Published: 19 December 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Similarly, it is notable that Michael Bloomberg, a much more mainstream Democratic nominee, has not quite made waves in the Jewish world since he announced his belated bid for the nomination in November.
In fact, the overwhelming favourite among Jewish voters is Joe Biden, who has polled around 47% among Jews.
So, what’s going on? Why do Jews, in a campaign that features not one but two prominent Jewish candidates, overwhelmingly prefer the practicing Roman Catholic nominee over the two Jews?
Perhaps the question itself needs to be examined. After all, the same question has been asked about black voters and Kamala Harris and Corey Booker.
The obvious answer is that most voters don’t base their votes purely on identity, and that the issues matter far more to them.
We assume not only that Jewish nominees should be more intriguing to Jewish voters, but that Jewish issues are top priorities. In fact, the exact opposite is the case. The issues that obsess Jewish institutions are, largely, not the same issues that move Jewish voters en masse.
This might be particularly true for American Jews, who seem to have overlooked what many people consider to be “Jewish priorities” when it comes to voting.
For example, many people might think that since 95% of American Jews have favourable views of Israel, and a recent American Jewish Committee (AJC) survey of American Jews found that 84% of them thought that claiming Israel has no right to exist is anti-Semitic, Jews would thus be basing their support for their nominee on how pro-Israel the nominees are.
This would, theoretically, explain Biden’s lead. But the truth is that Israel is quite literally the lowest priority for all American Jewish voters according to a recent poll by the Jewish Electorate Institute.
The highest priority? Healthcare.
This is one of the most revealing facts about American Jewish voters. Those of us who tend to ensconce ourselves in the Jewish world’s concerns tend to think in terms that are Jewish-centric. We assume not only that Jewish nominees should be more intriguing to Jewish voters, but that Jewish issues are top priorities.
In fact, the exact opposite is the case. The issues that obsess Jewish institutions are, largely, not the same issues that move Jewish voters en masse.
Even more intriguing: Jewish donors have given the most money to Pete Buttigieg, the upstart Democrat nominee and mayor of Southbend, Indiana, of all people.
Which brings me back to healthcare. It’s not just healthcare that was at the top of the list. In fact, more Jews considered healthcare, Medicare, Social Security, gun control, and improving the economy and creating jobs (slightly) more important than combatting the influence of white nationalism and fighting terrorism.
This, it would seem, is all backwards.
After all, now we aren’t even discussing Israel, something that the very liberal Jewish voting base has an increasingly complicated relationship with. We are talking about issues that have dominated headlines both before and after Trump was elected. The very things that put Jews in danger in America, where anti-Semitic incidents have doubled since 2015.
This is where we get to the opinion portion of the article. Since Jewish Americans seem to value certain issues very highly, that it may be worth re-evaluating what Jewish values are. Or, at the very least, Jewish-American values.
For example, the well-known 2013 Pew “Portrait of American Jews” found that when asked “What does it mean to be Jewish?” 69% said “leading an ethical/moral life” and 56% said “working for justice/equality.” The only result that beat those two was “remembering the Holocaust” (73%).
When we see these as the top values for American voters, it should not be surprising, then, that they aren’t as concerned with voting for Jewish candidates or even Jewish-exclusive issues. Their top priorities are ethics, morality, and justice.
And perhaps that makes their voting choices very Jewish indeed.
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