Dad,

In my initial email, I wrote: “To ask whether Jews should vote Republican is to assume that American Jewry is a monolith of homogenous interests. I’m not sure that such a political creature does or should exist.” You struck a similar chord in your last email when you wrote: “[T]he Jews I grew up among did not have to reinforce their collective identity by fantasizing about or exaggerating a white Christian danger to their group. Their strong ethnic identity allowed them to function collectively without reference to a convenient adversary.”

We agree that Jews are grappling with how to define themselves. You write that the Jews of your childhood had a strong ethnic identity, and you suggest that Jews now need to imagine a Christian enemy in order to maintain their communal identity. In your other emails, you suggest that this phobia of Christians has drawn Jews into the Democratic Party’s fold, as if the Democratic Party were the best means of subverting any Christian agenda.

This country has had 43 presidents, both Democratic and Republican; yet—whether Episcopalian, Baptist, Quaker, Catholic, Unitarian, or some other denomination—each one has been Christian, even if he has not practiced. Both parties have an overwhelming majority of Christian voters. So it’s not as if Jews are conspiring with Zoroastrians, Buddhists, and Wiccans in order to drive Christian politicians into the Potomac. On the contrary, those Jews who vote Democrat share political viewpoints with Christian Democrats; and I’m not willing to claim that Bill Clinton, despite his peccadilloes, was somehow less “Christian” than Bush fils, with his trumped-up reasons for spilling American and Iraqi blood.

So when you suggest that Jews vote Democrat in order to vent their hostility towards Christians, you are referring to a particular type of Christian. It’s the type that supports one constitutional amendment against gay marriage, a second constitutional amendment in support of school prayer, a third constitutional amendment against flag-burning, and a fourth constitutional amendment outlawing abortion. And it’s the type of Christian who places a 5,000-pound granite monument of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse in order to proclaim the law of God, the type who dons sackcloth and ashes when an instructor in a public school teaches “evilution.”

To the extent that Jews are opposed to any expression of Christianity, it is to an ostentatious religiosity that would rewrite the Constitution in order to accommodate biblical zealotry. Opposition to this form of Christianity is fortunately shared by many Christians and other non-Jews in this country.

Of course, I am not being fair to you. I understand that you do not support the Constitutional amendments referred to above; nor do many Christian (or other) Republicans. Yet my point is that—with the exception of a fundamentalist fringe among the Republicans—I see no reason why the Republicans should be considered more “Christian” than the Democrats. And so if the only reason for Jews to vote Republican is to overcome their irrational fear of Christians, then I’m afraid that I’m left where I began: wondering whether or not Jews across this vast country share a core of beliefs that would drive them to vote for a single political party.

While I may not have found an answer and although we don't agree as to whether Jews should vote Republican, you have, as usual, forced me to reexamine my assumptions and taught me a thing or two in the process. And for that I am, as always, grateful.

Jonathan

The post Day 4 (Jonathan Gottfried): Is it Time for Jews to Vote Republican? appeared first on Jewcy.

Dad,

I definitely distinguish between “Clinton’s pummeling of the Serbs” and “W’s reckless invasion of Iraq,” and not only for the ways in which the operations were conducted. While Saddam’s atrocities against Iranians, Kurds, and Shia were abominable, the former leader of the Serbs died too soon to be convicted of some of the most serious offenses against humanity: genocide, violations of the laws or customs of war, and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. You many not be a fan of international tribunals—you may believe that they are kangaroo courts established by the victors to justify their aggression—and you rightly point out that atrocities were likely committed by all sides in the Balkans. Yet where ethnic cleansing is involved—whether in the former Yugoslavia or in Darfur—the United States and the international community have an obligation to intervene.

I don't believe that one can blame the “consolidation of Arab terrorists in European Muslim territories”—to the extent that such a phenomenon exists and is related to the Balkans—on the West’s belated intervention. Muslim grievances about ex-Yugoslavia are related to the Serbian bloodletting, not to Clinton’s attempt to prevent further massacres.

