Putting Jews Back in Their Place

Jews in America have, essentially since 1932, felt far at home with one Party and voted accordingly. Democrats could rely on a solid 75% plus of the Jewish vote and the Jewish community could comfortably feel that they had a home in a party which embraced positions and values with which they could identify. It looked for a time as if 2008 might be different and that the percentage of Jewish support for the Democratic presidential candidate might slip into the low 60s or worse. A considerable effort was invested in scare-tactics and smear campaigns against Barack Obama. Joe Lieberman was thrown into the mix. The McCain campaign had reason to be cautiously optimistic.

That McCain hope may now be receding as the latest turn in the Republican campaign seems to have one unifying theme when it comes to the Jewish community: a determination to put as many Jews as possible back in their place -- in the Democratic camp. The GOP have scored an amazing trifecta -- choose a Veep candidate who is a neophyte on Israel and foreign policy and has never stepped foot in the Holy Land, stoke the kind of cultural wars that make the Jewish community distinctly antsy, and then deploy old and crude anti-Semitic stereotypes when attacking Obama.

Sure, there is about a quarter of the Jewish vote that is now solidly Republican. These are people who are Republicans because they want lower taxes on the most wealthy, more religion in the public sphere and a hard-line foreign policy both as it relates to America and to Israel. That demographic will remain Republican. But the additional 10-15% of the Jewish vote that the GOP tried to put in play this November is now feeling not only alienated, but downright offended by the latest offerings of the McCain message machine. That new Palin-powered propaganda effort may play well in parts of the country, and it may be enough to get McCain elected, but it is likely to have the opposite effect on the floating Jewish voter -- which could matter (perhaps a lot) in Florida and elsewhere such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, or even Nevada

The Obama campaign had already made significant inroads in pushing back the slur tactics and in creating a comfort level amongst Jewish voters with Obama's personal life story, his message, and him visiting Israel again recently. Putting Senator Joe Biden on the ticket -- someone with a long and strong history of trusted relations and closeness to the Jewish community, and deep, unquestioned foreign policy experience -- likely strengthened that trend. But the more important development is likely to be the GOP's decision to tightly embrace a politics and style that creates a maximum discomfort amongst even those parts of the Jewish community that were beginning to be susceptible to McCain's appeal. Part of this is a deep seated, understandable, and very real tension between the world views of the Christian right and of the mainstream Jewish community.

Three moves in particular have the potential to create a backlash amongst Jewish voters and to drive the Jewish community to find its place with the Obama-Biden ticket in numbers that match historical levels of Democratic support.

First, McCain chose a candidate for Veep who has no history whatsoever of interest in, understanding of, or concern for Israel. The Israel issue does not move all or even most Jewish voters, but it matters to many. Sarah Palin has never been to Israel. The only place she has ever visited in the Middle East is Kuwait. Her website issues page lists nothing on foreign policy or Israel, as others have pointed out (here and here). Governor Palin did meet with AIPAC during the recent RNC convention in Minneapolis and they did give her the kosher stamp. But one can fairly assume that this had more to do with AIPAC's confidence in its own ability to sway the possible future V.P. than with any deep appreciation for Israel's predicament displayed by the candidate. Surely all the pro-Israel groups from right and left could agree that a politician who has never visited Israel, who doesn't know the issues affecting Israel, and has so little national security and foreign policy experience should not be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Second, and as part of the Palin-fest, the Republicans have made a strategic decision to place cultural wars front and center in this election campaign. Former New York Mayor Ed Koch has called Sarah Palin and what she represents "scary", and one can understand why. Palin is about as right-wing as it gets when it comes to the ideological and value issues she promotes. She has the hard right, Christian conservative wing of the electorate highly enthused and mobilized. Jewish voters and Jewish values tend to sit uneasily with positions such as making abortion illegal (even in cases of rape and incest), teaching creationism in school and blurring the separation of religion and state, and banning books--all positions espoused by Governor Palin. As Salon.com pointed out, such theocratic tendencies are more normally associated with Muslim fundamentalists. This is bigger than Palin; this now a cultural values election as much as it is an economics or national security policy election -- it is a defining moment, especially when Supreme Court nominations enter the calculation.

