Why Jews are Liberal, Beyond Podhoretz By Jane Taber (YBH) In his book Why Jews are Liberal,

Norman Podhoretz looks at American Jewish political beliefs from only one angle: the historical burden of religious persec ution. In shorthand, this means Christians and the Church represent the so-call ed right , the red states if you will. So the right is not us, and bad, so therefore the left is good. The trouble with that is the left wants to bring about an idea l world through not-so-ideal means: socialism. Yes, Jews have historically bee n socialist, perhaps because it s all about helping the little guy, the under dog . Pillars of this ideological bent are ancient Jewish principles. There is pro found belief in Tikkun Olam (Save the world) and Tzedakah ( Charity). Have Jewish liberals interpreted these Biblical messages in the right way? Hav en t we learned by now that individuals have a right to equal opportunity, but not equal results? And charity should be an individual decision, not one the gover nment makes for you via the barrel of a gun or a metaphorical gun, taxes. With all due respect, Poderhetz missed a beat or two in his analysis. He did no t take into account the deep-seated psychological effects of centuries of Jewish persecution, of being made into pariahs and second class citizens, prevented fr om studying in their chosen fields, pursuing their chosen work and enjoying rel igious freedom. Jews had to keep their heads down or get them lopped off. Yes, they were separated from society by an insular religious belief, but not by the ir own making. It s been going on a long time. Jews were treated badly not just under the Pharoah s. Such treatment got going especially in Europe when the Catholic Church conque red Rome and became the religion of kings. The Jews were already the chosen in t he Bible. The Church had to get rid of the old chosen ones to make room for the new chosen ones. So segregate them in Ghettos. Keep them under a thumb of gove rnment or a boot on their neck. From these ideas came pogroms, blood libels, t he Inquisition and the ultimate inhumanity, the Holocaust. Anti Semitism was a nd is pervasive. It bubbles still under the surface of polite society. It s simple if you think about it. Centuries of discrimination seems to have led to a deep need to be liked and accepted. For centuries Jews had been told they were tenuously permitted to live. After a while, you are emotionally beaten int o self-doubt. The intellect stays intact, but emotional maturity is held back. Many Jews had this overwhelming need to be accepted and respected. Many Jews ev en chose to convert so they could work in the career of their choosing to supp ort their families. These particular Jews grew up with a lack of sense of self, saddled with low sel f regard, even self hatred. The ghettoizing kept the intellect intact, but the emotions arrested. Come blinking into the light with your heart on your sleeve and you are red meat for a politician. Being liberal or radical makes many, man y Jews feel better about themselves because it fits into the dream of perfecting the world through justice and charity. With self-doubt, can you really be an individualist? A go-getter? A dweller in a red state? A core Jewish belief is to work hard and earn the rewards from o ur individual efforts. A lot of Jews won t admit it, but they don t think those re wards should be given to others who are lazy, without personal responsibility a nd want to be taken care of their entire lives. Radicals make themselves feel better by believing they want what is best for oth ers. That s dishonest. What they want is a comfort zone where they can be respec ted and loved by grateful masses. Any psychologist will tell you you can t fill a need from outside, and a cycle of power and control between the giver and the

givee is inevitable. You ll feel bigger for a while, but you re going to have to give more to get that feeling back. Every person has an intellectual and emotional self. Jews who are emotionally damaged by circumstances, parental views of pessimism and defeatism, counteract this by wanting to appear to be do-gooders in the eyes of others. To this end they would gain acceptance, respect and eventually feel better about their sense of self. Barney Frank, Rahm Emanuel, Barbara Boxer, Carl Levin, and Chuck Sc humer come to mind. This phenomenon can also be used to describe non-Jewish Radi cals like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Howard Dean, Al Gore and of course, Barack Obama. As it has come to pass, equal justice and humanitarianism are code words for con trol and power. As David Horowitz has said, the goal is power for the political vanguard who get to feel good about themselves in the process. At our expense, I might add. Podhoretz is correct with his theory that Right equals Christian in many a Jewish mind, but he did not go far enough. The emotional component created by centuri es of persecution is a more meaningful answer as to why Jews are liberal. Tho ugh that s not all of us, in growing numbers. Yours Truly, An emotionally balanced, logical, Jewish Conservative.