A new Voice of the People survey conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) examined the opinions of American Jews after more than 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war.
JPPI’s Voice of the People Survey Finds:
Majority of American Jews surveyed believe:
• The US is not supporting Israel enough;
• The war against Hamas should continue, even if it puts the Palestinian population in harm’s way;
• Israel should not worry about antisemitism in the Diaspora during wartime.
A new Voice of the People survey conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) examined the opinions of American Jews after more than 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war.
The survey finds that American Jews continue to show great interest in the war’s developments, they support Israel and believe that the United States does not support Israel enough.
Contrary to recent headlines emanating from the White House, the majority of American Jews surveyed accept the Israeli position that the war should continue until Hamas is defeated, even at the cost of putting the Palestinian population in harm’s way.
According to Dr. Shuki Friedman, JPPI’s vice president, “The support of the majority of Jews in America for Israel and its positions is not self-evident. Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, the level of support of Jewish Americans for Israel and its challenges has increased significantly. This is a strategic asset for Israel. After the war it is the obligation of Israelis and the state to leverage this change to bring the two major Jewish communities in the world closer together, and to strengthen the relationship between them.”
The survey examined American Jewish opinion regarding the support of the U.S. government for Israel at this time. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of conservatives, which includes most of the Orthodox population, strongly believe that the United States does not support Israel enough, while about 50% of the liberal sector strongly believe that U.S. support for Israel is at the appropriate level.
In addition, the survey examined American Jewish opinion regarding Israel’s aggressiveness in prosecuting the war. Sixty-three percent of respondents of self-identify as “very conservative” believe Israel is not aggressive enough. This is an increase compared to a similar survey conducted in November, when only 55% of the same group believed so.
Among the population defined as “very liberal,” there is a slight increase in the opposite trend. However, it is lower: 34% of them believe that Israel operates “much more aggression,” compared to only 27% in the previous survey.
The survey also reveals that there is a correlation between the number of visits to Israel and the perception of Israel’s “aggressiveness” in prosecuting the war. Those who have visited Israel more than once and those who have lived in Israel are more likely to believe that Israel is “appropriately” aggressive. The percentage of respondents who believe that Israel is “too aggressive” is most prominent among those who feel less connected to Israel.
According to the survey, American Jews continue to closely follow the developments of the war. Ninety percent of those who self-identify as “very conservative” closely follow the war, while 77% of those at the “very liberal” end of the spectrum, also follow the developments closely. Given the prolonged duration of this conflict compared to previous military operations in Gaza, the level of interest remains significantly high.
Regarding personal safety, American Jews feel an improvement in their sense of security compared to the early weeks of the war. However, a significant majority still feels that their sense of security has not returned to pre-war levels.
The survey also examined the extent to which American Jews believe that Israel should take into account the rise of antisemitism abroad while fighting the war. The findings are significant: a very large majority in almost all identity groups (excluding the few Jews who self-identify as radically anti-Israel) believe that Israel should focus on managing the war and allow the Jewish Diaspora to deal with rising antisemitism.
About the Survey
This is an analysis of a survey conducted among 812 Jews in the United States who are registered with the panel of the Jewish People Policy Institute under the auspices of its Diane and Guilford Glazer Information and Consulting Center. The report is not based on a representative sample of the entire U.S. Jewish population. However, the participation of different Jewish identity groups allows JPPI to identify trends, distinct positions, and differences among U.S. Jews according to religious affiliation, emotional proximity to Israel, political identity, connection to Judaism, and more.