Post-Script

This is an addendum to the post below:
Many Jews lately have sided with the republicans because they feel they better represent their interests in Israel. I suspect that this is because the republican party has closely allied with the Evangelical Christians and Christian Zionists. This is a VERY dangerous alliance. While the christian evangelicals are God-Fearing, moral, and what they believe to be well-intentioned, Jews must not forget what the ultimate reason for their recent love for Israel is: as part of a messianic end-game. I know that there will be no return of Jesus, so that end-game does not exist, and one could argue making these followers eternally supportive of the jewish people without end. However, the christians have been the primary oppressors of the Jews in the name of Jesus for much of Jewish history, and it is with a very reluctant hand that the jewish people as a whole have recently joined forces with them. Compounded onto this is the old war addage, "your enemies' enemy is your friend," and having a mutual enemy in radical islamic terrorists, the american christian zionists and the jews have joined forces. But the commonalities end there. The Jewish faith allows for abortion in certain circumstances, provides for end-of-life issues much more liberally than does the conservative christian theology, provides for birth control in certain circumstances, would allow stem cell research using embryonic stem cells, to name a few examples. Jews do not need to vote democrat, or republican, but to ally with a party simply because it will implicitly follow the whims of the christian right is not a good reason whatsoever. Living in a very christian place, I can assure you that the respect of all religions is NOT granted by a religious majority, and in fact the majority's views will prevail. See my other blog posts about evangelizing at MCG ( a state-run institution), par example.