Observant Jews in Iowa City are trying to make sure they don’t have to choose between practicing their religion and exercising their right to vote.
Local Jewish leaders said they support the letter 18 Jewish organizations sent to the Iowa Democratic and Republican Parties on Sept. 18, asking officials to reschedule the 2010 midterm caucuses so they no longer fall on a Saturday. The group was organized by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Representatives of both parties announced in July that the caucuses would be held Jan. 23 at 1 p.m.
But Jewish leaders are concerned the change will alienate observant Jews who are forbidden from doing any work on the Sabbath.
“This is literally disenfranchising members of the Jewish community … An identifiable segment of the population will be forbidden from participating,” said Gerald Sorokin, the director of the local Hillel Foundation.
An observant Jew cannot drive, write, turn lights on or off, or do any other work from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. While Jews could theoretically attend caucuses without violating written Jewish law — if they could walk and avoid writing — it would violate the “spirit of the Sabbath,” Sorokin said.
Having the caucuses on a Sunday would allow both religious Jews and Christians to participate because the laws dictating the Christian Sabbath are more flexible than those governing the Jewish Sabbath, he said. Jews make up about 0.2 percent of Iowa’s population.
Hillel encourages students to be involved in politics, and many members participated in the historic 2008 caucuses, some traveling from their homes out-of-state to attend the meetings.
The 2008 caucuses saw record-setting turnout throughout the state. In Iowa City, turnout for the Democratic caucus increased from 7,699 in 2004 to 11,066 in 2008. Local Republican Party turnout was 1,766 in 2008.
Attendance is historically much lower for midterm caucuses than during presidential races.
While community leaders are concerned, some Jewish students had mixed feelings on the scheduling change.
UI sophomore Ben Goldberg said he would attend a Saturday caucus.
“It’s kind of a gray area,” he said of whether the caucuses should be on Saturday.
While it would prevent some Jews from participating, if it allows more people to attend it will generate a more accurate reflection of the general population, he said.
UI senior Rachel McNamee said the effect of the change would depend on how strictly a person followed Jewish law, and she doesn’t necessarily avoid work on Saturdays.
The afternoon caucuses would still allow reform Jews to attend morning services before the caucuses.
The issue is not unique to Iowa — one of a handful of early states with a caucuses system. The question arose regarding the 2008 Nevada caucuses, which was also scheduled on a Saturday.
The Jewish Council of Public Affairs asked officials to move the date, but their appeal was unsuccessful.
Representatives from the Iowa Democratic and Republican Parties could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.