Page 12-The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, November 17, 1988
M-T
Ofthodox community backs Bush
:■ -By, : -ANDREW CARROLL WOLFBLITZER
NEW YORK (JTA) -
American Jews bueked the national trend that swept George Bush into office as 41st President of the United States.
As in the past elections, Jews voted overwhelmingly Democratic, favoring Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen over the (Republican ticket of Bush and Dan Quayle by more than a 2-1 margin.
Exit polling by ABC News found Jews favored Dukakis over Bush by 67 % to 32%. The Washington
Post reported that Dukakis claimed roughly seven out of 10 Jewish votes. , ABC also said Jewish voters in New York favored Dukakis-by 69%v and by 74% in California.
In less scientific exit polling, the American Jewish Congress found that Jewish voters favored the Democratic ticket over the Republican ticket by 77% to 23 %. AJCongress volunteers queried 3,881 voters in 12 major cities.
Market Opinion Research in Detroit, a firm run by Bob Teeter, Bush's chief pollster, put the Jewish vote at 69 % to 31 % for Dukakis. They polled more
than 4,000 Jewish voters in six states. '
But Bush gained the overwhelming support of Orthodox Jews^ according to the Detroit firm. Among the 10% of those polled identifying themselves as Orthodox, 75% "^^oted for Bush.
By contrast, 28% of Conservative Jewish respondents and 24% of Reform Jews voted for Bush.
Bush also did poorly among Jewish women. Only 20% of Jewish women over age 40 voted for Bush, compared to the 30% of the men in the same category. The
■.-■^■^ ;By WOLF BLITZER
WASHINGTON
President-elect George Bush has acted quickly and decisively in naming James Baker to become secretary of state in the next administration — a move widely expected but still greeted with mixed feelings by Is-: raeli officials and their American Jewish supporters.
Baker/ while by no means seen as unfriendly toward Israel, is also not seen as necessarily all that supportive either. Most pro-Israeli observers agreed that Baker was not as basically synipathetic toward Israel as the outgoing secretary, George SIhultz.
"It's a net loss," one observer said, referring to Shultz's very pro-Israeli - record.
He added that as far as Israel was concerned, Bush, too, represented "a net loss," given President Ronald Reagan'is generally very supportive attitude over the past eight years.. ' ■
But throughout the campaign, Bush went out of his way to underline his support for Israel. Pro-Israeli obiservers were now hoping that he would live up to those promises.
Other observers noted that Baker, a very practical and experienced, political operative, was unlikely to attempt a major personal
push on the Arab-Israeli problem: In fact, one well-informed observer commented: "He'll take one look at (Prime Minister Yitzhak) Sh^imir and one look at (PLO Chairman Yasser) Arafat and say, 'Next case.' .
Bakery as treasury secretary these past four years, supported high economic and military aid levels for Israel. He also endorsed the establishment of the lJ.S.-Israeli Free Tk^de Area Agreement^ aiid, after some initial opposition^ the restructuring of IsraeFs massive U.S. financiial debt.
"He's very reasonable," one pro-Israeli lobbyist said. "Ithihk he'll be fine."
NEW YORK (JTA) -
Voters in California and Massachusetts defeated three separaite propositions calling for the establishment of "a Palestinian state and criticizing Israel for its policy in the West Bank and| Gaza Strip. But in Cambridge, Mass., a " sharply anti-Israeli measure was adopted.
The Cambridge proposition, which calls for a cut in U.S. aid to Israel equivalent to the money Israel uses in the territories, passed narrowly, with 22,913 votes in favor and 20,113 against.
The Cambridge measr lire also calls on the district's congressman to "vote in favor of a resolution to achieve peace in the Mideast by demanding that Israel end its violation of Palestinian human rights and its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.*'
A similar measure in Newton, another Suburb of Boston, was defeated by a large margin. The Vote in Newton was 10,035 against the resolution and 4,597 in support
of it.
Measure J in Berkeley and Proposition W in San Francisco were both defeated by large margins.
Proposition W, which called on the city of San Francisco officially to support "statehood in the occuJHed territories of the West Bank and Gaza," was rejected by 133,712 voters, while 63,011 voters supported it.
Measure J ui Berkeley,
which called for the establishment of a "sister city relationship'' with the Palestinian Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, was defeated by 31,799 votes to 13,017 in favor of the resolution.
All four measures were initiated and supported by various pro-Arab groups in the United States and the National Association of Arab Americans.
breakdown for all Jewish women was not immediately available.
