PicoBlog

It seems obvious to conservatives that Jews should figure out that in politics their friends are conservatives. Conservatives support Israel and oppose the social justice activists who have a negative regard for Jews. Jews should see conservatives as allies to be cultivated. Why aren’t more Jews receptive to this idea?

One reason that most Jews are reluctant to move right is that they have what I call Christophobia. This is not a fear of Christ. It is a fear of Christians. Many Jews fear that Christians are either out to convert Jews or otherwise make American Jews feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.

In America, there are three major Jewish movements, or “brands” of synagogues. The most traditional “brand” is Orthodox. The least traditional is Reform. In the middle is Conservative (not to be confused with politically conservative). But at least one-third of Jews in the United States do not affiliate with any of these movements.

I think that Orthodox Jews, which represent a relatively small proportion of Jews in America, do tend to be receptive to the idea that conservatives are their allies. But Jews who identify as Reform or Conservative, or Jews who are not affiliated, are not receptive to joining forces with conservatives.

When Ryan Burge writes that 85 percent of Republicans are Christians, that is enough to trigger Christophobia among many Jews. I think that if conservatives would like more Jews to espouse conservatism, then we have to find a way to directly confront and overcome Christophobia.

For example, many Jews will say that “the only reason Evangelicals support Israel is because they believe in a prophecy that when all the Jews move to Israel they will be converted to Christianity.” This ignores the possibility that Christians who are conservative in outlook might support Israel because they view the Israel-Palestinian conflict along civilization-vs-barbarism lines.

Jews will see a specter of fundamentalist Christian political power in issues like abortion and sex education. The left, including its Jewish adherents, treats the pro-life movement as above all a movement to impose Christian theology. It treats the movement to protect young children from teachers and books that glorify LGBTQ sexuality as another front for Christian bigotry.

This fear of fundamentalism is not limited to American Jewry. In Israel, non-Orthodox Jews fear the Orthodox. Before October 7, the big issue in Israel was judicial reform. To the secular Jews in Israel, the existing powers of the Israeli Supreme Court are a bulwark against fundamentalist Orthodox Jews taking over, trampling the rights of the non-Orthodox. Secular Jews saw judicial reform, which would alter the role of the Supreme Court, as putting Israel on a path toward theocracy.

I wish that American Jews would step back and examine their Christophobia. Are the fears of a Christian theocracy taking over America really justified? Or are they exaggerated by Democratic politicians and media desperately trying to keep Jews in the left-wing fold?

And I wish that conservatives were more sensitive to the issues that trigger Christophobia. They should base their stands on abortion and sex education on basic moral principles, not on exclusively Christian beliefs.

I believe that most Jews can understand the problem with late-term abortions and with coaching six-year-olds on alternative sexual identities. Conservatives need to be careful to avoid framing these issues as religious issues, and to counter the attempts of their opponents to impose such a framing.

But above all, it would make sense for Jews to realize that nowadays their values and interests align better with conservatives. They just need to get past their Christophobia.

Share

substacks referenced above:

@

ncG1vNJzZmiZoqO8rbDKpaCnn16owqO%2F05qapGaTpLpwvI6jnLCho516pLTRoqqtp6CdvKO1wA%3D%3D