Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Great read orver at Israel Hasbara Committee, had to share.

Will American Jews Bite the Hand that Feeds Them?

By Paul Miller

November 6, 1984, was a day that would forever change the political landscape within my family. History reminds us it was the day President Ronald Reagan was re-elected to a second term, defeating former Vice President Walter Mondale in a landslide victory. Reagan’s success was not surprising, but what was shocking was what my grandmother, Ida Miller did in the voting booth.

The Jewish immigrant came to America in 1923 to escape poverty and rampant antisemitism that plagued her native Russia. She would eventually settle in Chicago and follow a new Jewish tradition, which was not rooted in religion, but politics. She would become a devout Democrat.

Jewish immigrants who lived through the Great Depression and World War II had a deep admiration for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. However even before FDR occupied the White House, Jews felt welcome in Democratic Party.

In 1932 Jewish immigrants throughout Illinois as well as America, experienced what was inconceivable to people who had spent their whole lives as oppressed second class citizens. They saw one of their own get elected to a position of power and authority. Jewish probate judge, Henry Horner was elected governor of Illinois, the fourth largest state in their new homeland. Over the next two decades the stage would be set for a long dedicated relationship between Jews and the Democratic Party.

Forward to Election Day 1984. Ida Miller, the lifelong Democrat, who served the Party as an election judge for four decades, punched the ballot box next to the name Ronald Reagan. She knew something in 1984 that most Jews still refuse to believe in 2008. The Party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy no longer existed.

My father recalls her exacts words when she shocked him with the news she voted for Reagan. “This is not the same Democratic Party that I came of age in,” she said. Four years later with her eyesight deteriorating, my father assisted her in the voting booth. She told him in Yiddish, “Vote for Bush.” That would be the last ballot she would ever cast.

The Jewish immigrants who were loyal to the Democratic Party raised first generation children who would maintain that same devotion. The difference is that their children never fully understood why their parents were Democrats. Jews, who immigrated to the United States, especially after World War I, saw men such as Roosevelt and Truman as leaders whom understood the plight of Jews and in Truman’s case the man who supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland after the Holocaust; the State of Israel.

Jews understood through personal experience mans inhumanity toward man. They knew that the first and foremost issue that would always face them was fighting for their right to simply exist. They knew after World War II that a politician, who supported Israel, spoke out against antisemitism and understood that tyranny often needs to be dealt with using military might, was their lifeline or as the saying goes, the hand that feeds me.

However, Ida Miller knew in 1984 that the same hand was pulling away and politicians wearing the GOP label were becoming more inclined to support the Jewish people at home and abroad.

Today the children and grandchildren of those courageous immigrants appear to be biting the same hand. Republicans tend to be more supportive of presumed Jewish issues such as security for Israel, fighting terrorism and combating antisemitism. As Democrats provided under Roosevelt and Truman, today’s GOP provides what our parents and grandparents craved for when coming to America. Sadly too many Jews continue to blindly support the candidate with the “D” next to their name. Actual positions regarding Jewish issues are often an afterthought.

Just north of where Ida Miller raised her family in Chicago is the 10th congressional district of Illinois, represented by Republican Mark Kirk. Nobody in congress is more supportive of the state of Israel or adamantly combats antisemitism than Kirk. In 2006 he won re-election by a mere six-point margin. This was after two previous re-election efforts that saw him win by over thirty points. The Jews greatest friend in congress may very well loose his seat in November. If he does, it will be a result of his Jewish constituents abandoning their best friend.

The Illinois tenth congressional district consists of a large Jewish population, residing in the highly affluent North Shore and Near Northwest suburbs. These are the first and second generation Jews that were raised as Democrats and today many of them subscribe to the far-left Progressive ideas of the Party, which downplay the war on terrorism as well as the importance of supporting the Jewish state.

Even among moderate Democrats who overwhelmingly supported Kirk in the past, they justify their desertion because of his support for the war in Iraq. Kirk’s Democratic opponent in November, Dan Seals, provides fodder for Jews abandoning the four term congressman, with canned answers geared to comfort voters that he would be an advocate for Israel.

