Published Letters

Letters: Poll: Jews on Trump, Warren, Anti-Semitism

BY JEWISH JOURNAL | OCT 23, 2019 | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Poll: Jews on Trump, Warren, Anti-Semitism

The cover story of the Journal’s Oct. 18 edition reported the results of a survey of Jews in Los Angeles, with a headline that Jews are “highly informed about public affairs” (“Who Are the Jews of the City of Angels?”). Based on the results of the survey, it is questionable whether Jews are highly informed or simply have no interest in Jewish values and the Jewish people. The results show that 75% of Jews disapprove of President Donald Trump and 70% strongly disapprove, which was significantly higher than the Democratic share of party identifiers.

Trump has been one of Israel’s greatest friends and, by extension, the Jewish people, with the possible exception of President Harry Truman. Notwithstanding, Jews appear to have a genetically built-in support for the Democratic Party even though it has become a welcoming place for vocal Jew haters among Democratic members of Congress. For example, when Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) went on an anti-Jewish tirade, including a tweet that said “it’s all about the Benjamins,” and an allegation that Jews have a dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel, rather than condemning her for her bigotry against Jews, the party leadership sponsored a meaningless condemnation of all sorts of bigotry. Similarly, when Israel refused to allow Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to enter the country, which cited their support of the boycott movement against Israel, Senate Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) condemned Israel. The Democrats must assume that Israel should be obliged to admit visitors who declare their support for people who want to see Israel destroyed. Also, two of the Democratic Party’s leading presidential contenders, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have taken on senior advisers who support the boycott of Israel.

Notwithstanding, Jews still support the Democratic Party overwhelmingly even though the Democratic Party takes the Jewish vote for granted. Correspondingly, the message to Republicans is that no matter how much they support Israel and by extension the Jewish people, the Jewish vote will remain solidly Democratic. If the majority of Jews don’t come to realize how inimical the Democratic Party has been to Israel and by extension, the Jews, the Democratic Party will take the Jews for granted and Republicans can rightfully assume that no matter what they do for the benefit of Israel and the Jews, they won’t get the Jewish vote. This makes Jews irrelevant in the political calculus of both parties. This could have a long-term adverse effect on how the government addresses Jewish issues.
Marshall Lerner, Beverly Hills