[This article was commissioned and published by the Crethi Plethi blog in Belgium.]
By Barry Rubin
In the 2008 election, a remarkable 79 percent of American Jewish voters supported Barack Obama to be president of the United States. In 2012 this number is likely to fall by 20 to 25 percent but will remain a large majority. Why is this?
In my book, Assimilation and Its Discontents, I discuss the underlying factors at far greater length and with supporting evidence. Here, I briefly present the key issues. Many of these are very long term. I am quite aware that counter-examples can be offered (e.g., Roosevelt’s failure to help Jewish refugees; the participation of some Jews in conservative movements and the Republican Party) but none of these were the principle factors shaping American Jewish consciousness.
The European Background
Seeking to assimilate or at least acculturate to European societies in the second half of the nineteenth century, the main strategy adopted by Jews was to prove to the masses that they were good people who should not be hated or oppressed. This was to be done by identifying with the people; supporting more rights and a better life for them. Jews would prove themselves to be altruistic, not putting forward their own demands. They would sacrifice themselves, when needed, for the country and its improvement. This strategy tended to make Jews liberal in Western European democratic societies and often revolutionary in Eastern European semi-feudal and dictatorial ones.
In cultural and business terms, Jews were also modernist. They introduced capitalism; new methods of organization, cultural innovation, and similar things at odds with the way life had previously been lived, going against conservative views. Jews also often fell antagonized nationalist movements, whether they stuck to their own communities (Zionism, Bundism, Orthodoxy) or were internationalist (socialist or Communist), or backed the “wrong” nationalism (i.e., German culture in the Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian lands of Austria-Hungary).
While the liberal, social democratic, and later Communist movements were open to Jewish participation, conservative movements—Christian-oriented, nationalist, and fearful of change—tended to be antisemitic. Jews were viewed as interlopers who wanted to subvert and transform the society and to destroy its traditions. Whether Jews were secular and modernizing or Orthodox and traditional, they were perceived as alien and unfriendly to conservative goals.
Thus, by the early twentieth century, the identification of Jews with liberalism or leftism was already well-entrenched. Twentieth century events—notably the rise of antisemitic fascism—reinforced these connections.
Arrival in the United States
Some of these same patterns prevailed when large numbers of Jews arrived in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most went to big cities where they were socialized by Democratic political machines. The Jewish entrance into public life both on an intellectual and political level coincided largely with the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, who became something of a secular deity in Jewish circles, especially because he led the fight against the Nazis.
The stereotypes that developed with the majority, then, were that Democrats and liberals were seen as open, tolerant, and committed to justice, while Republicans and conservatives were perceived as a coalition of greedy, country club business moguls who didn’t like Jews and neo-peasant bigoted religious extremist who hated Jews. This remains a powerful image in the minds of otherwise-sophisticated Jews down to the present day.
Intensifying these ideas are religious-social values, intellectual romanticism, and sociological patterns prevalent among American Jews.
Religious-social values: There has been a major conflation of Jewish and liberal values in the Reform movement especially, with “social justice” themes being largely taken for granted. Rabbis, including those from the Conservative stream, often sound like liberal politicians on all of the main talking points.
Intellectual romanticism: The idea of a great Jewish revolutionary tradition extending through such historical figures as Rosa Luxemburg and Leon Trotsky—both notoriously indifferent and damaging to Jewish interests—and leftist movements is a powerful force among an important stratum of Jewish academics and others.
Sociological patterns: Jewish class and geographical patterns correspond to those of liberalism generally. They live disproportionately in big cities, tend to have high levels of formal education, and are heavily concentrated in certain types of employment as professionals, academics, etc., that are characteristic of being on the left, liberal, and Democratic.
Factors Specific to Obama
All of the above points are to Obama’s advantage. But there are additional factors that explain the especially high Jewish support for Obama in 2008 and have prevented the numbers of Obama voters from falling even faster and further.
