World Israel News: New poll shows Jewish voters hold Trump responsible for synagogue shootings

May 22, 2019

By Joseph Wolkin

A new poll released by the Jewish Electorate Institute on Wednesday morning revealed that 71 percent of Jewish voters in America are disappointed in President Donald Trump’s response to growing anti-Semitism.

The institute surveyed 1,000 Jewish voters “to understand what drives their engagement in politics in advance of the 2020 elections.” As per the results of the poll, 73 percent of those surveyed said they “believe Jewish Americans are less secure than they were two years ago.”

Fifty-nine percent of Jewish voters blame President Trump for at least some responsibility for the two recent shootings at American synagogues in Poway and Pittsburgh.

One of the largest takeaways from the JEI poll is how Jewish voters will take to the polls during the primary and caucus season, as well as the eventual 2020 election. About 70 percent of the participants disapprove of President Trump’s performance thus far, and the same percentage view him unfavorably.

Overall, 67 percent of Jewish voters “would vote for a generic Democrat over President Trump, and 65 percent would vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden over President Trump.”

The top priority for Jewish voters in the 2020 election is healthcare. Results are similar to JEI’s 2018 poll, which states that Jews will “prioritize protecting Medicare and Social Security, as well as health care, above other policy issues when determining which candidate to support.”

Israel the lowest of priorities

However, Israel is the lowest of 16 priorities for Jewish voters during the election season. While American Jews are still mostly pro-Israel, they also see the Democratic Party as largely in favor of the Jewish state.

Thirty-eight percent of Jewish voters believe that Trump is encouraging ultra-right-wing extremists, which in turn will provoke anti-Semitic attacks.

Roughly 23 percent of Jews will vote for President Trump during the 2020 election.

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%).