Rise Up, Republicans

Michael Freund warns Republicans that they stand to lose all the political capital that they have gained with Jews in the last 3 years.

Increasing numbers of American Jews have begun to find a comfortable ideological home in the GOP, a place where they can park their political identities while still remaining true to their belief in the need for a safe and secure Israel.

But whatever gains that Republicans have made among American Jews in recent years are now in danger of being erased, and the person to blame for this may be none other than George W. Bush himself.

What is the cause for this concern?

By compelling Israel to make concessions inimical to its security, Bush is gambling not only with the future of the Land of Israel, but also with that of the Republican party itself.

His pursuit of the road map, and his insistence that Israel turn over territory to its enemies, has rightly evoked a growing sense of anger and frustration among many pro-Israel American Jews and Christians.

Freund elaborates on the last point.

Speaking on the Christian Broadcasting Network, [Pat] Robertson declared, "the President of the United States is imperiling the nation of Israel. Not only is he going against the clear mandate of the Bible, which is very important, but he's also setting up a situation where Israel will no longer have secure borders."

He even suggested that Bush's insistence on establishing a Palestinian state "will be the beginning of the end of the state of Israel as we know it."

And what is at stake from a pure election politics point-of-view?

According to a 2001 study by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 55 to 60 percent of American Jews consistently vote Democratic, 10 percent are loyal Republicans, while 30 to 35 percent "can be lured by any party depending on its position." Sprinkled among key battleground states in the campaign, that large group in the middle "adds up to a swing vote representing up to 2 percent of the electorate in states like Florida and Pennsylvania," says the study.