Jews weigh choice of Trump or Clinton

With a matchup between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump all but assured. a question asked over many Shavuot tables was what does this mean for American voters — particularly, for Jewish voters.

Although Jews represent just two percent of the U.S. population, surveys indicate that more than 90 percent of Jews who are registered to vote make it to the polls, compared to only 74 percent of all Americans, a JNS.org study found, meaning the Jewish vote could matter more than the casual observer might think.

Roughly six out of 10 Americans dislike both candidates to some degree, according to a poll conducted last month for NBC News.

“As elections evolve, people become increasingly committed to one side or another — if they’re paying attention. And one thing we know about Jewish voters: they pay attention to politics and to presidential campaigns,” Dr. Steven M. Cohen, a research professor of Jewish social policy at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), told JNS.org. 

“Jews are hyper-involved as donors, writers, technicians, journalists, and even academics. They contribute more than others to campaigns, and they vote more than others,” he said.

Will conflicted Jewish voters choose Clinton or Trump?

The Pew Research Center’s 2013 “Portrait of Jewish Americans” survey showed that 70 percent of Jewish voters were Democrats, compared to 49 percent of the general American public. But some Jewish voters do not have a specific partisan affiliation, and even for some of those who do register with a particular party, the choice between Clinton and Trump may not fall along those partisan lines. 

Liran Kapoano, a registered Republican who has worked for a number of pro-Israel organizations and supports the “Never Trump movement,” has founded the website GOPWithHer.com for Republicans who support Hillary Clinton because they do not want to see Donald Trump in the White House.