Most respondents are concerned that Israel could become a pariah state among Western nations.
Key Findings
- Half of the respondent panel thinks an Israeli takeover of Gaza is inevitable, and that Hamas cannot be allowed to remain in power in the Gaza Strip.
- A third of respondents believe Israel’s decision to take over Gaza is wrong.
- One in ten respondents say the war must end.
- A higher proportion of US Jews than Israeli Jews think there is starvation in Gaza (half).
- A third of US respondents believe that Israel “is winning or has won” the war, compared to half of Israeli Jews.
- A majority think Hamas bears primary responsibility for the failure to achieve a hostage deal; a fifth think the Israeli government and Hamas share equal responsibility.
- Most respondents are concerned that Israel could become a pariah state among Western nations – a higher percentage than among Israeli Jews.
- A large majority believe Israel’s actions in Gaza have consequences for Diaspora Jewish communities, though views are divided on whether Israel should take this into account.
- Half report that when they travel to unfamiliar surroundings, they conceal their Jewishness (sometimes or always).
- Most respondents say the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York is “anti-Israel and antisemitic.”
- Compared with Jews in Israel and with the general American population, a higher proportion US Jews view same-sex relations, abortion, animal testing, gambling, and physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill as morally acceptable.
Survey Period and Context
Data was collected between August 14 and 18, after Israel’s security cabinet decision to occupy Gaza City. The US president, Donald Trump, backed this decision and said that the hostages will only be returned once Hamas has been destroyed. At the same time, calls for punitive measures against Israel have been growing worldwide, and numerous reports have surfaced about harassment of Israelis and Jews in various countries.
The survey reflects the views of JPPI’s respondent panel of US Jews, who are more “connected” to the community than the American-Jewish average. Information on the panel’s composition and on how the results are calculated can be found in a detailed appendix to the January 2025 survey.
The War in Gaza
In the past month, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan – about which Israelis are divided – to occupy Gaza City in order to topple Hamas rule. As of this writing, 60,000 call-up notices had been issued to reservists ahead of the expected operation, “Gideon’s Chariots II.” President Trump backed the plan, posting on social media that the hostages will only be returned after Hamas is “confronted and destroyed.”
About half (47%) of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People respondent panel thinks Israel had no choice but to launch the operation, and that it cannot tolerate a situation in which Hamas remains in power in Gaza. A third (34%) thinks that Israel’s decision to enter Gaza City is mistaken, and that there are better ways to achieve its goals. Ten percent believe Israel should end the war, even if it means Hamas remains in power. As expected, ideological gaps exist: half of liberals believe Israel is making a mistake, while most centrists and conservatives think Israel has no choice but to enter Gaza City and cannot allow Hamas to remain in power in Gaza.
This divide is also reflected in voting patterns – while a large majority (85%) of Trump voters believe Israel has no choice and made the right decision, nearly half (49%) of Harris voters believe that Israel is making a wrong move with the planned operation, and could achieve its objectives in better ways. A quarter of Harris voters (26%) think that Israel has no other alternative, and 14% think Israel should stop the war even if Hamas remains in power.
Reports of Famine in Gaza
In recent months, international reports of food shortages in Gaza have intensified, with humanitarian groups calling for more aid to prevent the situation from worsening. Among American Jews, opinions are divided – a quarter (23%) believe the reports are outright false; a quarter (27%) say they are somewhat false; a quarter (26%) think they are somewhat true; and the remaining quarter (22%) consider them very true. Broken down by ideology, liberals tend to believe the reports of starvation in Gaza, while conservatives tend to dismiss them.
Compared to Jews in Israel (surveyed earlier in the month in JPPI’s Israeli Society Index) a higher share of Israeli Jews (40%) believe the reports of famine are completely false. At the same time, a higher percentage of US Jews (48% vs 36%) think the reports are true. It is worth noting that additional information came to light in the two-week interim between surveys, including revelations of some inaccurate reports published by major media outlets.