But there is also a Jewish specific cause for concern in the Palin pick. Just three weeks ago, with Sarah in attendance, Palin's church hosted the Executive Director of Jews for Jesus, David Brickner -- a group much criticized by the ADL. As Ben Smith pointed out in Politico, Brickner "described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's 'judgment of unbelief' of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity". Palin's Pastor at the Wasilla Bible Church, Larry Kroon, warns of God taking retribution on a sinning America. She trades on an anti-intellectualism and playing of small town vs big city or suburban America that is alienating to most Jews. Mayor Koch is right: this is "scary" stuff.

Third, and perhaps most bizarrely, the types of attacks used by leading Republicans against Senator Obama should be making Jewish voters feel distinctly uneasy -- they are taken straight from the vernacular of classical anti-Semitism. When Rudy Giuliani during his RNC keynote address put a big sneer on his face and used the word 'cosmopolitan' to attack Obama, I was rattled -- literally shocked. Words have coded meanings, and I don't think it would be Jewish paranoia to remind ourselves of the coded meaning of 'cosmopolitan' when used in that insulting, demeaning, and group-defining political fashion. We Jews are after all the quintessential, rootless cosmopolitans. 'Cosmopolitan', 'elites', 'urbane', 'liberal media' -- in trying to negatively define Barack Obama, the Republicans have chosen to use a convenient and familiar existing vocabulary for defining the 'other' -- the vocabulary of anti-Semitic stereotypes. At the very least this is deeply insensitive to Jewish opinion.

It is shameful that Republican Jewish circles have been silent in the wake of this ugliness. It would be even more shameful if it was allowed to succeed. Fortunately Jewish voters, in Florida and elsewhere, will have a big say in the matter.

 

Comments

[TRIATHLON]

IF THE GLOVE OR SHOE FITS !

We Jews are after all the quintessential, rootless Cosmopolitans. 'Cosmopolitan', 'elites', 'urbane', 'liberal media' --
(Quote: Daniel Levy)

This brings to mind the comments of If the glove does not fit, you must not convict, or if the shoe fits you must wear it.

Question 1: Would you define the State of Israel as a quasi (51st) state?

Question 2: What is going on when the Mossad and (CIA) Central Intelligency Agency are actually working station cites together in Georgia if Isreal is not a (51st) state?

Question 3: How then can the United States Imperialist Military Industrial Complex, justify holding Pollack for spying on it and yet share spying activities?

Question 4: Who in Israel came up with the idea that selling ($200M) in military equipment to Georgia and supplying (IDF) Israeli Defense Force Trainers down to Battion Levels wasn't going to cause a Russian response?

Question 5: New York City has been referred to as "Hime Town", it could be called "Little Israel" does the glove and shoe fit?

Question 6: Is there an active attack upon the economic interests of the Soviet Russian economic investments on Wall St., being made by Israel from (NYC) and the (51st) state now in progress, in response to Russian Naval Units in Syria?

Question 7: Is or is not Israel the "tip of the spear" as the (51st) state into the middle of the old world hemi-sphere?

[apositivefuture]

I am an African-American woman. I have had many positive experiences with Jewish people, both secular and religious. I love Minister Farrakhan. However, when I first heard that he called Judaism "a gutter religion," I was deeply offended. Upon further research, I discovered, that, this along with the "Hitler" remark, was taken way out of context.

