THE ODD CONFLICT DEMOCRATS HAVE WITH THEIR DONORS

Jews – the Group Many Still Seem to Hate

A History Lesson

When my grandfather escaped Germany in 1938, he discovered that America had issues with Jews.  Nothing to compare with Hitler, but acceptance could be challenging.  Our name was changed from Kahn, which our sponsors said sounded too Jewish.  My father experienced issues as straightforward as absolute denial to a golf club, or subtle, such as invitations at 10x the price other members paid. 

I don’t look Jewish, so perhaps escaped some of the issues, but my friends have told me of the small torments (could we call them microaggressions) they experienced throughout school and into their careers.  I remember Jews and Asians were considered a “problem” by some at Cal largely because they a. studied really hard and b. seemed smarter.  Can’t have people making the grading curve harder for the rest, can we?

Today

While you don’t hear the slurs as much anymore—Hillary Clinton and Jesse Jackson were famous for them—it’s still considered okay to bash Israel and those who support her as well as to dismiss any Jew unwilling to cleave to increasingly bigoted platform, such as Joe Lieberman. 

Every action on the right is compared to Hitler and the Holocaust.  My grandparents would have been horrified to hear this.  They knew what abominations were visited on Jews, handicapped individuals, Gypsies and homosexuals.  A comparison of this kind is hurtful, cruel and wrong and yet, a mere suggestion that we might not wish to let vast hordes of illegals into the country is greeted with the idea that we are Nazis.  Let’s not forget the large number of ships arriving with desperate Jews to our shores who were turned away to certain death back in their homeland.

Why?

Raised as Christian by my mother (Dad had turned away from religion, perhaps, in part, because of his early experience), I never felt a religious compulsion to identify with a party.  Yet, growing up in Skokie and then Wilmette, IL where a large percentage of my classes were filled with Jewish students (imagine the attendance on Jewish holidays), I found that most felt bound to the Democratic party, both to vote that way and to become major contributors.  Even has horrible slurs were levied at them, often by the same politicians they supported, they cleaved close to the party and ignored the hatred.

I often thought the hatred was spawned by envy.  The stereotype of the rich Jewish man hasn’t died.  Too many forget that these people are mostly those who worked hard, saved, kept learning and earned their lifestyle.  My grandfather struggled in the US, taking disparate jobs, as he couldn’t pursue his former profession here.  And yet, he and grandmother kept their family going with no public assistance, so that my father could earn his PhD in chemistry and his brother could serve as a high school teacher and music enthusiast.  I would think smart, hard-working people would be icons of success, showing the clear roadmap to the next generation of how to achieve it.  I thought this path would be admired.

A Wakeup Call

Do people of Jewish heritage get much in return for their investment?  (On the same note, do most Blacks get much for their voting consistency?)  With Muslims venerated and excused from American norms (such as not mutilating/killing their daughters, justifying jihad and, as a note, refusing to bake cakes for gay weddings), why would Jews take second place in the progressive hierarchy to avowed enemies?  The biggest Jewish donor is, of course, George Soros, but as a collaborator with the Nazis and responsible for the deaths of many fellow Jews as well as stealing Jewish treasure, he’s no hero.  Why would people share in supporting his causes, which likely serve him more than anything?

Growing up in a neighborhood where I could celebrate all Jewish holidays and learn so much about a faith I didn’t share, I saw people who shared all the same values my family did.  They wanted strong, safe communities, education for their children, a path to success for the hardworking, but a safety net (mostly through individual and group charity), and more.  Conservative values.  Conservative compassion.

What will be enough to convince the vast Jewish US family to abandon a party that long ago abandoned them?  I would love to understand what makes them cleave to a party that fosters government dependence, not individual success.  Anyone who knows, please post it here.  Perhaps in time, those who have dedicated themselves to a party will do as the increasing independents have done in California and begin to select candidates by their values and public contributions, not by a load of lies and horsepucky dished out by politicians.

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