Is Israel Winning the War?
A third of American Jews (32%) think that Israel “is winning or has won” the war, compared to half of Israeli Jews (48%) in JPPI’s August Israeli Society Index. By contrast, 37% of American Jews and 30% of Israeli Jews do not believe that Israel “is winning or has won” the war. Compared to last month’s findings, there has been little change in American Jewish attitudes regarding Israeli victory.
Broken down by ideology, sharp divides were found. Most “strong liberals” do not believe that Israel is winning the war, while most conservatives do think that Israel is winning and/or has won the war. Still, even among conservative American Jews, confidence in Israeli victory is significantly lower than among Israeli Jews. In a breakdown by voting pattern, half (48%) of Trump voters think Israel is winning, while half of Harris voters (52%) do not.
Assessing the Aggressiveness of Israel’s Actions
As Israel prepares for the next stage in its military campaign, criticism of the country is intensifying around the world, including protests and punitive measures. This month, as in previous months, we examined American Jewish perceptions of how Israel is conducting its military operations. A third (30%) of respondents think that Israel’s actions in Gaza are not aggressive enough, while a quarter (26%) think they are much too aggressive.
While most strong conservatives (69%) maintain that Israel’s actions in Gaza are not aggressive enough (a view that may change as the next military operation gets underway), most strong liberal Jews (63%) think Israel is acting much too aggressively. A similar pattern emerges when the data is broken down by religiosity level. The further along the religious spectrum from liberal to conservative, the higher the share of those who think Israel’s actions in Gaza are insufficiently aggressive. Broken down by voting pattern, a majority (61%) of Trump voters believe that Israel is not acting aggressively enough, aligning with the president’s own recent statements. Among Harris voters, 40% think Israel’s actions in Gaza are much too aggressive, 21% think they are somewhat too aggressive, 16% believe they are at the right level, and 15% think they are not aggressive enough.
Compared with last month, before specific plans for occupying Gaza were announced, no major change has occurred in views regarding Israel’s aggressiveness. Over the past two months, the percentage of strong liberals who believe that Israel is acting much too aggressively has been at its highest since survey tracking began in January 2024 (strong liberals constitute a quarter of the respondent panel – a proportion similar to that found in other surveys of Jewish Americans). A fifth of strong liberals (18%) said this month that Israel’s response to the October 7 offensive is somewhat too aggressive, 9% said it isn’t aggressive enough, and 6% said Israel’s aggressiveness in Gaza is at the right level.
Responsibility for the Failure of Hostage Talks
In recent weeks, renewed attempts to secure a hostage release and ceasefire deal, appear to have failed. Negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States were unsuccessful. Like Israeli Jews, a majority (61%) of American respondents believe that Hamas bears primary responsibility for the failure. About a fifth (22%) think the Israeli government and Hamas share responsibility, and 13% ascribe primary responsibility to the Israeli government. Israeli Jews (per JPPI’s August Israeli Society Index) answered similarly: 58% blamed Hamas, 22% blamed the Israeli government and Hamas equally, and 15% blamed the Israeli government.
Broken down by ideology, most conservative and centrist US Jews believe Hamas is primarily responsible for the failed negotiations. Among liberals, opinions are more mixed: about a third think both sides share the blame, and a third of the strong liberal cohort think Israel is primarily at fault.
An overwhelming majority of Trump voters (91%) think Hamas bears primary responsibility; no consensus prevails among Harris voters: 42% believe Hamas bears responsibility, a third (35%) think the Israeli government and Hamas are equally to blame, and a fifth (20%) think Israel bears primary responsibility.
Attitudes Toward Jews and Israel
In recent weeks, concerns have been raised that Israel’s international standing has been harmed due to its Gaza policies, and some warn that Israel is becoming a pariah state in the West. These views have emerged against the backdrop of intensified criticism of Israel by international organizations, various governments, and citizens of Western countries.
