What are Jews looking for? – The striker

By Jacob Kornbluh
September 30, 2024

When Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz debate Tuesday night, I’ll be looking for deep policy insights, but I’m having a hard time imagining what I might find through the lens of my Jewish reporter .

In the race for the country’s second-highest office, Republican Vance and Democrat Walz will try to outdo each other as the most rural white man in what is likely to be the final debate of the election season.

By Jewish standards, this duel feels very different than the one between their competitors, both of whom have significant Jewish ties.

Vice President Kamala Harris is “Momala” to her family and is married to a man she hopes will be the first Jewish person to call the White House home. Former President Donald Trump has an Orthodox Jewish daughter and son-in-law and boasts about his Jewish grandchildren.” Trump and Harris were born and raised in New York City and the Bay Area, respectively.

Vance and Walz grew up. . . not among many Jews. They don’t make Jewish jokes. Neither has a spouse who, like Harris’, boasts, “common brisket for Passover.”

Although anti-Semitism and other Jewish issues are unlikely to take up much time during the debate, it is important for Jews to tune in (or at least read the article). Forward (the next morning.) One candidate or another will be just a heartbeat away from the presidency. And that goes double for Vance when you consider Trump’s age (78).

Tuesday’s debate, which begins at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, offers Walz and Vance a chance to reintroduce themselves to voters and aggressively advocate for their running mate, as is often the role of potential second-in-command.

Neither as the incumbent nor during the election campaign did he say much about Israel and anti-Semitism. But they left clues about how they would approach issues of particular interest to American Jews.

Where does JD Vance stand?

A convinced supporter A supporter of Trump’s “America First” agenda, Vance has strongly opposed interventionist policies. His isolationist worldview could appeal to voters who shares his working-class roots in several key battleground states is not much different from Trump’s. But Trump has a first-term record on Israel, speaks more frequently about the conflict and has a broad Jewish inner circle.

Vances Associations with right-wing influencers who have trafficked in anti-Semitism and his reluctance to disavow them have worried some American Jews.

Where is Walz?

Walz, who championed many progressive policies as governor, has endeared himself to many Jewish voters, who are far more likely than most Americans to identify as liberal. But his compassion for the suffering Palestinians, Reference to pro-Palestinian demonstrators as “important voices” and the He received praise from the “Uncommitted” movement have postponed some Jewish Democrats looking for clear support for Israel.

The vice presidential debate is often viewed as a secondary event in the electoral process, and this debate in particular seems unlikely to appeal to some sentiments removed from the core issues Key Issues for American Jewish Voters..