September 2012
Reader’s Guide: Jewish Politics
Election season always brings with it a sudden, brief national J.J. Goldberg fascination with Jewish politics and the Jewish vote. What is it, Senior Columnist, and how does it work? The The Jewish Daily Forward answer is a bit like Hillel's famous explanation of the Torah on one foot: It can be captured in a phrase, but invites a lifetime of study.
The short version is, as the late scholar Milton Himmelfarb once said, that Jews earn like Episcopalians and vote like Puerto Ricans. The longer version is the subject of this month's Berman Jewish Policy Archive guide, and the selection of readings offered here only hints at the topic's complexity. It includes not just the vagaries Jewish opinion and voting patterns but the workings of Jewish lobbying, the role of Jews in American public leadership, the triangular relationship between Israel, America and American Jews, the power structures of Jewish communal life, ties and tensions between Jews and other faith and ethnic communities and, perhaps most important—because it infuses all the rest with meaning and purpose—the nature of Jewish social values.
Reader’s Guide: Jewish Politics
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2012
Mark S. Mellman, Aaron Strauss, Kenneth D. Wald
An extensive analysis of exit poll data.
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Reader’s Guide: Jewish Politics
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2012
Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring 2012 American Jews’ Political Values Survey Steven M. Cohen, Samuel Abrams
American Jews today are pointedly more liberal than the overall population, especially on economic issues traditionally considered social justice concerns. Significantly, neither attachment to Israel nor confidence in Israelis vs. Palestinians as peace seeking strongly factor into Jews’ presidential vote decision.
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Reader’s Guide: Jewish Politics
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2012 Chosen for What? Jewish Values in 2012
Robert P. Jones, Daniel Cox This survey of 1,004 American Jews is the most comprehensive, representative national study of its kind conducted by a non-Jewish research organization. The survey takes a broad look at how Jewish values, experiences and identity are shaping political beliefs and behavior and influencing social action in the Jewish community and beyond.
The survey finds that more than eight-in-ten American Jews say that pursuing justice and caring for the widow and the orphan are some- what or very important values that inform their political beliefs and activities. A majority say that seeing every person as made in the image of God is an important influence on their political beliefs and activities. Strong majorities of American Jews also cite the experience of the Holocaust, having opportunities for economic success in America, and the immigrant experience as important in shaping their political beliefs and activities.
The survey also finds President Barack Obama with the same level of support (62%) among American Jewish voters as during a comparable point in the 2008 race.
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Reader’s Guide: Jewish Politics
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2012
2012 AJC Survey of American Jewish Opinion
AJC's annual survey shows that President Obama would win a majority of the Jewish vote in a contest against Gov. Mitt Romney. Obama would gain 61 percent and Romney 28 percent, with 11 percent undecided. Obama won 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008.
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Reader’s Guide: Jewish Politics
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2012
The Jewish Vote Ira M. Sheskin
This publication is the slide presentation accompanying Prof. Ira M. Sheskin's presentation in June 2012 to the American Jewish Press Association's annual conference.
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Israel as a Campaign Issue
Watch What You Wish For, GOP J.J. Goldberg. Forward, January 2012
Conservatives Reject Call To Leave Israel Out of Campaign J.J. Goldberg. Forward, November 2011
Israel Off Their Minds: The Diminished Place of Israel in the Political Thinking of Young Jews Steven M. Cohen, Sam Abrams. BJPA, 2008
Study: Young US Jews Don't See Israel as Campaign Issue Haviv Rettig. Palestine Post, October 2008
The Israel Swing Factor: How the American Jewish Vote Influences U.S. Elections Jeffrey S. Helmreich. JCPA, January 2001
Perceptions of Israel and American Jews: Findings of the May 1990 Roper Poll David Singer, Renae Cohen. AJC, 1990
What American Jews Believe: An Eye-Opening Report on a Recent Survey of Attitudes Toward Israel Steven M. Cohen. Moment Magazine, July 1982
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Jewish Politics & Policy
All the News on Jews' Views: Comparing 3 Polls J.J. Goldberg. Forward, June 2012
Super PAC's Party Like It's 1896 J.J. Goldberg. Forward, May 2012
