Now that we are finished with both rather conventional and predictable Conventions, the “race” for the Presidency begins in earnest.  The seeming fragmentation of the body politic into discrete and intensely focused “voting blocs” which are fought over between the parties is an example of the growing polarization of American thought.

In this context, the upcoming September 23 conference in New York City entitled “The Jewish Vote, the Holocaust and Israel” takes on enlarged relevance. The allegiance of this constituency (which historically has both voted and contributed at high levels) is important in some of the swing states which may determine the electoral outcome.

There is a lot of history that impacts how Jews are likely to vote.  Notwithstanding the significant contributions to World Jewry by Herbert Hoover and other Republicans, the affinity of Jewish voters for the Democratic Party is deep and long-lasting, rooted in theoretical commonality, the labor movement and the power of inherited fundamental beliefs.  It survived Roosevelt’s failures to address the Holocaust, and numerous subsequent strong endorsements of Israeli positions by Republican politicians, platforms, and constituent blocs attracted to Israeli claims through religious belief.

Will Jews continue to support Obama, who has been deeply criticized by more conservative Jewish elements?   Will the new omission in the Democratic platform of the reference to Jerusalem as the “capital” of Israel weigh into the debate in any lasting way?  What can we learn from the history of Jewish voting in the United States, and its deep-seated historical patterns, that may inform our understanding of November, 2012?  What should each party be doing to court this voting (and financial) bloc?

The one-day conference on Sunday, September 23 at Fordham Law School, sponsored by The Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, will explore these issues through the eyes of academics, Congressman Bob Turner (R-NY), former New York Mayor Ed Koch, and Dr. Tevi Troy (whose background includes advisor to the White House, and CNN and Fox News analyst).  If interested in attending or learning more, go to www.WymanInstitue.org.  (Disclosure: the Institute is a pro bono client of DuaneMorris LLP and I am chairing the conference.)

Today’s Public Radio commentary was all about what candidates should do to appeal to various disparate  blocs.  Is that a relevant question, or are we destined by and large to vote as our parents and we ourselves have always voted, slaves to our own personal histories (and thus doomed to not learn from prior experience, but merely to repeat it)?