THAT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK: The New York Times asks, Are Jared and Ivanka Good for the Jews?

Arrgh. The Times adopts the narrative, popular on the left, that the only reason any Jews support Trump is that he is pro-Israel. Look, surveys show that 25-30% of American Jews are Republican or lean Republican. Orthodox Jews and older immigrants from the former Soviet Union are especially likely to be Republicans. Most American Jews don’t vote on “Jewish issues” as such, and Republican Jews, like other Republicans, will be inclined to support any Republican president unless they affirmatively strongly disagree with particular policies, though I assume a blatantly anti-Semitic president of either party would change voting patterns significantly. Ninety percent of Republicans in general approve of Trump, and if you are outside the liberal bubble that blames Trump for anti-Semitism, there is no reason to expect that figure to be significantly lower among Jewish Republicans unless you think that Jewish Republicans are especially likely to disapprove of Trump otherwise. And indeed, last I looked surveys show that 25-30% of American Jews approve of Trump.

In my experience, some of Trump’s most controversial policies, including the so-called Muslim ban, are reasonably popular with my Republican Jewish friends (real and Facebook) and family. Indeed, many of them are very concerned about the anti-Semitism immigrants from the Middle East bring with them, though it’s generally considered impolitic to talk about this in public. And not only are these Republican Jews not using Trump’s pro-Israel policies to excuse his contribution to anti-Semitism, as the Times suggests, but in fact they see those policies, along with appointments like Nikki Haley (who withdrew the U.S. from the anti-Semitic UN Human Rights Commission that Obama had rejoined) and Ken Marcus as policies of a very philo-Semitic presidency. Some of my Jewish Facebook friends routinely pronounce the Trump administration to be the most pro-Jewish in history. It’s far more accurate to conclude that Jews see Trump’s Jewish-related policies through the lens of their preexisting approval or disapproval of Trump than to suggest, as the Times does, that Trump’s Jewish-related policies are what drive Jewish voters one way or the other.

As usual, the New York Times reports on subcultures it doesn’t understand as if it is visiting Mars.