Despite the $1 million spent by the Republican Jewish Coalition for full page ads in Jewish publications around the country, including the JTNews, Jewish support for Republicans is in decline. The ads tried to persuade Jews to leave the Democratic Party. In the campaign, the RJC falsely suggested that Democrats� hard questions about Iraq implied less support for Israel. Other ads included quotes taken out of context from prominent Democrats to unfairly imply that the party was out of step with our values.

The annual survey of Jewish public opinion conducted by the American Jewish Committee taken in late September and early October indicates that notwithstanding the RJC�s campaign, the number of Jewish voters identifying themselves as Democrats has increased from 48 percent to 54 percent since the last mid-term election in 2002. At the same time, the number of Jewish voters identifying themselves as Republicans has decreased from 18 percent in 2002 to 15 percent in 2006. The AJC survey also shows that the number of Jewish voters who identify themselves as liberal has increased from 37 percent in 2002 to 42 percent in 2006. In contrast, the number of Jewish voters who identify themselves as conservative has decreased from 29 percent to 25 percent during the same time period. According to the AJC 2006 Annual Survey, Jewish voters also believe that the Democratic Party is more likely than Republicans to make the right decisions about the Iraq war, terrorism, as well as ensure a strong economy, by margins of 37 percent, 33 percent and 23 percent respectively.

I�m happy that the Republican Jewish Coalition is helping to support the JTNews with its advertising dollars. The flashiest ad campaign of its time couldn�t sell the Edsel, either.

Rob Spitzer

Mercer Island