Posted on 05/10/2011 9:10:15 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Republican Jews to Donald Trump: Youre not hired. That is, not until you at least turn up to an interview with a resume.
And the same goes for Sarah Palin, another media favorite who keeps flirting with a bid for the Republican presidential nomination but never commits.
Leading Jewish Republicans, many speaking off the record, confirm what the rank and file is happy to say on the record: These two GOP likelys consuming so much publicity are not likely to last.
All politicians enjoy the title likely -- it gives them relevance on the national scene, said Jay Zeidman, a former White House Jewish liaison and now a Houston businessman who heads the Republican Jewish Coalitions local chapter. It allows them to have a pulpit to speak from. But when you look at who's putting the infrastructure together, who has the money to sustain themselves through the primaries, I dont see Sarah Palin and Donald Trump putting it together.
Trump, who has generated much buzz with his personal attacks on President Obama -- questioning where he was born, and whether he has the smarts or the integrity to do the job -- does not resonate as serious, said Alan Joel Steinberg, a conservative New Jersey political analyst.
A serious candidate does not use the kind of language he used, he said.
Republican Jews, with a substantial base among the Orthodox, are turned off by the a real estate magnates grandstanding, Steinberg said -- for instance, in attacking the presidents China policy in a recent speech in Las Vegas laced with profanity.
That's bathroom language, he said.
Trump, of course, has a familial tie to the Jewish community: His daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism before marrying fellow real estate empire heir Jared Kushner.
Yet Trump has said little thus far in his presidential flirtation about Israel policy, a key component of any candidates appeal to Jewish Republicans, Zeidman said. Thats especially a concern now that the party is dedicated to slashing budgets and with Jewish Republicans wanting assurances from candidates that aid to Israel is sacrosanct, he said.
We have to call our community and members and say, Its important we make tough cuts, but not to Israel, Zeidman said. That's the issue that resonates most with us.
Off the record, a number of Jewish Republican leaders who have had dealings with Trump say they dont think his colorful financial history -- peppered with triumphs and bankruptcies -- befits the intense scrutiny that all modern candidates must bear.
Fred Taub, a Jewish radio host in Cleveland who has been active on a number of campaigns, said Trump is never going to want to open up his books to the press.
He has a lot of issues, said Taub, who recently authored Boycotting Peace, a book about the Israel divestment movement. Is he a serious campaigner? Not really. Is he going to disclose his entire finances? I dont think so.
Palin, at least, is adding substance to her thin governmental resume, most recently in a speech on foreign policy, Steinberg said. But she has yet to demonstrate that she is willing to make the commitment to a run, although Steinberg said he has heard from those around her that she is seriously looking at a presidential bid.
I think if she ran, she would get substantial Orthodox Jewish support and among right-wing Zionists, he said. The problem is it's not clear whether she's running or not. Her followers tell me she is, but she's not raising money or having events in Iowa, the first caucus state. She has to make a decision.
The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate recently stopped in Israel on her way back from giving a speech in India, and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But she has also confused Jewish neoconservatives who admired her outspoken embrace of American exceptionalism and a strong U.S. role overseas with her May 2 speech in Colorado advocating a lower international profile for the United States.
We cant fight every war, we cant undo every injustice in the world, she said in that speech, which was first reported by Politico.
That incensed Jennifer Rubin, a Washington Post columnist who had been one of Palins earliest champions among Jews. Rubin wrote that Palins fecklessness suggested superficiality.
Her views then and perhaps now dont spring from a well-grounded understanding of foreign policy but from briefing cards, Rubin wrote. Change the cards, and presto, a new foreign policy! To the dismay of many who saw great potential in her, she chose not to immerse herself in issues and put meat on the bones of her intuitive policy positions.
Her speech also drew expressions of concern from Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard, previously a strong backer of Palin.
But policy positions aside, Jewish Republicans question Palins seriousness in part because she has not vigorously reached out to Jewish Republican activists and donors. When visiting Israel, Palin snubbed the Republican Jewish Coalitions well-oiled Israel program for candidates thinking of a run for office.
George W. Bush's 1998 trip, before running for president, was considered critical to formulating his adamant pro-Israel views while he was in office. In more recent years, the RJC has hosted former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
Steinberg said that assessing the seriousness of Republican candidates when it comes to Jews comes down to Show me the donors.
By that measure, he said, count Romney as a contender. He has at his side Lewis Eisenberg, a former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a close ally of Netanyahu, and Mel Sembler, a leader in the RJC and a major donor to the Bush campaigns.
The real Jewish impact on the Republican Party is on the fundraising side, said Steinberg, who noted also that Romney has become deeply conversant with Middle East policy. And now Romney has recruited the best fund-raisers in the Republican Party.
wow! those comments are very telling that the Obama kool aide is gone.
No worries, I was told Hispanic ‘Republicans’ (legal or not) as the key block for 2012 election, therefore we need to pander to their whims.
Which is, no doubt, why you told them to "go the he!! back to Israel."
Because there's nothing "ethnic" about a comment like that.
You're a very poor liar.
As a member of that 20% of American Jews who do vote Republican, I can tell you that the initial comment is, sadly, pretty close to the truth. Worse yet, I find that, at least within my own family, the younger generation are even more virulently liberal than my or my parent's generation. And these are the kids that all had did their Israel "pilgrimage" trip with the local Jewish youth group and should know better.
Stein, Horowitz, and Goldberg?
I’m referring to Ben, David, and Bernie, but now that I look at it, that could be the name of a law firm.
*like*
What is pretty close to the truth? That 2% of Americans (or some 80% of that 2%) created “this mess” and that they should go back to Israel?
