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| Among friends (Jerusalem Post) |
Her response was not all that surprising to me. It is no secret that the majority of Evangelical Christians supported Trump in the last election and are supporting him now. It is also no secret that Orthodox Jews are in the same category. An astonishing 80% of them. That support crosses all Hashkafic lines. Although Charedi support is the lion’s share of that 80%, a smaller majority of Modern Orthodox Jews support him too. I should also mention that the 20% that oppose him are very strong in that opposition and pretty vocal about it.
The phenomenon of religious people choosing a candidate whose behavior and rhetoric is practically the antithesis of religious values is the conundrum of our day.
Those that oppose Trump cannot understand how religious people can vote for such a person. But the fact is that they do. Despite the obvious deep theological differences between Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians they do share many of the same values. Values that are based on shared biblical values.
The answer given by that 94 year old Evangelical Christian was that ‘God works in mysterious ways’. Not sure how that answered his question but then added that Mike Pence, Trump’s trusted vice president, is very religious, proudly so and that she hopes that will rub off on Trump. (That is obviously did not happen yet and is not going to happen.)
But the question remains. How can religious people support a man like that? I think the answer is quite obvious. It is not what the President says or how he acts that they look at. It is what he does that matters to them. It is the polices he has implemented (and those he has yet to implement) that are important to them. Not the least of which is placing 3 conservative members on the Supreme Court - who will surely protect religious rights more than a liberal court would. Although I am personally opposed to government restriction of abortion rights, it is clear that religious people value the life of a fetus over a mother’s right to abort it at her own discretion. Overturning Roe v Wade is one of their great causes. Which is a stated goal of the President.
Interestingly Joe Biden is a religious Catholic. Catholics are more opposed to abortion than Orthodox Jews are. But he is clearly on the side of being pro choice – separating his own personal views from that of the law of the land – which he of course supports despite what are surely his personal religious feelings about it.
Most voters might feel this way, too. But religious people tend not to separate church from state when deciding who to vote for. They will support the candidate that most closely reflects their religious values.
There is also the matter of support for Israel. Israel is an important theological issue for both Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians. We believe that all of biblical Israel belongs in Jewish hands. Which of course includes the West Bank. Giving up a single inch of biblical Israel is not an option to Evangelical Christians and the more strident elements among religious Zionists.
Even though many Orthodox Jews, myself included, agree in principle that we have a God given right to all of biblical Israel, I believe that compromise for the sake of saving Jewish life supersedes that right. But Evangelical Christians and the more right wing elements of religious Zionists are not willing to give up an inch of territory under any circumstances.
So when the President moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and declared Jerusalem to be the eternal capital of Israel, Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians celebrated.
And then there was the incomparable support of Israel by Nikky Haley - Trump’s ambassador to the UN.
Add to that the US recognition of Israel’s sovereignty of the Golan Heights, the abandonment of West Banks settlements as an issue, and getting two Arab nations to recognize Israel’s right to exist and getting them to establish diplomatic relations.. .well all of that is clearly a victory for those of us with biblical values who want to see Trump’s policies perpetuated. These policies fit very nicely into their theological perspectives even though his character does not.
And finally with respect specifically to Orthodox Jews, it doesn't hurt that so many of the people he has placed in important positions are themselves Orthodox Jews!
What about the President’s awful rhetoric and personal conduct ? Most religious Jews hate it. But see it as secondary to what is important to them – a policy that is generally far more favorable to our values.
What about areas that are not necessarily tied religious values? And what about the relentless daily trashing he gets from the media? Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians are fully aware of it. But they do not see the President in the absolutely horrible terms in which the media consistently paints him.
Just to mention one important non religious area. The media considers the President’s response to the pandemic a disaster - a total failure with no redeeming value. Almost as though he created the virus and could not care less how many people get infected or die. He is constantly portrayed at odds with his own COVID health team headed by the world class epidemiologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci. As though he does the exact opposite of their advice. Citing many examples of that.
That is a total falsehood. It is true that the President has been disagreeing with him a lot these days and even trashing him to some extent. But it is also true that at the very outset of the pandemic he has followed just about all of his COVID team’s recommendations.
When Dr. Fauci was asked if enough had been done with respect to the pandemic, he answered no. But then quickly added that his team had done everything they possible could. And that he didn't know what else they could have possibly done. Which of course the President had to sign off on and implement.
It’s true that a Trump campaign ad misused that quote to imply that Dr. Fauci had approved of everything the President has done. That too is false and he complained about it. The media doubles down on that and completely ignores the implication of Dr. Fauci’s comments that I just mentioned.
They hang on Trump’s every negative word (and there are a lot of those) and report it without ever mentioning anything positive.
This is how much of the religious world sees the media characterization of Trump. So they basically ignore it. As they do the President's rhetoric and personal conduct. Much of which has been pretty disgusting of late. They look only at the policies he’s implemented that reflect their religious values. And cheer.
Orthodox Jews and Christians that oppose the President will argue that character matters much more than policy and that in any case Biden won’t be so bad. Or at least no worse than previous Presidents on both sides of the political aisle. Things were not so bad then and at least we had men of character leading the country.
I’m not sure this fully explains why Evengelicals Christians and Orthodox Jews are so supportive of Trump. But the undeniable fact is - they do.
One more thing. The way the media describes support for the candidates is that college educated voters tend to support Biden while voters without a college education support Trump. Which implies that Trump supporters are a bunch of ignorant fools while Biden supporters are well informed and intelligent. I think it would is a mistake to look at it that way. Unless you think 80% of Orthodox Jews are ignorant fools. Which is of course absurd.
It is really a contest of values. As Evangelical Christian and Orthodox Jews see it - Biden’s character better reflects our values. But many of his polices do not. On the other hand Trump’s character does not reflect our values. It is the antithesis of those values. But many of his polices do.
Which is more important? Depends who you ask.
None of this should be taken as support for President Trump. Whose re-election seems highly unlikely at this late date. It is meant only to explain the basis of the strong religious support for a man who is anything but!