For a hundred years, American Jews have overwhelmingly voted for the Democrat candidate. Franklin Roosevelt received about 80% of the Jewish vote each time. This dramatic tilt toward the Democrats continued up through the turn of the century, when they gave Al Gore about 79%. They gave Obama 78% in his first election, and even gave him 69% in his second – after Obama’s antipathy toward Israel became impossible to overlook.
Sorry, but Glen is wrong when he says, "Deeply religious Orthodox Jews are relatively rare in America.". There are many an their population is growing. From what I have observed, the 1950-1980 dominant model of Democratic Jews belonging (or not belonging to any) to reform and “reconstruction” temples is rapidly dying.
Quite simply - they do not have a lot of children, and intermarriage is killing the reform synagogues.
They are being replaced rapidly by more orthodox Jews who have large families. (6-12 persons). They believe in the future and have large families.
These “new Jews” are generally, (but not always - except: the Satmar cult) are strong supporters of Israel, do not support abortion, and tend to be more conservative in their views.
Because they live in more urban areas, they have been impacted more heavily by Kamala’s open borders and the crimes perpetrated by these illegal immigrants. For a perspective, see this article.
A few weeks ago, Trump visited the grave of the revered “Rebbi” Menachem Schnerson in Brooklyn. He visited and prayed at the grave with Hassidic leaders and Rabbis.
The grave is a site of great veneration to a lot of Orthodox/Hassidic Jews. It is considered a good thing to go there and offer a prayer for those facing great trials in life or “headwinds”.
Almost all of the Hassadim Jews in NY and LA supported Trump. (and there are many of them)
My Rabbi is convinced that Trump’s visit there secured his victory in the election.
Mike, you're certainly correct that the Orthodox population is rapidly growing, but they currently are still relatively rare. A recent survey puts them at 9% of the American Jewish population, which would make them around 0.2% of the overall U.S. population
You're right on the button. I believe American Jews are like the teenagers traveling against Mom and Dad, the ones that had to sweat and suffer for a home, these inherit and not completely gratefully. They fear looking like they're voting en block with the relatives and they can't have that. They must show Mom and Dad how modern and progressive they are. Unfortunately some of those have moved back to Israel and cause any sort of consternation, by the time they learn, it may be to late.
I think that it all begins (and it truly will complicate things) with defining who’s a Jew. The statistics that say that 79% of American Jews voted Democrat were provided by groups who are already democrat leaning. I don’t put stock in such data. For example, I am told that to arrive at such a number they polled those who are members of Jewish Federations. Considering how ideologically captured the Jewish Federations are, the only people willing to still pay dues are self selecting democrats. Have you read this article? https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/jewish-vote-elections-2024
I am an American Jew. Admittedly, I grew up in Italy in a community that has felt under siege for about 2000 years, and in the shadow of the Holocaust. I despise democrats and anyone who’s come to tell us “as a Jew” that we should embrace our own demise and accept Hamas/denounce/renounce Israel. In fact, I don’t consider those Jews at all. The next generations won’t even know them.
When discussing today's Jewish-American support for the Democrat party and not the Republican party, history and tradition need to be studied. What I've read about the Holocaust era seems to lean on policies of the R party leadership. Specifically that the European situation in the latter half of the 1930s wasn't America's problem. Never mind the fact that more than one hundred thousand America's mothers buried their offspring 20 years earlier as a result of America's involvement in WWI. It may be that respected leaders in the Jewish community hold the Republican Party responsible for not intervening sooner in WW II. This might represent the group-think conundrum between group-preservation and group/self-identity. It may be ingrained in their psyche.
I was very gratified to read Mike Abel's response and now I see there are others in agreement. I grew up Catholic in rural Illinois and all I knew of my Jewish acquaintances is that they worshiped on Saturdays. As an adult, I learned from Jewish co-workers the difference between reform and Orthodox practices and what a "sundowner" was. Sadly, some of those acquaintances wore camp tattoos. I have always had the utmost regard for the State of Israel and its citizens. I am old enough to remember the horror at the Munich Olympics and the numerous Arab terror groups committing murders across Europe. After the October 7th massacre, I began doing as much research as possible. Trinity Broadcasting ran 4 one hour specials about that day and showed deep dives into regional history and religious practices. Chai Flix has run several episodes of "Picture This" interviews with survivors. I am further horrified by the ho-hum attitude of the US government and lack of accountability for the funding of Iran and Hamas. It has been shameful and I pray the new administration will change-that.
Glenn, this is a family that has followed your postings from when you were at the Aspen Times (ugh) and admired your survival and success outside of that modern liberal/Democrat cesspool, and who now want to compliment you on this very accurate observation regarding American Jewry's voting habits in the American system.
This family has some attachment to American Jewry, and feel we have some authority to indicate that the misguidance, to put it mildly, which directs any, any at all, Jews, to support American policy which hesitates in supporting the heroic and extremely successful, in practical, human, terms of modern Jewry, in practical, day-to-day matters, not to mention in scientific and cultural matters, that misguidance being due to a conscious detachment from, a separation from, a rejection, of the long-established success of the Jewish history, the implementation of Jewish law, the Holy Torah, and that from the idea that, something like, "we know better than those thousands of years of traditions, which, incidentally have brought us to this level of human success."