Race: Jews generally feel that having been themselves oppressed in the past they should show that they are especially anti-racist now. This created a near-imperative to vote for the first African-American candidate and to cheer him as president.
Fear: The idea that the Republicans, conservatives, and opposition to Obama are somehow racist and reactionary Christian. Terror at the alleged anti-Jewish religiosity of conservatives and Evangelical Christians is a huge hidden factor in the thinking of hundreds of thousands of Jews. As for groups like Christians United for Israel, they are largely ignored or seen suspiciously as conversion-oriented organizations.
Propaganda: As highly educated and literate people, Jews are more heavily impacted by schools, universities, and mass media that are engaged in indoctrination or highly concerted efforts to campaign for Obama and his ideas. By the same token, Jews as a whole tend to give higher credibility to the fairness of media and academia.
Camouflage: The concealment of Obama’s radicalism and that of those supporting his ideology as supposed liberals plays into Jewish reverence for liberalism.
Obama’s persona: While the notion of Obama as a “Jewish president” is absurd, its appeal to some does in fact have a material basis. His image as an apparently highly educated, supposedly intellectual, superficially sophisticated, cosmopolitan personality fits with majority Jewish preferences.
Obama’s reassurances: He has spent a lot of energy and effort to convince Jews that he like them and likes Israel.
What about the other side? There are two key answers as to why Jews have not been put off by Obama, his policies, and the broader movement that I call “leftism pretending to be liberalism” or the “New New Left.”
First, to be aware of the lies, misrepresentations, and dangers of Obama and this movement, Jews have to know about them first. The lack of balance in the media, academia, Hollywood, and other key sources of information combined with relentless endorsement of these ideas and either ignoring or demonizing critics means that a large portion of liberal Jews have no idea of any alternative vision.
By the same token, the “suspect” nature of sources providing an alternative vision makes liberal Jews ignore them completely or only note them as false and even evil without ever knowing quite what is being said.
Second, however, even given all of the above points the amount of Jews who have changed their views is quite remarkable. A comparatively large proportion of those liberal intellectuals and Democrats who have become unhappy with Obama are Jews, as noted above at least 20 percent of the 2008 Obama supporters according to polling data.
In addition, there are a serious number of Jews who have serious doubts. Some will stay home on the November 2012 election day; others will vote against Obama but will tell all of their friends that they voted for him.
In this process, Israel is an important factor. That issue is, in effect, the most important doorway out of the conventional pro-Obama, pro-“Progressive” mindset. As polls show, American Jewish support for Israel remains very strong, despite a vocal minority that either opposes Israel altogether or thinks that its leaders are totally wrong and need to be taught how to survive by Obama and those American Jewish groups that support his views on the Middle East.
The key reason why Jews who care about Israel support Obama regardless of his policies actual impact is that they have been convinced that he also cares deeply about Israel’s welfare, an idea they are constantly fed by mass media and pro-Obama Jewish intellectuals and politicians. And indeed that’s why they must convince themselves–whatever the mass of evidence to the contrary–that they need to convince themselves that Obama is good for Israel.
Given all of these factors, if Obama only receives 60 to 65 percent of Jewish votes in November 2012 that will be a staggering achievement for his critics. Note some other points, though that add to this loss for Obama:
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How many Jews who otherwise would have voted for Obama will decide to stay home?
How many Jews will tell all their friends that they voted for Obama when they pulled the lever for his opponent?
And how many Jews will not contribute to his reelection campaign or, because of their distress at his policies, give money to his opponent?
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His book, Israel: An Introduction, has just been published by Yale University Press. Other recent books include The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center and of his blog, Rubin Reports. His original articles are published at PJMedia.
@ Bill Levinson:
It was the Republican congress under republican presidents who passed and enacted the isolationist laws in the 1920’s: These were the weapons later used by FDR resulting in the murder of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Jews.
