Turner's victory in NY-9 last night puts President Obama's problems with the Jewish community into sharp relief. While during the 2008 campaign many American Jews may have wanted to overlook Mr. Obama's close relationship with known anti-Semites like Rev. Wright because they favored his progressive/statist policies (in health care, for instance), his actions toward Israel since coming to office have become too difficult to ignore.
It's worth pointing out that NY-9 is a heavily orthodox community – a segment of the Jewish population that already supports many conservative/free market ideas (like expanding school choice). Still, Republican's success in this heavily Democratic district makes it hard to ignore Obama's growing problem with Jewish voters.
The fact is President Obama and Democrats have failed to be the stalwart supporters of Israel that many in Jewish community had simply assumed he would be. From his decision to use the UN as a stage for demanding an end to settlements, his lack of clarity over Jerusalem, his decision to cancel a presidential meeting with Netanyahu, and his most recent flub in May when he called for a return to pre-1967 borders, Obama's negligence toward Israel has finally caught the attention of Jewish voters.