Fay Dicker
Lakewood, NJ
Democrats Vs. Republicans
Hopelessly Liberal
The midterms have come and gone and once again American Jews proved themselves to be hopelessly liberal, voting overwhelmingly for Democrats and voicing approval for President Obama in far larger percentages than just about any other religious/ethnic subgroup in the country.
What we Jews on the right have such a hard time grasping is that Israel ranks relatively low as a priority for most American Jews, who consistently tell pollsters they’re more concerned about domestic issues such as abortion rights, gay rights, legalization for illegal immigrants, feminism, etc.
And when it comes to Israel, most American Jews support the liberal Democratic position on the need for Israel to show greater flexibility, to stop building settlements, to make territorial compromises, etc. In their eyes, it’s the American president who’s exhibited great forbearance in putting up with an aggressive and arrogant Israeli prime minister, not the other way around.
Frankly, as the non-Orthodox segment of American Jewry (which, despite its suicidal intermarriage rate and the proliferation of large Orthodox families, will remain numerically dominant for at least another couple of decades) becomes ever more estranged from traditional Judaism and increasingly dovish with regard to Israel, we will continue to see the Jewish vote go to liberal and leftist candidates for some time to come.
David Farber
(Via E-Mail)
A Case For The Democrats
I hope you will publish this letter to provide some balance to the views espoused in most of your columns and editorials.
While Democrats are, of course, far from perfect, their positions are more in line with Jewish teachings on compassion, helping the poor, pursuing justice and peace, sharing, being kind to the stranger, environmental stewardship, and other issues than the positions taken by Republicans.
The current Republican Party has shifted so far to the right, under the influence of the Tea Party, that there are few if any Republican moderate members of Congress remaining.
The GOP has obstructed efforts to get our country out of the ditch the Bush administration left us in, consistently voting “no” on and filibustering Democratic proposals to improve the economy, some of which they previously supported.
Republicans back continued tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthiest Americans, at the expense of average Americans. And Republicans are in denial about the dangers from climate change, despite the views of almost all climate scientists and the many wake-up calls we have been receiving in terms of melting glaciers and ice caps and the increase in the number and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods.
Since many of your articles and editorials argue that Obama has a weak record on Israel, please also consider the following:
The level of strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Israel has never been better; the U.S. supplied funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system that has saved many Israeli lives; the Obama administration has consistently backed Israel in international forums and helped prevent a declaration of a Palestinian state by the UN; Obama supported Israel with regard to the Goldstone report and the Gaza flotilla incident; and in 2011 the president, responding to a frantic middle-of-the night call from Prime Minister Netanyahu, helped save six Israelis who were trapped in the Israeli embassy in Cairo.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Staten Island, NY
