Focus on Issues Jews and the Presidential Elections

Although 59 percent of American Jews identify themselves as Democrats and only II percent as Republicans, as shown by the latest polls, Jewish support for Ronald Reagan both as President and as a candidate for re-election “is roughly in the 20 percent bracket,”according to Hyman Bookbinder, Washington representative of. the American Jewish Committee. Thirty percent of Jews say they are independents.

Bookbinder was one of three participants in a roundtable analysis of the issues affecting American Jews in 1984 — the Presidential elections, U.S. policy toward Israel, the plight of Soviet Jewry, and domestic issues. The others were David Harris, Washington director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and Marc Perl, Washington representative of the American Jewish Congress.

The round table, sponsored by B’nai B’rith International, was held shortly before Reagan formally announced he would seek a second term. It was moderated by Warren Eisenberg, director of B’nai B’rith International.

FOCUS OF THE DISCUSSION

The focus of the discussion was how Jews can affect the issues as voters when they comprise only 2.6 percent of the American population and cast only four percent of the vote. Bookbinder noted that the Jewish vote “isn’t a ‘homogenized’ vote because it can be 15 percent in a state like New York which has a great deal of importance for the candidates.”

He recalled that in past Presidential elections, the Jewish vote varied sharply from 10 percent for Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972 to 40 percent for Reagan in 1980.

“The battle is on to get the difference between 10 and 40 percent … This difference can be ‘totally critical’ in states like New York, Florida, Illinois or California,” he said.

CAN’T BE A SINGLE ISSUE CONSTITUENCY

Perl warned that Jews “can’t allow ourselves to be a single issue constituency” by voting for lawmakers on the record of their support for Israel alone. “If we fall into that Irap, we are going to fall into a political catastrophe for the Jewish community. We are simply going to end up being four percent of the vote and with a four percent of the vote you’re not going to get anywhere.”

According to Perl, “We need to build coalitions. We need to involve ourselves as Americans in the social fabric of this country. We need to build constituencies that can get 51 percent on issues we care about strongly.” In that connection, he said:

“When we work in close cooperation with Blacks and women and Christians for whatever reason, for what might be on our common agenda or their common agenda … it is with the idea in mind that we will build a sense of relationship and sense of cooperation with the ‘majorities’ or with the ‘rainbow coalition’ of minorities that can make up a majority.”

MOSCOW IMPERVIOUS TO WESTERN PRESSURE

Harris, noting the all-time low in Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union last year, maintained that Moscow “is becoming more impervious to Western pressure … with this kind of backdrop of declining emigration, increasing repression against Jewish activities and on-going cultural and religious genocide, the question becomes to what extent, if any, has the American Administration been responsible for that de{SPAN}##{/SPAN} and to what extent can it help reverse that de{SPAN}##{/SPAN} he said.

He stressed that the overall relationship of the U.S. with the Soviet Union “will loom large in the minds of the voters, and particularly in the minds of American Jewish voters. Most people seem to believe that the Soviet-American relationship does impact on the issue of Soviet Jewry.”

Harris added that “If the Soviets planned the decline in emigration, it was planned in 1978-79 under a Democratic Administration and was continued under the Reagan Administration; There may not be that direct causality between the American Administration and the plight of Soviet Jewry.” But, “Others would argue that under the Reagan Administration, the freezing of a relationship, the virtual cut-off of dialogue, the increase in polemics, the rhetoric, have only made it worse for those Soviet Jews seeking to emigrate,” Harris stated.

He observed thatif Secretary of State George Shultz raises the issue of Soviet Jews in his contacts with Soviet-leaders, “why should the Soviets release more Soviet Jews? Why should they do anything to improve the chances of Ronald Reagan being re-elected President of the United States?”

SOVIET JEWRY IS A PRIMARY ISSUE

Harris said that Walter Mondale, the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination, and Senators Alan Cranston of California and Gary Hart of Colorado have exemplary records in support of Soviet Jews. Rev. Jesse Jackson and Reuben Askew “are not so well known to us. And (Sen. Ernest) Hollings (of South Carolina), Sen. (John) Glenn (of Ohio) and (former Sen. George) McGovem (of South Dakota) have a more mixed although generally sym-pathetic record on Soviet Jewry.”

Accordling to Harris, “What we must insure is that we in our Jewish community convey effectively and articulately to our candidates that the issue of Soviet Jewry is indeed a primary issue on our agenda.”

DIVISION ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM

Bookbinder said that “Jews divide across the (political) spectrum … A recent scientific poll of Jewish attitudes in America showed that 36 percent accept the label ‘liberal’, 38 percent describe themselves as ‘middle-of-the-road’ and 23 percent describe themselves as ‘conservative’…”

He said, “There is a perception that Jews vote as a bloc and that the Israel issue united all Jews. But even experts disagree on whethertheir great commitment to Israel has led Jews to a certain kind of voting. Bookbinder added: “If it’s a Reagan-Mondale race in November, it will be a stand-off for most American Jews on the Middle East issue because we will have done our job — we will have seen to it by then that all candidates will indeed have made commitments to us. Also in all cases, you have incumbents or former incumbents. Both Reagan and Mondale are going to have to suffer or benefit from their mixed records.”