ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to develop a more general theory of Jewish political behavior based upon a broader view of Jewish political interests. It demonstrates that the political liberalism of Jews is a particular variant of Jewish political behavior, occurring only under specific historical and societal conditions, rather than a universal phenomenon. Determining what constitutes Left or liberal political behavior is also extremely difficult. This is usually done by examining support for various political entities, such as parties, candidates, policies and programs, orientations to issues involving change or reform, and general views of societal organization. The chapter argues that a more broadly conceived view of Jewish political interests than the conventional wisdom suggests that the question is not why are Jews universally liberal and altruistic in spite of their socioeconomic interests. The specific Jewish political response will be inversely related to the direction from which the greatest perceived threat to Jewish micro-political interests is seen to come.