I live near one of the biggest Jewish cemeteries in Queens. in the 40 years I lived here, there has been not one incident of grave site vandalizing, Even after the "Crown Heights riot", when Jewish and African-American were very tense, there were no racial incidents in the neighborhood, where a small amount of Hasidic Jews now live. African-Americans have great respect for the Jewish community, because they admire how it will advance their community interests, and prosper while doing so.

i love Farrakhan because he emphasizes a love of self in the African-American community and organizing ourselves from that love of self, while seeking justice for the brutality that we have endured in this "American experiment". I don't agree with Farrakhan on everything. I am not against homosexuality, or interracial male-female relationships.

Minister Farrakhan, Reverend Wright, Rev. Phleger are friends. They are community organizers, battling the Herculean problems facing the South Side of Chicago of drugs, gangs, and poverty.

Finally, Farrakhan is a lot more "Jewish" than you may think:

http://www.noi.org/statements/rift/Wanniski12-22-1997.htm

Obama/Biden '08

[janmarie]

Good grief! Why single out Israel has the 'must do' list for Obama? I am so tired of how the neocons treated Israel as another US state and I sure hope Obama does not fall in line with that. Unfortunately 'supporting Israel' usually means to continuing to screw the Palestinian's and I hope Obama doesn't do that either.

[Fairfloss]

Dear Daniel,
If I could have been aware of your posting on Huffpo, I would have had time to do some research, because I know you are wrong on several counts. But I'll leave them alone with out proof.

Sarah Palin does not have to visit Israel, any more that she has to eat National Hebrew Franks.
Have you visited Alaska? Neither have I. But I know the McCain-Palin ticket is far better than the Obama-Biden ticket, especially with Joe Biden appearing to not be that enthusiastic about it.

I know you have your head wrapped around Barack Obama, but just remember what the Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., said at the NAACP Press Conference. He said, "if Barack Obama gets the Presidency, he would be coming after him." That was left open to interpretation.
Best Regards, Fair Floss

[OutragedMom]

Daniel is wrong but you cannot cite one example. Typical.

[tdpubs]

Thank you for this post. I'm glad that we see the same pattern being used by the Wrong wing of the Republican party. It is not the American way to cheat, lie and steal your way to the top. We stand for liberty, equality and fairness. That's what I learned when I was an immigrant kid who just came to this country. What the hell happened?

[truthynesslover]

In his semi-autob­iographica­l book, Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea, Irving Kristol cites a number of influences on his own thought, including not only Max Shachtman and Leo Strauss but also the skeptical liberal literary critic Lionel Trilling. The influence of Leo Strauss and his disciples on neoconservatism has generated some controversy, with Lind asserting:[15]

For the neoconservatives, religion is an instrument of promoting morality. Religion becomes what Plato called a noble lie. It is a myth which is told to the majority of the society by the philosophical elite in order to ensure social order... In being a kind of secretive elitist approach, Straussianism does resemble Marxism. These ex-Marxists, or in some cases ex-liberal Straussians, could see themselves as a kind of Leninist group, you know, who have this covert vision which they want to use to effect change in history, while concealing parts of it from people incapable of understanding it.

[abdiel]

So...let me get this straight.

"Surely all the...right and left could agree that a politician who has never visited Israel, who doesn't know the issues affecting Israel...."

In other words, if an American wants to be the Pres/VP of the U.S. s/he must have visited Israel and been indoctrinated about the issues facing Israel by Israel.

Excuse me but isn't that a bit presumptuous? Are the Americans electing a US President or an Israeli one?

I understand the significance of Israel's role in the mid-east political arena. It doesn't take a visit to Israel to understand the issues affecting that country -- nor its neighbors for that matter. But it's arguments like the one above that seem to substantiate the concerns of many Americans, and others around the world, that groups like AIPAC are the ones who really control the US govt's mid-east policies and not the American govt. itself.

Every president of the US should be educated in the arts of National Security and Foreign Policy, but they should also be removed enough from foreign influence so that decisions that are made in these areas reflect what is best for the US and its citizens first. The notion that the Jewish people in America demand an Israel first approach from US presidential candidates only serves to further the "other"-ness ideation later described. It begs the extremist paranoid question, are they Americans or are they Israelis? That never helps the Jewish people.