Interesting take. IDK if you're correct; however, as a Jew, I am very curious about the explanation. An alternative explanation might have to do with Jewish Americans' participation in left wing US politics (often with Socialism) that stretches back one hundred years ago to the Progressive Era when impoverished Eastern European Jews immigrated to the US. All of these folks were in need of food, shelter, jobs, freedom from political oppression, etc. So, I have assumed the answer to this question is more anthropological as opposed to the kind of self loathing associated with religious denial. That said, this is a feeling. I would love to know the actual answer. American Jewry should do its all to support Israel as its brethren and as the sole Democracy in the Middle East.
There is a strong element of distrust among Jews I've met, who believe Republicans are the party of Christian nationalism, and as such, inherently antisemitic. As an orthodox, evangelistic Christian, this presumption cuts me deeply: we believe the Jews are God's Chosen People. I personally came to Christ at the teaching of a Messianic Jew, who understood the Bible (in four languages) much better than any Christian scholar I've met. Perhaps I'm an outlier in this regard, but I've not sniffed the scent of antisemitism in any Christian gathering in 25 years. I believe that American Jews are coming to realize they've been "sold a bill of goods" on where antisemitism truly lies on the American political spectrum, much like blacks and Hispanics have. It is, like most issues, generational discovery we are witnessing.
I love the comment "...I've not sniffed the scent of antisemitism in any Christian gathering in 25 years."
I will go one further... In 60 years of Christian gatherings, I have seen nothing but overwhelming and sincere support for Israel and the Jewish people. Among conservatives I know, support for Israel is close to a litmus test for any political candidate.
The issue of why Jews vote Democratic is complicated, but it is a mistake to claim that Jews vote Democratic because they don't care about Israel. Probably 95% of American Jews support Israel at some level and the Jews I know, who are strongly supportive of Israel, believe that the Democratic Party is as supportive of Israel as the Republican Party. You can disagree with that, or point to the activist class among the Democrats, but the Democratic leadership has been strongly supportive of Israel over the years and is still pretty supportive, with the notable exception of Obama. Incidentally, Israeli Jews are not that religious. Only 25% of Israeli Jews would classify themselves as religious or ultra-orthodox. My daughter works for an Israeli company in NYC and has noted the lack of traditional observance of holidays by Israelis living in NYC, holidays that most American Jews would observe, such as Yom Kippur.
Sorry, but Glen is wrong when he says, "Deeply religious Orthodox Jews are relatively rare in America.". There are many an their population is growing. From what I have observed, the 1950-1980 dominant model of Democratic Jews belonging (or not belonging to any) to reform and “reconstruction” temples is rapidly dying.
Quite simply - they do not have a lot of children, and intermarriage is killing the reform synagogues.
They are being replaced rapidly by more orthodox Jews who have large families. (6-12 persons). They believe in the future and have large families.
These “new Jews” are generally, (but not always - except: the Satmar cult) are strong supporters of Israel, do not support abortion, and tend to be more conservative in their views.
Because they live in more urban areas, they have been impacted more heavily by Kamala’s open borders and the crimes perpetrated by these illegal immigrants. For a perspective, see this article.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/399180
An interesting side story:
A few weeks ago, Trump visited the grave of the revered “Rebbi” Menachem Schnerson in Brooklyn. He visited and prayed at the grave with Hassidic leaders and Rabbis.
The grave is a site of great veneration to a lot of Orthodox/Hassidic Jews. It is considered a good thing to go there and offer a prayer for those facing great trials in life or “headwinds”.
Almost all of the Hassadim Jews in NY and LA supported Trump. (and there are many of them)
My Rabbi is convinced that Trump’s visit there secured his victory in the election.
Mike, you're certainly correct that the Orthodox population is rapidly growing, but they currently are still relatively rare. A recent survey puts them at 9% of the American Jewish population, which would make them around 0.2% of the overall U.S. population
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/05/11/orthodox-jews-poll-secular-trump-republican/
You're right on the button. I believe American Jews are like the teenagers traveling against Mom and Dad, the ones that had to sweat and suffer for a home, these inherit and not completely gratefully. They fear looking like they're voting en block with the relatives and they can't have that. They must show Mom and Dad how modern and progressive they are. Unfortunately some of those have moved back to Israel and cause any sort of consternation, by the time they learn, it may be to late.
I think that it all begins (and it truly will complicate things) with defining who’s a Jew. The statistics that say that 79% of American Jews voted Democrat were provided by groups who are already democrat leaning. I don’t put stock in such data. For example, I am told that to arrive at such a number they polled those who are members of Jewish Federations. Considering how ideologically captured the Jewish Federations are, the only people willing to still pay dues are self selecting democrats. Have you read this article? https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/jewish-vote-elections-2024
Yes, that's an interesting article which I read in my research for this piece. Thanks for sharing it.
This seems rather like the attempted takeover of Christian evangelical groups.
