If New Jersey is a precedent, there’s a conversation to be had about how both sides of the aisle need to earn our votes
We seem to be engaged in an endless discussion about how a large part of America’s chareidi community finds itself ideologically aligned with the right and in the political wilderness. But if New Jersey is a precedent, there’s a conversation to be had about how both sides of the aisle need to earn our votes.
Our communities are, for the most part, concentrated in New York and New Jersey which are solidly “blue” or Democratic states. Democrats hold all the statewide elected positions; in New Jersey, there are a million more registered Democrats than Republicans; in New York, Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than two to one.
At the same time, the chareidi community is increasingly comfortable on the political right. The recent Pew Research Center survey of American Jews gave us a number for this: 75% of Orthodox Jews say they are Republicans, up from 57% a decade ago.
But as we gravitate to the right — and for good reason, since so much of the left-wing agenda runs counter to what we believe — we need to recognize what sort of position this puts us in politically as well.
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