Jews Are Not as Liberal as It Seems J.J. Goldberg. Forward, April 2012
Sh’ma January 2012: The Jewish Electorate (Complete Issue)
The Jewish Vote in Presidential Elections Jonathan D. Sarna. Sh’ma, January 2012
Jewish Issues, Jewish Vote Mik Moore. Sh’ma, January 2012
One Voice or Many? An Exchange of Letters Steven Windmueller, Howard I. Friedman. Sh’ma, January 2012
Trends Among Young Jewish Voters Aaron Strauss. Sh’ma, January 2012
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Jewish Politics & Policy
Jewish Values, Jewish Interests: Negotiating the Tension Ruth Wisse, Joy Levitt, Steven M. Cohen. BJPA, JCSA, December 2011
Religion and the Birth of Jewish Radical Politics Adam Sutcliffe. AJS Perspectives, Fall 2011
A Snapshot of the American Jewish Electorate: 2011 Political Survey Steven Windmueller, May 2011
Jewish Public Policy in the 21st Century Martin J. Raffel, Steve Gutow. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Winter 2010
Has Obama Lost the Jews? Don't Ask the Polls J.J. Goldberg. Forward, October 2011
Debt Ceiling: How Jewish Lawmakers Voted J.J. Goldberg. Forward, August 2011
Between Bernie and Joe: The Senate Democrats' Rock and Hard Place J.J. Goldberg. Forward, January 2010
The Jewish Federations of North America: 2010 Public Policy Priorities JFNA, January 2010
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Jewish Politics & Policy
What is a Jewish Issue? David M. Pollock. JCRC of New York, 2009
Doing God's Work in the Public Square Peter Knobel. Sh’ma, November 2007
Jewish Values in the American Public Square Nathan J. Diament. Sh’ma, October 2004
Influencing America: Jewish Political Influence David Teutsch. Sh’ma, October 2004
Reason and Politics: Maimonides, Television and the Political Imagination Tsvi Blanchard. CLAL, October 2002
A Jewish Contribution to American Politics Michael Gottsegen. CLAL, 2001
Book Review: The Jewish Political Tradition David Biale. Sh’ma, January 2001
The Presidents and the Jews Leonard Dinnerstein. URJ, 2000
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Jewish Politics & Policy
The Politics of Judaism - A Review of The Jewish Political Tradition Seth Goldstein. The Reconstructionist, Fall 2000
No Right, no Left Joan Bronk. Sh’ma, September 19997
When Policy Hurts Bradley S. Arston. Sh’ma, September 19997
Kinship and Consent: The Jewish Political Tradition and Its Contemporary Uses Daniel J. Elazar. JCPA, 1997
Jewish Political Conscience Harold M. Schulweis. Sh’ma, November 1995
When Conscience is Not Enough Michael Gottsegen. Sh’ma, November 1995
A Jewish Contract with America Jack Wertheimer. AJC, 1995
Jewish Political Activism: Promoting Ethnic Identity and Group Survival Lawrence Sternberg. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, 1992
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Jewish Politics & Policy
Jewish Public Policy: Its Unexamined Premises Murray Friedman. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, 1991
The Relationship Between the Jewish Political Tradition and Jewish Civil Religion in the United States Deborah Dash Moore. Jewish Political Studies Review, Spring 1990
Comparative Politics and the Jewish Political Experience Zvi Gitelman. Jewish Political Studies Review, Fall 1989
The Language of Jewish Political Discourse Gordon M. Freeman. Jewish Political Studies Review, Spring 1989
The Transformation of American Jewish Politics Peter Y. Medding. AJC, 1989
Conservatives, Fundamentalists, Liberals Aryeh Spero. Sh’ma, February 1987
Yes and no to Jewish Politics Arnold Jacob Wolf. Sh’ma, February 1987
Segmented Ethnicity and the New Jewish Politics Peter Y. Medding. Studies in Contemporary Jewry, 1987
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Jewish Politics & Policy
Jews are Searching for a Political Home Hyman Bookbinder. Sh’ma, October 1984
Right is Right, but Judaism First Edward Alexander. Sh’ma, April 1981
The Political Process David Cohen. Task Forces on the 80s, AJC, Fall 1981
The Politicization of American Jewry Charles S. Liebman. JCPA, November 1978
Radical Jewish Youth and this America Steven M. Cohen. Sh’ma, April 1973
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Religion & Politics
Jewish Secularism and the Campaigns against Political Catholicism and Islam Ari Joskowicz. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011
Religion and Politics Today: Tearing Down Walls, Building Bridges Michael Gottsegen. CLAL, November 2002
Religion and Democracy Charles S. Liebman, 1999
Religion and Politics: Three Perspectives A. James Rudin, Martin S. Kaplan, Raphael J. Sonenshein. AJC, January 1997
The Separation of Platform and Bimah Harold M. Schulweis. Sh’ma, November 1984
Why I Am Against Rabbinic Endorsements J. David Bleich. Sh’ma, October 1976
Political Religion is Dangerous Leo Pfeffer. Sh’ma, May 1972
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Liberalism
Humility, Freedom, and Transcendence: An Exchange of Letters Ari Weiss, Chisda Magid. Sh’ma, May 2102
Stunning Stability: A Consistent Jewish Vote for 60 Years Kenneth D. Wald . Sh’ma, January 2012
