NewsWeek: JEI New Poll: Donald Trump’s Iran War Unpopular With Jewish Americans
March 31, 2026
A majority of Jewish Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s decision to wage war against Iran, according to a new national survey released Monday by the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI).
The poll, conducted in mid‑March among 800 registered Jewish voters, found that 55 percent disapprove of U.S. military action against Iran, while 32 percent approve, and the remainder say they are undecided or conflicted.
A Mellman Group pollon behalf of the Jewish Electoral Institute (JEI) found that 32% of Jewish voters back the current military action against Iran, while 55% disapprove and 13% remain undecided. Support tracked closely along partisan lines, with 83% of Republicans, 49% of independents and 13% of Democrats approving the war.
The Jewish Electorate Institute poll largely conforms with surveys of the general U.S. public, which have found that most Americans oppose the war against Iran, with sharp partisan divisions between Republicans and Democrats.
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE CONTACT: Steve Rabinowitz Monday, March 30, 2026, 07:00 am steve@bluelightstrategies.com 202-265-3000 AMERICAN JEWS EXPECT TO DISCUSS IRAN WAR, ANTISEMITISM AT PASSOVER SEDER TABLES, AMONG FOUR NEW QUESTIONS, POLL SAYS Majority Oppose the War, One-Third Support It, Some Feel Torn Nearly 3/4 Say Trump Needed Congress’ Approval Washington, DC – A new survey of American Jewish opinion, on the eve of the Passover holiday, shows the majority of American Jews expect the Iran war to be a topic at Seder this week. One-third of Jewish voters approve of the war, with a majority disapproving, and some feeling torn. Nearly three-quarters feel President Trump should have sought Congressional approval beforehand. There are also concerns about the long-term impact of the U.S. and Israel conducting this as a joint operation. The poll of 800 registered American Jewish voters nationally, 88% of whom say they will almost certainly or very likely vote in the November 2026 general election for Congress, were surveyed online by the Mellman Group from March 13th-23rd for the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI), a nonprofit which enjoys an extensive record of survey research of the American Jewish community. Those polled indicated the war with Iran and antisemitism in America are the two topics most likely to come up at Seder or other Passover gatherings this week, with hate crimes in the U.S. and the topic of Gaza and the Palestinians trailing behind. Most Expect the War, Antisemitism to Be Topics at Seder Asked how likely these “four questions” were to come up at Seder this week, a 60% majority said the war was very likely to be discussed, including 31% saying it was almost certain to come up. This majority extended across party, age, Jewish denomination, and strength of Jewish identification. A slightly smaller 56% majority feels it is very likely that antisemitism in the U.S. will also be such a frequent topic of Passover discussion this year, while hate crimes in the U.S. (at 43%) and the issue of Gaza and the Palestinians (at 40%) lag among the four questions. The survey was conducted using a high-quality online national panel from March 13th-23rd, 2026. The margin of error for the sample as a whole is +/-3.5% at the 95% level of confidence (higher for subgroups). It was part of a larger poll, the results of which JEI will be releasing in the coming weeks.
