Newly published data from the Jewish People Policy Institute’s (JPPI) monthly “Voice of the Jewish People Index” shows that the leading candidate to replace President Biden as the Democratic Party nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, is considered to be significantly less pro-Israel by American Jews compared to the incumbent.
In the comparison between the outgoing and likely incoming candidate there is a very significant gap with both liberal and conservative Jews rating Harris’s positions toward Israel as considerably less favorable than Biden’s. Only among respondents self-identifying as “very liberal” was there a majority who considered Harris “pro-Israel.” In all other groups, there is no such majority.
The survey was conducted among 536 American Jews registered with the JPPI respondent panel before President Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the race. Among those who said survey they would “definitely” vote for Biden, a majority consider Harris “pro-Israel” (65%). However, among those who said they would “probably” vote for Biden, there is no such majority that considers Harris to be “pro-Israel” (33%). A slightly higher percentage, 38%, said they “don’t know” if Harris is pro-Israel.
It should be noted that in general, the positions of the survey participants regarding candidate position on Israel are significantly influenced by their political support. Most Jewish supporters of Donald Trump do not define Biden as “pro-Israel,” and most Jewish supporters of Biden do not consider Trump as pro-Israel. Therefore, the more interesting comparison is between Biden and Harris – where it is evident that even the supporters of the presumptive Democratic candidate see Biden as much more pro-Israel than Harris.