Why American Jews are ‘disloyal’ - Trump is a prophet without profit

Dominic Green:

Donald Trump is the Cyrus of our era. He is the most pro-Israel president the United States has ever had. He clearly likes and admires Jews. He’s more accepting of his daughter’s faith than most non-Orthodox Jews would be if their daughter went frum. […]

Jews are supposed to be clever, but their adherence to the Democrats is dumb, a mixture of sentimentality about the party of FDR — a party that no longer exists — and fear of the Republicans as a hybrid of Cossacks, evangelical Christians and, perhaps worst of all if you want to get on and up, country-club snobs. Meanwhile, Republicans are more supportive of Israel and religious freedom than Democrats are. No wonder Trump is astounded that American Jews show no sign of reciprocating with their votes in 2020. No wonder he’s calling them ‘disloyal’ — disloyal, that is, to him, because they refuse to reciprocate his generosity, or to calibrate their votes to their economic and political interests, like sane people would. Jews in Israel, Britain and France have made that shift. But then, they’re not as complacent as most American Jews are. […]

Meanwhile, two futures are forming for American Jews. One is the path of greater intermarriage and assimilation, and less affiliation to Israel and Torah: the left turn that leads ultimately to disappearance, and in the meantime to secularism, ‘social justice’, spasms of anti-Zionism, caring too much about what non-Jews think, and a ‘total lack of knowledge’ about Judaism, Jewishness and the Jewish past and present that makes all this possible. The other path is that of keeping the faith, teaching the children, keeping a stiff or at least moderately inflexible neck, and valuing a candidate’s position on Jewish issues. 

So Trump is right. The Jews who are drifting out of Jewishness don’t really care what he does for Israel. They don’t even bother to practice Judaism or educate their children. And the Jews who care intensely about Jewishness and Israel aren’t redefining the Jewish vote. He’s wrong, however about the reason for this. It’s not because they’re disloyal or ungrateful; it’s because they’re not yet numerous enough to tip the balance. Demography may soon do that, though. With liberal Jews opting out and conservative Jews making up the difference, American Jews will soon turn more religious, more socially conservative, and more hawkish. Trump may be playing for a future beyond 2020. In the meantime, a prophet, as someone once said, is without honor in his own country."

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