O and Jewish voters

Gallup reports that in 2014, 29% of Jewish Americans said theywere Republicans, compared with 22% in 2008.“Meanwhile, 61% of American Jews identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, downfrom71% in the strongly Democratic year of 2008.”

This appears to be more than just the normal downturn in Democratic support: “The diminished Democratic skew among American Jews in recent years is slightly more pronounced than the same trend among all Americans. The percentage of the general population that identifies with or leans Democratic has fallen by about seven percentage points since 2008, compared with the 10point drop among Jews. The percentage that identifies with or leans Republican among the general population is up three points, compared with the increase of seven points among Jews.”

Jewish men (36%) are much more likely than women (23%) to identify as Republicans, but as with other religious groups, the difference is most pronounced when one looks at the level of religiosity. Highly religious Jews (42%) are more Republican than nonreligious Jews (24%). The higher the level of education (high school, college, graduate school, etc.) the more Democratic Jewish voters become.

The obvious question is whether President Obama’s acrimonious relationship with Israel and weakness with regard to the Iranian regime and Islamic extremists have soured Jewish voters on Democrats. Could he finally have gone too far, enough to alienate one of the most dependable Democratic constituencies? That is certainly possible. It is also true that internationally, the left has turned decidedly antiIsrael, which aswe saw during the Gaza war last year, quickly can turn to outright antiSemitism.

Six years of Obama has given them many openings; now it is up to Republicans to seize the opportunity.