The sad irony is that the Jews who are turning their back on Kirk have very little disagreement with his moderate positions, with the war in Iraq being the exception. The truth nobody in the community wants to admit is that first and second generation Jews in America have a predisposition to support Democrats because of how they were raised. They instinctively see Democrats as good for Jews and Republicans being bad. While a growing movement in the community has learned that the Party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy no longer exists and has jumped onboard the GOP bandwagon. As I stated earlier, the majority tends to blindly support the candidate with the “D” next to their name.

Common sense would dictate that American Jews would adamantly support leaders, regardless of political affiliation, who have a proven record of supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism. The dangerous reality is that too many members of the Jewish community have forgotten the suffering their parents and grandparents experienced in early twentieth century Europe. Some Jews are in such denial that antisemitism exists; they even support politicians who are a direct threat to the safety and security of Israel and Jews abroad. Some politicians supported by the Jewish community have even reached out to those whom desire to finish the job Hitler started. Ever heard of a presidential candidate named Barack Obama?

By no means am I suggesting the probable Democratic nominee for the Presidency is himself antisemitic. However when you surround yourself with people who are blatantly anti-Israel and arguably can be labeled anti-Semitic, no Jew in their right mind should even consider supporting you. Ironically, in the case of Obama, if it weren’t for a Jewish congresswoman in Illinois he would still be an Illinois state senator viewed as an outcast by the black leadership of Chicago for challenging a sitting black congressman in the primary.

The best indication how an Obama Presidency would affect the safety and security of the state of Israel is his foreign policy team. His current list of advisors can only be described as a nightmare for the Jewish people. Heading the list is former national security advisor under Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brezinski.

Brezinski was the first prominent politician to deny that Islamic extremism was or would become a danger to the world. In a February 2, 1979 memo to President Carter he claimed Islamic fundamentalism is not an imminent threat and will not gain prominence in the Middle East.

He has already demonstrated his “blame the Jews” mentality when he expressed support for the John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt paper “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” which has provided endless ammunition for anti-Israel activists, Zionist conspiracy buffs and Holocaust deniers. He recently returned from a trip to Syria, meeting with President Assad. Do you think Israel would be safe with Brezinski advising Obama in the White House?

Obama is also receiving advice from former Carter Administration diplomat, Robert O’Malley. A devout Palestinian advocate who blamed Israel for the failure of the 2000 Camp David talks. Also bending the ear of the presidential hopeful is the intellectually challenged Susan Rice. This genius suggested that Jimmy Carter and James Baker should serve as negotiators to solve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Why not have Karl Marx defend capitalism.

What is most troubling about senator Obama is his spiritual mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The Pastor at Obama’s church is a vehement antisemite and a long-time supporter of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. This information about Obama and Wright’s relationship is not new and the Illinois senator has stated that he doesn’t always agree with his spiritual leader and has condemned anti-Semitism. Many Jews are satisfied with this answer. However one Holocaust survivor has put the matter into context when she said, “if we found that (President) Bush belonged to a country club that discriminated against blacks, and he then said he ‘disagreed’ with its policies but still continued to pay his dues, would anyone with a moral backbone think the matter settled?” Obama saying he doesn’t agree with his Pastor’s anti-Semitic remarks, but still chooses to be a dues-paying member of his church is no different.

Obama has a positive record regarding Israel during his three years in the senate. However he has already demonstrated that he will have advisors that will undoubtedly be negative for the Jewish state. Obama has already said he wants to meet with the President of Iran, a man who continues to call for the destruction of Israel and is the leading sponsor of terrorism worldwide. These facts in conjunction with his inability to recognize that America is at war with Islamic extremists, shows he will be a disaster not just for Israel, but the United States.

On the other hand, Republican John McCain has a three decade record of pro-Israel policies. He has a vast understanding of the threats Islamic extremism presents to America as well as the Jewish State. There is no doubt he would be a great friend to the Jewish community.

So what will American Jews do? Place person over political Party and vote for proven friends, such as Kirk and McCain, who recognize the dangers that threaten Israel and America? Or do they simply vote for the candidate, who has the “D” next to their name, ignoring the very reasons why our immigrant parents and grandparents taught us about the political process and why it is crucial to our very survival?

If only Jews would ask themselves, “what would Grandma Ida do?”