People of Jewish religious/ethnic are little different from other groups with a large immigrant segment, IMHO.
Like other groups there are observant and nonobservant, or secular, Jewish people. Second, amongst the observant there are those that believe in transcendent enduring moral order and those that hold their faith as a loose collection of enlightenment sentiment. This group can be also divided by the division outlined by Thomas Sowell in A Conflict of Visions as those that believe in the Constrained and the Unconstrained vision of man. The belief in the perfectibility of man and that our social orders can be constructed to adapt such a construct, denying heavenly Grace, works out to about the same division.
The same question can be asked of Christians and to expect Jewish people to always come down on the momentary side of who looks to be doing the better job of friendship to a Jewish state lacks belief in Jewish Americans largely being Americans first, which I believe is the case. Israel is very important to many Jews, but to pretend it is the sum total of their values is simplistic.
Bravo KC Burke! Best and most insightful answer yet.
I would only add that secular Jews also "believe in transcendent enduring moral order and...hold their faith as a loose collection of enlightened sentiment". Their faith is not communist per se but they see themselves at the forefront of helping the oppressed through government intervention. To them that means the Democrat Party. They are willing to turn a blind eye to all its faults as long as they perceive the Party is helping the less fortunate among us.
I have a dear friend (marginally observant) who was floored that I wasn't voting for Gore in the last election. When she asked why I told her it would just be a continuation of the Clinton Presidency and eight years of that had almost wrecked the country. Her answer--"Yes, Clinton was his own worst enemy...but he *helped* people."
My question:"How?" She had no answer...but still voted for Gore.Hope springs eternal.