Why Are Jews Democrats? Part II

By Rich Kozlovich

On October 26, 2016 I wrote this article, Why Are Jews Democrats?, saying:

"I've always been amazed at how so many people - really smart people - can live and practice lives which can only be considered conservative and traditional - raising their children with those same values - and be liberal Democrats. Not Classical Liberals, which would more clearly be depicted by modern Republicans, but leftist liberals, as in socialists, who've been notoriously anti-Semitic."

On January 27, 2017 Steve Feinstein wrote an article entitle, Why American Jews Are Overwhelmingly Liberal, saying: "

Books could be written on the subject of why most American Jews are liberal."

He goes on to say:

"The answer is more emotional- and “feel”-based than factual- or logic-based. Certainly, Republican policies of the last 30-40 years towards Israel and Republican foreign policy in general are more favorable to Israel than the Democrats’ policies."  But as summarized in a Publisher’s Weekly review, “Immigrant American Jews were attracted to the Democratic Party”, says Podhoretz, “because it was the closest counterpart to the European leftists who had favored Jewish emancipation.”

I have some long term Jewish customers who like me and I like them so we can talk about this without it becoming a big deal. As I pointed out to one of my lady customers how Jews live conservative lives yet support liberal policies.  Her comment: "I'm a conservative in my mind, but I'm a liberal in my heart."  That is an important insight because it shows two things.  Intellectually they actually see the error of leftism, but are incapable of making the emotional adjustment to abandon leftism. 

The author points out European Jews liked the "tolerance, softness and “acceptance” of the American liberal philosophy appealed to them on an emotional level, since it represented the social freedom that had eluded them for generations in the ‘old country."
 

But the Democratic party isn't the party of their fathers and grandfathers.  The failed socialist policies of the left are not just failures - they've made the lives of those they claim to be helping far worse off than if they'd done nothing.  Failed policies they're not only unwilling to abandon - they want to double down on those policies.  Why?  That emotional harangue they spew out keeps them in power, and Jews, because of their history, can't abandon the  emotional appeal that says - we should help our fellow man. 

Democratic party ideology in not one that supports the idea if you “hard work and you’ll be rewarded” coupled with the essential American societal promise of non-discrimination (certainly not perfect in actuality, but orders of magnitude better than what it had been in Europe and Russia) were well-accepted by Jewish immigrants to the U.S in the first half of the 20th century. Those are the generations that spawned today’s liberal Jewish majority." 

In spite of their anti-Israel positions of the Democratic party and this past administration in particular, the "vast majority of American Jews remain wedded to the liberal/Democratic mindset"........ "with 80 to 90% of the Jewish vote going to Democrats.  Every time!" 

There are basic concepts that I've found to be true, and one of them is you can't reason people out of a position they've not been reasoned into.  While that's not 100% true 100% of the time - it is largely true.

Jews strongly believe in education, hard work and professional success, and yet Jews, often considered the smartest ethnic group on the planet, still support failed socialist policies and those who promote them. 

I have the real answer, which is eluded to by the author when he says immigrant Jews were attracted to the "American liberal philosophy appealed to them on an emotional level, since it represented the social freedom that had eluded them for generations in the ‘old country"......[which] was the closest counterpart to the European leftists who had favored Jewish emancipation.”

That's the key!  Why?  Because European leftists were socialists and they were in large part atheists, promoting an atheistic world view.  Modern Jews have abandoned their traditional religious views and values by adopting "liberalism" as a secular religion, and to abandon that "faith based initiative" is heresy, even if it means adopting the most anti-Judaic/Christian value of them all - abortion - the murder of the unborn as a right.

Will that change? No! At least not for 20 more years.  By then my parents generation will be gone, and my generation will be largely gone.  Then I think there will be a substantial shift in views, not entirely, but if 25% of Jews and 10% of blacks fail to vote for Democrats no Democrat can be elected....at least with the current national demographic make-up.