Nikki Haley’s views on foreign policy, school choice and religious liberty are “clear strengths” that endear her to the Republican Jewish electorate, author and commentator Bethany Mandel wrote in an op-ed on Wednesday in The Forward.
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina held a public announcement of her candidacy for president on Feb. 15.
“Haley counts Jews with deep knowledge of these issues among members of her inner circle,” wrote Mandel of the three key areas she identified.
Among the achievements Mandel details in the piece are the then-governor signing South Carolina’s statewide, anti-BDS legislation—the nation’s first—and Haley’s staunch support of Israel, including firmly backing the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Mandel, who has six children and homeschools the older ones, cited Haley’s support for school choice as another motivator for conservative Jewish voters. She pointed to a 2021 survey from Nishma Research that found the top challenge that Modern Orthodox Jewish families face is the cost of education.
In announcing so early—she is the second candidate to throw her hat into the Republican ring after former U.S. President Donald Trump—Haley faces potential risk (running out of cash) and reward (cementing early support), wrote Mandel, adding that “the enthusiasm of Republican Jewish voters, not to mention friends of the Jewish people and the Jewish state, is well-earned.”
