Washington Post: American Jewish voters still despise Trump

May 24, 2019

By Jennifer Rubin

The Jewish Electorate Institute’s latest poll  confirms what those who closely follow the Jewish community and political opinion about Israel have long known: American Jews remain among the most anti-Trump religious groups. While the president’s support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies might endear him to evangelicals (his core base of support), it does absolutely nothing for him with American Jews. If Israel’s non-Jewish critics have a beef with our current stance toward Israel, they should take it up with right-wing evangelicals, on whom Trump is entirely dependent and who cheer his embrace of Netanyahu.

The poll tells us:

Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of Jewish voters believe Jewish Americans are less secure than they were two years ago, 71 percent disapprove of the way President Trump has handled anti-Semitism, and nearly 60 percent believe that he bears at least some responsibility for the shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway. Two-thirds of the Jewish electorate remains firmly aligned with the Democratic Party, and there has been no change in the percentage of Jewish voters identifying as Republicans since JEI’s October 2018 poll; it remains at 25 percent.

Finally, the results demonstrate Jewish voters’ view of President Trump and how they plan to vote in the 2020 election: 71 percent disapprove of President Trumps’ overall job performance, 70 percent view him unfavorably, 67 percent would vote for a generic Democrat over President Trump, and 65 percent would vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden over President Trump.


For decades now, American Jews have defied the anti-Semitic stereotype of dual loyalty. Their politics is driven by cultural and moral sensibilities, not by politicians’ favoritism toward Israel. This does not mean that American Jews are indifferent to Israel. Far from it; they remain staunchly pro-Israel (about 90 percent are pro-Israel). However, like most Americans, they don’t rank foreign policy at or near the top of their concerns. In fact, for Jews, Israel ranks  dead last  in their list of concerns. We can speculate whether that is a function of the current Israeli government; a sense that Israel is a robust and successful nation that does not require our constant attention; a widening rift between Israel and diaspora Jewry; or whether, just as with every other group of Americans, Jewish Americans’ domestic concerns that affect their lives swamp issues related to foreign affairs.

And that is precisely why the overwhelming majority of American Jews cannot abide Trump:

Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) say Jews in the United States are less secure compared to two years ago. A majority (59 percent) think President Trump is at least partially responsible for recent targeted attacks on synagogues, and a plurality (38 percent) have concerns that President Trump is encouraging violent ultra-right extremists. A broad majority (71 percent) disapprove of President Trump’s handling of anti-Semitism, including a 54 percent majority who strongly disapprove.

Should we be surprised that the friend (Trump) of their enemy (white nationalism) is their enemy? The president denies that their enemy is even a threat and therefore earns their enmity. Trump’s replacement rhetoric (the United States is “full”), his blood-and-soil nationalism and his contempt for the rule of law strike at the heart of Jews’ worries about their safety and security in a multiethnic society. Their ancestors left places such as Russia so as not to be at the whim of anti-Semitic autocrats; the United States was supposed to be their refuge.

Moreover, given the values that are near and dear to the experiences of the Jewish community, Trump’s conduct sparks outrage, leaving him “with only 23 percent voter support, 29 percent job approval, and 26 percent favorability among Jewish voters.” Specifically, American Jews disapprove most strongly of Trump’s handling of “family separations at the Mexican border (78 percent), handling of DACA recipients (74 percent), guns (74 percent), handling of the Mueller Report (73 percent), anti-Semitism (71 percent), building of the border wall (71 percent), taxes (70 percent), Supreme Court nominations (69 percent), health care (69 percent), and banning immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries (66 percent).”

We should keep in mind several points.

First, what Trump is doing for Israel for domestic consumption is not aimed at nor impressing American Jews. It is aimed, as is everything, at securing his right-wing base, which is disproportionately white and evangelical.

Second, Israel’s long-standing strategy to maintain bipartisan support is endangered by hitching its wagon so securely to a hugely unpopular American president. To the extent that the current Israeli government is seen as paying homage ( naming a town  after him!) personally to Trump, it will only provoke rancor among the 65 percent of Americans (including the vast number of American Jews) who don’t approve of the president. Groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) should tread carefully, steering away from Trump adulation and maintaining their support for the United States as an “honest broker” in the Middle East.

