A new poll reveals that nearly a two-thirds majority of American Jews agree that former President Donald Trump is on Israel’s side — and yet 62% of American Jews still intend to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, regardless.
The poll, conducted as part of a larger survey of American adults over roughly six weeks, is a sign of American Jews’ loyalty to the Democratic Party, which appears unshaken even by issues of specific concern to the Jewish community.
Harris is “struggling” with the Jewish community, according to the Forward, and her 62% level of support “would be significantly below what President Joe Biden got in 2020 (77% or 68%, depending on which exit poll you believe) and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Jewish support in 2016 (about 70% according to two exit polls).” Trump would receive 31% of the Jewish vote, which is in line with what other independent, nonpartisan surveys of Jewish voters have found.
Thus Trump is positioned to win the biggest share of the Jewish vote of any Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1980.
This year, even a small shift by Jewish voters could make a difference in swing states like Pennsylvania — whose Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro, was passed over as Harris’s running mate, largely to appease anti-Israel Democrats.
However, Trump is still going to lose the Jewish vote by a wide margin — much to his annoyance.
The reason may lie in the details of the poll. Fully 65% of Jewish adults agreed that Trump “supports the Israelis,” versus 34% for Harris. (And 25% said Harris “supports the Palestinians,” versus 14% who say that about Trump.)
Other polls have suggested that Israel is not a high priority for many American Jews, many of whom are secular or unaffiliated with the community’s institutions. Issues identified by the Democratic Party — such as “democracy,” or abortion — tend to rank higher among Jewish voters.
As the Forward notes: “Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary to former President George W. Bush, had a simpler analysis: partisanship. ‘American Jews are overwhelmingly Democratic,’ he noted, ‘so of course they’re more inclined to express support for Harris, even though they think Trump is stronger on Israel.’
Anecdotally, some Jewish voters who might have chosen Trump over Biden — after a year of war in Israel, and chaos on college campuses — were persuaded to stick with the party when Harris became the nominee.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, is part of the appeal. He received a hero’s welcome from Jews at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where his personal foibles — such as impregnating the family nanny in his first marriage — went unmentioned.
Emhoff is typical of many American Jews: largely unaffiliated and uninvolved (until recently), moved by concerns about antisemitism, but fundamentally defined by their other associations, including with the Democratic Party.
The Second Gentleman is unapologetic about his approach: “I’m gonna continue to talk about the brisket,” he said, referring to Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish cuisine and culture, which has been one of his primary ways of identifying with the community — not religion, and not support for Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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