Half of American Jewish voters believe Trump is antisemitic, poll finds

About half of American Jews describe President Donald Trump as antisemitic, while only a minority think his campus crackdown is reducing antisemitism, according to a new survey.

American Jews are also broadly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and fewer of them say they feel an attachment to Israel than before the current Israel-Hamas war, according to the survey.

The survey of Jewish registered voters, conducted by the polling firm GBAO Strategies, found that 52 percent of respondents say the word “antisemitic” describes the president very or somewhat well.

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In addition, 74 percent of respondents disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, while 26 percent approve. Close to 70 percent said the words “fascist” and “racist” describe him very or somewhat well.

Previous surveys have consistently reported low approval ratings for Trump from Jewish voters, who have leaned heavily Democratic for decades. The poll found that a large majority of respondents plan to support Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.

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But the “antisemitic” description is notable because Trump campaigned on fighting antisemitism. Since he returned to office, his administration has taken a number of high-profile actions with the stated goal of fighting antisemitism, including pulling billions of dollars in funding from universities and seeking to deport foreign student activists.

The poll found that only a fraction of respondents thought those actions reduce antisemitism, while a much larger share say the actions increase antisemitism:

• 49 percent of respondents said the funding cuts to universities increased antisemitism, while 25 percent said the cuts reduce antisemitism and 26 percent said they have no impact.
• 61 percent of respondents believed that the Trump administration arresting and deporting pro-Palestinian protesters increased antisemitism, while 20 percent said it reduces antisemitism and another 20 percent said it has no impact.
• Overall, 77 percent of Jewish voters are concerned about antisemitism on college campuses, while even more are concerned about antisemitism in the United States more broadly.
• But 64 percent disapprove of the job Trump is doing to combat antisemitism, while 36 percent approve.

“Part of what’s going on is that Jewish voters believe that the actions that the Trump administration is taking, statements that the president is making, statements and actions of others in his administration — that these things actually increase antisemitism,” Jim Gerstein, a founding partner of GBAO Strategies, said in a briefing about the survey.

He said, “It is very striking that a lot of things that are being done in the name of combating antisemitism, Jews in America actually believe that these things increase antisemitism, instead of reduce antisemitism.”

The poll was conducted for a new nonpartisan group called the Jewish Voters Resource Center, which aims to collect and disseminate data on Jewish voters and issues. GBAO, which has done polls for liberal Jewish groups in the past, conducted the survey of 800 Jewish voters from 22 April to 1 May. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

The new data is being published two weeks after the conclusion of Trump’s first 100 days in office. It follows on the heels of a poll taken in late April by the Mellman Group that found 72 percent of American Jews disapproved of Trump’s job performance.

Wednesday’s poll also found that 74 percent of Jewish voters disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing on foreign policy, while 26 percent approve. The poll found the same split when it comes to Trump’s proposal to transfer Palestinians in Gaza to Arab countries and have the United States take control of Gaza. Majorities also opposed a range of other Trump policies not directly tied to Israel or Jewish issues.

The poll also found that 92 percent of Jewish voters think that someone can be critical of Israeli government policies and still be “pro-Israel.” It found that the share who said they were very or somewhat attached to Israel had declined from 82% before Hamas’ 7 October 2023, attack to 69 percent now.

The poll found that only 34 percent of respondents have favourable views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 61 percent have unfavourable views of him. Meanwhile, 62 percent believe that he resumed the war in Gaza in March for personal political considerations as opposed to Israel’s national security considerations, and 38 percent believe the opposite.

The poll found that 72 percent of respondents also believe the resumed military action in Gaza makes it more likely for the hostages to be killed, and 28 percent say it makes them more likely to be released.

“When Jews are looking at Israel and thinking about Israel, while they’re very attached to it, it’s very striking how negative the attitudes towards Netanyahu are,” said Gerstein.