Most American Jews are concerned about the possibility that Israel will become a pariah state, while a quarter are not. Compared to Israeli Jews, American Jews are more concerned – while 62% of Israeli Jews are worried about the possibility of Israel becoming a pariah state in the West, 75% of their American counterparts are.
Worry rises along the ideological spectrum from conservative to liberal. In every ideological cohort except the strong conservative one, a majority report being concerned by the possibility that Israel will be tarred as a pariah. A third of strong conservative respondents say they are not at all concerned. Half (53%) of Trump voters and most (88%) Harris voters report being concerned that Israel is becoming a pariah state in the eyes of the West.
In a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, a group of Jewish leaders warned that Israel’s actions in Gaza have serious consequences not only for Israel itself but also for Jews around the world. In their view, recent developments are worsening the sense of insecurity experienced by Jews in some countries and compromising the internal unity of the Jewish communities themselves.
An overwhelming majority (92%) of respondents agree with this claim, but there is disagreement about the influence it should have on Israel’s conduct. Nearly half of the respondent panel (47%) feels that the claim is correct and that Israel must, therefore, weigh the impact of its actions in Gaza on Diaspora communities. By contrast, 45% think the claim is correct but Israel’s actions in Gaza should be aimed at achieving victory, regardless of their ramifications for Diaspora communities. Only 5% of respondents think the claim regarding the war’s impact on the Jewish communities is incorrect and that Israel’s actions have no broader repercussions.
Most liberal respondents think Israeli policy should consider the impact of its actions in Gaza on Diaspora communities, while most conservative and centrist respondents think Israel need not consider how its actions may affect Jewish communities worldwide. Most Trump voters (78%) think Israel doesn’t need to consider possible repercussions of its actions for Diaspora Jewish communities. Most Harris voters (67%) think weight should be given to the consequences of Israeli actions for Jewish communities. Respondents who had never visited Israel least maintained that Israel should ignore the impact of its actions on Diaspora communities (37%, versus 52% among those who had visited Israel more than once).
Following the question on the consequences of Israeli activity for Diaspora Jews, we examine this month whether respondents commonly conceal their Jewishness when traveling. Two in five said they sometimes do, two in five said they never do, and one in ten said they always do. Compared to last January, when an identical question was posed, no significant difference was found in participant responses.
Half of the Conservative and Modern Orthodox respondents sometimes hide their Jewishness when traveling, as do a third of Reform and 29% of the ultra-Orthodox respondents. Half of ultra-Orthodox respondents say they never conceal their Jewishness, the response given by a third of Conservative and Orthodox Jews, and 39% of Reform Jews. The Reform cohort has the highest share of respondents (an eighth) who say they always hide their Jewish identity when traveling.
The New York Mayoral Race
This month, like last month, we examined respondent views about the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. In the run-up to the November election, Mamdani’s attitude toward Israel and Jews will be scrutinized to a level well beyond its prominence during the primary campaign. Mamdani has been a sharp critic of Israel – and many Jewish leaders believe his statements have bordered on antisemitism. At the same time, he has many Jewish supporters who argue that his critical views on Israel do not reflect his attitude toward Jews and the New York Jewish community.
This month, like last month, a majority of respondents (60%) believe that Mamdani is both anti-Israel and antisemitic. Nearly a fifth (17%) think he is anti-Israel but not antisemitic, and 8% think he is neither. There has been no significant change since last month’s survey.
The proportion of respondents who think Mamdani is both anti-Israel and antisemitic rises along the ideological spectrum from liberal to conservative. While a quarter of strong liberals think he is both anti-Israel and antisemitic, 92% of strong conservatives hold this view. Only the strong liberal cohort comprises a sizable share (a quarter) of respondents who think Mamdani is neither anti-Israel nor antisemitic. This cohort also held the highest respondent share (34%) who think Mamdani is anti-Israel but not antisemitic. A much higher share of liberals than of conservatives and centrists were unable to answer the question on Mamdani.
