The Jewish People Policy Institue

The Ceasefire Agreement and the Release of Hostages

A large majority of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People respondent panel (73%) supports the Trump peace plan. Fewer than a tenth (8%) oppose it, and a fifth (19%) don’t know whether they support or oppose it. Support rises as one moves rightward on the liberal-conservative ideological spectrum: support stands at half (52%) among “strong liberal” respondents, and reaches three-quarters (78%) among “strong conservative” respondents. Among those who identify as “center” and “lean conservative,” support is especially high – 83% and 86% respectively. The plan is relatively popular among conservative and centrist respondents, and less so among their liberal counterparts. One plausible explanation is the plan’s association with President Trump, who has little support among liberals. A similar pattern appears when broken down by voting pattern: 85% of Trump voters support the plan, compared with 65% of Harris voters. The undecided share is higher among Harris voters – 26% don’t know whether they support the plan or not – versus 10% of Trump voters.

Most respondents (54%) think the main credit for the hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas belongs to President Trump. Seven percent believe the credit belongs to Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the same share gives the credit to the region’s Arab leaders. A tenth think none of the listed actors deserve the credit, and an eighth did not know how to answer. A negligible share said the credit belongs to Hamas leaders or the UN.

As one moves rightward along the liberal-conservative ideological spectrum, the share believing that the main credit belongs to President Trump rises. While roughly a third (30%) of the strong liberal cohort believes this, three-quarters of conservatives do. A similar, though smaller, pattern emerges regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu: just 1% of the strong liberal cohort thinks he deserves the main credit for the deal, compared with 16% of the strong conservative group. Among liberals, a large share either didn’t know how to answer (21% of strong liberals and 14% of those who lean liberal) or thought that none of the listed actors deserves the main credit (15% and 10% respectively).

Whereas most (76%) Trump voters think he deserves most of the credit for the hostages’ release, fewer than half (42%) of Harris voters think so. The share of Harris voters who didn’t know how to answer (16%) is three times that of Trump voters (5%).

A third of the Jews surveyed (36%) believe Israel won the war against Hamas; half (50%) think that Israel neither won nor lost; and a tenth (10%) believe Israel lost. There is a clear link between political orientation and perceptions of the war’s outcome. Among conservative respondents, a majority think Israel won – half (53%). By contrast, only a fifth (18%) of the strong liberal cohort believes Israel won; a majority (57%) think the war ended without a clear victor. Among those identifying as centrist, opinions are split almost evenly between those who think Israel won (44%) and those who think there was no clear victor (45%). A breakdown by voting pattern mirrors this gap: half (50%) of Trump voters believe Israel won the war, compared with a quarter (26%) of Harris voters, most of whom (58%) see the outcome as inconclusive.

Compared with the attitudes of Jewish Israelis, the share who think Israel won is quite similar; the share who think it lost is smaller; and the share who think Israel neither won nor lost is much larger. JPPI data in Israel was collected shortly before the ceasefire and shows a sense of victory among less than half of Jewish Israelis, and a sense of defeat felt by a quarter to a third. A Kantar Insights survey conducted two weeks after the ceasefire took effect found that among the overall Israeli public (including Arabs) 37% think Israel won, 34% think it lost, and 29% answered “don’t know” (results published in Israel Hayom).

Assessing Leadership in Israel and the United States

A majority of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People respondent panel (61%) rate Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership negatively (fair + poor); 37% rate it positively (excellent + good). A parallel question was asked in a September Washington Post poll of US Jews: 68% rated Netanyahu’s leadership negatively and 31% rated it positively. The small gap between the two surveys may reflect the panel’s composition or the timing of data collection (the Washington Post poll was conducted before the Israel-Hamas agreement was signed, JPPI’s survey was conducted after).

Broken down by ideological orientation, most conservatives rate Netanyahu’s leadership of Israel as excellent or good, while most liberals and centrists view it as fair or poor. A breakdown by voting pattern also indicates a clear polarization: 85% of Trump voters rated Netanyahu’s leadership positively, compared with only 12% of Harris voters. Two-thirds of Harris voters (67%) rated his leadership as poor.

Most Voice of the Jewish People panel participants rate Trump’s leadership as poor, and a tenth (9%) call it fair. Conversely, a third (35%) see his leadership positively (good or excellent). Among strong liberal respondents, almost all (96%) rated Trump’s leadership as poor; among strong conservative respondents, the picture is reversed – 95% rate his leadership positively (65% excellent and 30% good). Among those who lean conservative, a majority (77%) view his leadership positively, versus a negative majority among those who lean liberal (88%). Broken down by voting pattern, 95% of Trump voters rated his leadership positively, compared with 3% Harris voters. This data illustrates the deep polarization of US Jews regarding Trump’s leadership.

