Dr. Nathan Katz Explains Why Hindus and Jews Are Natural Allies
In My Opinion
Hinduism Today
April-May-June, 2008
Our Hindu-Jewish Romance
A few of the reasons why Jews and Hindus enjoy a unique
camaraderie in this pluralistic world
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2008/4-6/09_opinion.shtml
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Indian Hindu finds kindred spirits among Republican Jews
By Alexandra J. Wall
Staff Writer
Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
Friday, January 6, 2006
"How can a Hindu from India be writing about Jewish
Republicans?"
That's a question Trithesh Nandan has heard a lot this
semester. A Ph.D. candidate in American studies at
Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, Nandan is on
leave at his job as a broadcast journalist to attend San
Francisco State University.
The Fulbright scholar is here for one semester, working
on his doctoral thesis about Jews in the Republican
Party. To be more specific, he's writing about the United
States' policies on Israel formulated by Republican
presidents and the emergence of the Republican Jewish
Coalition.
Nandan traces his interest in Judaism to his childhood,
even though it wasn't until he was in his 20s that he
actually met a Jew. His grandfather used to tell him
stories about the two or three Jews that he knew, and how
they left India for Israel in 1948.
"The Jews were in my mind, lingering for a long time," he
said. "So when I entered university, I started learning
more about them, and about Israel."
For his master's thesis, Nandan wrote about American Jews
and the welfare state.
Nandan spent the 2001-2002 school year in Israel on a
scholarship from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem at the height
of the second intifada, when bombs were frequently going
off in buses and cafes.
"I started loving Israel," he said. "Israeli society
takes care of people. The Israelis I met were very warm
and wanted to know more about me because most of their
youngsters go to India after the army."
While Nandan was interested in the topic of India-Israel
relations, so were many of his colleagues. Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon had visited India around that time,
and the subject became a popular one to study. Nandan,
who was in the American studies department, turned his
sights to America. And being a conservative himself, he
was most interested in Jews in the Republican Party. The
fact that their numbers remain low, but they are highly
influential within the party, was of interest to him.
One might wonder why someone studying Jewish Republicans
might end up in San Francisco - where it's difficult to
find Republicans of any religion. Nandan was wondering
that too, at first, as San Francisco's reputation as a
liberal bastion had not reached him in India. He has met
only three or four Jewish Republicans since his arrival.
Once the Fulbright program accepted him, Nandan had to
find a professor that would work with him, and Marc
Dollinger, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish
Studies, was happy to oblige.
Dollinger taught a course for the first time this year on
American Jewish history, and Dollinger's topic of
interest is American Jewish liberalism. Having Nandan
there as a counterpoint led to some very interesting
discussions, Dollinger said.
"All of the students have deep respect for him," said
Dollinger. "To have a Fulbright scholar with an expertise
in American Jewish politics is great."
Some of the topics Nandan is researching include
American-Israeli relations under Republican presidents
from Richard Nixon through George W. Bush.
Nandan said that President Ronald Reagan was an
especially good president for the Jews since he pressured
the Soviet Union to open its doors and allow Jews to
emigrate. "Also, most of the neo-conservatives in his
administration were Jewish and they were shaping the
policy to make America victorious in the Cold War," he
said.
In 1992, George Bush got 11 percent of the Jewish vote,
and in the 2000 election, George W. Bush got 24 percent,
Nandan said. "This signals that there is improvement in
terms of Jewish voting to the Republican Party, but it is
still not big," he said.
More at:
http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/28010/format/html/displaystory.html
More at:
HINDU FINDS KINDRED SPIRITS AMONG REPUBLICAN JEWS - soc.culture.usa | Google Groups
https://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/msg/cac848939c723f95?dmode=source
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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