Jewish Senior Life of
Metropolitan Detroit
metro
2072
EIGHT
DON'T BE IATE...NOMINATE!
EIGHTY
it The Tikkuri Ol am Award
Save The Date And Nominate!
Induction Sunday, May 20, 2012
WHAT:
Eight Over Eighty — The Tikkun Olam Award
Eight Over Eighty is an annual event at Jewish Senior Life of
Metropolitan Detroit that honors eight senior adults, eighty
years or older, who have dedicated their time, talents and lives to
our community.
WHY
Jewish Voters
Political scientists do not expect a
party realignment among Jews.
To recognize eight senior adults for their lifetime achievements
WHEN: Sunday, May 20, 2012, LUNCHEON 11:00 AM (Dietary laws observed)
WHERE: Temple Israel, West Bloomfield, Michigan
Nominations are due by January 12, 2012
Do you know
How to Nominate:
Write
or email JSL describing the
a deserving
worthiness of the nominee. Please
older adult who...
include (as applicable):
• Name and age of nominee
• Duration of volunteer
• Involvement in Jewish organizations
and causes
• Leadership positions held
• Current accomplishments
• Letters and newspaper articles
supporting nominee's
accomplishments
• Explain how the nominee's long-
standing activities exemplify a
commitment to the Jewish value of
Tikkum Olam (Repairing The World).
• Is at least 80 years old?
• Has been a long-standing
volunteer in the community?
• Is active or volunteering today?
• Is dedicated to maintaining
strong Jewish values?
• Is an inspiring leader or mentor
in the community?
Honorees will be inducted in the
Senior Adult Jewish Hall of Fame at a
community luncheon held on May 20th
during Older American's Month.
Proceeds will benefit:
The JSL Quality of Life Fund,
which enriches the lives of our
residents.
A
Arthur Horwitz of the JN, Dr. Kenneth Wald, David Weinberg of the Cohn-
Haddow Center, Irving Goldfein of the Jewish Forum, Dr. Herbert Weisberg
Don Cohen
Contributing Writer
S
Mail or email nominations to:
Eight Over Eighty
Jewish Senior Life of Metro Detroit
15000 W. Ten Mile
Oak Park, MI 48237
Attn: Michelle Buda
mbuda@jshni. org
(248) 592-1101
Or nominate on-line at:
www.jslmi. org
Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary.
It would have been. your 86th birthday
and our 66th anniversary.
Your family and especially me miss you
Your loving husband,
Rest in Peace,
Bernie Jonas
Keep your company top of mind with our readers.
ADVERTISE WITH US! CALL 248.351.5107
Visit theJEWISHNEWS.com
16 November 24 - 2011
iN
ince the 1940s, America's
Jewish community has been
in the camp of the Democrats,
and since the 1990s, it's the norm for
about 80 percent of Jewish voters to
support the Democratic presidential
candidate. That Jews regularly vote 30
percent more Democratic than non-
Jewish, non-black voters is one of the
most distinctive characteristics of the
Jewish vote.
"The Jewish vote is widely seen as in
play',' said moderator Arthur Horwitz,
publisher of the JN, as many of the
200 people gathered at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills nod-
ded in agreement. The event was "The
American Jewish Voter: One Year Ahead
of the Presidential Election" on Nov. 14.
But while this is the general percep-
tion, neither speaker — political scien-
tists Dr. Kenneth Wald of the University
of Florida or Dr. Herbert Weisberg of
Ohio State University — expects a
Jewish political realignment in 2012
or the near future. But they do expect
Jewish support for Obama to drop.
Both Wald and Weisberg are Visiting
Fellows for the year at the Frankel
Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies at
the University of Michigan.
"I would expect Jews to go about
65-70 percent Democratic, lower, but
still on the Democratic side,' Weisberg
said. Such a decline would simply be in
line with that of the overall American
electorate, which is expected to make
Obama pay a price for the nation's eco-
nomic problems.
Wald agreed, given that "the
Republicans nominate someone not
seen as beyond the pale." He thinks Gov.
Mitt Romney would fit that bill, but that
almost all of the other candidates do
not, which would give Obama a higher
Jewish vote if one of them were the
Republican nominee.
"Jews vote at a rate of 15 percent
more than non-Jews:' Weisberg said,
but only about 4 percent more than
Americans with similar education,
demographics and income.
At just 2 percent of the population,
the Jewish sector is not a lot of votes,
but its impact is great because they are
concentrated in key states and "Jewish
donors are a particularly important
source of funding for both parties:'
Wald said.
Weisberg says Republicans are disad-
vantaged among Jewish votes because
"Jewish liberals are more likely to be
Democrats than Jewish conservatives
are to be Republicans.
"Just over 50 percent of Jewish con-
servatives consider themselves to be
Republicans," he said. They identify
with the economic conservatism of
Republicans, but the social conserva-
tism keeps many at a distance.
Wald showed a slide of 1944
American voting patterns among reli-
gious groups. Jews, Baptists and Roman
Catholics were solidly Democratic,
blacks were split and mainline
Protestants were mostly Republicans.
Today, Jews and blacks are mostly
Democrats, with Baptists switching to
the Republicans and Roman Catholics
and mainline Protestants now split.
"Of the five major religious groups,
four of them have shifted camps in the
past 60 years. Who didn't? The Jews','
Wald said.
He dismissed what he called "Judaic
explanations" — Jewish values, Jewish
history or minority consciousness
— for the Jewish vote. "Each of these
explanations has been called into seri-
Jewish Voters on page
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