Jews in New York voted in record numbers this week to help propel Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis into position as undisputed front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
At the same time, Jews voting in Tuesday’s Democratic primary overwhelmingly rejected the candidacy of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, contributing significantly to a vote total that denied him the upset victory he had sought.
Jews also joined New Yorkers in rejecting Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr. Despite his endorsement by Mayor Edward Koch and his blunt appeal for Jewish votes, Gore gained only 16 percent of their ballots, compared to Dukakis’ 77 percent, according to a New York Times/CBS News exit poll.
Only 7 percent of Jewish voters cast their ballots for Jackson.
The three major television networks’ exit polling surveys all found Dukakis received more than 70 percent of the nearly 400,000 Jewish votes cast in New York. Jackson received between 3 percent and 10 percent of the Jewish vote, depending upon the poll. An estimated 1.5 million Democrats voted Tuesday.
Despite the heavy emphasis on Israel during the New York campaign, Jackson’s totals among Jews reflected less concern by the voters for his Middle East policies than for past actions perceived as anti-Semitic.
Two-thirds of the Jewish voters surveyed for the Times/CBS poll said the Israel issue was not that important to them in deciding upon a candidate. Only 8 percent said Israel was an important factor.
Asked by NBC, for example, whether they believed Jackson “cares for you,” 65 percent of the Jewish voters said “no.”
An apparent motivation of many Jewish and white ethnic voters was a fear that Jackson would win the Democratic primary.
‘STOP JACKSON’ MOTIVE
ABC News exit polls showed that one-fifth of the voters went to the polls to “stop Jackson,” and that fully one-third of those who voted for Dukakis did so to vote against Jackson. While Jackson walked away with the black vote, getting 95 percent according to the ABC exit polls, he received only 15 percent of the white votes cast.
David Pollock, assistant executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said that 71 percent of Jewish voters who are registered as Democrats turned out on Tuesday. By contrast, in the 1984 presidential primary, 53 percent voted.
In the Riverdale section of the Bronx, for example, 67 percent of Jewish Democrats voted this year; in 1984, only 53 percent voted. In the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, 65 percent voted this year, compared to 42 percent in 1984.
The New York campaign was probably the most divisive thus far in the 1988 race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the exit polls showed that voters resented this. For example, the polls found evidence of a heavy voter backlash against Koch’s repeated attacks against Jackson.
Koch on a number of occasions had said Jews would have to be “crazy” to vote for Jackson. He also accused Jackson of lying about his participation in events occurring immediately after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
GAP OVER KOCH CRITICISM
Among white voters, 42 percent agreed with Koch’s criticism of Jackson, while only 6 percent of black voters agreed, according to the Times/CBS poll.
On the other hand, 89 percent of black voters and 47 percent of white voters disagreed with the mayor. In the ABC exit poll, 62 percent of those asked said they did not believe Koch should run for an unprecedented fourth term next year.
Koch, noting the results, said it was evident he had been too strident in his attack and that he should never have used the word “crazy” to describe Jews who would vote for Jackson.
While the candidates move on to do battle in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, Jewish and black leaders remain concerned about the intergroup tension the campaign may have left behind.
Among Jewish politicians, state Sen. Martin Markowitz (D-Brooklyn) had been among the most outspoken in his criticism of Koch’s campaign tactics. A Jackson supporter, Markowitz lashed into Koch, saying he believed the mayor’s comments against Jackson “have been deplorable. He’s fanned racial discomfort.”
Markowitz’s district includes Crown Heights, east and north Flatbush and parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a district that Markowitz said is more than 90 percent black.
DEATH THREATS REPORTED
After publicly endorsing Jackson last week, Markowitz said, “We’ve received 500 calls threatening my life and threatening to blow up my office.” He said he is convinced that the calls came “mostly from Jews.”
Markowitz said the decision of 90 percent or more of the Jewish community to turn its back on Jackson “will do more harm” than good in the long run.
“We have to reach out to our natural friends,” Markowitz said. “We have to reach out and involve them in more of our concerns.”
Markowitz added that there was now a need for “a rapprochement between black and Jewish leadership so that once again blacks and Jews work side-by-side for the common good.”
Asked if he would be working to help bridge the divisions between blacks and Jews, Markowitz said he has already started.
He announced that he has organized a meeting at 3 p.m. Sunday at Brooklyn College, in which the presidents of major black women’s organizations will meet for the first time with women leaders of several Jewish groups.
“We have to start the healing process,” he said.
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.
