American Jews and African-Americans

My Jewish, GOP friend is puzzled why American Jews vote in such large numbers for Obama, in light of the fact that this president seems to have virtually no empathy for Israel or Israelis.

It's a matter of Jewish cultural norms, I explain.  Every Passover, Jews celebrate their freedom from Egyptian bondage.  We celebrate what God did for us.  And, we feel that this must inform our attitude towards others.  (If I am not for others, who am I?  If I am not for myself, who will be for me?  If not now when?)

True, in the dark days of American slavery, there were some slave owners who were Jewish.  It's also true, however,  that there were freed slaves who also owned slaves.  I say that not to exonerate Jewish slave owners, or any other slave owners, but simply to point out that history has some strange wrinkles.

Also, when Martin Luther King led the fight to free blacks from Jim Crow, we Jews can take pride in the number of our fellow Jews who stood at his side.  Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who died along side the black youth, James Chaney, come to mind.  This is not to say that white Catholics and Protestants didn't also stand with the Rev. King, but Jews can take pride in the extent of their support.

In social struggles there will be winners and losers.  I'm thinking of the white teachers and principals, who were driven out of their schools in Brooklyn when many such schools were turned over to community control.  I'm also thinking of the white parents, who's kids worked hard to find a place in prestigious institutions of higher learning, were beaten out by kids with poorer scores because they didn't belong to the "right" race.  I guess that goes under the heading of you-can't-make-an-omelette- without-breaking-an-egg.  But, I think it best not to give this explanation to children of poor immigrants who arrived in America in the early days of the 20th century.

At any rate, liberals, and this includes most Jews, are proud of the progress that has been made in American race relations.  There are still differences between our various ethnic groups.  And, admittedly it seems Chinese-Americans are not playing by the rules.  (Why are their kids always showing everyone else up with their sky-high test scores?)

I hope I've helped my friend begin to understand his fellow Jews, but I have my doubts.  The other day he tells me he saw a You Tube clip of Obama at a conference of southern, black ministers.  The clip shows a minister telling Obama that Holy Scriptures say that man shall not lie down with man, and that a woman shall not lie down with a woman.  The minister then turns to Obama and tell him that, of course, they will vote for him.  He is one of them.

Hey, my friend tells me, I looked in the mirror this morning and I suddenly realized that I wasn't black!

What can I do to explain to my friend that the Jewish view of our candidates is a matter of faith and not reason?