Conservatives and Zionists: Support Young Jewish Conservatives

I have a new article out in today’s edition of TheCollegeConservative entitled “Jews and Conservatism: An Interview with YJC President David Milstein.” In it, I write about conservatism and Jewish voters. More importantly, I interview David Milstein – a colleague and fellow conservative activist about Jews moving to the Right. Milstein is the president of Young Jewish Conservatives – a newly formed group that caters to young Jewish conservatives.

Many are unaware of this, but Young Jewish Conservatives’ co-founders reached out to me and asked for my advice during the first planning stages.  I willingly obliged and offered whatever suggestions I could give.  That being said, I fully support their efforts.

You see, like conservative activism, Israel advocacy is a cause near and dear to my heart. Many of my dad’s relatives live in Israel and several of my parents’ friends immigrated to Israel from Lithuania. I live vicariously through them and their stories about Israel. Although Israel-haters will accuse me of being an Israeli propagandist (my allegiance lies with America, silly knuckleheads), many will agree with me that it’s good to morally support Israel.  In fact, we should treat this ally of ours with the utmost respect…Paging the  Obama administration?

Although I’ve yet to experience the Holy Land (I fully dedicate my time to conservative politics, so my ability to travel is limited right now), I do plan to go and visit it one day. It’s a beautiful country full of wonder and rich history. All the pictures I’ve seen and stories I’ve heard point to this. I’ve read enough to understand why Israel is unique. You should visit if you get the chance.

People always ask me about my support for Israel. First and foremost, I support a healthy U.S.-Israel relationship. Israel is our only friend in the Middle East, and it has a lot in common with the United States. Second, I support Israel’s right to exist because it is the only democracy in the Middle East. Terrorists in Hamas and Hezbollah want to destroy this beacon of freedom in this hostile region. Call me crazy, but I have no sympathy for the “Palestinian” cause after one of its proponents and suicide bombers blew up my second cousin  and 20 other  young Russian Jews in the Tel Aviv Dolphinarium discotheque terrorist attack in June 2001. When these militants  personally get under your skin, you cannot forgive them.  End of story. And third, this affinity for Israel led me to bring David Horowitz to UCSD in May 2010. You can see the infamous clip that made national headlines here:

Like conservatism, Israel advocacy is something I will never compromise on. As someone with Jewish roots, I’m proud to support a group like Young Jewish Conservatives. People need to understand why it’s important for Jews to vote Republican and be conservative.

To learn more about YJC, please read my article:

  Jews and Conservatism: An Interview with YJC President David Milstein

American Jews are re-evaluating their support for President Obama and the Democrat Party.  Although Jewish voters historically gravitate to the American Left, there is a noticeable shift in their voting behavior of late.

What best explains this?

Many Jews are disgruntled with Obama’s poor treatment of Israel. In 2011, President Obama called for Israel to return to pre-1967 borders – a move criticized by many for suggesting Israel return to “indefensible ‘Auschwitz’ borders.” This sentiment was affirmed in NY-09’s special election to replace disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner – a contest in a heavily Jewish, pro-Israel district. Bob Turner campaigned as the pro-Israel candidate and later went on to defeat his Democrat challenger.

Israel is not the only issue concerning American Jews. Although Jews voted for Barack Obama over John McCain 78% to 21% in 2008, the American Jewish Committee’s 2011 survey of Jewish opinion revealed that many are abandoning Obama. Here is a summation of the survey’s findings: Jewish voters disapproved of Obama’s job performance 48% to 45%, disapproved of his handling of the economy 60% to 37%, disapproved of his handling of immigration 49% to 43%, and disapproved of his treatment of U.S.-Israel relations 53% to 40%.

Continue reading at TheCollegeConservative.

Related articles

• Jews and Conservatism: An Interview with YJC President David Milstein (thecollegeconservative.com)
• 2012 Isn’t Just About Obama (thecollegeconservative.com)
• Israel Prize ceremony brings Independence Day to a close (timesofisrael.com)