Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference at the Verizon Center, on Monday, March 21, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Donald Trump’s speech to America’s largest pro-Israel lobby did not help his standing among Israelis, a new poll shows.
The March Peace Index, a monthly poll of Israeli attitudes by the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, showed that 40 percent of Israeli Jews thought Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton would be “better for Israel,” versus 30 percent for Trump, the Republican front-runner.
In addition, 43 percent of Israeli Jews feel Clinton would better serve American interests, as opposed to 24 percent for Trump.
The poll was taken from March 28 to 30, about a week after Trump addressed the national conference of AIPAC. His speech, which struck traditional pro-Israel notes, drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd amid scattered protests. Previously, Trump had said he would be “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hillary Clinton addressing the AIPAC policy conference in March 21, 2016 in Washington DC. (screen capture: AIPAC/JLTV)
Israelis also favored Clinton over Trump before the AIPAC conference. A survey in early March by the Israeli news website Walla found that Israelis preferred Clinton to Trump by a margin of 38 to 23 percent. IDI’s February poll, however, found that 60 percent of Israelis believed a Trump administration would be friendly to Israel.
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