Articles

Despite his efforts to cultivate them, American Jews have never liked Donald Trump.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote against Trump by 48% to 46%. Only 37% of white voters favored Clinton, but of those, Jews did so by 71% to 23%. Four years later, Joe Biden beat Trump 51% to 49%. Only 41% of white voters picked Biden, but among Jewish voters, almost all of whom are white, Biden received 77% of their votes.

In 1953, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson launched the Shofar Campaign, instructing Chabad rabbis to make certain that the Shofar would be heard by Jews wherever they maybe during the High Holy Days.[1] The idea of the “moveable feast” is not a new concept in religious practice. Portability enables folks removed from the formal structures of religious life to also embrace and benefit from the tradition.

American democracy is in trouble. Democratic governments here and elsewhere are being tested and challenged. Liberalism as a political and moral ideology based on the rights of the individual, the centrality of liberty, and the consent of the governed is particularly under attack, as political nationalism and authoritarianism expand their presence. In part, the downsizing and questioning of democracies emerged as a result of a number of factors, including the impact of the pandemic, the collective economic and social grievances of various classes of citizens, a growing uncertainty about America, an expanding credibility gap in connection with leaders, and a corresponding loss of trust in the capacity of democratic governments to perform.

Political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel assert that there are two major dimensions of cross-cultural variation in the world:

Traditional values versus secular-rational values and
Survival values versus self-expression values
Created in 1981, the World Values Survey (WVS) has become one of the most widely employed cross national studies, involving over 120 societies or approximately 95% of the global population.

As America prepares for the 2024 Presidential Sweepstakes, what data will be helpful in understanding the “Jewish vote”? In 2020, on these pages, I laid out a number of political principles concerning the patterns and behaviors of Jewish voters.

Framing American Judaism: Judaism has always had to endure and accommodate to change. Two organizing models helped to shape American Judaism. Adopting the Protestant idea of “denominations”, the American Jewish religious framework would employ this form of identification. Similarly, drawing on American Progressivism, a second organizing model was incorporated for the federated model of American Jewish social and human services. From 1880-1985, this dual church-state system proved successful within the American Jewish context.

In 1938, without a port of entry available, one man became dependent on the goodwill and political access of another. That individual was in a unique position to make the case directly with the President of the United States requesting that this German Jewish refugee ought not to be denied access to this nation, due to his physical limitations caused by polio. His argument, “You, Mr. President, also experienced polio and it did not prevent you from seeking and winning this office, permit this individual his opportunity to experience the American dream!”

Serving the next generation demands a new paradigm built on security, engagement, connection, education, and relationship-building.

Is it time for the Jewish community to revisit its organizing principles? All around us we are beginning to see the introduction of various alternative models of organizing. The existing communal and religious framework has been based on two 19th Century organizational frameworks, denominationalism and federalism.

After serving in the Jewish communal space for 50 years, I thought it helpful to reflect on my career and share some of my experiences and insights. I found myself thinking about my path which led me to more than my share of extraordinary encounters and transformational historic moments. This is the second of a two-part series reflecting on my tenure of service. The first part dealt with leadership challenges; in this piece we are introducing a series of on-the-ground experiences.