Newsweek: Majority of American Jews Believe Donald Trump Has ‘Some Responsibility’ for Synagogue Shootings

May 22, 2019

By Callum Paton

Some 60 percent of American Jews say President Donald Trump “bears at least some responsibility” for the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Poway, California, a new poll has shown.

In a broad indictment of the Trump presidency from the Jewish community ahead of the 2020 elections, a survey by the  Jewish Electorate Institute  shows two-thirds of Jewish voter remain “firmly aligned” with the Democratic Party.

Amid a rise in incidents of anti-Semitic violence, the flashpoints for which have been the October 2018 synagogue slayings in Pittsburg, in which 11 worshippers were killed and seven injured, and last month’s shooting at Poway synagogue in California, where one individual was killed and three others were injured, 73 percent of Jewish Americans said they felt less secure than they did two years ago.

Following on from this, as the rise of white nationalism becomes a growing concern, 71 percent of those polled said they disapproved of the way the president was handling anti-Semitism. Some 38 percent have concerns that President Trump is “encouraging violent ultra-right extremists.”

Community members and congregants attend a candlelight vigil for the victim of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue shooting on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. – A rabbi who carried on preaching despite being wounded in the latest deadly shooting at a US synagogue said on April 28 that Jews would not be intimidated by the “senseless hate” of anti-Semitism.SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The poll, carried out by Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, sampled 1,000 Jewish voters across the country between May 6-12. Interviews of those polled were carried out online through a randomly selected panel.

The study also found domestic policy, most importantly healthcare, was most of the utmost concern to U.S. Jews in their voting habits. Strikingly, Israel was the lowest of 16 possibly policy priorities. While the community has remained overwhelmingly pro-Israel (90 percent), just over half also said they were critical of the current Israeli government.

Compared to numbers gathered from a poll in October 2018, the importance of gun safety law, anti-terror initiatives and combating white nationalism have all increased. The feeling of insecurity in the Jewish community is also driving political action, the poll found, with 39 percent saying they want to work to defeat President Trump in 2020. The Democrats did not get off without any criticism, either. Thirty-one percent said they wanted Democrats to do more about anti-Semitism.

Heading into 2020, 67 percent of those Jewish voters polled said they would vote for a generic Democrat over President Trump. At the same time, 65 percent would vote for potential Democratic candidate Joe Biden over President Trump.  

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%).