I am an American Jew. Admittedly, I grew up in Italy in a community that has felt under siege for about 2000 years, and in the shadow of the Holocaust. I despise democrats and anyone who’s come to tell us “as a Jew” that we should embrace our own demise and accept Hamas/denounce/renounce Israel. In fact, I don’t consider those Jews at all. The next generations won’t even know them.
When discussing today's Jewish-American support for the Democrat party and not the Republican party, history and tradition need to be studied. What I've read about the Holocaust era seems to lean on policies of the R party leadership. Specifically that the European situation in the latter half of the 1930s wasn't America's problem. Never mind the fact that more than one hundred thousand America's mothers buried their offspring 20 years earlier as a result of America's involvement in WWI. It may be that respected leaders in the Jewish community hold the Republican Party responsible for not intervening sooner in WW II. This might represent the group-think conundrum between group-preservation and group/self-identity. It may be ingrained in their psyche.
I was very gratified to read Mike Abel's response and now I see there are others in agreement. I grew up Catholic in rural Illinois and all I knew of my Jewish acquaintances is that they worshiped on Saturdays. As an adult, I learned from Jewish co-workers the difference between reform and Orthodox practices and what a "sundowner" was. Sadly, some of those acquaintances wore camp tattoos. I have always had the utmost regard for the State of Israel and its citizens. I am old enough to remember the horror at the Munich Olympics and the numerous Arab terror groups committing murders across Europe. After the October 7th massacre, I began doing as much research as possible. Trinity Broadcasting ran 4 one hour specials about that day and showed deep dives into regional history and religious practices. Chai Flix has run several episodes of "Picture This" interviews with survivors. I am further horrified by the ho-hum attitude of the US government and lack of accountability for the funding of Iran and Hamas. It has been shameful and I pray the new administration will change-that.
Glenn, this is a family that has followed your postings from when you were at the Aspen Times (ugh) and admired your survival and success outside of that modern liberal/Democrat cesspool, and who now want to compliment you on this very accurate observation regarding American Jewry's voting habits in the American system.
This family has some attachment to American Jewry, and feel we have some authority to indicate that the misguidance, to put it mildly, which directs any, any at all, Jews, to support American policy which hesitates in supporting the heroic and extremely successful, in practical, human, terms of modern Jewry, in practical, day-to-day matters, not to mention in scientific and cultural matters, that misguidance being due to a conscious detachment from, a separation from, a rejection, of the long-established success of the Jewish history, the implementation of Jewish law, the Holy Torah, and that from the idea that, something like, "we know better than those thousands of years of traditions, which, incidentally have brought us to this level of human success."
And that is modern liberalism at its very worst.
Interesting take. IDK if you're correct; however, as a Jew, I am very curious about the explanation. An alternative explanation might have to do with Jewish Americans' participation in left wing US politics (often with Socialism) that stretches back one hundred years ago to the Progressive Era when impoverished Eastern European Jews immigrated to the US. All of these folks were in need of food, shelter, jobs, freedom from political oppression, etc. So, I have assumed the answer to this question is more anthropological as opposed to the kind of self loathing associated with religious denial. That said, this is a feeling. I would love to know the actual answer. American Jewry should do its all to support Israel as its brethren and as the sole Democracy in the Middle East.
There is a strong element of distrust among Jews I've met, who believe Republicans are the party of Christian nationalism, and as such, inherently antisemitic. As an orthodox, evangelistic Christian, this presumption cuts me deeply: we believe the Jews are God's Chosen People. I personally came to Christ at the teaching of a Messianic Jew, who understood the Bible (in four languages) much better than any Christian scholar I've met. Perhaps I'm an outlier in this regard, but I've not sniffed the scent of antisemitism in any Christian gathering in 25 years. I believe that American Jews are coming to realize they've been "sold a bill of goods" on where antisemitism truly lies on the American political spectrum, much like blacks and Hispanics have. It is, like most issues, generational discovery we are witnessing.
I love the comment "...I've not sniffed the scent of antisemitism in any Christian gathering in 25 years."
I will go one further... In 60 years of Christian gatherings, I have seen nothing but overwhelming and sincere support for Israel and the Jewish people. Among conservatives I know, support for Israel is close to a litmus test for any political candidate.
The issue of why Jews vote Democratic is complicated, but it is a mistake to claim that Jews vote Democratic because they don't care about Israel. Probably 95% of American Jews support Israel at some level and the Jews I know, who are strongly supportive of Israel, believe that the Democratic Party is as supportive of Israel as the Republican Party. You can disagree with that, or point to the activist class among the Democrats, but the Democratic leadership has been strongly supportive of Israel over the years and is still pretty supportive, with the notable exception of Obama. Incidentally, Israeli Jews are not that religious. Only 25% of Israeli Jews would classify themselves as religious or ultra-orthodox. My daughter works for an Israeli company in NYC and has noted the lack of traditional observance of holidays by Israelis living in NYC, holidays that most American Jews would observe, such as Yom Kippur.
The Pew Research Center reports that Israeli Jews are significantly more religious than American ones. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/u-s-jews-connections-with-and-attitudes-toward-israel/
Maybe Jews believe that there is a net benefit from their victimhood over the past 3 millennia?