The comments made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) at last week’s Democratic Party debate drew praise for breaking American political taboos about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Criticizing Israel’s military actions as “disproportionate” and calling for Palestinians to be treated with “respect and dignity” is certainly not what we’ve come to expect from American politicians, especially in the midst of election campaigns. Even more unusual was the fact that Sanders made these comments just days before the New York primary, in which American Jews — who make up about 20 percent of the electorate in the state — are a critical constituency.
But let’s not get carried away.
What Sanders said is unlikely to cost him politically. If anything, Sander’s outspokenness on Israel will only bring him more votes in today’s primary election in New York.
There are a few good reasons for this:
Most New Yorkers, including most Jews, will not cast their vote on the basis of which candidate is the most pro-Israel.
Data shows only Orthodox American Jews and Evangelical Christians prioritize Israel in their voting behavior, and neither of these groups would vote for Sanders, a secular Democratic socialist. The members of these two groups — not only right wing when it comes to Israel, but also socially conservative — are solidly Republican. The majority of American Jews, by contrast, consistently vote Democratic and do not have Israel uppermost in their minds when they enter the voting booth. In surveys, they tend to rank Israel much lower down on their list of political concerns: A 2012 poll, for example, shows only 4 percent of American Jews said that Israel was the most important issue for them in voting for president in the election that year.
Many American Jews actually agree with Sander’s statements about Israel.
I’ve just written a new book in which I argue — based upon extensive survey data and interviews with American Jewish leaders and activists — that growing numbers of American Jews, although they still care about Israel, have become increasingly critical of Israeli government policies, especially concerning the Palestinians. Many want Israel to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank and start seriously negotiating a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
In a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center, almost 50 percent of American Jews thought that the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not sincerely trying to make peace with the Palestinians, and a plurality (44 percent) said that Israeli settlement building undermines the country’s security. These American Jews were nodding in agreement during the debate when Sanders said that “Netanyahu is not right all of the time.”
Many young American Jews enthusiastically embrace Sanders.
Younger American Jews, like young Americans in general, agree with Sanders about Israel and the Palestinians — and on other issues as well. While some older Jews might be offended or alienated by his criticism of Israel, younger ones are more likely to be attracted and energized by it. Throughout his primary campaign, Sanders has appealed to young people, who are overwhelmingly liberal, and his strategy focuses on mobilizing large numbers of them to turn out to vote. Criticizing Israel and expressing sympathy for the Palestinians could help him in this respect, as surveys show that young Americans, including young American Jews, are much more likely to share these attitudes than older Americans.
Being ‘pro-Israel’ no longer means unconditional support for Israel.
Finally, however novel it was for a U.S. presidential candidate in a nationally televised debate to talk about the plight of the Palestinians and not just declare unwavering support for Israel, Sanders was careful to preface his taboo-breaking comments with the assertion that he was “100 percent pro-Israel.”
Whether or not you believe he really is, the fact that Sanders insisted upon his pro-Israel credentials, even pointing out that he had spent some time living in Israel and has family there, demonstrates that he still really wants to be regarded as pro-Israel — and that this moniker still matters in American politics. What’s different today is that being pro-Israel no longer means uncritically supporting Israeli policies and actions. Nowadays, one can actually be “pro-Israel” and openly condemn those policies and actions. As I argue in my book, this is increasingly true within the American Jewish community, as proven by the rise and growing legitimacy of the dovish pro-Israel group, J Street. It is now also, finally, becoming true in American politics in general.
When he was running for president in 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama told a group of Jewish leaders in Cleveland, “There is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you’re anti-Israel.” Obama quietly challenged that view and still got elected. Now Sanders has done so much more loudly and publicly, helping to redefine what it means to be pro-Israel.
Dov Waxman is a professor of political science, international affairs, and Israel studies at Northeastern University and the co-director of its Middle East Center. His latest book, “Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel,” has just been published by Princeton University Press.