[Americatortures]

Most Jews are NOT impresed with hard-line Assembly-of God type Christians near the levers of American power! We're not interested in pols publicly talking about religious conversions or Armeggedon Theology...like PALIN!!

[larry278]

Assembly of God types were called holy rollers a few years ago since they were given to writhing when they were safe in their meeting places & out of the view of the public. Biased people used that trait of going into into fits while praying to bar holy rollers from America's levers of power. Having a fit while at the control boards of a nuke power plant can be dangerous. Now holy rollers have free access to America's levers of power. Doesn't that make you feel safer?

[gemcando06]

Ms. Palin and Senator McCain do not represent the goals of humanism which are the basis of the Constitution. You know: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness? The GOP has become bound to the richest corporations; oil, coal, banking, and do not represent the people. As Bush put it the richest of the rich are his constituents. That religion thing is a smoke screen to distract the people.

A bail-out of a bank? yes.
A law protecting the mortgage holder? No.

[JackWOrf]

Actually, Obama is quite "iffy" when it comes to Jewish issues and Israel. 1) Many blacks have a simple-minded conception that Israel is an "aparteid" state, because Palestinians have dark skin. This is shared by his spirtual mentor Wright as well as Farrakhan. 2) The left wing of the Democratic Party has become increasingly anti-Israel and many even wear those stupid Palestinian scarfs. 3) Obama wants to talk to Hitleresque whats-his-face in Iran. 4) Jews are always going to be hesitant about voting for someone whose middle name is "Hussein". 5) Obama participated in Farrakhan's Million Man March, and Farrakhan is an open admirer of Hitler. 6) Obama probably has ties, in the past, to Black Muslims, who are anti-semitic and anti-Israel. 7) As a Florida Democrat, I picked up some DEFINITE anti-semitic vibes from the Obama camp in dismissing all of the old Jews down here. But now that he DESPERATELY needs Florida's 27 electoral vote, he's putting on his yahmulkah and dancing the horah.

His buddy Jeremiah Wright pegged Obama correctly: He's a politician and he'll say whatever will get him the needed votes. But I am QUITE suspicious of what is in his heart of hearts.

McCain is a STRONG supporter of Isreal. He is so NON anti-semitic that he almost picked Joe Lieberman as his VP. I TRUST McCain. I DON'T trust Obama. Sorry about that.

[Dorian1]

As a Jew, I subsribe to the Forward newspaper. Last week had an interesting article regarding McCain and his Middle East views. According to his deputy foreign policy advisor, of course McCain wants peace in Palestine, but it won't be a focus of his administration.
1st of all - Palestine - sorry but tha's a huge buzzword for Jews - I shared that with my husband who was on the fence about McCain - now he's definitely NOT voting for him.
2nd of all - peace in the middle east is not a priority for his administration - how does he intend to resolve some of the greatest problems facing this country without focusing on the middle east. Bush ignored the middle east until just recently - worked out really well didn't it.

I intend to share the Forward article with the members of my synagogue who were leaning toward McCain - this may push them back in the right direction.

[estreya]

Your trust is misplaced.

[CanadianSteve]

This post requires a response because it is down right absurd.

1) Your assertion that African Americans have a simple-minded concept of the whole Palestinian-Israeli conflict is both simplistic and egregious, basing your argument solely upon race! Not only is that insulting to African Americans, but it shows a real lack of understanding of the history of the region.

2) Care to back up your claim that people in the democratic party are anti-Israel? And regarding you little value judgment on the Palestinian head scarf (or Keffiyeh if you bothered to use a search engine and look it up), McCain daughter, Megan, has been sighted wearing on, so you just slagged your candidate (good work!!!).