Of Democrats and Democratic Principles Bethamie Horowitz . Forward, May 28, 2004
American Jewish Liberalism: Unravelling the Strands Steven M. Cohen, Charles S. Liebman . Public Opinion Quarterly, Fall 1997
Standing Firm on Liberalism Leonard Fein . Sh’ma, November 1996
Liberalism and the Jews-an Appeal From the Perplexed Michael M. Sharlot. Sh’ma, November 1996
A New Liberalism for the 1990s? Richard T. Foltin. Sh’ma, November 1996
Toward a Theory of Disproportionate American Jewish Liberalism Geoffrey Levey. Studies in Contemporary Jewry, 1995
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Liberalism
How Liberalism Won Albert Vorspan. Sh’ma, April 1993
Liberalism is Not Enough Arnold Jacob Wolf. Sh’ma, April 1993
The Liberal Agenda: Is it Good or Bad for the Jews Albert D. Chernin. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, 1991
The Dimensions of American Jewish Liberalism Steven M. Cohen. AJC, November 1989
The Invisibility of Jewish Leftists Carolyn Toll Oppenheim. Sh’ma, October 1984
The Democratic Party is not Our Home Ruth King. Sh’ma, October 1984
The Democratic National Convention and its Implications for The American Jewish Committee Marlene Provizier. AJC, 1988
A Liberal's Inauguration Prayer Henry Cohen. Sh’ma, 1981
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Conservatism The Tea Party and I: Confessions of a 'Conservative' Gary L. Greenberg. Sh’ma, January 2012
Conservatives New and Old Benjamin Balint. Sh’ma, April 2008
Is Neoconservativism Jewish? Peter Berkowitz. Sh’ma, April 2008
Two Cheers for Neoconservativism: An Orthodox Perspective Shalom Carmy. Sh’ma, April 2008
Neoconservatism: Past and Future Damon Linker. Sh’ma, April 2008
Neoconservativism: Tragedy and Farce Jonathan Schorsch. Sh’ma, April 2008
Reform Jew and Political Conservative Anne Strauss. Sh’ma, April 2008
Are American Jews Becoming Republican? Insights Into Jewish Political Behavior Steven F. Windmueller. JCPA, December 2003
Sh’ma April 17, 1981: Right Wing (Complete Issue)
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Previous Elections
Revisiting the 2008 Election: Reflections on the Jewish Vote Steven F. Windmueller. JCPA, 2009
Exit Polling 2009 David M. Pollock. JCRC of New York, 2009
Only In America: The 2008 Jewish Vote Steven F. Windmueller. HUC-JIR, 2008
2008 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion AJC, September 2008
The Jewish Vote in 2004: An Analysis - A Solomon Project White Paper Mark S. Mellman, Aaron Strauss, Anna Greenberg, Patrick McCreesh, Kenneth D. Wald. The Solomon Project, April 2005
Sh’ma January 2005: Inauguration (Complete Issue)
Why I Voted (This Time) For President George W. Bush Shmuel Jablon. Sh’ma, January 2005
Getting Out the Vote 2004 David M. Pollock. JCRC of New York, 2004
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Previous Elections
The Year of the Jew: Why 2000 Was the Most Important Year for Jews Since 1948 Daniel S. Brenner. CLAL, 2001
2000 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion AJC, September 2000
Sh’ma May 1996: Election (Complete Issue)
AJC Election Guide 1996: Clinton, Dole and Perot on the Record AJC, 1996
Why Bush? Dennis Prager. Sh’ma, October 1992
Why Clinton? Leonard Fein. Sh’ma, October 1992
Election Guide 1992: Bush and Clinton on the Issues AJC, May 1992
The '92 Election: A Community Perspective Douglas Kahn. Sh’ma, February 1992
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Previous Elections
Jewish Issues in the '92 Election David Saperstein. Sh’ma, February 1992
Sh’ma October 16, 1992: Towards the Presidential Election (Complete Issue)
Sh’ma February 7, 1992:The ‘92 Election (Complete Issue)
Jewish Issues in the '88 Election Reuel Shinnar. Sh’ma, December 1988
Don't Run Bush Against the Real Dukakis Leonard Fein. Sh’ma, October 1998
Sh’ma December 9, 1988: Elections (Complete Issue)
Sh'ma October 14, 1988: Presidential Election (Complete Issue)
Sh'ma October 28, 1988: Presidential Election 2 (Complete Issue)
The Candidates on the Issues: Presidential Election 1988 AJC, 1988
Intergroup Relations and the 1986 Elections Marlene Provizer. AJC, 1987
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Previous Elections
Do I Owe Israel Support of Nixon? Jonathan Groner. Sh’ma, November 1973
I Owe Israel Support of Nixon Arlene Pianko. Sh’ma, November 1973
I Owe Israel Better than Nixon Mark S. Golub. Sh’ma, November 1973
The Election: I Had a Dream Gary Rosenblatt. Sh’ma, October 1972
The Election: a View from England Louis Jacobs. Sh’ma, September 1972
The Election: a View from Australia John S. Levi. Sh’ma, September 1972
The Election: after Two Years in Israel Michael A. Meyer. Sh’ma, September 1972
Nixon Vs. McGovern: a View from Israel Charles S. Liebman. Sh’ma, September 1972
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Previous Elections
Jews for McGovern? Steven S. Schwarzschild. Sh’ma, September 1972
A Vote for President Nixon Seymour Siegel. Sh’ma, September 1972
Sh’ma Issues: 1972 Election Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
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