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Why Are Jews Liberals?

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I was rather excited to read this book and was not disappointed. Has a fairer, more important, more anticipated book been written on religion, politics or history? Not in my 30+ years. This book lived up the "hype."

While balanced, Norman Podhoretz traces his journey -- one many of us have taken as we mature and think on our own -- from Democrat/liberal to Republican/neo-Conservative, and is quite honest on both sides. While the legendary Commentary editor examines the roots of anti-Semitism historically and currently, he blames the Right as well, even into the latter half of the 20th century.

{I did not realize that his personal switch occurred (forgetting Commentary was once a left-leaning rag ...before my time) when he continuously realized Israel's enemies not only resided on the Statist Left, but also that it was the pseudo-peaceniks who showed zero interest in Judaism or condemning anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism, and wrongly lent their time to the mundane, "feel good" topics of civil rights, integration, housing. They felt "Israel can take care of itself." I hear that from self-loathing, Democrat-voting "Jews" weekly.}

Essentially, Podhoretz looks at the reasons Jews adhered to liberalism beginning with the persecutions of Christianity, such as European disenfranchisement of Jews, dearth of civil liberties, freedoms, expulsions, the Inquisition, and the shtetls of the modern world to the horrific Dreyfus Affair in France, ending with rise of Nazism and the Holocaust.

He therefore factually recalls that when Jews came to America, they aligned themselves with the Democratic Party because of its close resemblance to the disingenuous left-leaning Europeans (their 'friends' still today), who favored the emancipation of the Jews. He looks at Harry S. Truman as basically the last Zionist Democrat (FDR was not, JFK not so much either, LBJ no way) who recognized Israel and thus won more Jews' support. Concluding, he rightly traces modern Democratic attitudes toward Israel as hostile, contrasting to Republicans (aside from the occasional remnant of 1940s Isolationism lunacy like Ron Paul, Bob Novak or James Baker) who, from Eisenhower and Nixon to Reagan and Bush Jr., have supported Israel with great fervor since the Six-Day War in 1967.

The book is very nicely divided into two distinct sections of the "how" and "why they still are..." in terms of liberal Judaism. N-Pod explains the faux-justifications, but sentiently muses sadly as to why the Jews are so beholden to a party so antithetical (or apathetic) to their best interests. He has stats, voting records, anecdotes and more. It is all extremely well-written and crafted even-handedly.

The vapid left ignored all this then and will do so now.

I read David Brog's "Standing with Israel," about Evangelical support for the Jewish State, concomitantly, which again proves beyond a doubt the irony that Christian Zionists are truly Israel's most hated friends. This is another vital topic explaining why 80% of American Jews "don't get it."

To clarify, as Brog and Podhoretz do, the most common argument against Christian Zionists is that they only support Israel because of the "End of Days" prophecy. (The End of Days prophecy is a Christian belief that the Second Coming of Christ can only happen once the Jews are in Israel.) According to the prediction, in the days before the Second Coming most Jews will either die or convert to Christianity. Because of this, many Jews believe that Christian support for Israel is just an extremely complicated way for Christians to finish the job of the Inquisition.

Bullocks.

As Brog noted, "There is simply no evidence to connect the Christian Zionists' zeal for evangelism to their support for Israel...This argument presumes that Christians-- millions of them-- have agreed to a plan that they are now implementing church by church across America...in order to harvest Jewish souls at some point down the road. Why hasn't someone leaked the memo to the press? Or has this grassroots plan to convert the Jews been orchestrated by a sleeper cell?"

Indeed. But sadly, it's difficult for many Jews to be appreciative of Christian Zionists when they are bombarded with false and slanderous information about the movement from the media and their left-wing Reform Rabbis. The same can be said for their intolerant attitude toward Jews of the Republican Party, or the "neoconservative" movement, which puts the security of Israel at its forefront.

Last year, Christian Zionists raised millions of dollars for Jewish causes, and used their considerable political power to lobby politicians on behalf of Israel. To show appreciation, recently, hundreds of Jewish leaders like the heads of the ADL (the despicable Abe Foxman) and associated leftists, teamed up to denounce Christian Zionism and its supporters in a petition, calling them "bigoted," "extremist," and "anti-Semitic."

The only "anti-Semitism" the left reviles is "Christian." Of course, they are living in the distant past, as such does not exist. Anti-Semitism today comes from the Radical Islamics, but also atheists, agnostics and secular "Jews" themselves, here, in Europe and throughout the world...though they'd disagree and call names if you factually explained.

We Jews, hated for no good reason but jealousy, cannot waste time waiting for a "perfect" friend of Israel to come along. There are not nearly enough who love us the same way.

