How Come Reagan Won 39% of the Jewish Vote in 1980?

[Bo]

The last time the GOP managed to win more than that (barely) was in 1956, and before that in 1920. The GOP had always done worse than that with Jewish voters after 1980 in Presidential elections. Even if 1984 Reagan only won 31% of the Jewish vote, an 8% decrease from 1980 despite the fact that the nationwide popular vote was 8% higher for Reagan in 1984 than in 1980.

Here is my source:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/jewvote.html

How come Reagan managed to do comparatively well with Jews in 1980? Was it just general unhappiness with the poor economy, Carter's policies towards Israel, or something else? Also, how come Reagan did worse among Jews in 1984 than in 1980? You would figure that with the economic recovery and Reagan's popularity (among the general public), Reagan should have done better with Jewish voters in 1984.

[Bo]

Compared to previous and successor presidents Carter had a pro-Arab policy. This is apparent in his post presidential activism as well. The Iran hostage crisis was fresh and had a lot to do with it. Mondale was quite pro-Israel in the campaign and Ferraro had a good track record in her district.

I obviously know that Carter was/is very pro-Arab after his Presidency, but was he really that pro-Arab during his Presidency? I don't seem to recall that he pushed Israel aggressively or anything of that sort, unlike some Presidents whom came after him (Bush Sr., Clinton, Obama, etc.). Carter created peace between Israel and Egypt and didn't really change anything else much in regards to the Israel policy of his predecessors. Also, even if Mondale was/acted pro-Israel, it is very surprising that Jews swung 16% leftward in 1984 in comparison to the national average when nearly every other demographic shifted rightward in that election. BTW, was the Iran hostage crisis that important to Jewish voters? Or did many Jews think that a radical Islamic regime is anti-Semitic and Carter must therefore be punished since he did not stand up to this new regime?

[Bo]

Compared to previous and successor presidents Carter had a pro-Arab policy. This is apparent in his post presidential activism as well. The Iran hostage crisis was fresh and had a lot to do with it. Mondale was quite pro-Israel in the campaign and Ferraro had a good track record in her district.

I obviously know that Carter was/is very pro-Arab after his Presidency, but was he really that pro-Arab during his Presidency? I don't seem to recall that he pushed Israel aggressively or anything of that sort, unlike some Presidents whom came after him (Bush Sr., Clinton, Obama, etc.). Carter created peace between Israel and Egypt and didn't really change anything else much in regards to the Israel policy of his predecessors. Also, even if Mondale was/acted pro-Israel, it is very surprising that Jews swung 16% leftward in 1984 in comparison to the national average when nearly every other demographic shifted rightward in that election. BTW, was the Iran hostage crisis that important to Jewish voters? Or did many Jews think that a radical Islamic regime is anti-Semitic and Carter must therefore be punished since he did not stand up to this new regime?

I could be wrong, but I've read that American Jewish opinion was substantially more pro-Israel at the time, and the Israel-Egypt accords weren't actually that popular.

That's possible, but I don't see why Americans Jews would oppose Israel signing a peace treaty with an Arab country (for the first time)? That is supposed to be a good thing--even most people in Israel back then supported the Camp David Accords, I believe.