Mayim Bialik and King of Iowa enter Jews-as-Dems fray

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“Big Bang” star Mayim Bialik and Tea Party-boosting Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa added their spin this week to an ongoing debate over the Democratic Party affiliations of most American Jews.

“I don’t understand how Jews in America can be Democrats first and Jews second” and support President Obama, given the President’s approach to Israel, King told Boston Herald Radio.

Bialik, known for her intelligence (she’s a neuroscientist — and plays one on TV) and her Judaism, explained on Kveller.com why she’s a proud liberal, a Democratic, and a supporter of the State of Israel.

“I was raised to believe that Jewish values — lifting up the fallen, supporting those in need, repairing the world with acts of loving kindness — are consistent with the Democratic Party,” Bialik wrote. “But historically, Republicans are staunch supporters of Israel in a way Democrats just aren’t. Why is it so complicated?!”

Bialik defined herself a “a bleeding heart liberal when it comes to things like the death penalty, and while I tend to be socially conservative … I believe in democratic principles and unions, helping the poor, and I generally believe that the skewed structure of our culture is the determining factor for people’s lack of ‘upward moblity’ rather than the inherent weakness or shotcoming some tend to see. That being said, Israel is a wild card.”

King said anti-Semitism and “just plain liberalism” drove opposition to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Congressional appearance.