"We are very satisfied with those numbers," said Mark Neuman, coordinator of Bush's National Jewish Campaign Committee. "We had enormous obstacles to overcome, the main one being that most Jews are Democrats. .
At Bush headquarters, supporter Jack Stein, a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said that among Jewish Republicans there is V'a feeling of satisfaction over the results of a long and difficult campaign."
In a conciliatory statement on behalf of Dukakis' Nationar Jewish Leadersip Council, Hy-man Bookbinder congratulated Bush and pledged his colleagues' support for the President-elect..
"He will get our praise and thanks when we feel he is right, but should be prepared to receive our criticism and advice when we feel he is wrong," said Bookbinder, who served as spiecial advisor to the Dukakis campaign.
Bookbinder said in the statement that the council was pleased to note that an * 'overwhelming majority" of Jewish voters supported Dukakis.
That Republican effort focused on JewKsh fears of Rev. Jesse Jackson and his forces' attempt to pass a pro-Palestinian platform at the Democratic National Convention.
According to the AJCongress poll, 40% of the Jewish Democrats, compared to 69% of Jewish Republicans , expressed concern over Jackson's role in.the Democratic Party.
But even more Jewish Democrats, 55%, sjaij;! that the role of the religious right in the Republican Party influenced their vote.
Bush's Jewish supporters feel cdmfo^able that Reagan's vice-president will continue what has been perceived as a pro-Israel stance in the White House.
They point to a Republican party platform that outlines extensive military and economic cooperation between the United States and Israel, and a call for . the repeal of the 1975 United Nations resolution equating Zionism with racism.
Bush was the U.S. representative to the United Nations from 1971 to 1973, and has demonstrated occasional hostility to the international body, which repeatedly censures Israel on military and foreign policy matters.
The Republican Party platform opposes a Palestinian state and any U.S. negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
But Bush has not ruled out any possibility that might be agreed upon in direct negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. That includes moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something he opposes until those negotiations take place.
Bush's Jewish critics have said they do not trust his resolve on Israel, and point to a quote by a close aide that Bush lacks Rea-gan's "gut feeling" toward Israel,
Bush has supported arms sales to Arab states, they say, and he suggested sanctions against Israel after the 1981 bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor.
Critics add:
- • Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig said that Bush, as vice-president, had convinced President Reagan to support a UN resolution condemning Israel's 1982 move into Lebanon.
• During the 1985 TWA airline highjacking in Beirut, Bushsaid that people held against international law should be released — referring to the Lebanese prisoners then being held by Israel^
• Bush's longtirne national security advisor, Donald Gregg, told a Washington journalist two years ago that Bush does not have "the same gut feelings for Israel as the President."
• During Irangate, Bush sought to blame Israel, for. the foulup. He told CBS News anchorman Dan Rather that the arms sales operation was in the hands of "a foreign power." And
U.S.' President-elect George Bush
Bush later told the Tower Commission that U.S. foreign policy was "in the grip of the Israelis."
But according to Stein. Jack who describes himself as a close friend of Bush for 18 years, the President-.. elect understands Israel's . security needs and is determined that as an .ally, . America will remain strongly committed to safeguarding Israel, including her position in the United Nations."
On the domestic front. Bush appears at odds with most Jews' stance on issues involving the separation of church and state. He supports school prayer, tuition tax credits for private schooling and criniinalizing abortion.
However, substantial portions of the Orthodox community agree with Bush on those issues, as their support demonstrated.
Jn . the statement by Dukakis' Jewish campaign, Bookbinder said that Bush ' 'pledged to protect the wall of separation between church and state. We expect he will act in accordance with the pledge." .
Bookbinder said Bush "should take another look, at his contradictory promises to support prayers in school, tuition tax
NBC Studios • Vancouver's Stanley Park
credits, etc. Those are attacks on the wall between church and state, and show the influence of the far right."
Vice - President-elect Quayle also has been seen by Jews as a cause for concern. Quayle has objections to foreign aid on philosophical grounds and has supported Arab arms deals.
The strong Jewish support for Dukakis continues to contradict what some Jewish conservatives have predicted since 1980 would be a fundamental rightward shift in Jewish politics.
Political scientist Seymour Martin Lipset said that Jewish voters remai n unlike Christian voters, whose support for the Republican Party increases with their personal affluence.
Lipset said Jews have a historical allegiance to the Democratic Party, based on a tradition of charity, socialist sympathies and anv-biyalcnce about what he calls the "country club phenomenon."
The election shows that "Jews don't feel comfortable with the WASP elite, and (are) more comfortable with ethnic candidates."
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