Third, the far left’s dual loyalty and other anti-Semitic tropes (e.g. controlling the U.S. government by political money) are morally disgraceful and ludicrously misdirected at Jewish Americans. For better or worse, American Jews aren’t motivated by Israel. They are, however, greatly offended by anti-Semitism, whether it comes from the right or left, and will expect both political parties to drum out anti-Semites.

Fourth, on the topic of right-wing nationalism and its resulting violence against Jews, African Americans and Muslims, it strikes me that we should apply the same rules to evangelical leaders that they apply to Muslim leaders:  Why aren’t they more forcefully rooting out violent extremists? Why don’t they police their own, set up programs to prevent radicalization and condemn language that echoes the rhetoric of violent extremists?  (One can understand why Vice President Pence’s fanning of white Christian victimhood — they are mocked, he insists — is so infuriating to actual victims who are the target of hate crimes and even mass murder.)

Finally, Trump’s effort to win over Jewish voters by demonizing Democrats (who oppose his policies that most American Jews find abhorrent) is a ridiculous failure, as are the efforts of groups such as the Republican Jewish Coalition to convince American Jews that Republicans have their interests at heart. They might as well be arguing that Muslims are better served by Trump’s party.

In short, as a religious minority, perpetual immigrants in history due to widespread persecution, who deeply value civil liberties and the rule of law, American Jews could barely imagine a worse president than Trump. He offends their core values and cultivates an atmosphere that endangers them. Unfortunately for Trump and his hypnotized Republican Party, they also turn out to vote in large numbers.

Antisemitism is a warning sign. Are we listening?

By Eileen Filler-Corn • July 3, 2025
In the nearly two years since Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, American Jews have watched a disturbing rise in antisemitism take place across America — and crucially, among some of our longtime allies. For decades, Jewish Americans stood at the forefront of progressive causes, marching for civil rights, fighting for reproductive freedom and advocating for immigrants and the marginalized. My Jewish faith is what first drove me to public service. The Jewish concept of tikkun olam — our responsibility to repair the world — is not just a religious tenet but a moral call to action. It’s why we’ve always shown up to defend others. Yet now, as antisemitism surges to record levels, many progressive organizations and leaders who once stood with us have gone quiet; or worse, turned their backs entirely. It’s no longer just about Israeli policy. The line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism has been crossed so many times it’s barely a line at all. “Zionist” has become a stand-in for “Jew,” and the message is clear: Unless you disavow the world’s only Jewish state, your place in many progressive spaces is no longer welcome. The picture is sobering. There have been calls to ban “Zionists” from Pride events. Many women’s groups have shrugged at Hamas’ rape of Israeli women. And the Democratic nominee for mayor of America’s most populous city has a pattern of antisemitic rhetoric and has refused to condemn the hurtful call to “globalize the intifada,” a rallying cry that has been used to incite violence against Jews. This didn’t happen overnight, but the silence from many who claim to fight for justice has been deafening and deeply painful. I know what it feels like to be targeted for who you are. In January 2020, shortly after I became the first woman and the first Jewish Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, the FBI uncovered a plot to assassinate me. Two members of a neo-Nazi domestic terrorist group had targeted me. It was the most serious of many threats I received during my time as Speaker. Thankfully, law enforcement intervened in time. But the threat was real, and it reminded me that hatred knows no single party or ideology. We’ve long seen this kind of extremist hate on the right, but today that same danger is rising on both extremes of the ideological spectrum. Antisemitism spreads under different names but with the same devastating consequences. Now, with the recent war between Israel and Iran, we’re likely to see a fresh wave of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. It is already giving rise to a new round of dangerous conspiracy theories laced with antisemitic tropes: accusing American Jews of dual loyalty; suggesting we control foreign policy; and portraying Jewish political engagement as part of a shadowy cabal influencing Washington. This is a moment of moral testing. Will our leaders speak clearly and forcefully against antisemitism, even when it’s politically inconvenient? Will those who champion diversity and inclusion apply those values to Jews as well? And will we be honest about how bad actors have exploited division, stoked extremism and enabled those who traffic in hate? Just as many Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s leadership while still loving this country and believing in its promise, the same is true for Israel. You can criticize or reject Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government and still support Israel’s right to exist, to defend itself and to thrive as a Jewish and democratic state. That distinction matters. Criticizing a government is not the same as condemning a people; but when it comes to Israel, that line is too often deliberately blurred. We must be able to hold leaders accountable without fueling hatred or questioning a nation’s fundamental legitimacy. Antisemitism is not merely a problem faced by Jews — it is a bellwether for the health of our democracy. When a society tolerates hatred against one group, it gives license to hate others. When threats against public servants go unchallenged, violence becomes normalized. I was reminded of that tragic reality when my friend and former counterpart, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, was executed in her home along with her husband, Mark. Authorities say her killer was a politically motivated extremist who had compiled a list of Democratic lawmakers. Melissa was a principled leader and a friend. Her death was a heartbreaking loss and a flashing red warning sign for the tolerance of hate in our democracy. We cannot afford to treat this moment as normal. It is time for our allies to rejoin us. To speak up when we are threatened. To see antisemitism for what it is: a growing, dangerous force that must be confronted head-on. Because if we wait until it affects everyone, it will already be too late. Eileen Filler Corn is a JEI Board Member and Former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and the only ever Jewish speaker in VA
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Letter to House Judiciary Committee on Anti-Semitism

