Jews and Democrats

American Jews have overwhelmingly supported the Democratic party throughout the 20th century. There are probably many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is probably that the Democratic party was viewed as the "progressive" party - interested in fairness and creating a system of social support for all of society, both at home and abroad. But times have changes, and as Ben Shapiro argues, the Democrats no longer represent these principles.

It was Rep. Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia, who claimed that a Jewish cabal stood behind the Iraq war. It was former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Democrat from Georgia, who took money from anti-American and anti-Israeli terrorist supporters during her candidacy for Congress. It was Vermont's Howard Dean, a Democrat, who labeled Hamas members "soldiers." It was Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, who was once Grand Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan. It was Sen. Ernest Hollings, a Democrat from South Carolina, who blamed the Iraq war on pro-Israeli interests. Beyond all the rhetoric about Jewish relatives, the Democratic Party stands for a thinly veiled hostility toward Judaism and Jews.

At the same time, the resistance to the Republican party was partially based in the perception and fear of the religiosity of many Republicans. For Shapiro this is something to be embraced, not feared. He contends that it is the secularists who have been most anti-Semitic and damaging to Jews. Of course this has been the case primarily in modern history; before that religious fervor produced the most destructive events for the Jewish communities (i.e. Inquisition, blood libels, etc.) Shapiro believes that Jews must reappraise their attitudes to the Republican party:

President Bush and the American right have been the best friends to the Jewish community in the annals of modern history. It is President Bush and his administration that have staunchly maintained their support for Israel, even in the face of withering attacks from the world community. It is President Bush and his administration that have stood up against the neo-Nazi ideology of Islamism. It is President Bush and the Republican Party that have fought for American morality; it is they who zealously guard the Judeo-Christian ethic that has made America the greatest power in world history. It is they who uphold the concept of a culturally, economically, morally strong Jewish people.

It's about time the Jewish community recognized that fact and realized that allegiance must be to principles, not to parties.