The Myth of the Republican Jewish Vote
The most recent obsession of the media concerns the Bush administration's attempts to woo the Jewish vote away from Democrats with zealous support of Israel.
If Jews voted only on issues concerned with Israel then maybe we'd vote Republican but unfortunately Jews don't. Poll after poll shows that on average American Jews are far more moderate than the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee would lead you to believe. It's not that we don't support Israel, because we do. Instead American Jews support an end to the occupation and settlement of Gaza and are ready to trade land for peace in the West Bank. Contrast that with the racist rhetoric from some of Sharon's advisors and you'll see that on Israel Jews in the United States are far more aligned with the views of Labor in Israel than with Likud.
On all other issues on which the Bush Administration has taken stark positions Jews are opposed to those positions by wide margins. Our religion calls on us to promote the healing of the world through Tikkun Olum and with this administration's shredding of the social safety net and environmental regulations they stand diametrically opposed to Judaism's commandments to struggle for social justice. This is not an after-thought for us as Jews but instead one of the most important tenents of our religion. As a rabbi from Canada says:
Jews believe in the spirit of Tikkun Olum, protecting and restoring the resources of the earth. We are responsible for the condition of our planet and we have a duty to nurture and preserve it. The ravages of war are entirely counter to Tikkun Olum and we as Jews must demand better from our leaders and ourselves.
Jews are not monolithic in either their votes or their views but I think that if you polled rabbis today, whether they be reform, conservative or orthodox, you'd find most of them horrified by the destruction the Bush administration has caused in this country and the world. And though we appreciate Bush's commitment to Israel Kerry's is just as strong and on social issues Kerry is a much, much closer fit to Judaism's views than Bush.
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