s liberal political views and their allegiance to Israel. This campaign has presented a difficult choice for the Jews because neither candidate offers a definitive answer on both key issues. This election could possibly mark the second time since FDR in which the Democratic candidate doesn’t win at least 60% of the Jewish vote, the other being when Jimmy Carter ran against Ronald Reagan. In the minds of Jewish voters, both candidates have flaws, which will make for a very interesting election day.

Being a Democrat, Barack Obama seems like the logical Jewish choice, but he has suffered greatly from malicious attacks intended to unfairly portray him as a Muslim. In today’s world where terrorist attacks are on the forefront of most American’s minds, being labeled a Muslim can be looked at as somewhat of a death sentence, especially among Jewish voters. E-mails that have been circulating accusing Obama of being a Muslim are meant to evoke Jew’s fears of Obama’s support, or lack there of, for Israel. These attacks are ridiculous and haven’t been very effective, mostly because these claims simply aren’t true.

Among Jewish voters, Obama’s image also has been damaged by his willingness to meet without preconditions with dictators like Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Obama’s goal to change America’s image in the world is well taken, but the fact of the matter is Ahmadinejad has called Israel a “stinking corpse” and vowed to wipe it off the face of the earth. He refuses to acknowledge that the Holocaust ever happened and represents the rising Islamic extremist movement that is threatening Israel’s very existence. Obama’s perceived tolerance of this man only furthers Jewish fears of the effects that a looming Obama presidency will have on Israel.

Obama also has been hurt by his connection to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. Wright has gone on the record to praise Louis Farrakhan, a well known Anti-Semitic. Past connections like these have made Jews weary of Obama throughout the whole campaign season.

While McCain doesn’t harbor any illusions of carrying the Jewish vote, he can severely hinder Obama’s campaign if he can make inroads into the Jewish community. Clearly, McCain’s biggest obstacle to winning significant Jewish support is his conservative ideology, which clashes with Jewish liberalism. However, he represents an interesting choice because of his history of support for Israel and his interest in continuing the strong relationship with Israel that President Bush has cultivated over the last eight years. Bush has received support from the Jewish community for this, and many Israelis feel that McCain would be a better choice for Israel because of his wealth of experience in foreign affairs. They feel that his experience is especially important considering the growing threat of Iran.

McCain also has benefitted from the endorsement and support from Senator Joe Lieberman. Lieberman is viewed as somewhat of a hero to some Jews for being the first Jew to be on the presidential ticket. Many Jews trust Lieberman, and his endorsement of McCain might influence the way some Jews vote.

It looked as if McCain was poised to take a sizable amount of the Jewish vote until his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. His selection was clearly geared towards appeasing the Republican base and the Jewish population didn’t take it very well for a couple of reasons.

First, Palin’s almost fanatical conservative views on some social issues are making some Jews uneasy. Many Jews find it appalling that she refuses to support abortion even in cases of rape or incest. They see this as evidence that she is stubborn and anti-intellectual.

Second, many Jews have replaced questions of Obama’s inexperience with questions of Palin’s inexperience. Her lack of any foreign policy experience is frightening to most Jews because of the possibility that she might have to take over for McCain in office and deal directly with Israel. By choosing Palin as his running mate, McCain gave up his greatest advantage in the eyes of the Jewish electorate: experience.  

As we approach election day, Obama has seen his polling numbers among the Jewish community return to previous levels of Democratic support. His campaign has actively pursued the Jewish vote, with the great Schlep (described in detail in a previous post) being the most notable example. But, the state of the economy might have played an even bigger role than his outreach in his recent reversal of fortune. Like the rest of the electorate, most Jews see Obama as the more capable candidate in regards to the economy. Only since the recent meltdown on Wall Street has Obama approached previous levels of democratic support.

Obama has overcome the unfair stereotypes imposed upon him and seems poised to continue the tradition of overwhelming Jewish support for Democratic presidential candidates. 

For Further Reading:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/newsweek_on_the_fight_for_the_jewish_vote_20081013/
http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/anti_semitic_undercurrent_in_presidential_election_20081102/
http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/obama_or_mccain_who_will_jews_vote_for_20081016/
http://jta.org/news/article/2008/10/27/1000576/obama-labors-to-gain-jewish-trust-of-his-friends-and-his-policies
http://jta.org/news/article/2008/10/27/110884/mccain

Did The Schlep Actually Work?

The battle for Florida and its 27 electoral votes is key in any presidential election. The Jewish vote, usually a Democratic stronghold, can make big difference in a close election in Florida. Many have feared resistance to an Obama presidency from the Jewish population in South Florida, especially from senior citizens. For months, Jewish support for Obama had been hovering below recent Democratic support at around 60%, but one Jewish advocacy group had a plan: The Great Schlep.

The Great Schlep was thought up by Jews Vote, a Jewish advocacy group, and is aimed towards familiarizing Jewish senior citizens with Barack Obama. To drum up support, they created a web site where donations are accepted and “schlep” paraphernalia is available for sale, and they even created a face book group. The advocacy group also solicited the support of Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman who made a short video calling for Jewish grandchildren to “schlep” to Florida and talk to them about Barack Obama.

In the video, Silverman points to similarities between blacks and Jewish grandparents in a humorous, foul way. She cites their shared preferences for track suits, Cadillac’s and “bling”, and tells Jewish grandchildren that they are the most influential people in their grandparents lives and that if they threatened to withhold from contact with their grandparents, they would be forced to listen. Even though the similarities brought up by the video aren’t substantive, it serves its purpose by exciting young Jews to bridge the generational gap and talk to their grandparents about racial and religious tolerance.