Emergency Quota Act (1921)- established by Congress as European immigration increased after WWI. It set quotas for different nationalities based on the number of people from that nationality that had lived in the US in 1890, thus discrimination against new immigrant groups.
National Origins Act (1924)- a variation of the formula designed in the Emergency Quota Act. The net result was a dramatic decrease in European immigration from 1921 until 1965.
The above acts were aimed mostly against Jews from Eastern Europe. The quotas were never filled during the Nazi period.
American Jews tend to vote for Obama (the Democratic party because.
1) They believe that the Democratic Party is more receptive to Jewish issues than the Republican, who represent in their mind big corporations and businesses who de facto are not favorable employing Jews and espousing Jewish issues.
2) American Jews voting for Obama forgot their religion, and vote For the “liberal party, thus they become American Citizens of the Jewish faith, And are accepted lock stock and barrel , irrespective if the modus operandi of the Democrats is agenda is against the Jewish interests.
3) Once the world war began, FDR privately said to Morgenthau and Leo Crowley, a Catholic appointed to government, “You know this is a Protestant country, and the Catholics and Jews are here under sufferance.” He bluntly told them it was “up to you” to “go along with anything I want.”
Consequently: PLUS QUE CA CHANGE PLUS C’EST LA MÊME CHOSE
Jack g
American Jews vote for Obama for a number of reasons. 1)they feel that he is more receptive to their needs.2)The republicans represent in their mind Big business and large corporation and are not receptive to jews be it in employment or dealing favorable with jewish or Israeli issues.3) As the majority of jews think in “liberal” terms they dent to dis-associate with their
Von Starkerman and Arnold are too critical of today’s Jews and it is harsh to presume that assimilation is today’s Jewish path to upward mobility. In 19th Century Europe, the choices were difficult for anyone seeking employment outside the Jewish community. One reason Jews are weak in supporting Obama but not Israel is that Jewish organizations fail to publicize the essential facts about Palestinian genocidalism, and about Pres. Obama’s probable, early indoctrination by anti-Semites. Given the facts, most Jews could respond more rationally.
Jews by nature are liberal, and by intuition are assimilationists. A good example is Moses Mendelssohn who as the Chief Rabbi of Germany back in the late 1700’s had 12 children. All but two converted to Lutheranism as a means of assimilating into German society. Jews then knew that to get ahead, one had to go along. The same is true for the USA. The assimilation rate is alarming among America’s modern Jews. It is much easier to go along with the program than to maintain the program after believing in it for these many thousands of years. This is where a neophyte like Obama fits into the picture.
Some of you consider Obama African American, however you also might refer to him as 50% American, as his mother was 100% White and from the USA. Right away we all have assumed that he is 100% African. We actually have very little information on Obama yet the Liberal US Jewish establishment began to see Obama as the next Messiah. More on the lines of a redeemer as told in the Jewish book of Haggadah. Yet with little knowledge of where he was born, went to school, the type of grades he had, or what scholarships he did obtain and under what circumstances et al. Jews went along with this new visionary. Everybody likes to root for a winner, even if the winner is really a born loser.
If you studied American history, you would find that the Jews fared very well in the American South. Forget about the nonsense of the Pick Up truck with a Confederate flag on it as Laura here stated. David Yulee Levy was the first Jewish Senator in the USA and was from the American South. Judah P Benjamin was a Louisiana Senator, plus a noted member of the Confederacy under Jefferson Davis. In fact there were more Jews in South Carolina than in New York City during those war years and before. The Jews did well in the American South and it showed just by the number of successful Jews today on Wall Street of whose families came originally from the South.
We all like to think of the Whites carrying Confederate Flags in their Pick Ups, but tend to forget Barbra Streisand’s quest to buy a Condo in New York City and be turned down because she was Jewish. Or the quota system that existed for so long in American Universities that prohibited Jews from advancement.
Jewish People know all of this and as such have tended to assimilate and eventually convert to Christianity and other more benign religions in their quest for acceptance.
