Many Jews, especially those from immigrant families (esp from former USSR) are staunch Republicans and anti-Obama. It is probably due to their first-hand experience and familiarity with fierce antisemitism in their birthplaces. They value Israel, as do many Jews in the United States, and vote Republican seeing that conservatives tend to be more supportive of Israel. Obama is not a favorite among Russian Jews in the United States because of his known sympathetic stance with the Palestinians (he attended an Arab conference and dined with Edward Said- a very anti-Western “historian”), his willingness to sit down with a Holocaust-denier who threatens to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and his nuclear weapons advisor’s ridiculous comments about making Israel remove its nuclear weapons. It is just as puzzling to Russian Jews as it is to many Gentile conservatives as to why some American Jews are liberal.
As a a second-generation American-born Jewish Republican, I have been aware of the political leanings of the more recently arrived Soviet (and other eastern European) Jewish immigrants for some time.
The question of Republican outreach to this group has been discussed. There are obviously some new Republican voters who can be cultivated there. But is such an effort worth it, when you consider that this community is both small and predominantly located in what have been 'Rat states and 'Rat localities? Would it help swing any elections on any level to the GOP? Please feel free to comment.