In the wake of the Democratic Party Platform reinstating language that will maintain Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a panel hosted by the National Jewish Democratic Council discussed the Jewish voting patterns in presidential elections on Wednesday.The panel discussion entitled “Why American Jews Will Support Obama/Biden” explained the reasons why a large percentage of the Jewish American population votes for Democratic candidates and why President Obama has experienced a drop in Jewish voter support. The panelists challenged the idea that Israel is a major factor in Jewish voting patterns and instead explained that Jewish voters focus on shared values with the Democratic Party.Jewish voters are more progressive on social issues than the Republican Party leadership, Anna Greenberg, pollster of Greenberg Quinlan, said. Furthermore, attachment to Israel among American Jews is waning as the Jewish population changes due to intermarriage, Greenberg said.
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) said that Jewish voters support the Democratic Party’s stance on women’s rights, the environment and economic policies that support a “budget that is fair” and that invests in children, seniors and the middle class.
Cardin said that despite the Obama administration’s strong support of Israel and stance against Iranian nuclear weapons, Jewish voters have been swayed by Republican fueled “misinformation” that “puts a wedge between Jewish voters and the Democratic Party.”
Former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Martin Frost said a shift in support of 10 percent of the Jewish electorate will be pivotal in battleground states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He said that garnering 70 percent of the Jewish vote will be important for President Obama’s reelection.
Ben Shapiro, editor at large of Breitbart.com and author of a syndicated column “Jews in Name Only,” said Jewish voters support Democratic candidates because of “Tikkun Olam” meaning “Healing the World.”
“They misinterpret Tikkun Olam as leftist social justice,” he said, “but it doesn’t mean seizure of wealth and redistribution.”
Shapiro explained that Judaism does not support same-sex marriage, a pro-choice stand on abortion or economic redistribution of wealth.
Ari Zoldan, CEO of Quantum Networks, LLC, said the language of the Democratic Party platform first excluding Jerusalem then including the city as the capital of Israel were politically motivated decisions. Zoldan said it will be interesting to see the way in which members of each of the four sects of Judaism, which are Orthodoxy, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionism, will cast their votes come November.
