-Caveat Lector-
The Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com
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Wars against terrorism, Iraq put Jews in Bush's corner
Donald Lambro
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 6, 2003
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There has been a significant shift of support for President Bush among Jews
in the United States as a result of the war against terrorism and Saddam
Hussein's regime in Iraq, pollsters and Jewish leaders say.
Jews have long been one of the Democratic Party's most loyal political
constituencies. But the growing likelihood that the war in Iraq will eliminate
one of Israel's regional enemies, perhaps leading to positive changes in the
Middle East, has helped Republicans make inroads into the Jewish vote, a leading
Jewish clergyman says.
"I think there are more Jews who would be willing to vote for President
Bush now and in the year 2004. I think that is a concern and a challenge to the
Democratic Party," said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a pro-Israel group that seeks to promote
closer cooperation between Christians and Jews.
Mr. Eckstein said he is "neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
"I am a rabbi, and this project is our ministry."
"We don't know how much, but there is a shift among Jews who are supporting
Bush and his battle against terrorism. You would have to be blind not to see
that. Republicans are making an effort to bring the Jewish community into its
tent, and the Democratic Party is trying to stop the hemorrhaging," he said.
The latest evidence of this political shift was on view last week when
hundreds of Jewish, and evangelical Christian leaders and supporters gathered in
the District for a two-day conference called Stand for Israel, a project of Mr.
Eckstein's organization.
The event, which is to be an annual meeting, was co-chaired by Republican
strategist Ralph Reed, who has been a close political adviser to the White
House.
Participants cheered speakers, including Attorney General John Ashcroft,
Rep. Tom Lantos, California Democrat, and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas
Republican, who one by one lauded Mr. Bush's campaign against terrorism,
especially his drive to dismantle and disarm the Iraqi regime.
Mr. Reed was reluctant to discuss the broader, long-term political
implications of the war while U.S. soldiers are fighting and dying in a campaign
to topple the Iraqi regime, but he acknowledges that it has led to political
changes in the way Jews view the president.
"His conduct of the war against terrorism has caused a lot of voters to
take a second look, and that includes Jewish voters," Mr. Reed said.
A survey of 1,216 Jewish voters taken in October by the Tarrance Group, a
Republican polling company, found that Mr. Bush has made "significant inroads
with this heavily Democratic group, something that could have an impact on the
next two election cycles."
"A clear majority of Jews (81 percent) see Bush as a strong supporter of
Israel, and 46 percent say they would be more likely to vote for him based on
the way he has been handling the war on terrorism," the polling company reported
at the time.
Ed Goeas, who conducted the poll, said Friday that it was done "in the
midst of the [midterm] election, when you would expect a lot of political
polarization, but we found none. There is no reason to believe that this support
has deteriorated. In fact, it has increased."
Ronald Reagan received 38 percent of the Jewish vote in 1980 against
President Carter, the high-water mark for a Republican presidential candidate.
More recent national polls show that while at least two-thirds of Americans
back Mr. Bush on the war, Jewish support has been higher. Notably, a Quinnipiac
University survey in New York City, where voters are far more liberal, found
that Jewish voters are supporting the war 56 percent to 35 percent.
"Without a doubt, we are seeing a majority shift [among Jews] in the
political landscape of this country," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the
only Republican Jewish member of the House.
He credited the war on terrorism for the shift.
"The war we are fighting in Iraq is the same war that Israel is fighting
internally," he said. "In my travels across the country, I hear Jews telling me,
'I find myself agreeing with the Republicans more than the Democrats.' "
Democratic officials did not respond yesterday to requests for responses to
the assertions of Jewish leaders such as Mr. Eckstein, though one Democratic
strategist, who did not want to be identified, said, "We've seen some evidence
that Bush is getting more support" from Jewish voters since the war began.
Copyright © 2003 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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