New Poll: American Jews Overwhelmingly Support President Biden’s Response to Israel-Hamas War

WASHINGTON – A new survey from the non-partisan Jewish Electorate Institute found that 74% of Jewish voters approve of President Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. The survey, conducted from November 5-9 by GBAO Strategies, measured the attitudes of the American Jewish electorate in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel, the threat of antisemitism, and their preferences for the 2024 presidential election. 

Respondents compared President Biden with former President Trump, both in terms of their handling of antisemitism and in a hypothetical 2024 general election. By a 39-point margin, Jewish voters said they trust President Biden more than former President Trump to fight antisemitism. In a head-to-head matchup, 68% of Jewish voters say they would support President Biden over former President Trump who would have the support of only 22% of Jewish voters – an eight-point decline in Jewish voters’ support for Trump compared to a similar poll before the 2020 election. 

Broad support for President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war extends to his proposed aid package and calls for humanitarian pauses, with 80% of American Jews expressing support for President Biden’s $14.4 billion request to Congress for military aid to Israel and 68% supporting the United States’ calls for a humanitarian pause to enable safe delivery of food, medicine, and water to Gaza.

The full survey data can be found here.

Other key takeaways from the poll include:

  • President Biden has a job approval of 66% among Jewish voters, considerably higher than his approval rating among the general population
  • Former President Trump has a 22% favorability score among Jewish voters
  • 93% of respondents are concerned about antisemitism in the US
  • 82% of Jewish voters feel emotional attachment to Israel
  • 91% of Jewish voters believe that someone can be critical of Israeli government policy and still be pro-Israel

JEI Chairman Martin Frost said, “This poll is different from many other polls of the population in general and demonstrates graphically the importance of the Jewish vote. There are significant concentrations of Jewish voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Nevada and the strength of the Jewish vote could make the difference in 2024.”

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