Just in case you don't believe me, here is a link with a few pics:

http://gawker.com/5003288/mccain-daughter-dons-islamic-terror-scarf

3) On Iran, if you bothered to do some simple research instead of regurgitating the NeoCon talking points, the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is pretty much responsible for running the county. The President of Iran does not have the power to do much, and Obama has made it clear that he would talk to the Ayatollah

4) The whole middle name thing is a fabrication pushed by the republicans and their allies to scare voters into believing that Obama is someone

[CanadianSteve]

5) The million man march had nothing to do with with antisemitism. Do your homework!

6) Great use of conjecture (but again simply dumb)!

7) Again, no presentation of facts! When was this supposed diss?

You claim that Obama will do anything to get vote, so please explain to me the logic behind Sarah Palin? One could simply argue that she was chosen simply to pander to women voters.

[doughnut70]

Wow is your post a misrepresentation of the facts. First Barack Obama spoke up for Israel in his first Congressional campaign and was criticized for doing so by his opponent. You are right there are problems in black/jewish relations, but Barack Obama has been a leader in moving them forward and the real question is if people want to get hung up on his name or support someone who has courageously stood up for them. Obama's top foreign policy advisor is Dennis Ross and he says Obama is the most pro-Israel Presidential candidate since Scoop Jackson.

[ema]

The general Jewish vote is overplayed and unimportant for winning the election except for a large population of older Jews in the all important 27 electoral vote swing state of Florida. I am Jewish, and although not old, I know these voters. They love Hillary as one of their own and the name "Farrakhan" sends chills down their spines. They have apparently been lukewarm about Obama.

However, at the end of the day, they WILL chose the thoughtful Harvard-educated (my son, the Harvard lawyer) black man over the gun-toting, bible-thumping backwoods creationist.

The polls bear this out. Florida which had been in the red column is now completely tied even.

[UrbanAddictiondotcom]

Thank you Daniel Levy for writing this article! I am a female, Catholic ,working-class person from Pa. who has been greatly concerned with the anti-Semitic, hard right, Christian conservative view. When I heard Sarah Palin's religious beliefs and her churches associations with Jews For Jesus, I was horrified. This is very dangerous and frankly I view it as the way Hitler got started and the very thing Winston Churchill warned people against. This anti-intel­lectualism and use of codes words is something we all need to vote against in November. We also need as a nation to keep a very close eye on this thread of the Republican party as it tries to gain momentum.

Obama/Biden 08"

[Airmid]

please, please work with your local Church to show people why this is so....

[Airmid]

25% of jews will vote Republican?

in the new atmosphere of ultra-neo-con, isn't that a little bit like voting for the National Socialists in 1930s Germany?

This woman has said her piece... she thinks she's all about 'Reforming Government' and I given the double speak of lately, I think we're going to enter an era when Robert Mugabe stating that the violence in ZImbabwe was 'none of his fault' is going to seem like a close approximation to the truth compared to what the US will be like by mid-February 2009 if she wins.

We're entering a time when if every sane, thinking, non-neocon doesn't get it that this is the most important election in their lives, doesn't get it that the Republicans can only win if the apathy of the rest allows it, that they can only steal elections if they are allowed to - then it truly will be too late.

what's with the caging? Why are there no legal challenges from the Obama-Biden camp? Are they awake in there when they're not making piss-weak 'attack' ads that come out of the delicate-fairy camp of video-making?

sigh

[uheardme]

Why would McCain put a Pat Buchanan supporter on his ticket????

[maveman]

this seems to be an overstatement of the facts--while I disagree with many things McCain believes in I have never seen him to be anti-semitic and he will be the policy maker--on the other hand Palin would not be good for anyone but the far right nuts---

[PioneerKing]

McCain will not be the policy maker. The religous right wing will be in charge. The agents of intolerence are the ones McCain caved in to by selecting Palin as his VP.
The agents of intolerence own McCain now.

[CrissieP]

When Koch stepped up to endorse Obama and called Palin "scary", I said to my husband, Obama just got a boost in Florida -