Press Release: Domestic Issues Are Priority for 2020 Jewish Voters

May 22, 2019

New Poll from Jewish Electorate Institute Demonstrates that Jewish Voters Feel Less Secure, Hold Trump Responsible for Recent Synagogue Attacks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dee Donavanik press@jewishelectorateinstitute.org

WASHINGTON – New poll findings released today by Greenberg Research on behalf of the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) found that the Jewish electorate is overwhelmingly driven by domestic policy issues, particularly health care and immigration, as well anti-Semitism and rising insecurity due to white nationalists threats.

“This poll confirms that the Jewish electorate prioritizes domestic policy issues above all others,” said Ralph Grunewald, chairman of the JEI Board. “It also affirms that the Jewish community feels less secure than before President Trump took office and is deeply concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism in America in the past two years.”

Polls indicate that Jewish voters overwhelmingly disapprove of President Trump’s handling of nearly every issue, including the rise of anti-Semitism. Moreover, a majority of Jewish voters say they feel less secure under a Trump administration and hold the president at least partially responsible for recent deadly shooting attacks on synagogues.

Jewish 2020 Voters and the Issues

  • Jewish voters indicated that priority issues (most/very important) when deciding which candidate to support include: protecting Medicare and Social Security (87%), improving the economy and creating jobs (86%), and access to affordable healthcare (80%).
  • Nearly three quarters (73%) feel less secure than they did two years ago.
  • This coincides with a rise (since JEI’s October 2018 poll ) in Jewish voters prioritizing security issues such as: combating terrorism (82%), combating the influence of white supremacists and the far right (78%) and enacting gun safety laws (79%).
  • Israel remains the lowest policy priority of Jewish voters, with candidates’ stance on Israel ranking at the bottom of a list of 16 policy priority issues for a second year in a row.

Jewish Voters on Trump

  • 71% unfavorably view President Trump’s job performance and 70% disapprove of him overall.
  • 71% disapprove of the way President Trump has handled anti-Semitism, which is a slight increase since JEI’s October 2018 poll.
  • Nearly 60% believe President Trump has at least some responsibility for the shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, and a plurality (38%) have concerns that Trump is encouraging violent ultra-right extremists.
  • 67% would vote today for a generic Democratic candidate over President Trump and 65% would vote for Democrat Joe Biden over President Trump.

“This is a unique time where three quarters of Jewish voters feel less secure over the last two years because of new worries related to white nationalist violence, and nearly 60 percent say that President Donald Trump has at least some responsibility for the rise of anti-Semitic attacks,” said Stanley Greenberg, CEO and founder of Greenberg Research. “That has greatly affected the priorities of Jewish voters who strongly disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president. They want not only to protect retirement and health care, they want government that addresses the rise of anti-Semitism and white nationalist violence.”

A more detailed memo on the poll’s findings can be found here.

About Jewish Electorate Institute
The Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in August 2018 with a mission to deepen the public’s understanding of the Jewish electorate and mobilize the Jewish vote in future elections. The primary focus is to provide public information about the Jewish electorate, lead non-partisan Get Out the Jewish Vote (GOTJV) efforts and encourage civic engagement in the Jewish community.

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POLITICO: The DNC is meeting — and Israel is at the forefront once again

April 10, 2026
Democrats’ internal feud over Israel is rearing its head on the party’s biggest stage — again.  Critics of Israel’s military actions and the pro-Israel lobby’s interference in recent Democratic primaries are setting up thorny test votes at the Democratic National Committee’s spring meeting in New Orleans on Thursday, where members will debate resolutions recognizing a Palestinian state, conditioning military aid to Israel and condemning the “growing influence” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other dark-money groups.

Survey Shows Most U.S. Jews Are Not Following Pro-Israel Spending In ’26 Primaries And Are Divided On Its Value

April 7, 2026
To: Jewish Electorate Institute From: The Mellman Group Re: Survey Shows Most U.S. Jews Are Not Following Pro-Israel Spending In ’26 Primaries And Are Divided On Its Value Date: April 6, 2026 

U.S. JEWS IDENTIFY AS BOTH PRO-ISRAEL & CRITICAL OF ITS GOV’T

April 7, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: info@jewishelectorateinstitute.org TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026 202-695-0531 U.S. JEWS IDENTIFY AS BOTH PRO-ISRAEL & CRITICAL OF ITS GOV’T Jewish Repub’s, Indi’s Support Pro-Israel Spending in Primaries; Dems Less So AIPAC popular among R’s, not as much among D’s; DMFI better liked by D’s WASHINGTON – As the Democratic National Committee sets to convene in New Orleans this week and consider resolutions on Israel and its AIPAC lobby, a new poll for the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) finds the majority of American Jews identifies as both pro-Israel and critical of the Israeli Government. There is limited awareness of the spending by pro-Israel groups in the 2026 primaries, with only one in ten saying they have heard a great deal about it. Attitudes split on partisan lines with majorities of independent and Republican Jews supporting this spending, while a plurality of Democrats is opposed. But still, the majority of Democrats are either not sure or supportive, the poll finds. These are among the top findings of a survey of registered Jews nationally for the JEI by The Mellman Group, several others of which were released last week before Passover. A fuller release of all its findings will come on Friday, after the holiday ends. Further, attitudes about AIPAC and DMFI, the pro-Israel groups spending the most in these primaries, are also split on partisan lines, with AIPAC slightly underwater among Democrats, and popular among Republicans. DMFI is less known but better liked among Democrats. J Street’s numbers are relatively even but measurably smaller. This analysis is based on the findings of a survey of 800 registered Jewish voters nationally. The survey was conducted for JEI by The Mellman Group using a high-quality online national panel from March 13-23, 2026. The margin of error for the sample as a whole is +/-3.5% at the 95% level of confidence (higher for subgroups). Majority of U.S. Jews Identifies as Both Pro-Israel and Critical of Israeli Policies An overwhelming 86% of American Jews describe themselves as generally pro-Israel. However, fewer than one-quarter (23%) say they are both pro-Israel and supportive of Israeli policies. A 63% majority identifies as pro-Israel and critical of the Israeli government policies – split roughly equally between those who are critical of some policies (32%) and those critical of many (31%). Just a combined 14% say they are not generally pro-Israel (9%) or do not hold a view (5%). This trend is not dissimilar to one in the JEI poll that shows Jews are also generally patriotic towards America but also critical of some government policies, numbers for which will be released Friday.  While pro-Israel sentiment extends across party (84% of Democrats, 90% of independents, 94% of Republicans), Democrats are considerably more likely to be critical of Israeli policies (73% critical) than independents (44%) and Republicans (39%).