Articles

The anti-Israel campaign is alive and well. Immediately following the Hamas’ attack on civilians in southern Israel, groups across the anti-Israel spectrum were defending these actions. In their minds this is a war of liberation. As a colonialist occupier, Israel has no standing, and its American (Government) supporters are seen as enabling the Jewish State to unlawfully control peoples and lands.

Unlike any moment since the 1972 Munich Olympics, the scope and depth of violence directed against the Jewish people last weekend has never been so dramatic.

Hamas’ pogrom against Israel represents another dimension of conflict and war. The actions of their foot soldiers were not merely the tactics of a military operation or even terrorism, but a concerted effort to annihilate Jews. Its boldness and ruthlessness served as an intentional statement that Jews are expendable.

It is exactly fifty years ago to the day that Israel experienced its worst surprise military attack. It was Yom Kippur 1973. Now, on Shabbat as we conclude Sukkot and observe Simchat Torah, Israel is once again under attack. A military assault this time from Gaza would upend a peaceful Israel morning.

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.

In preparation for the 2024 campaign, there is an emerging discussion about the possibility of one or more “third parties” entering this race.[1] Beyond whether there will be a high-profile third-party nominee, numerous “candidates” are already lining up to run.[2] In connection with the two major parties, the core question, who benefits and who doesn’t?

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.