Israel

Donald Trump revealed his antiSemitic views yesterday, exasperated that 75 to 80 percent of American Jews consistently vote Democratic, accusing them of disloyalty to the nation, a typical antiSemitic trope long used against Jews throughout history.

This man, who said there were “good people on both sides” in Charlottesville, where white supremacist young men chanted that “The Jews will not replace us”, and who David Duke and Richard Spencer rave about, since his white supremacist views have continued to evolve, even after the El Paso and Dayton Massacres, cannot understand why Jews are Democrats.

American Jews are Democrats because they are promoters of Social Justice and progressive causes, and many of them are troubled by Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s policies toward Palestinians, as Israel pursues a policy of denying basic human rights to them, undermining good will internationally towards Israel,

The fact that Netanyahu has not denounced Trump over this antiSemitic trope is troubling, and causes a chasm between American Jews and many Israelis.

American Jews voted 79 percent for Democrats in Congress in 2018, and American Jews have always voted in vast majorities of at least 60 percent since the early 20th century, with the exception of 1920. The lowest otherwise was Woodrow Wilson in 1916, John W. Davis in 1924, Jimmy Carter in 1980,and Walter Mondale in 1984, but with Davis and Carter having a progressive challenger on the left who took substantial percentages of the vote.

Here are the stats:

1916–Woodrow Wilson 55 percent

1920–Eugene Debs (Socialist) 38 percent behind Warren G. Harding (R) 43 percent and James Cox (D) 19 percent

1924–John W. Davis 51 percent with Robert La Follette Sr (Progressive) 22 percent and Calvin Coolidge (R) 27 percent.

1928–Alfred E. Smith 72 percent

1932–Franklin D. Roosevelt 82 percent

1936 FDR 85 percent

1940 FDR 90 percent

1944 FDR 90 percent

1948 Harry Truman 75 percent and Henry A. Wallace (Progressive) 15 percent and Thomas E. Dewey (R) 10 percent

1952 Adlai Stevenson 64 percent

1956 Stevenson 60 percent

1960 John F. Kennedy 82 percent

1964 Lyndon B Johnson 90 percent

1968 Hubert Humphrey 81 percent

1972 George McGovern 65 percent

1976 Jimmy Carter 71 percent

1980 Carter 45 percent, Ronald Reagan (R) 39 percent John Anderson (Independent) 15 percent

1984 Walter Mondale 57 percent

1988 Michael Dukakis 64 percent

1992 Bill Clinton 80 percent

1996 Clinton 78 percent

2000 Al Gore 79 percent

2004 John Kerry 76 percent

2008 Barack Obama 78 percent

2012 Obama 69 percent

2016 Hillary Clinton 71 percent

Notice that progressives who were not Democrats—Eugene Debs in 1920, Robert La Follette Sr in 1924, Henry A. Wallace in 1948, and John Anderson in 1980—took substantial number of votes away from the Democratic Presidential nominee.

So with those exceptions, Democrats have won 60 percent or more of the Jewish vote since FDR onward, except for Jimmy Carter in a three way race in 1980 and Walter Mondale and 57 percent against the landslide of Ronald Reagan in 1984.