{It is also very important to note that the last word in the title of the book is plural. Jews may fancy themselves as "liberals" but they really are NOT that "liberal." That is why the title is accurate, as no one over 25, sans some millionaire hippies in Marin, is truly "liberal" if they have a brain, common sense and care about their country and families. Like blacks, hispanics and others voting inapposite to their best interests thanks to bigotry, narrow-mindedness and misinfo from Democrats, Jews belong to a group called "liberals" (plural) but their lifestyles, are often as conservative as you'd find. They live in the same neighborhoods, do the same things as other Jews, have the same friends, etc. Ditto the other aforementioned "minorities." That is NOT liberal. My personal life story is 1000 times MORE liberal than theirs, but I am a conservative. Hopefully that makes sense.}

Returning to the nuts and bolts of his book, Podhoretz, in the second half, explains in-depth how the Jewish vote has shifted throughout the 20th century, but always reverted back:

In the past eight decades, the average Jewish vote for the Democrat in presidential elections has been 75%, which is far higher than that of any other ethno-religious group.

He notes, in a September 2009 Wall Street Journal editorial, "previewing" his book:

"Continued Jewish commitment to the Democratic Party has become an anomaly. All the other ethno-religious groups that, like the Jews, formed part of the coalition forged by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s have followed the rule that increasing prosperity generally leads to an increasing identification with the Republican Party. But not the Jews."

He continues:

"Liberalism has become more than a political outlook. It has for all practical purposes superseded Judaism and become a religion in its own right...For many, moving to the right is invested with much the same horror their forefathers felt about conversion to Christianity."

He concludes, perhaps most importantly:

"I think it fair to say that what liberals mainly see when they look at this country is injustice and oppression of every kind--economic, social and political. By sharp contrast, conservatives see a nation shaped by a complex of traditions, principles and institutions that has afforded more freedom and, even factoring in periodic economic downturns, more prosperity to more of its citizens than in any society in human history. It follows that what liberals believe needs to be changed or discarded--and apologized to other nations--is precisely what conservatives are dedicated to preserving, reinvigorating and proudly defending against attack."

Yet, in terms of Israel support, there were reasons to think 2008 would be a good year for the GOP. John McCain's long history of sympathy with Israel should have given him an advantage over Barack Hussein Obama, whose history consisted of associating with enemies of the Jewish state like the unapologetic bigot Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Nevertheless, proving Pod's assertion that Statist "Jews" have not cared about Israel/Judaism for decades, Obama beat Mr. McCain among Jewish voters by roughly a 70-30 ratio. Obama did far better with Jews than with any other ethnic/religious group, sans blacks, and Podhorertz relays some stats:

The Jewish vote for him was 25 points higher than the 53% he scored with the electorate as a whole; 35 points higher than the 43% he scored with whites; 11 points higher than the 67% he scored with Hispanics; 33 points higher than the 45% he scored with Protestants; and 24 points higher than the 54% he scored with Catholics.

In his closing paragraphs, Podhoretz clarifies a final time:

"The social, political and moral system that liberals wish to transform is the very system in and through which Jews found a home such as they had never discovered in all their forced wanderings tyhroughout the centuries over the face of the earth."

Modern American Jewry has ignored this. Our proud forefathers would weep, but they'd praise 80 year-old Norman Podhoretz for such an important book.

Although in this fine book Norman Podhoretz comes close, I would have to say that the core of fundamental differences lies one layer deeper.

- Leftists are zealous adherents to a secular religion. While conservatives believe that only God is perfect (the Judeo-Christian ethos) and that each man can strive to be better in His image, instead the left believes that humanity can be perfected.
- Perfection starts with the purity of leftist intentions, most importantly that of equality in all results (the "unfairly" successful must be brought down, and the "oppressed" must be raised up).
- Leftist intentions are made manifest by the cognoscenti via a top-down system, because each individual person cannot be trusted to better themselves.
- A top-down approach can best be implemented by an all-encompassing government that is the keeper and sustainer of perfection.

All other things flow from the above dichotomy, including charity versus welfare, moral relativism, belief in self-correcting versus zero-sum systems, etc., etc. The essence of all this is a clash of religions. Those Jews who are liberal have therefore abandoned Judaism and made God subservient to the leftist religion.

BTW, don't believe the nonsense here from other reviewers about the "Christian Right" holding Jewish conspiracy theories. That is a deceitful liberal trope that is more correctly the obsession of foaming-at-the-mouth leftists whenever they talk about Israel and Zionism.