A similar pattern emerges along the religious spectrum from liberal to conservative: the share of respondents who believe that the Democratic mayoral candidate is both anti-Israel and antisemitic rises. Across religious cohorts, half or more of the respondents hold this belief. An overwhelming majority of Trump voters (92%) and nearly half of Harris voters (41%) think Mamdani is anti-Israel and antisemitic. Among Harris voters, 27% believe Mamdani is anti-Israel but not antisemitic, 12% think he is neither anti-Israel nor antisemitic, and a fifth say they do not know.
Questions of Morality
This month’s survey examined the moral outlook of US Jews on a number of issues. Respondents were asked to tag a list of actions or behaviors as “morally acceptable” or “morally wrong,” having been explicitly assured that the question pertains to their moral outlook regardless of applicable law. The findings show significant differences between American Jews and Israeli Jews in moral attitudes on many issues. The proportion of US Jews who rated actions as “morally acceptable” was higher than that of Israeli Jews in nearly all categories. The two exceptions are the death penalty for murderers and adultery – a higher percentage of Israeli Jews tag both of these as morally acceptable.
When the views of American Jews are compared with those of the broader American population, as recently assessed by a Gallup poll, several points of similarity and difference are found. Relative to the general American population, a higher proportion of US Jews view same-sex relations, abortion, animal testing, gambling, and physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill as morally acceptable. The largest opinion gaps were found for sexual orientation and abortion. Seventy-nine percent of American Jews regard same-sex relations as morally acceptable, versus 64% of the US population as a whole. On the issue of abortion, 77% of American Jews view it as morally acceptable, versus 49% of all Americans.
In recent months, the Voice of the Jewish People respondent panel has begun to include Canadian and the British Jews, but these cohorts are not yet large and varied enough to factor in fully to the monthly survey findings. But we are displaying the (unweighted) responses of participants from these countries (as a single cohort) on questions of morality. We found a strong similarity between the responses of American, Canadian, and British Jews. On some issues, where dissimilarities do exist, American Jews tend more strongly than their Canadian and British counterparts to regard certain behaviors as “morally acceptable.” This is the case with respect to gambling (69% versus 61%), animal testing (58% versus 49%), and, strikingly, driving above the speed limit. Fifty-three percent of Jewish American respondents regard speeding as morally acceptable, compared to 37% for the British/Canadian cohort.
As might be expected, significant disparities correlate with respondent position along the religiosity spectrum. A large majority of Reform and Conservative American Jews regard same-sex relations as morally acceptable, while only half of Modern Orthodox and a minority of ultra-Orthodox respondents do so. A higher share of Reform and Conservative Jews consider abortion and gambling morally acceptable, but a lower share of them believe polygamy and the death penalty for murderers to be morally acceptable. There are also major gaps with respect to physician-assisted suicide, cash payment without invoice/receipt, and animal testing.
The Upcoming Holidays
This month, with summer drawing to a close and the High Holidays approaching, we looked at how respondents intend to mark the holidays. Half (53%) say they plan to take part in prayer services more than once. A fifth (18%) say they will attend prayer services at least once, an eighth do not plan to attend services, and 8% say they plan to participate in services solely online.
Unsurprisingly, the further along the religious spectrum from liberal to conservative, the higher the proportion of those planning to take part in prayer services more than once during the High Holidays – half (50%) of Reform respondents gave this answer, compared with 82% among the ultra-Orthodox. Nearly a fifth of Conservative (19%) and 16% of Reform respondents say they plan to attend services at least once. A tenth of both Reform (11%) and Conservative (9%) respondents expect to attend online services exclusively.
Survey Data and Its Implications
This report is an analysis of a survey administered to 639 American Jews who are 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 “connected” US Jews – those with a relatively strong connection to the Jewish community, and/or Israel, and/or Jewish identity.
This table presents data on the August 2025 respondent panel.
