Yes, President Obama still dominates the Jewish vote, beating out Mitt Romney 64 percent to 39 percent, according to the newest Gallup poll. But considering that Obama racked up a whopping 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008, this is a significant dip for him.
Among Jews, Obama’s current 64 percent to 29 percent advantage compares with a 74 percent to 23 percent advantage before the election in 2008. Thus, he is running 10 points lower among Jewish registered voters than in 2008, which is five points worse than his decline among all registered voters compared with 2008.
These numbers aren’t just notable because of what they say about Obama — the Republican Jewish Coalition notes that Mitt Romney’s 29 percent support would be “the highest level of Jewish support for a Republican presidential candidate in 24 years.”
Obama’s polling numbers with Jewish voters were at times lower than 64 percent during the 2008 election. But that was also before he cinched the Democratic nomination, and when Hillary Clinton was still in the race. Since 1992, Democratic presidential nominees averaged around 79 percent of the Jewish vote, according to the National Jewish Democratic Council. It would be a huge coup if Romney was actually able to capture 29 percent of the vote (John McCain won 21 percent in 2008).
And this may not be Obama’s only problem with Jewish voters. A new initiative called “I Vote Israel” is encouraging Americans living in Israel (Jews and non-Jews) to register and vote absentee in the upcoming election. According to the website, even American-Israelis who have never lived in the U.S. can vote if they are the children of U.S. citizens. As the website explains:
We are a diverse group of olim, recent arrivals as well as vatikim from all over the country who are deeply concerned about the safety, security and future of Israel. Most importantly, we want to see a president in the White House who will support and stand by Israel in absolute commitment to its safety, security and right to defend itself.
Since we believe that “there is no such thing as friends in politics, only interests,” we started thinking about how to be proactive about this. One fact that caught our eye was that while the 2000 Bush-Gore Presidential elections all came down to 537 absentee ballots cast in Florida, only 64 of those – out of the many thousands of Floridian-Israelis – were cast from Israel! More recently, the NY 9th Congressional District 2011 special elections (to replace Anthony Weiner) – a district with huge numbers of olim – were decided by just 2,000 votes, very few by absentee ballot from Israel. There are dozens more of such examples across the 50 states.
“I Vote Israel” reports that there are between 200,000 and 500,000 American citizens living in Israel — on the upper end of that range, that’s nearly as many as the number of Jewish voters in the entire state of Florida. These votes would be spread out through various states (the last state of residence — or parents’ residence — is where American-Israelis would be eligible to vote), but in certain states, particularly Florida, even a few thousand votes could have an impact. The effort is non-partisan, but as we know, Obama’s approval ratings among Israelis have ranged from unimpressive to dismal.
Rest assured Beinart will blame THAT on the Jews too.
your remark about Beinart is pretty much early-onset Alzheimer driven, or you just a little funny?
I'm not Jewish, but I know a little bit about immigration and ethnic groups and politics, and I would respectfully ask why does the Jewish vote consistently and overwhelmingly go to the Democratic Party? Was the Republican Party THAT unkind to Jewish people or their aspirations 70 or 80 years ago? Is it simply that old out-dated meme that " The Democrats are for the little guy.? " And being that many Jews were interested in civil rights for African-Americans when that was unpopular, why was it Jews didn't vote for Republicans at that time, as the majority of blacks did? I'm not asking why Jews voted for Democrats during the Depression. I'm asking why they still do.
it's less than 64% in my neighborhood. only the die-hard super reformed politically correct new world "jews" could possibly stomach this anti-semite. certainly no friend of israel.
calling Alana Goodman an anti-semite is entirely uncalled for. you should be ashamed.
Although it is good news that the Jewish vote for Obama is down, the latter's abysmal performance with respect to Jewish & Israeli issues ought to have led to a far greater decline. One can only hope that in the secrecy of the voting booth, common sense will lead to a far greater proportion of Jewish Americans voting Romney in November.
Jeepers, if Obama doesn't win the votes of the folks living in Israel, then he'll be devastated. n nIsraelis, dear Alana, are the sort of folks who would vote for an unvarnished racist such as their current Foreign Minister. n n nWhy don't we confine the discussion to either Americans living in the US or to the likelihood of the voting preferences of all the Americans living abroad. n nAmericans also enjoying israeli citizenship have no special claim on our affections, have they? And they've no special claim to wisdom or influence, do they?
There are enough anti-Zionist Jews in the US to keep the pro Obama above 60%!
Palestine is occupied by Israel. Weimar Germany was occupied economically and politically by excesses of its monied Jewish minority. America is similarly occupied right now. Our entire electoral system has been corrupted by Netanyahu's Israel, AIPAC, Israel Firsters and ingenious distribution of enormous amounts of Jewish money. The Government of the United States must again serve American interests, not Israel's relentless pursuit of invulnerability, territorial conquest and apartheid supremacist empire in, and beyond, the Mideast.
Sarcasm, or are you a computer?