Podhoretz's review of Jewish history is fascinating and explains much about why Jews came to distrust kings,emperors and such(the Right)who often inflicted confication, banishment and even murder upon them. However, in the decades leading up to the Communist take over of Russia, the Socialists and Communists (the Left)promised to eliminate all difference among people. This had great appeal to Jews who were singled out throughout history as "different," which served to justify their persecution. However, I am amazed that the great majority of American Jews in our country, where there is no persecution, and where they enjoy equal rights and protection under the law, persist in voting liberal. This brings to mind the lemmings. A fascinating book which I recommend highly. Joseph Sabella

Liberal by Inertia
The first part of the book is of limited value, and has some serious interpretive errors dealing with the church-state relationship in absolute monarchies and enlightened despotisms. It really sets the background for the main issue of the book and explains why Jews became liberal.
As for why Jews, acting against their own self-interest are still liberal, Podhoretz basically argues that Jews are liberal because of inertia. Just as those Jews that wished to break with the religion sought liberation thru Marxism as being more acceptable than Christianity, today they flee to Liberalism as an escape from religious strictures. In fact, in the Jewish community Liberalism often takes the place of religion. Therefore they will forgive any "excess" on the left, such as Jesse Jackson's reference to "Hymietown" and the writings of President Carter, while excoriating the Conservatives for the writings of Buchanan.
The problem I have with this book is that it fails to deal with the dilemma that I personally face. I am a Jewish Republican who was Jesuit educated (along with a son), belongs to a synagogue, but not a political Conservative. I also have friends who are Evangelical Christians. I have belonged to unions, and been on strike. I am a Classic Liberal and wish the government to stay away from my wallet, my family, my bedroom, and my health. I do not wish to tell anyone else how to live. I have donated money to Republican candidates, volunteered in campaigns, and even been faculty advisor to a "Young Republican" club. I am also a hawk on foreign policy and national defense. Podoretz seems not to understand (along with quite a few "talking heads") that you don't have to be a Conservative to be a Republican. It is the intransigent support of Conservative social doctrines by Republican leadership that keep many Jews away from more active support of the Republican Party.

Jews and non Jewish politicians all ask the question . More specifically why are non orthodox Jews not only liberal but far left wing. A good historical and well thought out point of view on this issue. It is probably not the whole answer but a good start in a difficult field. Well worth the read.

This book is both interesting and informative. However, it does not satisfactorily answer the question why Jews are liberals. The author gave a very abridged history of the Jews to illustrate why the deep mistrust Ashkenazic Jews had for the ruling powers of Europe and for the Christian Church - in short, the right. This, together with the traditional Judaic teaching, does reasonably explain why Jews tended to be on the left side of the political order. The author admits to be as perplexed as the next person as to why, given a vastly different political, economical and religious context - here in today's America - Jews are still overwhelmingly liberal (and a reliably Democratic voter). He posits various "theories" served up by many students of the subject, but none really quite up to the task (of rationally explaining the anomaly.) Thus, in exasperation, he gave up by serving up the "Jews are politically stupid" line, which is what most people are forced to light-heartedly conclude.

Podhoretz's book was written not to answer the question which entitled the book - as there is not a good answer - but to hopefully provoke the vast majority of American Jewry into searching thoughts on why they are, to their detriment, stuck in a dogma that was formed from circumstances of the past, admittedly a very long and bitter past, but that have now evolved to be so different.

The book is, again, interesting and informative. As a philo-semite (if there is such a thing), I have been perplexed by this question for a long time. This book provides invaluable insight on the subject because it is from the heart and mind of a Jew, a very intelligent, accomplished and influential one, who more or less tells his life story in his quest for an answer.

This book is well worth the time for anyone interested in the question in the title. Podhoretz's answer isn't simply to blame the Jews for failing to understand their own interests, though there is some of that. To me the most interesting parts, though, were Podhoretz's criticisms of conservatives and Republican figures for taking actions to alienate the Jews. He takes aim at National Review and its founder, William F. Buckley Jr., for the magazine's endorsement of the anti-Semitism-spewing Patrick Buchanan in the 1992 Republican presidential primary. He faults Ronald Reagan for selling AWACs to Saudi Arabia, for allowing Ambassador Kirkpatrick to vote, at the United Nations, to condemn Israel's 1981 raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Orsirak, and for comparing Israel's actions in the Lebanon War to the Holocaust. Podhoretz reminds us that back at the time he published an article headlined "The Neoconservative Anguish Over Reagan's Foreign Policy." He also writes of how George H.W. Bush refused to allow Israel to be part of the anti-Iraq coalition in the first Gulf War, even after Israel was hit by Iraqi scuds. Because Podhoretz is on the right, he's particularly credible as a carrier of the idea that it's not just the fault of the those stiff-necked Jews that they, or we, aren't more conservative - the conservatives themselves bear some of the responsibility, or the blame. It's a valuable reminder even for Jewish conservatives, and even more so for those of any religion who want there to be more Jewish conservatives.

This book gives detailed insite into why so many Jews are liberals. It is a great book and helped me understand some of the frustations I have had with the way they vote,knowing we have stood behind them in Israel as the only Democratic state in the Middle East.