The Great Schlep was needed because many Jewish grandparents are uncomfortable with the idea of voting for a black man who is rumored to be a Muslim. Many of these senior citizens unknowingly agree with Obama’s policies, including his plans for economic reform, healthcare, and social security. Obama should have been an easy sell, but their racial concerns were outweighing their political beliefs. Many of them simply couldn’t look past the color of Obama’s skin and his rumored link to Islam didn’t help considering their affinity for Israel. The Great Schlep stirred up excitement and provided accessible information about Obama, which could lead Jewish grandparents to look past their racial and religious concerns.

In the past month, Obama’s support among the Jewish population of Florida has risen within striking distance of the three previous Democratic presidential candidates. In a Gallop tracking pole conducted over the first 3 weeks of October, Obama was found to be leading the Jewish vote by a margin of 74% to John McCain’s 22%. His support is up 5% from September, 8% from August, and 15% from July. His steady gains in the polls have coincided the media frenzy surrounding the Great Schlep and the increased exposure certainly hasn’t hurt his cause.

 
Considering only a hundred Schleppers traveled to Florida for the event on Columbus Day weekend, there must be other factors in Obama’s recent reversal of fortune. For starters, the economic crisis has become the most salient issue in this election and has shifted the focus of many voters. This has especially helped Obama in the sense that voters who might have been hesitant to support him because of racial fears now feel compelled to because of their pocketbooks. Also, as Jewish voters, and the elderly in particular, have become more familiar with Obama, they have substituted questions of his inexperience for those of Sarah Palin’s inexperience and her almost fanatical conservative views on some social issues like abortion. Whether the great Schlep had anything to do with it or not, the Jewish elderly have begun to look past their racial doubts to see the similar policy views they share with Barack Obama.

 
At the very least, the Great Schlep has raised awareness and increased excitement for Obama’s campaign in Florida. His rise in the polls may have occurred independently of it, but the great Schlep has proved to be an exciting way to involve voters with the electoral process.


For Further Reading:
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008102420081024galluppoll.html
http://www.thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/13/great.schlep/index.html

Jewish Partisanship and Voting Patterns

The Jewish vote has been a sought after political property for many years. Jews view themselves as political activists and are very involved in the political process. Even though they only make up about 4 percent of the electorate, they vote with their pocket books before election day, and vote in reliable numbers on election day, with as much as 80 percent of eligible Jewish voters turning out to vote. Jews are also geographically concentrated and happen to live in many key swing states. In any close election where money and votes are important, a small amount of Jews can make a very large difference.

Over the years, Jewish partisanship has reflected the shift in party ideologies. Jews have long been progressives and beginning in the 1860s until the 1930s, this was a critical component of Republican ideology. Abraham Lincoln was an American hero for preserving the Union and ending slavery, but he was also a hero to the Jews for overturning General Ulysses S. Grant’s order no. 11, which directed that all Jews conducting business as peddlers or merchants in the Tennessee River Valley be removed from that area. President Lincoln denounced the order for being in direct conflict with the principles of the nation and demanded that it be rescinded. This began a relationship between the Jewish people and the Republican Party that would last for over half a century.

As Franklyn Delano Roosevelt and the Democratic Party established themselves at the forefront of the progressive movement, they won over the support of the Jewish community. Roosevelt was a hero to the Jewish people for transforming the nation’s economy, and for mobilizing the nation against Nazi Germany. They were inspired by his progressive views towards the government’s role in its citizen’s lives and in the economy. While the Depression formalized the Jews position, it was not the lone contributor to the redistribution of Jewish support. President Woodrow Wilson played a large role in the redistribution as he captivated American Jewry by endorsing the Balfour Declaration and Zionist claims in Palestine, condemned anti-Semitism both domestic and abroad, and appointed the first Jew, Louis Brandeis, to the supreme court. Wilson’s quest to create the League of Nations also represented the kind of progressive thinking that the Jews are attracted by. Between 1928 and 1948 Democratic presidential candidates won atleast 75 percent of the Jewish vote and over the years the Jewish people have remained steadfast in their overwhelming support for the Democrats.

Understanding Jew’s tendencies towards liberalism is they key to understanding Jewish political trends. One explanation for Jewish liberalism is that the ideas of liberalism resonate with Jewish religious teachings. Judaism’s messianic principles involve a world moving toward democratic and universal ideals and are seen as being aligned with progressive political interests.

Another view is that Jews have a natural alignment with liberal institutions of the general society because of their belief in self-advocacy. Persecution against the Jews has taught them that they must take care of themselves, and one way of doing this is through political advocacy. Communal vigilance has kept the Jewish people strong and it is possible that Jews identify themselves as liberals because they see a shared relationship between themselves and groups like the labor movement, women’s organizations, and other socially progressive groups.

Over the past few years, Jewish support for the Democrats has been decreasing. A majority of Jews still support the Democratic Party, but just not in the overwhelming numbers that they once did. This has been caused by a couple factors. One reason is that the Orthodox community has become decidedly Republican. Also, non-practicing Jews have begun to lean towards the Republicans, and kids aren’t as likely to feel the allegiance to the Democratic Party that their parents do. The main factor is the strong support that George Bush and the Republicans have shown for Israel, a key Jewish issue. Bush has been a great friend to the Jewish state and as a result he has received higher Jewish electoral support than any Republican president since Ronald Reagan. However, the Democrats also recognize the need for a strong relationship with Israel, and the small defection of Jews to the Republican Party might be candidate specific.

As the battle for the Jewish vote continues, the Jewish community will continue to support the Democratic Party, just not in the overwhelming numbers they once did.

For Further Reading:
Windmueller, Steven. "Are American Jews Becoming Republican? Insights into Jewish political Behavior." Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Dec. 2003.