Voice of the Jewish People panel participants rate Trump’s global leadership slightly more positively than his leadership of the US. Still, half (49%) view his global leadership as poor, 14% see it as fair, and a little over a third (37%) view it positively (good or excellent).

Here, too, there is a significant ideological gap: A large majority (89%) of strong liberal respondents rated Trump’s global leadership as poor, while 95% of strong conservative respondents rated it positively (68% excellent, 27% good). Among those who lean conservative, view his leadership positively, while there is no consensus among centrists – 41% rate his leadership positively and 37% rate it negatively. In line with this, 94% of Trump voters rated his leadership as good or excellent, compared with only 6% of Harris voters.

During Trump’s October 13 visit to Israel, Netanyahu said that he is “Israel’s greatest friend ever” and that “no American president has done more for Israel… it’s not even close.” Forty-two percent of this survey’s US respondents agree with that assessment to some extent (17% fully agree and 25% say other presidents came close, but Trump is still Israel’s “greatest friend”); a quarter (26%) disagree, and an eighth (12%) think other presidents did more for Israel. Fifteen percent think Trump is a great friend, but others also were, and 5% don’t know.

Moving rightward along both the ideological and religiosity spectrums from liberal to conservative, the share who agree with Netanyahu’s statement rises; among the Orthodox, the highest share (44%) fully agree. Accordingly, the Reform cohort comprises the highest share (33%) who think Trump is not a great friend of Israel. A breakdown by voting pattern again shows clear polarization: 88% of Trump voters say he is Israel’s greatest friend, versus only 16% of Harris voters.

Israel and the Palestinians

After several countries announced their recognition of a Palestinian state last month, we asked a general question about the preferred approach in the Palestinian arena. Thirty-nine percent of US panel respondents think Israel should try to reach a peace agreement with moderate Palestinians and allow a Palestinian state to live in peace alongside Israel (versus 15% among Jews in Israel). Thirty-four percent believe Israel should seek full separation from the Palestinians, dismantle settlements outside the main blocs, and focus on preserving the IDF’s freedom of action to prevent the rise of terrorist organizations in the territories (identical to the responses among Jews in Israel). A further fifth (21%) think Israel should strengthen its control over the Palestinians, expand the settlements, consider dismantling the Palestinian Authority, and possibly annex parts of the West Bank (versus 42% among Jews in Israel). In other words, Jewish Israelis tend more to support expanding control and settlements, while the US Jews surveyed lean more toward a peace agreement and the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.

There are substantial gaps between liberal and conservative positions on this question. While a majority (70%) of the strong liberal cohort supports a peace agreement and the possibility of a Palestinian state, a majority (55%) of the strong conservative cohort favors strengthening Israel’s control over the Palestinians, expanding settlements, considering dismantling the Palestinian Authority, and annexing parts of the West Bank. There appears to be a great similarity between the positions of conservative US Jews and those of Jewish Israelis as a whole.

We went on to ask respondents whether they think Israel and an independent Palestinian state could live side by side in peace. Almost half (45%) answered no, 29% answered yes, and another quarter (26%) didn’t know. The September Washington Post survey, which did not include a “don’t know” option, found a much higher share (59%) who think coexistence is possible. However, both surveys found a similar share who disagree. There has been a significant rise in the share who do not believe peaceful coexistence is possible compared with a Pew survey of American Jews from five years ago – which found that six in ten US Jews believed Israel and a Palestinian state could live side by side in peace, while one in three did not believe this was possible.

Notably, the share of liberals selecting “don’t know” in JPPI’s October 2025 Voice of the Jewish People survey rose significantly – both relative to previous surveys and to conservatives’ answers. This, too, may be attributable to the fact that President Trump is driving the main moves in the Middle East; liberal Jews find it hard to decide whether these steps are in the right direction (their baseline position) or the wrong direction (because they do not trust the president’s intentions and actions).

Morality in Wartime

In recent months, the international community – various UN bodies, international courts, and human rights organizations – has voiced serious allegations that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. These allegations focus, among other things, on civilian casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

Most panel respondents (64%) think Israel has not committed war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. A quarter (25%) think it has committed such acts, and a tenth (11%) didn’t know how to answer. These figures differ significantly from the September Washington Post poll, which found that most US Jews (61%) think Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, and 29% did not think so. The gaps may stem from sampling differences, though we cannot be certain. (see endnote)

JPPI’s October Voice of the Jewish People survey found a majority in every ideological cohort, except the strong liberal group, who do not think Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. Within the strong liberal cohort, a majority (59%) think Israel has committed war crimes. As one moves rightward along the ideological spectrum from liberal to conservative, the share disagreeing with the allegation rises. Accordingly, among Trump voters, an overwhelming majority (94%) think Israel has not committed war crimes in Gaza, while there is disagreement among Harris voters: half (47%) concur with the Trump voters, while 38% think Israel has committed war crimes.

