Poll: Months into Gaza war, most US Jews feel close to Israel — not its government
72% of Jewish respondents say Israel makes them proud, while nearly two thirds find it hard to support Israeli government’s actions; 28% of all Americans want immediate ceasefire
JTA — As of early March, five months into Israel’s war with Hamas, American Jews felt close to Israel, but were also likely to feel uncomfortable with its government’s actions, according to a Jewish Federations of North America poll released on Thursday.
Almost all of American Jews surveyed said they were deeply and emotionally affected by news of the war, and many said they still felt somewhat concerned about their personal safety, although the proportion reporting safety concerns dropped since a similar poll in the early days of the war.
The survey was conducted between February 23 and March 11 and canvassed 1,901 Jews and 4,143 non-Jews. Of note, it found that 79 percent of Jewish respondents felt close to Israel and that 72% agreed that Israel, in general, made them proud to be Jewish.
Asked whether they agree with the statement, “I sometimes find it hard to support actions taken by Israel or its government,” 62% of Jewish respondents said they agreed and 34% did not.
The results comport with recent polling that shows substantial American Jewish support for Israel in the war it has waged since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, when terrorists killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 253. A Pew survey released last month showed that Jews were likelier than Americans in general to back Israel’s reasons for fighting and its conduct in the war.
But it also comports with polling last year, before the war, showing increasing American Jewish discomfort with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. At the time of that poll, the government was seeking to overhaul Israel’s judiciary in ways that would reduce its independence.
Six months into the war, Israel is facing steeper pressure to adjust its prosecution of the war to limit civilian casualties. The survey found that the proportion of all Americans who want to see a “total immediate unconditional ceasefire by all sides” — which Israel says is unacceptable because it would leave Hamas in power — has risen since the early days of the war, but only slightly, up to 28% from 20%. Both Jewish and non-Jewish respondents overall said their top condition for an end to hostilities would be the release of Israeli hostages.
JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut zoomed in on that finding in a statement. (JFNA has played a central role in rallying American Jewish aid for Israel and is in the midst of allocating more than $800 million in donations received by its local member federations.)
“Americans understand that Israel’s fight against terrorism is also our fight. They know that a ceasefire without the return of the hostages and the eventual defeat of Hamas is wrong for Israel, wrong for Americans and wrong for the free world,” Fingerhut said. “The deep bond between the American and Israeli people remains as strong as ever despite the difficult political challenges of the past six months.”
Jews were much likelier to have an emotional reaction to the war than Americans overall, according to the survey. Asked how much the war “emotionally affected” them, 92% of Jewish respondents said it did so “somewhat” or “a great deal,” compared to 48% of American respondents.
Asked if they were following the war closely, 96% of Jewish respondents said they were, while the proportion of American respondents was 71%.
The pollsters, Benenson Strategy Group, weighted the answers to reflect the correct proportions of Jews and other segments of the American population. The margin of error for the survey was 2.25% for Jewish respondents and 1.26% for non-Jewish respondents, according to JFNA.
There were substantive differences in how Jewish and non-Jewish respondents answered questions about empathy with Israelis and Palestinians: 95% of Jewish respondents felt empathy with Israelis, while 74% of non-Jews did. Asked the same question about Palestinians, 57% of Jewish respondents said they felt empathy, while 69% of non-Jewish respondents said they did.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
