Max Fisher, the dean of Jewish Republicans, made a personal appeal to American Jews from the podium of the Republican National Convention Monday to end their traditional support for Democratic presidential candidates.
“I say to you, my fellow American Jews, come join with me, and with this great (Republican) political party which shares your values, and which has labored steadily to earn your trust,” Fisher said.
“The Republican Party’s interests are your interests, its goals are your goals.”
Fisher, honorary chairman of the National Jewish Republican Coalition, was one of several representatives of ethnic groups who addressed the opening session of the convention.
They were there to urge the members of their communities to vote for Vice President George Bush for president this November.
Fisher said that during his 40 years as an active Republican, he has watched the GOP become “an inclusive party” and “reach out to American Jews in many ways”
“At the same time, I have seen the Democratic Party — the party of so many of our immigrant forbears — move away from the needs and concerns of American Jews,” the Detroit industrialist and philanthropist declared.
He attacked the platform adopted by the Democrats in Atlanta last month for not condemning anti-Semitism or the U.N. resolution equating Zionism with racism, and for not supporting Soviet Jewry or rejecting a Palestinian state.
“The Republican Party will not support an independent Palestinian state because it is wrong,” Fisher said. “Wrong not only for Israel, but also wrong for America.”
He said the Reagan administration has supported Israel because of “shared strategic interests. For Republicans, commitment to Israel is not a numbers game, it is a pillar of American foreign policy.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
