Nov 9 2008
Barack Obama received 78 percent of the Jewish vote, which is about 25 percent greater than Obama’s percentage of total support nationally.Obama’s 78 percent of the Jewish vote comes surprisingly close to Al Gore’s 79 percent of the Jewish vote in 2000, when Gore ran with a Jewish vice presidential nominee. Even more astonishing, Obama managed to garner this much Jewish support despite his middle name Hussein and strong anti-Obama press in the Jewish community.
The anti-Obama press focused primarily on Obama’s choice of advisers. Zbigniew Brzezinski has loudly claimed that Washington's ties to Israel are the cause of many U.S. foreign-policy problems. Rob Malley, of Syrian parentage, has been a staunch advocate for the Palestinians. And Susan Rice, author of ideas such as making Jimmy Carter and James Baker Middle East negotiators, is also known for her anti-Israel bias.
Adding oil to the fire is Obama's friendship with the renowned anti-Semitic Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor at Obama's Trinity Church in Chicago. One of Reverend Wright’s closest friends is Louis Farrakhan, who has called Judaism a "gutter religion" and Jews "bloodsuckers."
Perhaps the Republicans’ anti-Obama campaign in the Jewish community failed because American Jewish concerns for Israel and fear of anti-Semitism have declined greatly. Or perhaps the campaign was trumped by American Jewish desire to address domestic social issues and to improve relations between the Jewish and black communities.
While Jews tend to be Democrats, Jews today are particularly in sync with Obama on domestic social issues. Most American Jews back Obama’s support for abortion rights, gun control and health care. Obama’s plan to secure the financial underpinnings of Social Security without cutting benefits or raising the retirement age was particularly attractive to elderly Jews in Florida.
In addition, Obama brings the American Jewish community hope for improved relations with the black community. This year American Jews observed Martin Luther King Day like never before. "Up until five years ago, the Jewish community did not relate to Martin Luther King Day," said Rabbi Marc Schneier, head of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. This year, however, there were a record number of about 50 events and ceremonies marking Martin Luther King Day at Jewish schools, community centers and synagogues.
The most exciting aspect of politics, in my opinion, is the pace of change. Yesterday everyone was asking whether American Jews will be good to Obama. Today, the day after Obama won the presidential race, the question is whether Obama will be good for the Jews.
