Jews More Likely Than Christians To Be Critical Of Trump’s Israel Policy

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu after Trump’s speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, May 23, 2017 Image by Getty Images

By Sam Sokol May 6, 2019

(JTA) — American Jews are much more likely than their Christian counterparts to express criticism of President Trump’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a new survey.

In a survey published Monday, the Pew Research Center found that 42 percent of American Jews said that Trump was favoring the Israelis too much, while a similar share, 47 percent, said he was striking the right balance between the Israelis and Palestinians. Six percent found that Trump favored the Palestinians too much.

Among Christians, 59 percent said the president was striking the right balance between the two sides and 26 percent said he favors the Israelis too much. The level of support for Trump’s policies on Israel rose significantly in the evangelical community: 72 percent agreed with the balance Trump is striking.

“Partisanship also may be a factor when it comes to the views of religiously unaffiliated Americans who, like Jews, largely lean Democratic,” Pew explained, noting that 47 percent of those who consider themselves to be religiously unaffiliated said they think Trump favors the Israelis too much.

According to a Gallup poll released earlier this year, about half of American Jews identified as Democrats.

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