“Democrat antisemitism is sending Jews to the Republican Party”

“On the one hand, it removes one of the Democrats’ most stalwart voter groups; on the other hand, we must ensure it does not weaken conservatism.”

Det skriver Andrea Widburg om her

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The handwriting is on the wall: Jews were worried when they watched the Democrat redoubts known as colleges and universities become virulently antisemitic after October 7; they started eyeing the party askance when New York City elected a manifestly Muslim, antisemitic mayor; and they’re now panicking big time that Democrats selected an Islamist in Michigan—a man who campaigned with the pro-Hamas Hasan Piker—and then watched the Old Guard is welcoming him in.

Considering these facts, it’s not surprising that Jews are heading for the party door. They no longer feel welcome in the Democrat party. And many, to defeat this dangerous new version of the party they once loved, will vote for Republicans. They’ll also generously fund Republicans, as they once did Democrats. This is bad news for Democrats, but is it good news for Republicans?

To begin at the beginning, while Jews are small in number (about 2.2 to 2.4% of the American population), their life choices (go to college and enter the professions) mean that they are mostly affluent (although not as affluent as Asian and Southeast Asian immigrants). And when it comes to politics, Jews are generous…mostly to the Democrat party.

According to a ChatGPT analysis (which I’m going to accept as true), whites generally provide most of the funding for American politics, with an estimated 91% of political donations coming from whites. Democrats can boast a more racially diverse donor class, but whites still carry the financial load.

When it comes to Jews, things are a bit harder to track because those tracking donations don’t measure religion, being more obsessed with race. The Carter administration reported that, in the 1976 election, more than 60% of large Democrat party donors were Jewish. Given that 70% of today’s Jews lean Democrat, that Jews tend to be affluent, and that Jews have this historical track record of political generosity, it’s reasonable to believe that Jews are still some of the Democrat party’s most reliable funders.

However, thanks to the Democrat party’s increasingly open hostility to Jews, the result of a malevolent confluence of communism and Islam, Jews no longer want to vote for Democrat candidates and are looking at Republicans as the best way to defeat the new antisemites. One Democrat Jewish woman I know mourned that, despite being a long-time Democrat in her voting and values, she is going to vote Republican this year.

More prominent people than that women are making the same claim:

• “Jewish Dems sound alarm about antisemitism and 2028” (Axios)
• “Meet the Jewish Americans who feel abandoned by the Democrats, now voting Republican for the first time” (New York Post)
• “Democrats’ traditional Jewish alliance is fraying as never before” (Washington Post)
• “Elected PA Jewish judge leaves Democratic party, citing ‘disturbingly common’ antisemitism” (Forward)
• “More US Jews feel ‘politically homeless’ than ever. What are we to do?” (Forward)

It’s not always so blunt, of course. Sometimes, you have to read between the lines. In an essay at the New York Post, Julian Epstein, while not making explicit that his Jewishness is part of why he’s leaving the Democrat party, nevertheless makes clear that rising Islam in the Democrat party makes it an impossible place for him to continue.

Those, of course, are just some examples. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman famously switched parties after October 7. Importantly, at least for purposes of this essay, Ackman took his political donations with him.

American politics run on money. Every penny counts, especially now that the Trump administration has shut down so much of the taxpayer money that the Deep State was laundering into Democrat pockets. That money, of course, couldn’t go directly to Democrats, whether individual politicians or the party, but it supported initiatives and street protests that drove the Democrat brand.

The withdrawal of Jewish money from Democrat politics is a good thing. It’s probably part of why the Democrat party is in a deep financial hole right now (although it matters at least as much that big donors like the Soroses, both father and son, and Reid Hoffman are not providing the usual funds).

However, here’s something to contemplate: It’s reasonable to believe that Jews, having decided that their safety lies with Republicans, will start donating to Republican parties (national and local) and to individual candidates. Because American politics run on money—not just big donor money, but any money—that’s also a good thing.

However, to the extent Jews are fleeing antisemitism, rather than the many other foul policies that now lie at the heart of the Democrat party, it’s very important that Republicans hold the line and do not allow their new donors to drive the Republican party left on economics, social issues, national security, and foreign policy.

I may be a very conservative Jew, but I have no blinders on when it comes to the leftist values of so many (~70%, right?) of my co-religionists. Of course, we need to welcome them into the true big tent. However, once they’re in, we must work hard, persuasively, politely, and respectfully to convince them that the entire Democrat package, not just the antisemitic part, is rotten to the core.

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