October 30, 2008
After two years of campaigning, in which candidates spent more than $2.5 billion, Election Day is finally here. Watching it wind down from London, one gathers an additional perspective with which to assess the quadrennial American madness, both generally and Jewishly. Some of the observations are curious and even surprising.
Europeans are excited about the prospects of a Barack Obama victory, according to a poll by the International Herald Tribune. Respondents in the five European countries polled were more likely to cite Obama’s personality and his youth, as opposed to Americans polled, who cited his health and economic policies. John McCain is favored when it comes to his approaches to terrorism and “global security,” but Obama comes out ahead when the question becomes who is more likely to represent a change from the Bush administration. The European press has been merciless in its criticism of McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate.
England and the continent view Obama as a change agent.
British respondents in general were less enthusiastic about Obama than their counterparts in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, but for the most part the British view an Obama presidency as the most likely to represent a new direction in foreign policy, global economic policy, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and overall international leadership. Basically, the majority does not like President Bush and views his tenure as a disaster for America and the free world.
For Americans surveyed in this same poll, five out of six cited solving the American economic crisis as the basis for their support for Obama, while Europeans list the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as more important, with the global economy running second. As far as solving these problems, Americans gave significantly better marks to McCain than did Europeans.
With respect to the Jewish communities in Europe, there is little data available, but there are some interesting anecdotal observations. In general, the Brits tend not to become terribly energized about politics, even their own. Except when it comes to Israel, Anglo Jewry behaves similarly. Still, one senses among Jews more concern about an Obama presidency than the IHT survey suggests, especially on foreign policy issues. Like recent studies concerning the views of Israelis on the U.S. election, many British Jews mention Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience as a major reason why they would be more inclined to trust McCain.
Reflecting the power and reach of the Internet, many British Jews have been exposed to the repeated cycles of Internet attacks on Obama. Some Europeans even admit they remain skeptical about Obama’s assertion that he is a Christian and has never been a Muslim. Others continue, despite Obama’s denials and disassociations, to express concern about Obama’s “friends,” “associates,” and “foreign policy advisers.” Wariness about the latter persists among British Jews despite the fact that many of Obama’s closest Middle East advisers are themselves Jewish and have worked on the Arab-Israeli conflict for years through both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Younger British Jews seem to be leaning more toward Obama than older ones. The most important variable among Anglo Jews — mirroring to some extent the recent American Jewish Committee study — is the level of religious affiliation. The more traditional and religious segments of British Jewry appear to be the most right-wing politically and more supportive of McCain. (Among British Jews who might have been predisposed to prefer a McCain presidency, his choice of Palin as his running mate is incomprehensible to them and, as in the United States, the subject of biting jokes.)
More difficult to determine is the extent to which Anglo-Jewish connections to Israel correlate with support for McCain. Identified Jews in Britain tend to visit Israel more frequently and in greater numbers than do their American counterparts. In addition, a higher percentage of British Jews own second homes in Israel than do American Jews. Despite these facts, helped along to a considerable degree by geography, for most non-haredi segments of the Jewish community Israel is not as vital an issue in their communal or personal politics as might be expected.
British Jews, like Europeans in general, consider the U.S. presidential campaign as too long and complicated. In the closing days, they tend to believe the polls suggesting an Obama victory and are ready to move on. Perhaps the most startling observation, therefore, is that despite how closely the countries are connected and intertwined, especially economically, England and its Jews just want their football, their pint, and to turn the page.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn is a professor of political science at Kean University in Union (e-mail gkahn@kean.edu).
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