Jerusalem Post: Israel Policy Fails to Enamor US Jews of Trump, Poll Finds

October 17, 2018

By Michael Wilner

WASHINGTON – A slim majority of  American Jews support Donald Trump’s policies on Israel – but his stance on the Jewish state has not been enough to win over their support for his presidency, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted by the Mellman Group and the Jewish Electorate Institute earlier this month, found that Jewish American support for Trump remains at a dismal 23% – and that 74% plan on voting for his Democratic opponent in 2020 regardless of the candidate.Underscoring their opposition, 71% say they would not even consider voting to reelect Trump.

American Jews also plan on supporting Democrats with similar fervor in the midterm elections next month, according to the poll, which was commissioned to gauge the Jewish American electorate ahead of the upcoming races.

“While Jewish voters are split almost evenly on how they respond to the way President Trump is handling US-Israel relations, few are willing to support him on that alone,” the Jewish Democratic Council of America said in a statement. The Jewish Electorate Institute, which commissioned the poll, is affiliated with JDCA.

“Only 6% say Trump’s Israel policy will cause them to consider voting for him despite disagreements on other important issues,” the organization adds.

JDCA is surgically funding Democratic candidates in races considered too close to call, where large Jewish populations reside and where their high turnout could tip the balance of votes in their candidates’ favor.

A majority of those polled gave Trump only one positive mark: 51% approve of his handling of US-Israel relations. But American Jews support him on virtually no other issue. On his handling of rising antisemitism and Iran’s nuclear’s program, 70% of respondents disapproved of his job performance.

His worst issue polled was healthcare – a top issue for Jewish voters, who disapproved of his policies by an overwhelming 78%.

Mellman’s findings on Trump’s overall approval rating mirror the results of similar questioning in a poll conducted by the American Jewish Committee over the summer, which found that 26% of American Jews viewed Trump favorably. But they differ on the AJC’s findings on Trump’s Israel policy. Their June poll found that only 34% of American Jews supported his actions on Israel, suggesting a marked increase in recent months, or else a flawed polling method.

The poll was conducted October 2-11 and its results factor in a reported margin of error of 3.5%.

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%).