One fact that American Jews under-appreciate is the nature of the hatred Israel faces from its neighbors, and particularly the Palestinians. The mistaken belief of most Americans is that this is a form of anti-Semitism that is outmoded and due to disappear when Israel makes peace with the Palestinians. However, it is in fact a deeply rooted genocidal hatred, underscored by the belief that Jews are evil and enemies of Allah. Many Muslims believe(with Koranic support) that Allah wants the Jews destroyed. Supporting such beliefs is the idea that Jews seek to control and subvert the world, and accordingly, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and “Mein Kampf” are best sellers among the Palestinians. Those who don suicide vests and succeed in killing Jews are considered heroes and sacred martyrs, so that schools and parks are named after them. Even nursery schools and children’s TV promote this genocidal orientation. We fail to consider the depth of this hatred and its rootedness in religious beliefs. This is not mere anti-Semitism. It must be understood as genocidalism. On the other hand, it is liberal to believe that “when they say they want to wipe you off the face of the earth”, they cannot possibly mean it.
Americans also under-appreciate Obama’s early association with extremist Palestinian views when he was a student at Columbia Univ, where he was indoctrinated by Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said, Palestinian Arabs who rank among the most strongly anti-Israel spokesmen in the US. Obama and his wife were later close personal friends with Khalidi during their Univ. of Chicago days. Obama’s negative behavior toward Israel and Binyamin Netanyahu may well reflect prejudice he absorbed from those early contacts. It is an “inconvenient truth” for Jewish liberal organizations, that Obama was likely influenced by Khalidi, Said, and also the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Jewish organizations have put forth almost none of the facts presented above, so most Jews are unaware of them or doubt them, and thus do not understand Israel’s predicament any more than Obama seems to. American Jewish leadership will fail, as it has in the past, if it avoids these facts. It must drop its fear of talking about genocidalism and hatreds based on lies such as “Jewish world domination” and the blood libel.
Fortunately, as it turns out, the numbers of such Jews in the United States has remained more or less static in an American population that has more than doubled since the early 1940s. Which means that, altough their influence is still great, it has largely diminished with the growth of electoral power of the sun belt states.
Inasmuch as the overwhelming majority of the liberal and leftist Jews either are indifferent to or even hostile to the future of the united Jewish nation on the soil of Eretz Yisrael, and to be brutally frank with all Israpundit readers, I am waiting for all those people to die off. This would sound cruel if any large numbers of them could be redeemed. But most of us conservative and rightwing Jews now realize that we are well beyond any possibility of getting that other bunch even to listen to or consider logical arguments brought to their attention. So. Good riddance.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
After thousands of years of suffering under a rule of various dictators in different countries, it is natural for Jews to be suspicious of others. Some of those who stood against them in the name of christanity were not genuine Christians. There are many Evangelicals in the USA who want to help Israel in every way possible without expecting anyhting in return from the Jews. They sincerly believe that it is thier christian duty to do so. If the highly educated liberal Jews do not make their own research and see who is the true friends of the only Jewish state in the world at this critical stage, how will it be possible to convince them that they are inadvertently working against their country’s interests? I have come across many liberals on diffrent werbsites who hate the Jews and thier only country, Israel. If they don’t see the increase in antisemitism all over the world by mostly the liberals, they will be forced to recognize their enemies and friends when the hatred start to affect them directly as an individual. I pray and hope that they would come out of their delusions before it is too late.
The problem with Jewish liberals is that their politics are stuck in the 1940’s and 50’s. The enemies of Jews are no longer the devout Christians and the guys in pickup trucks with guns and confederate flags. The antisemites are coming from the very people Jewish liberals identify and associate with. They are the supposed “enlightened” acedemics from Harvard and Berkley etc. and in the newsrooms of the NY Times and the networks. These forces attack and demonize Jews and delegitimize the Jewish right to self-determination under the guise of “criticism” of Israel.