Support for Israel

A majority of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People panel respondents (56%) think the US supports Israel at the appropriate level. A quarter (28%) think the US does not support Israel enough, and a tenth (10%) think it supports Israel too much. The September Washington Post poll found a higher share – a third (32%) – who said the US supports Israel too much.

Moving rightward along the ideological spectrum from liberal to conservative, a clear pattern emerges: the more conservative the ideological orientation, the higher the share who think the US does not support Israel enough, and the lower the share who think it supports Israel too much. About 29% of the strong liberal respondent cohort think the US supports Israel too much, versus only about 1% of the strong conservative group. Accordingly, 12% of strong liberal respondents think the US does not support Israel enough, compared with 41% of strong conservatives. Sixty-five percent of centrist respondents, the highest share across cohorts, say US support for Israel is about right.

We also asked about the support that American Jews provide to Israel. Most (61%) think American Jews do not support Israel enough; a quarter (24%) think the level of support is about right; and a tenth (9%) think American Jews support Israel too much. Among the Modern Orthodox (87%), Conservative (71%), and ultra-Orthodox (67%), a majority are disappointed with the level of support that American Jews provide to Israel. Nearly half (45%) of Reform respondents concur, and a third (34%) say the level of support is about right.

Broken down by voting pattern, a large majority (88%) of Trump voters think American Jews do not support Israel enough; 45% of Harris voters concur. A third (33%) of Harris voters think the level of support is about right, and an eighth (13%) believe American Jews support Israel too much.

About a third of Canadian Jews who responded to the survey (35%) think Canadian Jews do not support Israel enough. Fifty-one percent say the support is “about right.” Forty-one percent of UK Jews who responded think Jews in their country do not support Israel enough; 46% said the support is “about right.”

Sense of Security

During the two years of war, many US Jews reported a decline in their personal sense of security due to a wave of antisemitic incidents, including increased threats, verbal and physical violence, and anti-Israel protests that affected local communities. A majority (62%) of Voice of the Jewish People respondents report feeling safe as Jews in the US today (very safe + somewhat safe). By contrast, more than one-third (38%) do not feel safe (not so safe + not safe at all). This month, the panel’s reported sense of security is slightly lower than that recorded last month in the Washington Post pollAcross denominational cohorts, a majority say they feel safe as Jews in the US. The data also shows that Reform (63%), Conservative (59%), and Modern Orthodox (61%) report feeling safe at higher rates than do the ultra-Orthodox (53%). There is no gap between the sense of security reported by Trump and Harris voters.

In recent months, we have begun collecting data in other countries as well. We asked Jews in Canada (88 respondents) and the UK (44 respondents) about their sense of security. In Canada, about 60% say they do not feel safe (most chose “not so safe”). In the UK, nearly 70% answered similarly. In both cases, the samples are small and unweighted and should only be considered as anecdotal.

This month we also examined whether panel participants think other countries in the world, besides the US, are “comfortable places” for the Jewish community there. The question was phrased: “When you think about Canada/France/Germany/the UK, is it a comfortable or uncomfortable place for the Jewish community?” The table below shows the share of all panelists who think the country is comfortable for the Jewish community. Germany received the highest score (25%), with Canada (23%) just behind. By contrast, France (5%) and the UK (7%) received significantly lower “comfortable” ratings.

Most panel respondents (68%) think the UK is not a comfortable place for the Jewish community, while only a small minority (7%) consider it comfortable. The share choosing a neutral option is 14%. Among the Modern Orthodox (79%), Conservative (76%), and ultra-Orthodox (73%), especially large majorities feel that the UK is uncomfortable for Jews, while 60% of Reform Jews view it as such, and only an eighth (12%) consider it comfortable. Answers from Jews in the UK – those who responded to the survey – are very similar. Sixty-four percent said the UK is not comfortable.

About half of the respondents (45%) think Canada is an uncomfortable place for the Jewish community there; a quarter (23%) see it as comfortable, and a fifth (21%) are neutral on the matter. Differences across religious streams are notable: among Reform respondents and those self-identifying denominationally as “other,” a relatively high share consider Canada comfortable for Jews (31%-33%), while among Conservative, Modern Orthodox, and ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) respondents, most perceive it as uncomfortable and only a small minority view it as comfortable for Jews there. Among Canadians who responded to the survey, 47% said Canada is uncomfortable for Jews (very similar to Americans’ answers about Canada). Twenty-two percent described it as “comfortable.”

