Poll: Israel support among U.S. Jews

Survey finds anxiety, anger over war events

A poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem nonprofit independent think tank, showed that most Jews living in the United States are following the events of the war closely, feel immense anger and anxiety for Israel’s safety and security, and believe that Israel is waging a more “moral” war than other countries.

The poll surveyed 600 American Jews on a variety of topics, and the JPPI shared its data and analysis with Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Israeli Defense Forces officials. It also presented the findings on its daily Youtube program on developments in the war against Hamas.

Sixty percent of the survey participants expressed anger and anxiety about the war, and about 80 percent displayed active support of Israel in various ways, such as making donations and showing their support in public. The survey also showed a significant difference between Jews who have visited or lived in Israel, who have a very high rate of active support (nearly 90 percent), those who visited only once (80 percent or so), and those who have never visited, whose rate of active support is lower (59 percent).

“We found interesting differences between more liberal Jews and more conservative Jews,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the institute. “The liberal Jews tend to be in more of a state of anxiety, and those who tend to be more conservative emphasize their anger.”

More than 70 percent of the participants reported a decline in their sense of security, although this did not weaken their personal bond with Israel, the survey found. Those who feel more distant from Israel believe that the war is having an adverse effect on their security.

While the survey size is not large enough to reflect the overall sentiments of the estimated 7.6 million Jews in the United States, the group said, it is large and diverse enough to identify trends, significant stances, and gaps among various groups of Jews on the basis of their religious affiliation, closeness to Israel, political stance, connection with Judaism, and other parameters.

The JPPI was founded in 2002 and is headed by U.S. Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, a former U.S. undersecretary of the treasury and undersecretary of state, and Dennis Ross, who served as Barack Obama’s Middle East adviser.