While over 71 percent of Jews voted for Hillary Clinton, Orthodox Jews supported Donald Trump, according to Haaretz.
"Most Jews (like those who voted like them) will wonder if they truly inhabit the same country as those who voted for the winner, a candidate who Jewish voters concluded was totally unacceptable, morally and politically, and in terms of his experience for the job," writes Samuel Heilman.
"The fact that many who harbor virulent anti-Semitic sentiments endorsed the winner can only add to Jewish concerns about finding themselves on the losing side."
Jews who supported Clinton "see themselves as cosmopolitan rather than parochial." They have college degrees, and they live in areas such as the urban Northeast, California, and Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami Dade counties of Florida.
Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, tend to have fewer followers with university degrees, Heilman says. They get their news from inside sources, are often less prosperous economically, and they share a conservative worldview closer to that of evangelicals.
Orthodox-affiliated newspapers such as The Jewish Press and the Long Island Jewish World endorsed Trump and that support, Heilman continues, suggested that Orthodox Jews would support him, "even though Trump was a man whose values seemed diametrically opposed to Orthodox Judaism and attracted anti-Semites among his vocal supporters."
President Barack Obama stirred resentment among the Orthodox, writes Heilman, and that carried over to Clinton. "Orthodox animosity toward Obama oozed onto his secretary of state, where it mixed easily with a difficulty accepting the idea that a woman could be the ultimate leader."
The split between the two groups of followers mirrors the split among U.S. voters, says Heilman and "whether anyone can heal either of these divisions is the real question that must now take up our attention."
Republican Jews cheered Trump's win, according to Forward. Some said they were angry over the Iran nuclear deal, and were happy to avoid a Clinton win.
Orthodox political operative and Trump supporter Jeff Ballabon said more Jews should be open to Republican candidates, because "if they can see past the 'spooky Republicans out to get you' rhetoric that's the mainstay of Democrats' appeal to Jews over the last several decades, and open themselves up to see the way Donald Trump deals with the state of Israel, with religious liberties, I actually believe they will be pleasantly surprised. "
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.