The American Jewish population has long been a strong Democratic base. Despite ranking high in most measures of social class — a distinction that usually indicates conservative tendencies —Jews are remarkably liberal. This is even more noteworthy considering Republicans are becoming the most staunch, unequivocal supporters of hard-line Israeli policies, most clearly embodied by their backing of newly re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, irrespective of his racist remarks during his campaign and his stance against a Palestinian state (as well as his subsequent flip-flopping on the issue).
Some of these conservatives are perplexed that their support for right-wingers in Israel is off-putting to American Jews. Congressman Steve King of Iowa is especially baffled, as he expressed in a radio interview with the Boston Herald: “I don’t understand how Jews in America can be Democrats first and Jewish second and support Israel along the line of just following their president.”
King is a well-known expert in theology, Jewish scholar, champion of minorities, hateful crackpot. The last time he appeared in the national spotlight he was asking a young Mexican woman if she was a drug smuggler.
His other notable highlights include: referring to a college student that attended the State of the Union as a “deportable”; claiming immigrants have “calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert”; and predicting in 2008 that al-Qaida members would be “dancing in the street” if then-Sen. Barack Obama was elected president.
With this record of ignorance, it should come as no surprise that Steve King doesn’t understand how Jews can be Democrats. Personally, I do not need to take advice on how to be Jewish from a bigot who comes from a state where cows outnumber Jews 600 to 1.
People like King cannot possibly comprehend that a Jew — or anyone for that matter — can be a supporter of the state of Israel and still be morally opposed to the repression of Palestinians. To Republicans, supporting Israel means backing right-wing Likudniks like Netanyahu who want more illegal settlements in the West Bank and less political rights for Palestinians. To American Jews, supporting Israel means following your conscience. American Jews overwhelmingly support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, while Netanyahu came out against it during his campaign.
Unlike Netanyahu, I will not pretend to speak for all Jews. But I can say with conviction that there is nothing in my Jewish heritage that would compel me to support hate-mongers like Steve King and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reach the columnist at hneidig@asu.edu or follow @hneidig on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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