Obama's spiritual mentor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose church he attended for more than 20 years is clearly antagonistic to Jews and the State of Israel. A number of other Obama allies and supporters including Revs. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Lewis Farrakhan and Zbiginew Brezinski have openly disparaged Jews. A wide swath of left-wing organizations, operating under the banner of "anti-Zionism" routinely ignore hostile acts against Israel, such as the targeting of thousands of rockets, while accusing Israel of "war crimes" and worse.

So why did 78% of the Jews who voted in 2008 cast their ballot for Obama? Why since the early 20th Century have Jews routinely flocked to the "liberal" side? (Jimmy Carter was the exception - with good reason - receiving less than 20% of the Jewish vote.) By comparison, in a recent poll, only 4% of Israelis believe Obama is well-disposed to Israel.

Podhoretz considers the Jewish adherence to the left-wing not only an act against self-interest, but suicidal as well.

To reach his theory of why American Jews remain aligned with the left-wing, Podhoretz takes us on a necessary review of Jewish history. Everyone knows, of course, that Europe attempted to exterminate its Jews in the 1930s - 40s. This was in many ways a logical conclusion to centuries of discrimination, occasional outbreaks of mayhem and murder and expulsions. Jews, Podhoretz theorizes, grew wary of what he christens the "right", although the terms left and right did not come into use until the end of the 18th Century. Podhoretz's political classifications, incidentally, produce my only point of significant disagreement with him: he considers the Nazi and fascist movements to have been right-wing. Suffice it to say that a number of historians today have shed themselves of the fiction that fascism was separate and apart from socialism. As Orianna Fallachi put it (quoting someone else whose name I cannot remember), described Communism, Socialism, Italian and German fascism as branches from the same roots.

In any event, Podhoretz describes the long and sad history of Judaism in Europe culminating in the "streets of gold" in the United States. While not free of anti-Semitism, the environment was far more welcoming to Jews who were free to work hard and prosper. The Jews, according to Podhoretz, feared the political right and adhered to the left-wing which was heavily influenced at the time by outright Communists and socialists. As the Jews became more secularized, the mandates of the Torah were replaced by belief in various forms of socialism. In short, socialism or liberalism became the new religion for American Jews. It is an interesting argument and Podhoretz is convincing, but he admits it may be the answer or part of the answer or not the answer at all.

What Podhoretz makes abundantly clear is that the "golden age" for Jews in the United States were the two decades following WWII when anti-Semitism was effectively squelched. In the 1960s with the rise of the radical left, a movement Podhoretz was part of, anti-Semitism, often called "anti-Zionism" started to become increasingly fashionable on the left. What puzzles Podhoretz - and me - is why American Jews fail to see the writing on the wall. With the exception of Carter, every Democrat candidate for the White House has captured a plurality of the Jewish vote. Yet the left-wing has grown increasingly strident in its support of causes which are not in the best interests of Jews such as racial and gender quotas, turning a blind eye toward the refusal of the Palestinians to recognize Israel's right to exist and so on.

On the whole, Podhoretz's book is a total delight to read. It does not profess to answer the question in the title, but it tries. Intellectually, you will not find many contemporary books this challenging. I think it unlikely that many American Jews will reconsider their political allegiances, but I don't think Podhoretz is writing to them in any event. Rather Podhoretz is addressing the fascinating question of why a specific group is so determined to act to its own collective detriment in spite of all the available evidence that they are doing so.

Jerry

This book is immensely topical. Here we have the Israeli interception of Turkish "peace mission" ships, and outrage from New York to London to Istanbul to Riyadh to the UN. The Obama Administration, an administration voted in by +75% of American Jews, by chiding Israel, in essence sides with the terrorist-sponsored "peace" mission. It seems that most American Jews, and certainly the liberal press, think Israel went too far. From reading "Why are Jews Liberals," I would not be surprised if most Reform Rabbis criticize Israel and if most Orthodox Rabbis support her for intercepting those ships in international waters. Therein lies the essence of Podhoretz's work--that most American Jews today do not vote as the Torah may command, but as Liberalism may command. Liberalism is defined as "social justice." And the way Israel treats the Palestinians, to too many liberals, is just abhorrent. All these ships were trying to do was deliver supplies to an oppressed people, say the liberals. What they miss is the ships also carried cement to build more tunnels to transport arms from all the enemies of Israel to the Palestinians. Podhoretz shows how misguided too much American Jewish thought, and too many American Jewish voters, have become. While it is true that social justice issues were important to our ancestors who traveled to America, the social justice agenda has been hijacked to aid Israel's enemies, and unwittingly too many American Jews have gone along. Thank you, Mr. Podhoretz, for elucidating the shameful state of American Jewish politics.