WILL JEWS GET SUCKERED BY THE FAR RIGHT'S ARMAGEDDON POLITICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

No, not all Jewish people are wealthy and not all Jewish people control the media or the banks or Hollywood. It is a tenet of virulent anti-Semitism to be able to claim, simultaneously, that Jews are anti-worker capitalists and anti-capitalist Communists. Oh, and another thing Jews aren't: smarter than anyone else. Jewish tradition may revere book learning and professions that require college education but, let me tell you, I've met plenty of Jews every bit as stupid and steeped in ignorance as anyone else. My own sister once came home from school, after a friend of hers had peeked into her permanent record, bragging that she had a 90 IQ. I was surprised it was that high as well. And my first college roommate... oy! He hired me to write his papers in sociology. He got an A. The fact that the Administration thought he might be an idiot savant didn't keep them from expelling him because of the four Fs. It rarely pays to stereotype groups of people. Well, it rarely pays if you're looking for intellectual honesty. Karl Rove and Rick Santorum have something else in mind.

Yesterday's Washington Post examines the relationship between the GOP and Jewish voters. It doesn't examine the historical flirtation certain segments of Jewish populations have had with authoritarian parties and regimes. In 1848 and in 1917 European revolutions had plenty of Jewish people in the vanguard-- and yet there were other Jewish people who were stalwarts of the Ancien Regimes. Were there Jews looking for law and order candidates who supported Franco and Mussolini? Even Hitler? And now, according to the Post there are some Jews who, similarly, can't add two and two and see impending disaster but who are getting suckered into supporting America's own fascist movement, a movement which is fundamentally and inherently-- if surreptitiously-- anti-Semitic.

And it is probably the segment of Jews least integrated into the mainstream of American life, least interested in the mainstream culture-- and most at risk from anti-Semitic trends-- who are most prone to fall prey to the siren song of fascism: Orthodox Jews. "The Jewish group proving most receptive to Republican overtures over the past decade is among the smallest: Orthodox Jews. Right now, they account for roughly 10 percent of the estimated 5.3 million Jews in the United States, hardly enough to tip most elections."

But in states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania they could make a difference. Could a far right extremist, Opus Dei member, Rick Santorum, who embodies a neo-fascist politics that enlightened Jews instinctively recoil from make real inroads? "Trailing in the polls, Santorum has seized on the explosion of Middle East violence to emphasize years of support for Israel and many of the state's 280,000 Jews, who live mostly in and around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He recently brought state Jewish leaders to a series of private meetings in Washington with top Republicans, including presidential national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley. He blasted his Democratic opponent, Bob Casey Jr., for failing to speak out forcefully enough in defense of Israel. 'At a critical time in the America-Israel relationship, when you are a candidate for one of the hottest Senate races in the country, you have an obligation to step up and speak into this moment,' Santorum said in an interview. Instead, he said, Casey shows 'weakness.' A number of Jewish donors, especially those in the Orthodox community, are assisting Santorum and others behind the scenes. In the short term, the biggest political benefit of the GOP's outreach to the Jewish community has been financial, Democratic and Republican officials said."

Republican strategists are licking their chops as older, experienced and educated liberal Jews age (and die) and are replaced with out-of-it religionist fanatics among the Orthodox. "'The single most hostile [Jewish] community to Republicans is the 70-and-older community,' said Matthew Brooks, of the Republican Jewish Coalition. 'That segment will not be part of the electorate going forward much longer...' The number of Jewish adults between 18 and 29 who describe themselves as Orthodox is 16 percent, nearly double those ages 30 to 39, the AJC-commissioned study found. The percentages are believed to be even higher among Jews under the age of 18, who account for about 20 percent of the overall Jewish population, according to Nathan Diament, director of public policy at the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. These Jews, who regularly attend synagogue and tend to be conservative on social issues, are also having children at a higher rate than other Jews, Harris said. In many ways, their views are in sync with those of Christians who attend church regularly, which is one of the most reliable indicators of how a person votes in politics today. The more frequently a person attends church or synagogue, the more likely he or she is to vote Republican, polls show."

People more interested in a strictly spiritual existence fall easy prey to foolish or unscrupulous charismatic leaders. Educated and aware Jews understand why fundamentalist Christians support Israel so strongly-- their idea of a fukockta "plan" for the Apocalypse which includes the deaths of all Jews; great allies to have. Not. Most Jews don't trust Bush or these kooks who support him. Imbeciles, on the other hand... "Bush has made small gains among Jews since his first election, but short of what some GOP strategists had envisioned. A staunch supporter of Israel who won the backing of a few prominent Democratic Jews such as former New York City mayor Ed Koch, Bush captured between 22 and 26 percent of the Jewish vote in 2004, based on various exit polling surveys. In 2000, he won 19 percent."