By Bill Simons
“But is it good for the Jews?” I am uneasy when that phrase is referenced concerning American politics. It feeds the canard about a powerful, secretive, international Jewish cabal. Making identity politics central is divisive, corrosive to the vital center. Although Jews have largely leaned left and Democratic since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, neither ideology nor party affiliation are uniform amongst us. On specific, Jews respond in diverse ways.
To retreat from the toxic polarization of contemporary American politics, we need to consider the common good, not exclusively that of a particular segment of the populace. Commitment to the common good doesn’t mean uniformity of thought or behavior, but it does encourage advocacy, debate, compromise and resolution consistent with the Constitution and a decent respect for the opinion of others. Within that framework, it is appropriate to bring values and aspirations shaped by our ultimate concerns into the public square for robust discourse. That right must remain inviolable, regardless of one’s creed, color, ancestry, gender or orientation. Jews don’t need to hide or forget who they are in their public life, nor does any other American.
Popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, often relates his conception of Judaism to a commitment to justice and fair play. So, too, did the late Connecticut senator and 2000 Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, who strictly observed the Sabbath and frequently wore a kippah in public. Not all Jewish office holders, candidates and voters are so candid about their religion and ethnicity. Nonetheless, many American Jews came to the 2024 presidential election campaign supporting Israel, albeit with assorted views of what that meant, and concerned about rising U.S. antisemitism.
President Joe Biden failed in his attempts to prod Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prioritize negotiations and minimize civilian casualties. Nonetheless, Biden, whose three ranking cabinet officers are Jewish and three children all married Jews, never equivocated in providing Israel with vital armaments, military intelligence and diplomatic support. And the president took a hardline against resurgent antisemitism on the home front.
The Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, despite the visibility of her Jewish husband Douglas Emhoff, lacked Biden’s bona fides on Israel. She failed to preside over Netanyahu’s address to Congress or even to meet with him. Her campaign rhetoric about war in the Mideast appeared contradictory and disingenuous. Harris affirmed Israel’s right of survival and self-defense, but she would emphasize, particularly when addressing Arab American audiences, that she would not allow Israel to continue to inflict heavy losses on noncombatants.
Due to his failure to condemn the nativist implications of Christian nationalism and the far right’s embrace of the replacement theory, many Jews questioned Republican candidate Donald Trump’s commitment to combating domestic antisemitism, some even comparing him to Hitler.
Nonetheless, prominent Jews did endorse and contribute to the Trump campaign, amongst them former congressman and 2022 New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin. Chabad leaders accompanied Trump on his October 7, 2024, visit to the gravesite of the revered Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Moreover, Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her own children identify as observant Orthodox Jews.
And, as Trump pointed out, he has a strong record of support for Israel. During his first term, the U.S. relocated its embassy to Jerusalem, approved Israel control of the Golan Heights and portions of the West Bank, and abrogated the nuclear pact with Iran. In fact, Trump may give Netanyahu a freer hand in dealing with Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and the Iran paymaster than Harris would have.
Israel and domestic antisemitism were issues for Jewish American voters, but not the only ones and, for most, not the final determinant of their 2024 vote. Approximately 78 percent of the Jewish electorate voted for Harris and 22 percent for Trump. While Harris exceeded the percentage of the Jewish vote received by Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, she fell far short of the massive 90 percent accorded FDR and Lyndon Johnson. In 2024, the post-New Deal affinity of Jews for the Democratic Party endured, but not primarily for ethnic reasons.
A Democrat by registration, an activist documented by 16 years as a union chapter president, and a liberal centrist by temperament, I have voted Republican when conscience and candidates so dictated. FDR is my hero, but I found Harris unclear on the issues and bereft of a strong record. However, by reason of Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, dismissal of environmental imperatives, neo-isolationist posture toward NATO and retributive rhetoric, I campaigned for Harris in the swing state of Pennsylvania, knocking on doors in the hallowed-out cities of Carbondale and Lebanon. A smiling lady campaigning for Trump was very friendly, posing for a photo op with me and friend Denis Brennan despite our Harris-Walz hats. Others were less congenial, including the homeowner who threatened to unleash his angry Rottweiler and the three young men who brought their car to a screeching halt to condemn Harris for runaway inflation and the debacle at the border, announcing their departure by screaming a sexual obscenity to describe Harris. In a Dominican neighborhood, residents appeared hesitant to speak candidly. And many folks failed to answer their doors.
Through my union, UUP, I reserved a campus room, organized and publicized a November 5 election night watching of the returns, open to all SUNY Oneonta employees and students. Although attendance was modest – five staff and 15 students – interaction was upbeat, thoughtful and instructive as we flipped the TV dial intermittently between MSNBC and Fox News.
On November 18, my wife Nancy and I attended a lecture at Oneonta’s other college, Hartwick, by David Shribman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette managing editor emeritus, examining the 2024 presidential election. Following his formal presentation, which identified serious potential perils to American democracy posed by a second Trump presidency, I asked Shribman, a co-religionist, to assess the significance of the election for American Jews and Israel. He responded that Jews had voted overwhelmingly for Harris, but most had done so for reasons unrelated to their ethnicity. As for Israel, supporters of Netanyahu probably welcome Trump’s victory. I concur – and that makes me apprehensive.