Jewish College Students Remain Strongly Democratic
Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases
Washington, DC: Reporting on the latest National Jewish Population Survey, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency noted on Monday that Jewish college students are far more likely to identify as Democrats than Republicans, with 53 percent of students identifying as Democrats, compared to 16 percent Republican, 22 percent independent and 17 percent something else. The NJPS findings reinforce the previous results of the 2002 Hillel study, "America's Jewish Freshman: Current Characteristics and Recent Trends Among Students Entering College." The Hillel study found that 50.9 percent of Jewish students entering college define themselves as far left / liberal a full 26 points higher than the non-Jewish sample. Another 39.5 percent in the Hillel survey defined themselves as ?middle of the road, with only 9.5 percent calling themselves conservative / far right.
The National Jewish Population Survey especially when combined with the previous Hillel findings simply give the lie to the myth that younger American Jews have been moving to the right in recent years, and that this is leading some supposed American Jewish political realignment, said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. We do not have to guess about the political sensibilities of young American Jews; we have hard numbers. After countless claims from GOP sources that American Jews are moving to the right, and that this supposed movement is being led by college-age Jews, we have the facts: Jewish college students like the overwhelming majority of American Jews have been and will continue to be Democrats, he added.
