What is the future for Republican Jews?

Republican Jews must broaden their message, reach younger voters and make sure the party doesn’t turn too conservative.

That’s what some GOP Jewish officeholders and activists say they need to do after a fifth consecutive election in which the Republican presidential candidate failed to win more than a quarter of the Jewish vote.

Many political observers thought the Republicans had a chance to take upwards of 30 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008 because the GOP nominee had a strong pro-Israel record and a relatively moderate domestic one; and was facing a Democratic candidate with a thin foreign policy background.

Republican outreach to Jews — the messaging from the McCain campaign and the multimillion-dollar print and broadcast advertising effort launched by the Republican Jewish Coalition — focused almost exclusively on the candidates’ records and promised policies regarding Israel and Iran.

“The lesson to be learned is we have to communicate with Jewish voters” about other things besides “who’s more pro-Israel,” said Adam Hasner.

Hasner is the majority leader of the Florida House of Representatives and the state’s steering committee co-chair for McCain. “We did a poor job talking about anything other than Israel,” he said.

Hasner believes “we have the right policies” on issues such as the economy, health care and education to appeal to Jewish voters, but “we need to figure out a way to get Jewish voters to listen.”

As an example, he said Republicans could attract Jews by doing “a better job of talking about our comprehensive plan” for energy independence. He said the simplistic “drill, baby, drill” mantra Republicans repeated during the campaign did not appeal to many in the Jewish community.

Attracting Jewish voters with the energy issue might be more difficult than such comments suggest. Surveys conducted by the American Jewish Committee showed that U.S. Jews support efforts to achieve energy independence, but place a much greater emphasis on developing alternative fuels than on increasing domestic drilling.

The executive director of the RJC, Matt Brooks, denies that his organization ignored domestic issues. But he acknowledged that an expanded focus is probably coming as the organization plans for the future.

“Post-9/11, everything has been very foreign policy and security driven,” Brooks said. But the RJC has always tried “to respond to the marketplace” of ideas, he said, which is why “other important issues,” such as the economy, are likely to be more prominent in the organization’s efforts as they attract more attention from voters.

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has been elected House minority whip, which is likely to make him the most prominent GOP Jew on Capitol Hill. He said in an interview that he believes Jews, like everyone else, want to see “practical solutions” to problems such as the economy and health care.

“American Jews want to see the economy rebound,” he said, but added that a top priority for him in Congress is ensuring a “stronger U.S.-Israel relationship.” Cantor said he would be “very outspoken” if President-elect Barack Obama did anything to undermine those ties.

While a number of Republicans say their strategy for winning Jewish votes relies somewhat on reacting to the new administration, it also depends on the future of their party.

Much speculation has centered on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a possible standard-bearer in 2012 that will lead the party in a more conservative direction. But some Republican Jews say it is too early to talk about that prospect or declined to discuss hypothetical scenarios.

Fred Zeidman has co-chaired Jewish outreach for the last three Republican presidential campaigns. He said only a moderate voice on social issues can capture a greater share of Jews.

Another former Bush White House liaison, Noam Neusner, suggests that Republican Jews concentrate more effort on newer, growing Jewish communities.

Neusner said Jewish Republicans need to “get away from New York and the coasts” because it is difficult to recruit supporters in overwhelmingly Democratic areas.

Instead, he said, focus on Jewish communities in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Atlanta, where Republicans don’t stand out and Jewish Republicans can more easily find others who have similar political beliefs.

Zeidman believes that demographics are on the GOP side. As Jewish Democrats age, the Jewish community will include a greater share of voters who at least are willing to give the Republicans a listen, he said.

Republican political consultant Jeff Ballabon agrees that Jewish population trends favor Republicans.

Ballabon cites the growing, more conservative Orthodox community; and recent immigrant populations from Russia, Syria and Iran whose backgrounds lead them to generally support a more hawkish foreign policy.Republican Jews must broaden their message, reach younger voters and make sure the party doesn’t turn too conservative.

That’s what some GOP Jewish officeholders and activists say they need to do after a fifth consecutive election in which the Republican presidential candidate failed to win more than a quarter of the Jewish vote.

Many political observers thought the Republicans had a chance to take upwards of 30 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008 because the GOP nominee had a strong pro-Israel record and a relatively moderate domestic one; and was facing a Democratic candidate with a thin foreign policy background.

Republican outreach to Jews — the messaging from the McCain campaign and the multimillion-dollar print and broadcast advertising effort launched by the Republican Jewish Coalition — focused almost exclusively on the candidates’ records and promised policies regarding Israel and Iran.

“The lesson to be learned is we have to communicate with Jewish voters” about other things besides “who’s more pro-Israel,” said Adam Hasner.

Hasner is the majority leader of the Florida House of Representatives and the state’s steering committee co-chair for McCain. “We did a poor job talking about anything other than Israel,” he said.

Hasner believes “we have the right policies” on issues such as the economy, health care and education to appeal to Jewish voters, but “we need to figure out a way to get Jewish voters to listen.”

As an example, he said Republicans could attract Jews by doing “a better job of talking about our comprehensive plan” for energy independence. He said the simplistic “drill, baby, drill” mantra Republicans repeated during the campaign did not appeal to many in the Jewish community.

Attracting Jewish voters with the energy issue might be more difficult than such comments suggest. Surveys conducted by the American Jewish Committee showed that U.S. Jews support efforts to achieve energy independence, but place a much greater emphasis on developing alternative fuels than on increasing domestic drilling.

The executive director of the RJC, Matt Brooks, denies that his organization ignored domestic issues. But he acknowledged that an expanded focus is probably coming as the organization plans for the future.

“Post-9/11, everything has been very foreign policy and security driven,” Brooks said. But the RJC has always tried “to respond to the marketplace” of ideas, he said, which is why “other important issues,” such as the economy, are likely to be more prominent in the organization’s efforts as they attract more attention from voters.

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has been elected House minority whip, which is likely to make him the most prominent GOP Jew on Capitol Hill. He said in an interview that he believes Jews, like everyone else, want to see “practical solutions” to problems such as the economy and health care.

“American Jews want to see the economy rebound,” he said, but added that a top priority for him in Congress is ensuring a “stronger U.S.-Israel relationship.” Cantor said he would be “very outspoken” if President-elect Barack Obama did anything to undermine those ties.

While a number of Republicans say their strategy for winning Jewish votes relies somewhat on reacting to the new administration, it also depends on the future of their party.

Much speculation has centered on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a possible standard-bearer in 2012 that will lead the party in a more conservative direction. But some Republican Jews say it is too early to talk about that prospect or declined to discuss hypothetical scenarios.

Fred Zeidman has co-chaired Jewish outreach for the last three Republican presidential campaigns. He said only a moderate voice on social issues can capture a greater share of Jews.

Another former Bush White House liaison, Noam Neusner, suggests that Republican Jews concentrate more effort on newer, growing Jewish communities.

Neusner said Jewish Republicans need to “get away from New York and the coasts” because it is difficult to recruit supporters in overwhelmingly Democratic areas.

Instead, he said, focus on Jewish communities in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Atlanta, where Republicans don’t stand out and Jewish Republicans can more easily find others who have similar political beliefs.

Zeidman believes that demographics are on the GOP side. As Jewish Democrats age, the Jewish community will include a greater share of voters who at least are willing to give the Republicans a listen, he said.

Republican political consultant Jeff Ballabon agrees that Jewish population trends favor Republicans.

Ballabon cites the growing, more conservative Orthodox community; and recent immigrant populations from Russia, Syria and Iran whose backgrounds lead them to generally support a more hawkish foreign policy.