If alive, these honored souls might agree with you.
Posted on 01/26/2003 8:17:12 AM PST by yonif
Though intermarriage and assimilation rates are sky-high and the first Orthodox Jew just announced his bid for president, the American Jewish Committee's 2002 Survey of Jewish Opinion reports that anti-Semitism is the community's number one concern.
The AJC's annual survey, which polled 1,008 self-identified Jewish respondents between December 16, 2002 and January 5, 2003, found that 95% of respondents think anti-Semitism in the US is a very serious or somewhat serious problem, and 44% think the problem will only get worse with time.
By a margin of two to one, respondents picked anti-Semitism over intermarriage as the "greatest threat to Jewish life in the United States today," and 44% also said they believe some positions of influence in the US remain closed to Jews.
"The fear factor, the anxiety factor on the part of American Jews is one of the constants" in the AJC's annual surveys, conducted since 1997, said the group's director of research, David Singer. This year, he said, the community's anxiety may also reflect spikes of anti-Semitism in Europe and increased awareness of anti-Jewish sentiment in the Muslim world.
"It's not as if it's a kind of undifferentiated paranoia," he said.
When it comes to war with Iraq, the survey found that the Jewish community's support mirrors that of the general population, with 59% endorsing military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power and 59% giving President George W. Bush high marks for his handling of the war on terror.
Speculation, bolstered in part by Bush's high approval ratings, that traditionally Democratic Jewish voters are shifting toward the Republican party is not borne out by the survey, said Singer. It found that 48% of respondents identified themselves as Democrats while 32% said they were Independents and 18% Republicans. In the November 2002 midterm House elections, 61% voted Democrat, 22% voted Republican, and 8% did not vote.
The survey also found that Jews are more hawkish on Israel and less tolerant of Israel's enemies.
Nearly three quarters of respondents, or 73%, said they feel very close or fairly close to Israel, and the same percentage said they agree that "caring about Israel is a very important part of my being a Jew."
Half the number of Israel-supporters, or 37%, have visited Israel, including 20% who have visited just once.
A record-high number expressed distrust of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, with 98% saying he could do more to stop terrorism, compared to 90% in the late 1990s.
Eighty-two percent said they agree that the goal of the Arabs is the destruction of Israel, up from 73% last year, and when it comes to the settlements, 10% called for their complete dismantling, 55% called for a partial dismantling, and 34% said all settlements should remain.
While US-Israel relations were deemed very positive or somewhat positive by 90% of respondents, 82% said they are concerned that the US will pressure Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians to mollify its Arab anti-terror coalition.
The survey has a margin of error of 3%.
Really? If Jews, like me, are ~2.5% of the electorate, I'd say it is GENTILES voting for SOCIALISTS who are "creating suspicion of jews ".
If more Jews would leave the Democrats, where there seems to be real anti-semitism tolerated when its source is African-Americans and/or leftists, there would not be this outlook.
A strong proponent of this view (that anti-Semitism is a bogeyman) has been voiced by Dennis Prager, a Jewish conservative on syndicated radio, as well as a writer (and one of the greatest influences on my thinking).
Sadly, quite sadly, the jewish people are creating suspicion of jews in America by tolerating anti-American jews including Chuck Schumer, Henry Waxman, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. As these and others mount assault after assault on American rights, American laws and the American culture, well-meaning jews stand by not realizing that it is their duty to vote these people out of office and erase the stigma they have created. Anyone who does not do this is the same as they are: anti-American.The same could be said about other ethnic groups as well. Or for that matter women. The key to ending all sorts of discrimination is to start looking at people as individuals first instead of as members of groups.
The biggest blockage to this concept is the Democratic Party, which fosters this kind of "identity politics" because it suits its vote-buying strategy.
-Eric
If alive, these honored souls might agree with you.
I believe this to be pretty reasonable, since various Arab leaders have stated as much. Doesn't Arafat still wear a shoulder patch, showing a palestinian state whose borders include all of Israel?
I agree with the premise of this article that anti semitism is one of the great fears of American Jewry. IMO, Jews, with their leftist traditions, tend to automatically think that giving greater power to a central government can protect them from it. Of course that is akin to the socialist thinking that corporations can be controlled by nationalising them. What really happens, though, is that you get corporations with the power to make law, ust as giving government power to make arbitrary decisions, gives government the power to institutionalize anti semitism.
Not to mention the National Council of Churches, which seems to be a very leftist organization.
The other side of that coin is that there are groups whose members identify themselves as group members much more strongly than they identify themselves as Americans.
Is a Jewish-American a Jew first or an American first?
Is an African-American an African first or an American first?
Is a Mexican-American a Mexican first or an American first?
Many times the way people look at us is the way we define ourselves. Do we define ourselves a certain way because others look at us a certain way or do others look at us a certain way because we have defined ourselves certain way? Perhaps, both are true.
I can confirm the truth of this, from personal experience.
Given geographic/demographic patterns, most US Jews interact rarely with "conservative Christians". Not too many of the latter in/near Jewish enclaves around NYC, that's for sure!
And given history, current events in Europe/Israel, and the unending drumbeat of stupidity from Pravda (aka the New York Times) many Jews remain fearful.
The cure is time and the passing of generations. Think Moses in the desert.
Is a Christian-American a Christian first or an American first?
Is a Christian-American a Christian first or an American first?
Not the same thing and you know it! The context was Americans who have loyalities or ties to other countries. However, as you well know, most Jews have a loyality to Israel. The question is "Is their loyality to Israel greater than there loyality to America?"
It is, however, the same type of question that was asked about JFK and his loyality to the papal state and the pope.
As for Christian-Americans, of which I am one, since "Christian" is about the spiritual plane and "American" is about the secular plane, there is no conflicting loyalities (again, as you well know).
Of course not. It's just the JOOOOOS!
Your reply:
Of course not. It's just the JOOOOOS!
Thank you so much for the illustration of paranoia that surrounds the issue of anti-Semitism. Unless both sides can discuss openly and rationally an issue, that issue will always present an obstacle to trust.
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