The Jewish Vote 2012

In november 2012, Jews voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama and for Democrats at the state and local levels once again. Exit polls indicated that between 69 percent and 70 percent of Jews voted to reelect President Obama. Jewish Republicans predicted that Obama’s disagreements with Israeli policies would cost him heavily, but in fact most Jews did not cast their vote primarily on Israel-related issues: most Jews identified the economy and health care as their primary concerns in exit polls.

The majority of voters in most of Obama’s other core constituent groups, such as the African American and Latino voting blocs, would directly benefit from Democratic Party economic policies. In contrast, Jewish voters’ loyalty to the Democratic Party is unusual because the majority of Jews are prosperous enough such that voting for candidates who support higher taxes to care for the poor and the powerless constitutes a consistent vote against their own narrowly construed economic interests. The election left many Jews wondering why so few relatively prosperous, white voters are willing to vote like we do.

Yet we should also add a cautionary note: the percentage of Jews voting for Obama was down about 5 percent from 2008. Although Tikkun does not endorse candidates or political parties, the struggle we’ve been waging for the heart of the Jewish community will almost certainly have a political impact in the future. There are two major forces pulling younger Jews to the Right. In the Orthodox world, an uncriti cal support for the government of Israel is reinforced weekly in synagogues that pray not only for Israel as “the beginning of the flourishing of our redemption” but also for “the defense forces of Israel” on whom God’s blessing is invoked. Non-religious younger Jews — for whom the countervailing influence of Torah (with its command to love the stranger) and the knowledge of Jewish oppression in the past have largely disappeared — may increasingly be drawn to the dominant individualism, exhortation to “look out for number one,” materialism, and lack of interest in the well-being of others that is the central message of capitalist society. As a result they may then begin to vote more in accord with a narrow vision of their economic interests, and hence become a less reliable constituency for liberal politics. This is just one of many reasons why liberals and progressives should support our efforts (through Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives) to revive a spiritual progressive worldview, not only for Jews, but for everyone.