GOP shouldn’t squander chance to reach non-Orthodox Jews

It’s no secret that American Jews are largely liberal, and tend to vote Democratic. The Pew Research Center’s 2013 report A Portrait of Jewish Americans (from which all data in this piece are drawn) found that 70 percent of American Jews identity as “Democratic” or “Leaning Democratic.” And yet a staple of every campaign cycle is the proliferation of articles proclaiming that the American Jewish community is becoming increasingly more Republican — but without any real data to support that claim.

I think I know why.

{mosads}Thus far in the 2016 presidential campaign, as in previous Republicans efforts, the candidates have focused their attention almost exclusively on the Orthodox Jewish community. Perhaps that makes sense, as Orthodox Jews are far more likely to identify as Republicans (57 percent) than are non-Orthodox Jews (just 22 percent).

But here’s the catch. The Orthodox community makes up a mere 10 percent of the American Jewish community — which means, of course, that 90 percent of the American Jewish community is non-Orthodox. The Reform Movement is the largest denomination, comprising 35 percent of the American Jewish community — more than the other denominations combined.

The math is stark: Approximately 302,000 Orthodox Jewish adults are Republican while more than triple that number (approximately 1 million) of non-Orthodox Jews are Republican, of whom more than 300,000 are Reform. That means, ironically, there are almost exactly as many Reform Jewish Republicans as there are Orthodox.  But Republicans don’t seem to get that.

This fall, all of the presidential candidates, both Republican and Democratic, have been invited to two events sponsored by the Jewish community. On Dec. 3, the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) will host a candidates forum in Washington, D.C. And a month before that, on Nov. 6, the Reform Jewish Movement has invited each of the candidates to Orlando, Florida, to participate in the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial Convention, the largest conference in American Jewish life. We expect some 5,000 synagogue leaders and others in Orlando and look forward to each of the participating candidates taking turns being interviewed one-on-one by NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd.

I understand why candidates are likely to attend the RJC event, and I encourage them to do so.  Certainly, there is something to be said for preaching to the choir; the choir is made up of the people who can get the rest of the congregation to sing — or vote, or volunteer or donate, in this case.

But if given the chance, why not also speak directly to that larger congregation? If candidates want to reach a greater numbers of American Jews — including larger numbers of Jewish Republicans — they would do well to take the URJ up on the invitation to attend its candidates forum in Orlando.

In other words, why would Republican presidential candidates choose to ignore the nearly 5,000 Reform Jews — the bulk of them leaders in their local communities and synagogues — who will be in Orlando and the some 300,000 other Reform Jews who identify as Republican?

Yes, plenty of Democrats will be in the room at the URJ Biennial (and, critically, more will be watching from home on television and online). Yes, the audience may disagree with candidates on some key issues. But for each candidate, the Reform Jewish gathering will be a powerful and unique opportunity to likely speak to more Jewish Republicans than at any other forum — wherever they chose to watch.

And for the Republican Party as a whole? Well, the best place to find potential Republicans is among those who are not yet Republicans. That’s where they’ll find those of us who are independent and/or persuadable.

Just as Democratic candidates shouldn’t take for granted that Jews automatically will vote for Democrats, Republican candidates shouldn’t assume that non-Orthodox Jews will not vote for Republicans. As a people, we Jews are engaged citizens and voters, and in some states — including Florida — our percentage of the electorate is disproportionate to our population.

Neither Republican nor Democratic candidates should squander the opportunity to speak directly to thousands of Jews during this large gathering of Reform Jews.

Pelavin serves as chief program officer of the Union for Reform Judaism.