Jews are Democrats

The High Holy Days this year accompany a Presidential election season. Should we retreat from political action and assess our own personal lives or should we see this as an opportunity to reinforce the Torah’s message to be politically active? One need not sacrifice either but I urge you to work for, and vote for, President Obama and a strong Democratic Congress and I say this for Jewish reasons.

The fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats is this: Republicans believe that America thrives when individuals are left alone to work hard and fulfill their potential. If, in doing this, you make a crappy Corvair or pollute our rivers or use your access to get unfair tax loopholes then the public will not buy your product and the “market” will force you to change your behavior to what is more socially acceptable. Democrats, on the other hand, believe that America will best thrive if we work together as a society to help those who, through no fault of their own, are disadvantaged. Democrats believe in the collective use of our resources (including taxes)—to fund, not just the military and an infrastructure for businesses to profit by (e.g. roads and bridges and police) but also good schools, a clean environment, orchestras, health care, parks, safe and efficient automobiles, a safe and fair workplace…

Christianity is about individual salvation. Judaism is about redemption of the community, the nation of Israel. And so our history in America—a country where Jews have been a part of the voting public since its founding—has been a history of liberalism. Every other ethnic group in this country has voted more conservatively after its immigrant generation—once it became economically secure. The Jews of America, uniquely, continue to vote with the Democratic party, even as we have become as wealthy and as “established” as Episcopalians. The Jews of Beverly Hills are as liberal in their politics as the Jews of Brighton Beach. There is a reason for this.

But assimilation may be taking its toll and this can be measured in our politics. While the Torah demands that our politics work for the immigrant, the poor, and the needy, it is no longer unusual to meet Jews who, without embarrassment, profess to be Republican.  I’m not speaking of the ethnic Orthodox, who have always been more aligned with socially conservative Christians in their un-Jewish opposition to women’s reproductive freedom, marriage equality, public education, etc. I’m speaking of wealthy Jews who, having succeeded economically, are now acting more like those successful Episcopalians. They have every right to vote for their own economic interests, but in doing so, they demonstrate that the American system, not the values of Torah, is governing their politics. Not only assimilation, but overheated anxiety about America’s support for Israel, are taking their toll. What a loss—to America and to Judaism.

If you look up the term “sin” in the (Christian) Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible you’ll find an odd final sentence. It reads, “When it comes to repentance there is no Old Testament remedy for sin. Only in the New Testament would that come.” The writer had to ignore the central message of Isaiah in order to say that. In our Yom Kippur haftara reading we recall the prophet’s message, “Wash yourselves clean. Stop doing evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of (the vulnerable in society). Though your sins be like scarlet, they can be white as snow" (Isaiah 1). In other words, stop sinning. Start doing good. It is not God’s grace, but rather political action, that will redeem us. We can argue about some of the details about what “doing good” means but the Jewish teaching begins with the obligation to create a just society. This is why Jews have supported Democratic candidates more strongly than any other identifiable group in America—since the beginning. It is no less Jewish an act today.