Politico: Ted Cruz Woos Orthodox Jews

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ted-cruz1Politico reports:  Ted Cruz loves Orthodox Jews – and they love him back.

It’s a dynamic that allows the hard-line conservative presidential contender – a practicing Southern Baptist himself – to tap Orthodox donors more aggressively than any other 2016 candidate, as he zeros in on a small but potentially winnable slice of an otherwise deeply Democratic demographic.

Leaders in the Orthodox community point approvingly to his vigorous opposition to the administration’s negotiations with Iran, his comfort level with religious references and, most important, his passionate support for Israel, a theme he touched on during his presidential announcement speech.

“I share a great many values with the Jewish community and the Orthodox community,” Cruz said in a phone call during his first swing through Iowa as a presidential candidate. “Chief among them is a passionate dedication to strengthening our friendship and alliance with the nation of Israel.”

And while no one doubts the sincerity of that position, it’s exactly that connection to Israel that has given Cruz entree into the Orthodox donor world. Very religious Jews are more likely to prioritize a strong Zionist approach while embracing traditional views on social issues, a dynamic that makes Cruz a natural fit.

“Sen. Cruz started earlier than everyone else, so he’s probably had more contact in the community than anyone else,” said Phil Rosen, a New York lawyer who was a major bundler for Mitt Romney. “Many of the candidates have begun to recognize that the Orthodox Jewish community probably fits more closely to the Republican conservative viewpoint than many other groups. And I think, for the first time, in the Romney campaign, people like me were able to raise a tremendous amount of money from the Orthodox community because of that closeness of the mind-set on issues like Israel, and Israel’s safety and security.”

Less than 24 hours after announcing his candidacy last month, Cruz hit his Week One fundraising goal of $1 million, in large part from money raised at a New York City event that included a “sizable” Orthodox contingency, according to a source. (The host of the event, Rebekah Mercer, is not Jewish. She and her family, major Republican donors, are now running a super PAC backing Cruz.)

The Orthodox community is 10 percent of the Jewish population, a group that, in turn, makes up about 2 percent of the U.S. population and is heavily concentrated in Democratic-leaning urban areas. Asked about the political utility of engaging such a small group, Cruz pointed to fundraising and also nodded to states like Florida and Ohio, which have historically been general election swing states and have sizable Jewish populations.

“The Jewish community has always played an important role in the political process, both as swing voters in a number of swing states, and also as key donors and financial supporters,” Cruz said. “They take seriously the stakes that are posed, the gravity of the threats.”

In the past several weeks alone, Cruz has met with an influential Orthodox rabbi from New York, hosted an event with Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel to highlight the dangers of a nuclear Iran, and made an appearance at a swanky Passover gathering in California that drew wealthy Orthodox Jews.

“The Orthodox segment is more open to supporting Republicans, and some individuals in the Orthodox community are active in political fundraising contributions,” said Nathan Diament, head of the Orthodox Union, who said Cruz has been the most “proactive” of the 2016 contenders in engaging Orthodox Jews. “That’s why you’ll see more activity on the Republican side, reaching out to the Orthodox community, than you’ll see more broadly [in engaging the rest of the Jewish community].”

Over the past year, Cruz has also showed up at Sabbath services at swanky synagogues in the Hamptons; in Bal Harbor, Florida.; and in Beverly Hills, California. His deputy chief of staff, Nick Muzin, will often spend the weekend with the community, and Cruz will pop in for a Saturday morning sermon. Muzin, who is playing several roles on Cruz’s campaign, including serving as a senior adviser, has shepherded many of the senator’s connections to the Orthodox world, according to about a half-dozen Jewish leaders.

Muzin’s longtime relationships with leaders in the Orthodox community help explain Cruz’s focus on that segment of the Jewish donor class. For example, Howard Jonas, CEO of Genie Energy , has had Cruz over for Sabbath dinner and said he and his friends have supported him in the past and expect to contribute again. That invitation came because Jonas is friends with Muzin.

Cruz is one of the two most active 2016 contenders in reaching out to the Jewish community as a whole, even beyond the Orthodox community, said one currently unaligned Republican fundraiser who works with Jewish donors. The other is Rand Paul, said the source, noting that the libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator has sought to reassure hawkish donors that he is sufficiently pro-Israel. But other more establishment-friendly Republicans, like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, are considered likely to do better in the broader Jewish GOP donor world, which tends to support more moderate Republicans.

He doesn’t necessarily have a lock on the Orthodox Jewish donor class yet, either. Rich Roberts is something of a kingmaker among ultra-Orthodox Jews in Lakewood, New Jersey, who frequently hosts politicians at his home, including Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul and connects them to leaders in that deeply religious community. But he hadn’t yet made time to meet with Cruz, beyond a brief session in a hotel suite in Florida about a year ago, despite urging from the Texan’s camp. Roberts, who likes Walker, said in an interview that “this round might not be [Cruz’s] round to run.”

But in many corners of the Orthodox community Cruz is a “folk hero,” said Jeff Ballabon, an Orthodox Republican operative. He assumed that mantle last fall when the senator told a group of Middle Eastern Christians booing Israel that “if you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you.”

“All of a sudden, that put him very much top-of-mind as a strong defender [of Israel], someone who felt in his gut about the Middle East the way the Orthodox community does,” said Ballabon, the architect of George W. Bush’s groundbreaking outreach to the Orthodox community, a group that Republicans previously had largely ignored. “He didn’t think, ‘I’m going to be the candidate for the Orthodox Jews.’ When that video went viral, all the Orthodox Jews were clamoring to meet him.”

Read more: POLITICO

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


7 COMMENTS

  1. Ted Cruz is not the public problem but his prayer is for a lesser liberty in America.

    He is lovely to think Israel is crucial and I like him. But his aspect for civil liberties is not cost free.

    Look for him to be the pro-easy-Israel candidate. His reality is simple Friday for easy borscht.

    Funny guy.

  2. Ted Cruz is the best choice morally, for the Frum voter to vote for. He has the same values that we as Torah Jews stand for. He is very strong for traditional marriage and has NOT wavered one iota on this issue. The same with abortion. He is not embarrassed to proudly proclaim his fear of G-d. Unless Mike Huckabee decides to run, Ted will enthusiastically get my Family’s vote.

  3. Ted Cruz does NOT have the entire package for Torah values at all. His liberty is value without added need. His necessity is not honor with good reversed condition and his Favor is less of G-dliness and more of Simple moodedness. I think he is lauded for being Israel savvy, but he is not godly for being distant from American Need. I will not support him, but I do hope he makes it far in the run up. He might be a lot of humor.

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