When it comes to supporting the US president, former Soviet Jews say Israel trumps all

NEW YORK — In spite of a chaotic start to his presidency, President Donald Trump continues to enjoy a deep well of support among those who fled the former Soviet Union for the United States.

Within the ex-Soviet émigré community, between 60 and 70 percent were expected to vote Republican ahead of the elections, according to a report by Sam Kliger, director of Russian affairs for the AJC. To compare with election day results, about 24% of American Jews voted for Trump, as opposed to 71% who voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to the Pew Research Center.

Some FSU Jews say their votes were not so much for Trump the man, but rather for what they hope Trump will do on a range of issues including Israel and taxes, immigration and healthcare.

“I’m not in love with Donald Trump. Some of the things he said were indefensible. But I voted for him because we just want change,” said Max Rappaport, 48. “We have a lot of problems here and I like his activity, but people should know conservatives are not evil. Just because we support Trump doesn’t make us evil.”

‘Just because we support Trump doesn’t make us evil’

A resident of Yonkers, NY, Rappaport immigrated to the US in 1979 from Leningrad. He is one of about 750,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union living in the United States, according to the American Jewish Committee. And like more than half of those immigrants, Rappaport lives in the New York City area.

Many of the immigrants came of age in a system few Americans can understand: While some, like Rappaport, spoke easily about why they support Trump, the majority of those interviewed for this story only agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.

One young woman who immigrated to the US from Uzbekistan explained that while she doesn’t support Trump, most in her family and social circle do favor the 45th president.

“I think it has to do with the background and the Soviet Union mentality. They are not willing to discuss their opinions openly and share their personal views,” she said. “But what I hear and see is that each and every person doesn’t have any regrets as of yet about electing Mr. Trump as US president. They strongly believe that he is the guy who will save our country from corruption and can make our country great, and most importantly, safe.”

On the whole, those who emigrated from the Soviet Union tilt Republican.

According to the AJC report, they voted overwhelmingly for Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr., who, in their view, stood against the USSR. In 1996 the voters moved toward the center, in part because of the fall of the Soviet Union; many voted for Bill Clinton, and in 2000, 54% voted for Al Gore.

However, in 2004, 77% of Russian-speaking Jews in New York voted for George W. Bush because of his perceived connection to Ronald Reagan and his positions on terrorism and taxes. They also favored John McCain in 2009, giving him 65% of the vote, as well as Mitt Romney in 2012.

One unusual FSU immigrant, Timothy Friedman, was willing to speak about why he supports Trump. Aside for casting a vote for president Bill Clinton in 1992, he has consistently voted Republican. So this time around the 78-year-old voted for Trump, albeit with reservations.

Friedman was born in 1939 in Moscow to secular Jewish parents, ex-pats from the United States whom had met and remained in Moscow. His mother’s KGB file informed Sana Krasikov’s debut novel “The Patriots.”

‘They strongly believe that he is the guy who will save our country from corruption’

Friedman’s mother surrendered her US citizenship in 1938 after her passport expired. In 1948 his father lost his American citizenship, was accused of espionage for England and executed a year later. His mother was arrested in 1951 and spent more than five years in a Siberian gulag.

Friedman and his older brother spent years in children’s homes until they graduated from high school in 1954 and 1956 respectively. In 1979 Friedman, who has an MS in engineering and PhD in applied mathematics, immigrated to America with his wife and son.

“Initially I was not for Trump. He irks me with his manner, and I was more inclined to vote for Marco Rubio,” Friedman said. “After awhile, though, it seemed like he was reasonable on certain positions, like returning jobs to this country. A lot of previous presidents have said that but nothing was done, the jobs were still going out.”

However, because of the former Soviet Union’s and the current Russian government’s repression of free speech and erosion of democratic norms, most interviewed find Trump’s apparent attraction to Vladimir Putin troubling.

“As former Soviet people we’re not happy about Trump’s admiration of Putin. He’s a horrible man,” Rappaport said.

It’s all about terrorism and taxes

For now the 45th president’s stance on terrorism, taxes and Israel supersedes concerns about his admiration for Putin.

