Contrary to what coastal elites are saying, President Donald Trump’s bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy there shows the incredible power of America’s Evangelical Christians, and how natural of an ally they are to Israel and America’s Jewish community.
Elite commentators miss the political reality here. One article read, “Trump Shift on Israel Highlights Lawyers’ Roles in Middle East Policy.” It credits the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and another lawyer of Jewish heritage as three of the leading influences that induced the president’s move.
There is no question that Kushner is a major force in the White House. There is also no question that Friedman is a force to be reckoned with, whom the Republican base believes is doing a spectacular job as America’s representative to the Jewish State. And the Jewish community is a significant political force.
But there are only about 5 to 9 million Jewish Americans (1.5 to 3 percent of the population). The wide variation on the number is because some Americans are Jewish by birth but are not followers of Judaism, and some surveys count persons for whom one parent is Jewish, while others require both parents.
Regardless of the actual number of Jewish Americans, it is dwarfed by the number of Evangelical Americans. Fully 24 percent of Americans self-identify as Evangelicals, though that number too is debatable, because only 15 percent actually hold to core Evangelical beliefs.
But coupled with the fact that Evangelicals register to vote at higher rates than the general adult population, either of these percentages translates to tens of millions of Americans, anywhere from 45 to 70 million voters. READ MORE
