Since at least the 1930s, Jews have been one of the most reliable of Democratic constituencies. Nathan Diament believes something fundamental has changed:
American Jews supported President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump by a margin of 61 percent to 23 percent, according to the American Jewish Committee’s annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion. (The poll was taken in March and April, before Vice-President Kamala Harris replaced Biden on the ticket.) But in the same survey, 85 percent of American Jewish adults said it’s important for the U.S. government to support Israel in the aftermath of October 7, and 57 percent reported feeling more connected to Israel or to their Jewish identity since the attack. That’s a vulnerability for Harris if her policy toward Israel or attitude toward Jewish Americans is perceived as weak.
It’s all well and good to showcase Jewish Democrats [as Democrats did at the convention], but the party owes voters an answer to a pressing question: will Harris embrace Biden’s mostly pro-Israel record, or will she succumb to radical and anti-Semitic voices in the party? If Democrats don’t demonstrate their support for Israel and American Jews, they’ll have a lot to worry about in the key swing states.
Pennsylvania, a state where Biden mustered an 81,000-vote victory in 2020, is the swing state with the most Jewish voters: nearly 434,000. . . . A poll commissioned by the Orthodox Union released August 2 showed a startling result: Pennsylvania’s Jewish vote was closely split 49 percent to 42 percent between Harris and Trump—a departure from the Democrats’ historical hold on Jewish voters.
Read more at U.S. News & World Report
More about: 2024 Election, American Jewry, Democrats, U.S. Politics