Most panel participants (78%) think France is an uncomfortable place for the Jewish community, and only a small minority (5%) see it as comfortable – much more negative than the figures for Canada. Differences between religious streams are also notable here: among Reform and those belonging to “other” streams, the stance is somewhat more moderate – between an eighth and a quarter see France as comfortable – but among Conservative, Orthodox, and Haredi respondents, the picture is very negative. Eighty-four percent of Conservatives, 92% of Orthodox, and 80% of Haredim think France is not comfortable for Jews.

Attitudes toward Germany are much more moderate than those recorded toward France: only a fifth of participants (20%) see it as uncomfortable for the Jewish community, a quarter (25%) see it as comfortable, and 38% view it as neutral – a particularly high share compared with other countries. Among Reform and Conservative respondents, about a quarter see Germany as comfortable. Among ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) respondents, the stance is more cautious or negative – 40% view Germany as uncomfortable, and only an eighth (13%) see it as comfortable.

Which Countries Are Israel’s Friends?

We examined how US Jews perceive the “friendliness” of several countries toward Israel with a question we also included in this month’s Israeli Society Index survey. The question was phrased: “When you think about Canada/France/Germany/the UK, do you feel the country is friendly or unfriendly toward Israel?” The table below shows the share of US Jews who think each of the countries is friendly, alongside the share of Jewish Israelis who do so. The data shows that US Jews assess the friendliness (or lack thereof) of France, Germany, and the UK similarly to Jews in Israel, but on average, Jewish Israelis tend to rate countries’ friendliness a bit higher than US Jews. The data also shows that the share describing Germany as friendly to Israel is six times greater than the share describing France that way.

Very similarly to Jewish Israelis’ answers, most respondents (65%) see France as unfriendly to Israel, a fifth (18%) view it as neutral, and a tenth (11%) see it as friendly. Broken down by ideological orientation, there are large gaps: in the strong liberal cohort, a quarter (27%) consider France to be friendly, and a third (35%) see it as unfriendly. Among conservative respondents, a large majority (88%) consider France to be unfriendly to Israel.

Regarding Germany, responses from US and Israeli Jews are almost identical – a majority view it as friendly to Israel, a quarter as neutral, and a tenth as unfriendly. Alongside this similarity, a higher proportion of US Jews didn’t know how to answer. By ideology, there are differences across groups, but they are milder than those for France. Regarding Germany, about half or more in every ideological cohort perceive it to be friendly toward Israel.

A majority (55%) of US respondents view the UK as unfriendly to Israel. A quarter (24%) consider it neutral, and an eighth (13%) see it as friendly. Compared with the answers of Jewish Israelis earlier this month, US Jews tend to regard the UK as less friendly. Broken down by ideological orientation, a third of strong liberal respondents view the UK as friendly, and another third (30%) as unfriendly. By contrast, conservative respondents, on the whole, regard the UK as unfriendly: three-quarters see it that way and only a few percent view it as friendly. Among UK Jews who responded to the survey, 61% said their own country is unfriendly to Israel.

Half of the respondent panel (48%) regards Canada as unfriendly to Israel; about a quarter (25%) view it as neutral; and a fifth (18%) see it as friendly. The more liberal the ideology, the higher the share who see Canada as friendly: 42% of strong liberal respondents say so, versus almost none among conservatives. Similarly, three-quarters of conservatives see Canada as unfriendly to Israel, while a fifth (17%) of strong liberal respondents concur. Among Canadian Jews who responded, 58% think their country is unfriendly toward Israel.

The Future of the Jewish People

An overwhelming majority of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People respondent panel (88%) think Israel’s existence is essential to the long-term future of the Jewish people. This figure is higher than the share who said so in last month’s Washington Post poll. This gap likely reflects the fact that the JPPI survey inherently reaches Jews with a stronger connection to the Jewish community, to Jewish identity, and to Israel. Broken down denominationally, overwhelming majorities of Reform (93%), Conservative (98%), and Modern Orthodox (92%) respondents think Israel’s existence is essential to the Jewish people’s long-term future. Among ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) respondents, there is also a majority that agrees, though it is lower (60%). Further, a relatively high percentage (27%) of ultra-Orthodox respondents didn’t know how to answer. Significant majorities of Trump voters (95%) and Harris voters (84%) think Israel’s existence is essential to the Jewish people’s long-term future.

Survey Data and its Implications

This report is an analysis of a survey administered to 554 American Jews registered for JPPI’s “Voice of the Jewish People” respondent panel. Generally, it can be said that the survey tends to reflect the views of more “connected” American Jews – that is, those with a relatively strong attachment to the Jewish community, and/or Israel, and/or Jewish identity. This table includes data on the October 2025 survey participants.

Endnote