I’m very interested by your comments about American Jews’ “growing anxiety…about militant Christians”. Let’s assume—as you write—that American Jews are more distrustful of their Christian neighbors today than back when you were growing up. Why do you believe that to be the case? What was the catalyst? Is it possible that fundamentalist Christians today are more numerous or more vocal than in previous years? And that certain strands of Christianity are more stridently political than in the past? Or is it that Jews have become politically established and willing to express disagreement with displays of Christian religiosity? Perhaps the Jews in your elementary school did not protest the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer because they were too concerned about being viewed as un-American.

You’re concerned that Jewish anxiety about Christian antisemitism has diverted attention from more virulent Muslim antisemitism. I believe that the threat of Islamist terror has actually brought American Jews closer to Americans of all religious stripes (perhaps including American Muslims). Because of American Jews’ sensitivity to Israel, they were in the past more aware than other Americans of Islamist terror. This changed with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and 9/11.

These attacks could have divided Jews from other Americans. If Americans had blamed these attacks on an unjustified U.S. policy in the Middle East, then American Jews—who have influenced this policy—could have been a scapegoat. Yet, to my surprise, such a backlash has so far been absent (with the exception of some members of the political left). Instead, American non-Jews seem as inclined as American Jews nowadays to view Islamist terror as a serious danger.

Although I’ve rambled long enough, I have to respond to your comment that: “In France and Germany Islamicism has benefited from the pro-immigration policies and unrelenting attacks on the European Christian heritage that come from European Jewish organizations.” With respect to France, you know as well as I that many of the French Muslims immigrated during France's post-WWII economic expansion: “Les Trente Glorieuses.” The Algerians and others who immigrated to France were seeking labor, and French companies were all too happy to accept their work. That Europe has failed to offer professional opportunities to its Muslim immigrants and has a flawed model of integration is hardly the fault of Europe’s Jews.

Jonathan

Next: A nativity scene is not a pogrom

The post Day 3 (Jonathan Gottfried): Is it Time for Jews to Vote Republican? appeared first on Jewcy.

Dad,

You suggest that certain aspects of the parties’ environmental and foreign policy platforms (which I had pointed out as distinguishing factors) resemble one another.

With respect to the Kyoto Protocol, the 95-to-zero Senate vote in 1999 on the Byrd-Hagel resolution may not have been the Democratic Party’s finest moment. Yet, as you know, the Senate has never actually rejected the Kyoto Protocol since it has never been submitted for ratification. In 1999, the Senate merely voted—prior to the conclusion of Kyoto negotiations—in favor of a broadly worded statement that the United States should not be a signatory to any agreement that (i) did not apply similar emissions standards to developing and developed nations, and (ii) harmed the United States economy.

That Democratic senators voted for Byrd-Hagel does not place them in the same category as S. Fred Singer or the Bush administration. In addition, while both Democrats and Republicans may have voted for the same bill, their reasons likely differed (organized labor for the former and big business for the latter). And although Schwarzenegger may nominally be a Republican, he broke with Republicans in California’s legislature to join the Democratic majority and to pass that state’s recent emissions bill. I still believe that there is a stark contrast between the parties when it comes to the environment.

With respect to foreign policy, you point out that Clinton used the military during his presidency, for example in Kosovo and Sudan. While recognizing that Clinton “did not stumble into any engagement quite as disastrous as the Iraqi War,” you nonetheless place both Bush and Clinton’s international forays into the same category of “nation building.” Setting aside the question of whether that appellation can credibly describe U.S. efforts around the Tigris and Euphrates, there exist greater differences between the two presidents’ policies than simply the number of body bags they’ve produced.

The United States acted with NATO in Kosovo, after UN military intervention had failed, and without the vociferous opposition demonstrated by much of the world against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Bush’s actions demonstrated contempt for long-standing American allies, while Clinton’s actions—although perhaps no more legal under international law – at least involved genuine diplomacy. Perhaps most importantly for me, the American claim to be pursuing humanitarian objectives in Kosovo was more plausible than in Iraq. Once again, I see meaningful differences between the parties’—or, at least, the presidencies’—foreign policies, even if both parties have “meddled beyond our borders.”

