Popping up under the headline, Members of the Tribe, this article offers a bi-partisan list of Jews who have influenced the presidential election. But it begs the question, is this what we mean by Jewish influence? Or is this just influence being exerted by Jews? Is there a difference? I think that there is and I think that it matters a great deal.
Why should this list matter if the only thing Jewish about it is the ethnic/religious affiliation of those who appear on it? Is it about instilling tribal pride in those who see it? Is it about announcing how much power Jews have? If so, how different is it from similar lists compiled by those who hate Jews and see us as having altogether too much power already?
Yes, it differs from the list complied by the hate mongers in that they talk about The Jews, as if we get together once a month to plot our next moves in the exercise of global domination. And that is a real difference. But we should take a moment to consider how racial/tribal love and racial/tribal hate are more closely related than we often admit.
And that does not mean that I am opposed to the notion of Jews as a people defined by things larger than shared doctrines of faith or philosophical orthodoxies. In fact, I love the idea of the Jewish family for all the reasons that I love the idea of family – the way it transcends choice, ideology, geography, and the fact that it affirms a sacred connection even between people who might not like each other, let alone agree with each other.

I believe in tribal connection and in ethnic pride as well. But not all forms of pride are equal, and strikes me as important to ask what makes this list a source of healthy pride. I wonder how Jewish wisdom or even the fact of their Jewishness shapes the work of these 36 distinguished individuals. Did anyone ask them? Could they provide a meaningful answer if someone did so?
Some on this list could certainly answer my questions, and have done when I asked. But for that information to be missing from this list, should bother anyone who thinks that there is more to being Jewish than feeling good about being Jewish.
Frankly, I don’t care how they answer. The content of Jewishness is an ongoing conversation — one which I hope never ends. And I love that the list includes strident right-wingers, equally strident left-wingers, and lots in between. It puts to bed the debate about who is the “Jewish candidate” i.e. the one who “best represents Jewish values”. The answer to that question is yes and no for both candidates.
I look forward to a celebration not only of the influence which is wielded by Jews, but of influential Jews who can draw on Jewish wisdom and their own experience as Jews in the exercise of their influence. That’s real Jewish influence.