78 percent of Jewish American voters voted for Harris in the US election, according to exit polls by CNN and NBC. / Photo: Reuters
Until the 1990s, American Jews largely showed unwavering support for Israel and its government.
However, today, many in the American Jewish community are distancing themselves from official Israeli representatives due to their far-right rhetoric, according to Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.
This explains why a significant number of American Jews largely remain distanced from the Republican Party and President-elect Donald Trump, whose views on Jewish people are often tinged with anti-Semitic overtones.
According to CNN and NBC exit polls, Trump garnered the smallest share of Jewish votes for a Republican candidate in 24 years, with 78 percent of Jewish American voters reporting voting Democratic in the November election.
“American Jews are much more alarmed by Trump's domestic allies, many of whom are anti-semitic and naturally people vote with their domestic interests at the front of their mind”, explains Ryan Bohl, a Middle East analyst at RANE Network based in the US.
In Israel, however, a September poll by Langer Research Associates and PORI (Public Opinion Research Israel) found that 58 percent of Israelis believe Trump would better serve their country’s security than his opponent, Harris.
Bohl tells TRT World that the difference is reflective of an overall ideological shift in the global Jewish community:
“Israeli Jews are becoming much more hardline, hawkish and nationalist while Jews abroad in the diaspora are remaining liberal and secular.”
In March 2023, American Jewish leaders issued a statement opposing Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's planned visit to the United States.
In the statement, they expressed concern over his history of “anti-Arab racism, virulent homophobia, and a full-throated embrace of Jewish supremacy.”
The leaders argued that hosting Smotrich would “harm, rather than help, support for Israel” and urged the community not to provide him with a platform, stating “his presence in the US to address primarily Jewish audiences would be an affront to American Jewish values.”
Similarly, several left-leaning Jewish organisations that participated in last year’s Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) General Assembly did not attend this year’s event, which was held between November 10-12.
In a joint statement, they expressed concern that their participation might be interpreted as support for the current Israeli government's policies.
“This is a critical moment in history for Jewish unity, but unity should not be misconstrued as uniformity – as there are multiple ways to advocate for these policies,” the statement read.
“Standing with Israel can and should include solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have protested in the streets over the past many months, calling for their government to end the war, to prioritise the redemption of captives, and to choose democracy over a messianic settler agenda.”
While a significant number of moderate American Jews with a liberal worldview have grown disillusioned with Israel’s settler colonialism, the brutalities unleashed upon Palestinians have even moved ultra-orthodox communities, one of them being Neturei Karta, a small but prominent ultra-Orthodox sect in the US.
It is not uncommon to witness them protesting alongside pro-Palestinian activists, holding signs with messages such as “Judaism condemns the State of ‘Israel’ and its atrocities."
"Pro-Palestinian groups can use Neturei Karta as proof that not only do they have Jews who support the pro-Palestinian cause, but religious Jews," Motti Inbari, a professor of Jewish studies tells Haaretz.
"It gives them a certain kind of credibility they wouldn't otherwise have."
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.