I’m sorry for dwelling so long on the environment and foreign policy and for straying from the topic at hand—the Jewish connection to Republicans and Democrats. You’ve written that Jews have moved further and faster to the left than their Christian counterparts over the past decades, and you attribute this political shift to American Jews’ perceived victimization at the hands of their non-Jewish neighbors. This suggests that Jews were, at one time, more conservative. So why have we become more sensitive (or, from your perspective, more paranoid) of late?

We agree that Jews have a tendency to view themselves as the objects of malice and that Jews must move beyond a negative definition of themselves. There seems to be a need to define oneself not just in relation to the “other,” but in fear of this “other.” Perhaps that’s a consequence of Jewish history, or perhaps of not being among the religious majority. However I don’t see how Jews’ casting their vote with non-Jewish Republicans helps any more than their casting their vote beside non-Jewish Democrats. In addition, I question whether Jews have long-term allies in the “effusively philosemitic and passionately pro-Zionist” Christian Right.

Most Jews view Israel as an end unto itself, not a means to achieving the second coming of Christ. Moreover, the Christian Right’s respect for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are well and good; yet I question whether that respect extends to modern-day Jews when the Christian Right advocates a Constitutional amendment for school prayer. Ultimately, a religious minority has an interest in a secular society. I guess you’ve helped me to realize that, despite my earlier comment about whether American Jews share political views as Jews, we may all have an interest in secularism.

Yet I still don’t see a good reason why Jews should hide the Manischewitz, order a mint julep and vote Republican.

NEXT: Jewish concern with the Christian Right is a silly diversion

The post Day 2 (Jonathan Gottfried): Is it Time for Jews to Vote Republican? appeared first on Jewcy.

Dad,

So we’ve been asked whether it’s time for Jews to vote Republican, and it seems that you object to the question on the grounds that the Democratic and Republican parties are merely so much hot air used to inflate an ever-increasing federal government. Before responding to the question and your comments, I, too, want to take issue with some assumptions underlying the question.

To ask whether Jews should vote Republican is to assume that American Jewry is a monolith of homogenous interests. I’m not sure that such a political creature does or should exist. A mildly observant Jew in Alabama likely has more in common with his mildly observant Christian neighbor than he does with most Jews in New York. The two religions’ theological differences—as understood and practiced by your average Jew or Christian—pale in comparison to the similarities of geography and culture shared by my hypothetical Southern neighbors. Other than a favorable U.S. policy towards Israel, I’m not convinced that there is a political platform to which most Jews, as Jews, adhere (and this is not to argue that the U.S. policy towards Israel has been good for Israel or even for America’s Jews).

Even if we assume that Jews across this country do share political interests, I’m not sure that we should cast our lot with any single political party. Consistently voting Democrat or Republican eventually creates a situation where the Jewish vote is taken for granted. Better to rock the boat every once in a while in order to ensure that one’s voice is heard.

Enough of my bickering with the question, and now let me turn to your objection to the question. You argue there is no longer any difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. I find that hard to believe.

Had Gore been elected, do you believe that our country would have invaded Iraq, that we would have withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol, that we would have opposed the establishment of the International Criminal Court? You may question the import of Kyoto and the ICC; however it is hard to ignore the 3000 American dead as a result of this war. You may respond, perhaps, that this war has nothing to do with the Republican Party. Perhaps you’re correct. Had Bush père or another Republican been in power, we may not have invaded. And yet the point remains that a Republican president pursued a war that I don’t think that the Democratic candidate, if elected, would have. For that reason alone, I believe that there is a difference between the parties.

I'm surprised by your reason why Jews should vote Republican. Jews do not vote Democrat because they fear the non-Jewish Americans around them. Jewish Democrats do not linger in the shadows of the shtetl, fearful that America’s non-Jews are sharpening their knives for the next pogrom. Nor do I think that Jews need to vote Republican in order to prove they are Americans worthy of playing on the polo fields with WASPs. Are you suggesting that voting Republican is somehow a sign of successful, Jewish assimilation? Of becoming “American” in a way that Jewish Democrats are not?

Jonathan

Next: Going to Synagogue is like plunging into an editorial meeting at The Nation

The post Day 1 (Jonathan Gottfried): Is it Time for Jews to Vote Republican? appeared first on Jewcy.