The New York Times
“I am the son of a Polish immigrant.” Thus declared Bernie Sanders to supporters after his victory
in the recent New Hampshire primary, says Gal Beckerman. Polish? Sanders that night became “the
first Jew ever to win a presidential nominating contest in American history. So why no mention of
that “breakthrough aspect” of his candidacy? It has to do with “the kind of American Jew” Sanders
represents. The Vermont senator hails from a tradition of fiercely secular Jewish socialists, who
rejected Zionism and instead sought justice through left-wing politics. These Jews, often immigrants
from Eastern Europe, “adopted socialism as a new kind of faith”, revering Franklin D. Roosevelt
and “championing a liberal ethos that still characterises American Jews today” (70% reliably
vote Democrat). With roots like that, it’s no surprise Sanders rarely speaks of his Jewishness, never
attends synagogue, and shows little interest in Israel. In this respect, he’s representative of the way
America’s Jewish community as a whole is going: religious observance and reflexive support of
Israel are both in decline. That’s another reason, perhaps, why the Jewish establishment didn’t greet
Sanders’ historic win “by hoisting him up in a chair like a joyous bar mitzvah boy”.
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