July 1, 2025
July 1, 2025 U.S. House Committee On The Judiciary 2142 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Now in our ninth year, the nationally and internationally recognized Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization, continues to serve as the barometer for the Jewish electorate. We are therefore honored to submit the following Comments for the Record to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee in support of its June 24, 2025, hearing on antisemitism - Rising Threat: America’s Battle Against Antisemitic Terror. This hearing, punctuated by the moving testimony of Matt Nosanchuk, reminded us that Jewish safety in America is not a political football - it is a national imperative. Nosanchuk, a former senior official in both the Obama and Biden Administrations and a lifelong advocate against antisemitism, laid bare the stark realities we face. The murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were attending a Jewish community event just blocks from his home, brought the crisis home - literally and painfully. It also underscored a chilling truth: this could have been any one of us. Antisemitism today does not discriminate based on geography, profession, or even political identity. Nosanchuk rightly challenged both ends of the political spectrum. From the right, we've seen rising indulgence of white nationalist rhetoric, normalization of Nazi imagery, and an embrace of conspiracy theorists. When antisemitism is tolerated—or worse, weaponized—by public officials and influential institutions, it emboldens violence and undermines the rule of law. The example of the pardoning of the person wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” shirt at the riot on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not just shocking to the Jewish community – it was symptomatic of a deeper, corrosive tolerance for hate. From the left, antisemitism also too often masquerades as political critique. When Jews are asked to renounce their ties to Israel to participate in coalitions, or when pro-Palestinian activism turns violent against Jews, with intimidating targeted rhetoric and violence, that’s not solidarity – it’s exclusion and scapegoating. Our Jewish identity should never be a precondition for political participation. What we need is not partisan grandstanding, but comprehensive action. That includes implementing the Biden Administration’s well-thought-out National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, restoring funding for civil rights enforcement at the Justice Department, and condemning hate, regardless of its ideological source. Nosanchuk’s call for education, prevention, and cross-community solidarity is exactly right. In closing, it’s our view at JEI that using antisemitism as cover for draconian immigration or university policies erodes the democratic institutions that have allowed Jewish life to flourish. Fighting hate must not become an excuse to violate civil liberties - ours or anyone else’s. Our safety as Jews has always been linked to the safety of others. In this perilous moment, we must demand more than soundbites. We must demand seriousness, solidarity, and above all, solutions. We are grateful to the Committee for having held this vital hearing at a perilous moment for American Jews. Sincerely, Barbara Goldberg Goldman Chairperson The Jewish Electorate Institute

JEI Statement on escalation and Support on Israel Security

June 18, 2025
Washington, DC — As hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify, the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI), a nonpartisan political nonprofit, is calling on Congress to take all necessary measures to support Israel’s security, halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and help bring the hostages home.