\nnation prepares to head to the polls this November 8th<\/sup>, the American Jewish Historical Society and the Yeshiva
\nUniversity Museum have developed a display of their materials that demonstrate
\nJewish involvement in political elections of the past. The items included,
\nwhich span across nearly a century of American history, exemplify the various
\npolitical activities in which Jews have partaken, and continue to
\npartake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Willkie campaign button, 1940, Collection of Yeshiva University Museum<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Another button, \nWomen surrounded by posters in English and Yiddish supporting Franklin Creative Commons: https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Women_voter_outreach_1935_English_Yiddish.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In addition to depicting the history of Can a Jew Be Elected in Our Time\u201d by Bernard Postal for the Jewish Digest, 1959, Collection of the American Jewish Historical Society, P-606 Bernard Postal Papers<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Postal, then editor of the Jewish Skullcap: Lieberman for President, 2004, Gift of the Lieberman family, The Collection of the Yeshiva University Museum<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nparticularly eye-catching testament to this history are several medals and
\nmedallions, preserved and maintained by the American Jewish Historical Society,
\nfrom past national party conventions. With these gold-colored and intricately
\ndecorated badges, Jews and others from across the political spectrum announced
\ntheir party membership. The display includes both the 1932 Republican National
\nConvention delegate\u2019s badge, brandishing an etched profile of George Washington,
\nand a Democratic equivalent, with the faces of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his
\nrunning mate John Nance Garner in relief.[1]
\nThe politically engaged also showed support for their candidates in ways that
\nemphasized their Jewishness. For instance, a button on display for 1940
\nRepublican presidential candidate, Wendell Willkie is written in pseudo-Hebraic
\nscript. <\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/3ea65348a49ba6b532c5c82cde510385\/tumblr_inline_og4n4yWC741r0yq0k_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n
\nfrom the collection of the Yeshiva University Museum, proclaims its owner\u2019s
\nsupport for the \u201cAmerican Labor Party,\u201d a lesser-known political group with
\naffiliations in the Jewish-American community. The American Labor Party (ALP),
\nestablished in 1936, was born out of the Social Democratic Federation of
\nAmerica (SDF), itself a New York-based splinter group from the wider Socialist
\nParty of America. Originally created to encourage socialist voters to support FDR\u2019s
\npresidential campaign and Herbert Lehman<\/a>\u2019s New York gubernatorial candidacy, the ALP also had a
\nstrong voice among American Jews and had connections to The Jewish Daily Forward<\/i>. Indeed, during the 1936 election, women
\nin the ALP organized an event to educate other women about the voting process.
\nThe event\u2019s sign asks its participants, in both English and in Yiddish, to
\n\u201cLEARN TO VOTE\u201d. <\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/c4e785d0ec32215c7e17d79d2d07b06f\/tumblr_inline_og4n94KXTG1r0yq0k_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n
\nD. Roosevelt, Herbert H. Lehman, and the American Labor Party teach
\nother women how to vote, 1935. | International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) | Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,Cornell University Library. <\/p>\n
\nJewish political support, the display also shows a few pieces that regard the
\nplace of Jewish candidates themselves in American elections. One such item,
\nfrom the collections of the American Jewish Historical Society, is a 1959
\narticle written by long-time journalist Bernard Postal<\/a>, entitled \u201cCan a Jew be Elected in Our
\nTime.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/c9dac5da0de356dc35ba096c1bef2b6f\/tumblr_inline_og4nm5UigG1r0yq0k_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n
\nDigest<\/i>, posed this question to various political figures and received
\nseveral responses. Among them was a letter from <\/i>then senator John F. Kennedy, who expressed his belief that the
\nAmerican people were well ready to elect a candidate \u201c\u2026in a national election\u2026\u201d
\non the basis of his or her policies and character rather than religious
\nbackground.[2]<\/a> This
\nletter, also on display and from the American Jewish Historical Society,
\nanticipated Kennedy\u2019s own election as the first Catholic president just a year
\nand a half later. Continuing on this theme, the display also contains a
\nskullcap made in support of Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman\u2019s 2004
\npresidential nomination campaign. However, this practice has not been confined
\nto Jewish candidates alone \u2013 the Yeshiva University Museum holds skullcaps from
\nboth Barack Obama and John McCain\u2019s respective campaigns.<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/c17f50d321c7ceed1ad7f61243e34697\/tumblr_inline_og4nnvcmo81r0yq0k_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n