Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CMC Senior Theses CMC Student Scholarship 2020 Mobilization and Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election Jennifer Gurev Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses Part of the American Politics Commons Recommended Citation Gurev, Jennifer, "Mobilization and Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election" (2020). CMC Senior Theses. 2453. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2453 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you by Scholarship@Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in this collection by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Claremont McKenna College Mobilization and Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election submitted to Professor Aseema Sinha by Jennifer Gurev for Senior Thesis Spring 2020 May 11, 2020 Abstract The 2016 election sparked fundamental changes in American politics. From the rise of Donald Trump’s popularity to the growth of progressive protests in response to his election and subsequent policies, this paper explores how fundamental changes stemming from the 2016 election directly impacted American Jewish interest groups and political stances, particularly on the issue of Israel. Prior to the 2016 election, the American Jewish community was growing increasingly divided on Israel primarily due to the disparate experiences between young Jews and that of older generations, as well as increasingly right-wing Israeli politics. However, the election of Trump—and his alignment with pro-Israel policies—furthered the already existing divides across American Jewish politics. The result has been increased polarization between American Jewish groups and the mobilization of progressive groups to counteract pro-Israel organizations and Trump’s illiberal policies.