‘They’ve seen one of the greatest countries collapse in just a few days because of bad or weak leadership’

“They [her Russian-speaking friends and relatives] believe in what Trump promises and know that putting him in the White House would fix a lot of the ‘problems’ that Americans are facing now,” said the young woman from Uzbekistan. “Those individuals have seen one of the greatest countries [the Soviet Union] collapse in just a few days because of bad or weak leadership and they feel like that will not happen with Trump who they believe is a strong leader who will deliver.”

Of course some members of the community oppose Trump. According to the AJC, those who were educated here in the US are less likely to support Republican policies, and don’t have the same animus toward more centrist policies.

Among them is Ari Kagan, 50. Although he has previously voted for Republicans, today he calls himself a “moderate Democrat.” Kagan is the district leader for the 45 Assembly District, which covers much of the heavily Russian-speaking neighborhoods of Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay.

Born in Minsk, Belarus in 1967, Kagan came of age during Glasnost and Perestroika, a time when former president Mikhail Gorbachev encouraged some criticism of Soviet government and the Communist Party. He immigrated to the US in 1993, after working as a reporter for military and civic newspapers in Latvia and Belarus.

Now living in South Brooklyn, Kagan works for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer as his Community Liaison for the Russian speaking community. Having worked previously as a journalist writing for the Russian Jewish Forward and Yevreiski Mir he still hosts a weekly show on the Russian Television Network of America.

“I don’t like that he is very thin-skinned, he can’t take criticism. He’s like Putin that way. It’s not the American way. I came to America because of the free press and the openness,” Kagan said.

‘I don’t like that he is very thin-skinned, he can’t take criticism. He’s like Putin that way’

“I love my community dearly, but I’ve also traveled all over the US and to Israel. I believe that those who vote a certain way do not interact with other communities the way I do. Every day I am in a different community.”

There is also wide support within the Russian Jewish community for Trump’s move to ban immigrants and refuges from seven Muslim majority nations.

The people in these neighborhoods shop at Yemeni stores, they ride subways with all kinds of people, Kagan said. Their fear is not borne of those they see every day; rather it comes from the terror attacks in France, Belgium, Somalia, and Libya. They worry it will come here, he said. And while many of the immigrants were once refugees themselves, they don’t see it the same way.

“They say none of the Soviet-born Jews ever attacked any kind of nightclub or took planes and flew them into the World Trade Center. They believe extreme vetting is not very extreme and they disagree with the 120 day ban [on refugees] — they think it should be longer,” Kagan said.

Rappaport agreed that a main focus in the Russian community is terrorism.

“I want them to stop illegal immigration. I don’t want a wall; I don’t think Mexicans are a problem. I’m more afraid about things like terrorism. You look at France, Belgium and Germany. No one is doing anything about it,” he said.

‘I don’t think Mexicans are a problem. I’m more afraid about things like terrorism’

Nevertheless, there is opposition in the community to the Trump Administration position on immigration. After the executive order was issued last week, more than 400 Soviet Jewish refugees signed a petition opposing it.

“The United States must not turn our backs on the human beings fleeing violence and persecution like our families did when we left the former Soviet Union, nor abandon our highest national values and the demands of basic decency,” according to the petition.

Above all, however, it was Trump’s perceived strong support for Israel that drew voters. About 61% of this immigrant population has close relatives in Israel, and another 20% of them have friends or distant relatives there, according to the AJC.

Because of Trump’s perceived support of Israel many in the community are willing to overlook offensive Tweets, his attacks on individuals and companies, and his uncouth language, Kagan said.

They are even willing to look the other way — though not easily — from the White House’s deliberate omission of Jews from Trump’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day statement.

But all that support comes with a caveat.

“People say ‘Yes, he’s a little bit nuts, but he is putting the country on the right track.’ Each time he does something wrong they forgive him by saying ‘Well, he’s not a politician,’” Kagan said. “But the one unforgivable thing — the red line he cannot cross — is if he does anything against Israel.”