American Jews have been known since the 1940s for being liberal and voting predominantly Democratic, even though other relatively affluent groups are politically conservative and vote Republican. Kenneth Wald's The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism seeks solutions to that anomaly along with two other puzzles: why their politics has varied over time, and why they are politically different from Jews in other countries. Wald's answer is that American Jews have developed a distinctive political culture, a form of classical liberalism in which the state shall not apportion benefits or costs based on religion.

Wald invokes three general theories of political behavior to argue that American Jews are different because of their Americanness. The first is contextual analysis, with the relevant context being that American Jews have full citizenship rights in a secular state, in sharp contrast to how they were traditionally regarded in Europe. The second factor is a political opportunity structure in which Jews were given full legal protection, especially Article VI of the Constitution, which bans religious tests for public office. As a result of these two factors, Jews have been able to practice their religion securely and to prosper under the separation of church and state. While there has been some antisemitic prejudice and discrimination against Jews, these have been below the levels they previously faced in Europe.

The third theory that Wald applies is threat perception. Based on Peter Medding (“Towards a General Theory of Jewish Political Interests and Behavior,” Jewish Journal of Sociology vol. 19, no. 2), threat perception theory argues that people respond to what they consider the greatest threat to their welfare. For example, attempts by Evangelicals to legislate their moral views on such matters as school prayer and abortion are considered by Jews to be a serious threat to the church/state separation under which American Jews have flourished, and that perceived threat led to a decrease in the Jewish support for the Republican Party after 1990.

In The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism, Kenneth Wald exhibits the depth of understanding the religion and its effects on politics that has characterized his many publications over the years. Having already published several articles and book chapters on the politics of Jews, this book develops a comprehensive statement of the basis of their politics. The richness of his knowledge of Judaism is evident throughout the book.

Wald's book is a must-read tour de force that shows how American Jews' political worldview has developed. After laying out his approach in the opening three chapters, the next four trace the development of Jews' political culture, starting with the Constitutional period when Jews developed their appreciation of their status, followed by the early national period in which there were several challenges to their equality, the late 1800s when they created institutions to sustain their worldview, and the early 1900s when they faced further challenges. These chapters offer a detailed examination of various controversies that helped shape Jews' politics, such as the 1863 proposal of a Christian Amendment to the Constitution and the nationalities issue after World War I.

The final three chapters focus on the post-New Deal era. Chapter 8 tackles the affirmative action debate and the controversy over religious pluralism in Israel that began in the 1960s. Chapter 9 details the rise of the church–state jurisprudence and how it became politicized, with extensive analysis of surveys of both Jews and the general public that show Jews are distinctive in preferring a high wall of separation. Wald (p. 184) argues that Jews have developed “a politicized ethnic identity in the American political arena organized around their concern to preserve the secular state.” Accordingly, his analysis demonstrates that Jews see the greatest Democratic partisan advantage on issues related to the church and state issue, whereas the Democratic advantage on issues such as social security, taxes, and the economy is lower and there is minimal advantage on the U.S.–Israel relationship. Chapter 10 emphasizes the continuation of Jews' attachment to the Democratic Party, with the exceptions of Orthodox Jews and those from the former Soviet Union. The strong Democratic vote of Jews in the 2016 presidential election is interpreted as reaffirmation of their commitment to classic liberalism, with even the Jewish right exhibiting discomfort with Donald Trump's rejection of pluralism and diversity.

Not only are Wald's book and mine the first academic books focusing on Jews' politics since Lawrence Fuchs's book The Political Behavior of American Jews (Glencoe, IL, 1956), but both seek to develop explanations of Jews' politics that are based on general social science theories and thus could be applied to other religious groups as well. Our books can be seen as complementary: Wald's focuses on the macro-level conditions that undergird Jews' liberalism, while mine explicates the micro-level factors (minority consciousness, self-interest, values, and social identity) that contribute to the Democratic partisanship that has become their “Politics of Tradition.”

Both books employ the concept of politicized social identity and apply the theory of threat perception, but with some differences. We both discuss the Democratic social identity of most Jews, while I additionally recognize the Republican politicized social identity of a million American Jews. Both books explain the increased Democratic voting of Jews since 1990 in terms of the perceived threat from the Christian Right. While Jews' political leanings are a reaction to right-wing antisemitism, Jews also fear growing antisemitism from the political left as epitomized by the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement and by verbal attacks on Jewish college students who support Israel. Jews' self-interest calculations and their politics can change if antisemitism from the left becomes seen as the more serious threat.

Both works recognize Eric Uslaner and Mark Lichbach's (“Identity versus Identity,” Politics and Religion vol. 2, no.3) important article on Jews' voting, but Wald concentrates on its demonstration of the importance of Jews' negative attitudes toward Evangelicals, while I additionally emphasize its finding of the importance of attitudes on Israeli policies. Indeed, my book shows that American Jews' attitude on Israel's policies affects their politics along with their views on economic and morality issues.

Wald argues (pp. 158–59) that “the American Jewish political culture of classical liberalism was not consistently linked to support any political party” prior to the 1930s. However, that does not sufficiently recognize the political culture of the Jews from central Europe who constituted the majority of American Jews in the second half of the 19th century. Many of these “German Jews” became part of the establishment, and their economic interests, generalized self-interest, and values led most to be Republicans. Wald's analysis of the sermons of Jewish rabbis in that period is illuminating, though it would also be revealing to consider the public comments of leaders of the Jewish establishment. German Jewish leaders initially discouraged a “Jewish vote” because they feared being outvoted by the more progressive two million “Russian Jews” who immigrated from 1891 through 1924. Ultimately, the political mobilization of these Russian Jews during the Great Depression created the now-familiar Democratic voting majority among Jews.

Wald eschews Judaic explanations, but the variance in contemporary American Jewry and their religious views is important. Orthodox Jews and Jews from the former Soviet Union constitute only a small part of Republican voting by Jews. There are also political differences between Jews identifying with the Conservative and Reform movements, as well as between them and non-denominational Jews. Importantly, many Jews are “Libertarians” who favor minimal government regulation in both the economic and morality spheres, and they are only slightly more Democratic than Republican. Still, more Jews are large-government social liberals, and they are overwhelmingly Democratic.

The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism is a definitive characterization of the basis of American Jewry's politics. Yet, this is a point in U.S. history when increased economic inequality is causing many younger Jews to favor more progressive economic reforms over Libertarian small government, which could once again change the shape of both the liberalism and the politics of American Jews.

Herbert F. Weisberg is an Academy Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University. He is the author of The Politics of American Jews, and of an essay “The Presidential Voting of American Jews” in the American Jewish Year Book, 2019. He is currently working on a historical account of American Jewish voting.