CIJR | Canadian Institute for Jewish Research
L'institut Canadien de Recherches sur le Judaisme

Analysis

The Complex Relationship Between Kamala Harris and American Jews – Opinion

Douglas Altabef
Jerusalem Post, Sept. 3, 2024

“The “as a Jew” Jews have come to understand that the only way they can maintain their good standing in the intersectional progressive world that they yearn to inhabit is to turn on – and to turn in – their own people.”

The range of Jewish attitudes toward presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is mesmerizing.  There are those who cringe at her continued obeisance to the increasingly left-wing coterie that is setting the tone and texture of the Democratic Party, and wonder what, if any, support she would provide to Israel and the US Jewish community.

Then, there are others who see her as standing stalwart with Israel and with American Jewry.

How to resolve the cognitive dissonance? Ultimately, the Jewish attitude toward Harris – and by extension the Democratic Party – must be seen as a function of how a Jew sees him or herself, what prism a Jew is looking through.

The bad news is that traditional and religious Jews have little reason to rejoice. Jewish peoplehood, a foundational concern for these Jews, is seen increasingly as privilege, racism, and – in its more extreme manifestation – an ever-present threat to the welfare of Palestinians.
The increasingly prevalent attitude toward Jews, especially among younger Democrats, is reminiscent of the famous dictum of the Count of Clermont–Tonnerre in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution: “We must refuse everything to the Jews as a nation and accord everything to Jews as individuals.”  … [To read the full article, click here]

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