The young are usually more liberal - they don’t have life experience yet.
“If you are not a liberal at 20 you have no heart, if you are not a conservative at 30 you have no brain”
“You’re a very poor liar”
Not a liar at all! That is nothing different than telling you to get the he!! out of town! Is that too complex for someone with an extremely low IQ to grasp?
All 5 of them.................
I think that’s just a symptom of youth in general. Although for a few years in the late 90s early 2000’s it almost looked like youth were becoming more conservative than even my group was (I was born in ‘77). Seems to have disappeared, or perhaps it’s just that they’re easily swayed by smooth talking Commmies.
My sister in law (wife’s brother’s wife) is Jewish. She’s 32 years old and lived in Israel for a while in her younger years. She is a registered Dem and a Hillary fan, but despises Obama, and is nowhere near as liberal as the rest of her family that I’ve met. We’re working on her and I say give us 5 more years and she’ll be fully on our side.
Trump is a clown. He isn’t going to catch on with actual traditional, conservative primary voters anyway because “the Donald” isn’t a conservative.
Palin on the other hand is a solid conservative, with a track record and writings/speeches to prove it. That the Jews aren’t drawn to her is not something to really give a fig about.
The Jewish voting block is probably not worth wasting much effort on. Some outreach is fine, but Jews aren’t going to vote for the GOP in large enough numbers to matter. Hussein is about as anti-Israel is it gets and something like 78% of American Jews voted for him. For whatever reason, Jews seem to be terrified of any person or party that promotes traditional, conservative values - particularly if they are Christian (or anything not Jewish). American Jews vote secular leftist and that isn’t going to change, so why bother caring what this group thinks.
Yoo-hoo! Over here!
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is pretty left wing. If you read the article, you don’t see a lot of negativity about Sarah Palin, just two concerns: first, what does it mean to her commitment to defending Israel when she talks about dialing down our international involvement. And second, did she diss the Republican establishment when she visited Israel?
The first question will be resolved when she gves a speech about it, and as far as I am concerned she has shown a real love for Israel thy has convinced me that she will not jettison that country.
The second issue probably affects establishment donors bit wi not have a huge impact.
>2.Yes- Sarah Palin has Jewish Ancestry
based on Jewish tradition that makes one “Jewish” if born to a mother of Jewish ethnic decent, although practicing evangelical Christianity.
Sarah Palin’s mother (Sally Sheigam) was of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and so were both of her mothers parents (Louise Sheigam and Shmuel Sheigam). Her maternal grandfather, Schmuel Sheigam, was a Lithuanian Jew born in 1912 in Vilkaviskis, Lithuania, 91.2 miles west of Vilnius. The Sheigam family immigrated to America, via Hamburg, Germany in 1915 because of WWI. The grandmother was was originally named Gower. Her father Chuck Heath can be considered of Jewish blood because it is believed his mother, Beatrice Coleman, was of Jewish decent. Further information on Governor Palin’s ancestors can easily be found in the vital records in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius.
http://www.archyvai.lt/ The Archives holds birth, marriage, divorce, and death records for the Lithuanian Jewish community from 1851 until 1915 when the Jews were required to leave the country because of World War I. They are in 18th Century Cyrillic script and Yiddish Many of these records include the mother’s maiden name and town of registration.
At Ellis Island Immigration Centre, the name was entered as Sheeran, a standard practice of the time when immigration officers were unable to understand non-English speaking immigrants. Sheeran is a common Irish name but members of the Sheigam family are buried in the Jewish cemetery at Budezeriai near Vilkaviskis:in Lithuania.
http://sarah-palin-2008.blogspot.com/2008/10/sarah-palin-has-jewish-ancestry.html
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Sarah_Palin_Jewish#ixzz1LyCQT6Ai
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Sarah_Palin_Jewish
I agree. Many of the secular Jews are also anti-Zionist. I think that they have bought into the whole social justice mind set that they were taught in school and it somehow relieves them of any guilt feelings over rejecting their traditional heritage and culture. They just want to fit in with the rest of the “intellectuals” and that means, post modernist, post American, post Israel.
Or Blacks for that matter. Democrats, the party of the KKK. All three of these groups are enemies of the KKK.
Ditto that 2nd-D....
IMHO when she does, I think the 1st day over 100,000 will sign up to be volunteers...
Keep this post, and see how close I am, BTW, that is only 2,000 people per state.
Then, there are the neocons, like Bill Kristol, who want to go to war anywhere in the world (as long as it's someone else’s kids doing the fighting and getting killed).
That says it all. She didn't play ball with the Republican Jewish Establishment so SOME of them are making nasty comments about her. And the article also has stirred up a lot of comments here about Republican Jews. Why do we take the bait? People are all to willing to go to war over it and tar Republican Jews because of this agenda driven article.
Hey now, a good number of Jewish Republicans in the state parties of NJ and NY are active Freepers or lurkers here.
A few things have to happen before Jewish Republicans commit,
first New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has to definitively declare one way or another,
secondly ObamaCare lawsuits have to reach a conclusion,
thirdly Dodd Frank Reform fiasco has to find some clarity,
fourthly an actual list of R primary candidates needs to emerge,
fifthly comes down to how Israeli politicians forcefully come down on J Street and their concomitant fellow travelers,
sixthly, the US Jewish Republican electorate is no longer of a single voice on almost any issue due to various factors and agitprop campaigns,
Palin’s base problem in the Jewish Republican community is that she’s underqualified in the general consensus when it comes to issues most important to Jewish Republicans,
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