<a href="http://forward.advertserve.com/servlet/click/zone?zid=3&cid=199& nPeople who are skeptical about President Obama's positions on Israel should consider the following: n nObama has taken many positive actions for Israel including: rejecting the Goldstone report that criticized Israeli actions in the war in Gaza; asking Congress to approve a $205 million package to help Israel build a new anti-missile defense system; successfully advocating for Israel’s admission into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; giving a speech in the heart of the Arab world, in which he told his listeners that they need to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state; stating to the UN General Assembly clearly and unequivocally that “Israel is a sovereign state and the historic homeland of the Jewish people” and “It should be clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the US.” n nIsraeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have stated many times that the U.S. has been extremely cooperative in meeting Israel’s security needs. n nAnother example of Obama’s strong support for Israel is his very positive response to a frantic, middle-of-the-night call from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that helped free six Israelis who were trapped in the Israeli embassy in Cairo that was under attack by militant Egyptians. After they were freed, Netanyahu said: "I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the United States, Barack Obama. I asked for his help. This was a decisive and fateful moment. He said, “I will do everything I can.” And so he did. He used every considerable means and influence of the United States to help us. We owe him a special measure of gratitude. This attests to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States." n nOn September 22, 2011, Prime Minister Netanyahu heaped additional praise on President Obama for his talk at the United Nations, in which Obama expressed opposition to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, and indicated that he would veto a resolution supporting that recognition in the U.N. Security Council. Netanyahu indicated that Obama deserved a “badge of honor” for that talk. n nPeople who think President Obama has a negative attitude toward Jews or that he is more sensitive to Muslims than Jews should consider the following: his initial chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is Jewish and the son of Israelis; his present chief of staff Jack Lew is an Orthodox Jew; one of his key advisors David Axlerod, is Jewish, and he is also a key strategist for Obama’s reelection campaign; Obama nominated a Jew, Elana Kagan, as a Supreme Court Justice (even though that left the 9-member Court with three Jews and no Protestant members; he is the first president to have Passover Seders in the White House; and Obama and his cabinet members have frequently stressed their solidarity with Jews and with Israel. n nA key concern is how will Israel avert renewed conflict, effectively address her economic,, social, and environmental problems and remain both a Jewish and a democratic state without a resolution of her conflict with the Palestinians. Of course this will not be easy to obtain, but I believe it should be a priority, with conditions to provide security for Israel a prime consideration. n
Bolsheviks hoped too to change the human nature, Diasphora Jews are the spent material they`l never change.
I really don't understand why folk are attacking Ms. Goodman for raising three very interesting points. First — and I will assume she is right, Israeli Jews have a different attitude towards Obama than American Jews do — and one can sorta understand why. And as she points out, if large numbers of absentee ballots were to come in from Israel, in an election that is as close as some of the past ones have been, it could be significant. n nWhat she omits (and my not realize) is that Florida has no state income tax while a state like Massachusetts considers foreign-earned income subject to state tax. Not surprisingly, some states tend to have a much higher number of citizens living overseas – and thus the absentee ballots may not be equally distributed amongst states n nThird, and this one shocked me — the child of US citizens — who has never EVER set foot on American territory– can vote? Don't you have to show up IN PERSON at the clerk's office to register? How does one claim residency in a precinct where one has never, ever, even been? n nIf this is true, Katie Bar the Door because we will have votes from absolutely everywhere showing up…. n
The concept of interest appears to have overriding relevance in determining the direction of support or non support in opinion polls and actual voting patterns. Therefore, a convergence of interests between the NJDC [National Jewish Democratic Council] and the Obama Camp in the winter of 2008 must have been responsible for the staggering 78% share of the effective Jewish vote that helped the President secure his tenure. n nIf a dip in this vital support is presently real, it must mean that a perception of divergence of interest is playing out itself on the presidential electioneering field. Still, the perception of divergence is different from the evidence of divergence. The implication is that a roll back to the previous mood of concentrated support for Barrack Obama and the Democrats is not unlikely but likely. One reason is that genuine politics is a deep river of answers and solutions that never runs dry. n nStill, as if on a short fuse, opinions shift and fluctuate very rapidly in politics. Consequently, next November is far enough in time to communicate the reality of American convergence of interest with the State of Israel, a legitimate issue of concern with Jewish Americans. The ultimate test of desirability is the problem solving skill, the capacity to supply answers to thorny issues. At last, politics will reward the deserving participant. The outcome will always be positive for the fact that consistent resourcefulness will open practically all doors, no matter how tight and no matter how heavy. n
First of all, blacks and Jews have for decades found a haven with the Democratic Party. Nothing shocking here. r nJews are highy represented in the party, due to 3 factors:r nsuspician that the other party wants to convert us; Tikkun Olam is not a Republican goal; labor is better represented by the Demos. Perhaps at one time, the above was true. But like the Torah, we must evolve in the present age and circumstances. I am a Republican Jewish Coaltion member..strong on Israel and a small, more efficient govt, with less reliance on bail-outs (for anyone). Israel is but one of our concerns..not the greatest, but important. Obama is playing it cute guys, r nas he does everything ( from cap and trade, to the budget,r nto union power, to No, Korea and finally to the M.E conflict, Syria, Egypt and Iran. I have always favored a 50-50 split of our vote..in elections national. However, most Americans do not favor abortions, Jews do. Most Americans are sceptical of same sex marriages..Jews are inclined to favor (pluralism), Most Americans are divided on religion in school, Jews are totally against. We should not be partisan..we need both parties behind us. Therefore, that 50-50 split is prudent. And this goes to contributions too. Too many Jews now have “Liberalism” as their Torah. Some have “leftism”. With 40% of Orthodox Jews at the poverty level, isnt it time we figure a way to integrate these people, notwithstnding they are the reason we still survive in some areas of the country?r nBeing Jewish does not mean supporting one party over the other. We need both guys.