Jews inch closer to rest of US on Obama approval

Support for US President Barack Obama among US Jews is shrinking slightly and coming more in line with the general US populations, a poll published Friday shows.

The Gallup poll shows Obama with a 54 percent approval rating among US Jews, while the president enjoys a 46 percent rating from the general public.

The eight point gap is well below the average of 13 points seen throughout Obama’s presidency, and represents the closest the two numbers have come together since he took office in 2009.

The numbers show a slight weakening of Obama’s popularity among Jews, 55% of whom approved of the president over the same time period last year. In 2013, Obama had a 64% approval rating among US Jews.

Meanwhile the 46% approval rating among the general population is a slight upturn over the 43% he had last year, but lower than the 49% seen in 2013.

Jewish approval of Obama has generally followed the same trend line as the general population, albeit with sharper spikes and dropoffs.

The gap between the Jewish and general approval ratings has been steadily decreasing since late 2012, when 16 points separated the Jewish community from the rest of the US.

Jews have generally voted heavily Democratic, though analysts say some of that support has waned in recent years, with many mainly religious Jews moving over to the GOP side of the aisle.

The poll shows that religious Jews take the dimmest view of Obama, while college graduates and women were the most likely to approve of Obama’s work.