Supermajority of Jewish Americans think Israel and Aipac drive antisemitism - Middle East Eye
A supermajority of Jewish Americans think Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (Aipac) actions are increasing antisemitism in the US, according to a new poll.
The poll commissioned by J Street, a US-based pro-Israel think tank, shows a deep gap between how Jewish American voters view organisations like Aipac and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, compared to how the state of Israel and its allies in the US portray antisemitism.
The poll says 66 percent of Jewish voters in the US believe that Aipac’s campaign spending against candidates who criticise Israel actually increases antisemitism in the country.
In addition, 60 percent believe that Jewish organisations that label harsh criticism of Israel as antisemitic are exploiting concerns about antisemitism to defend unpopular Israeli government policies.
Notably, 80 percent of Jewish voters believe that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza are increasing antisemitism in the US.
“Conventional wisdom about the impact of Jewish concerns over antisemitism and what it means to support Israel often misses the mark on how Jews process these issues in America’s political context,” Jim Gerstein, founding partner at GBAO Strategies, which conducted the poll between 28 October and 3 November, said.
“The reality is that Jews express nuanced thinking on these issues that is frequently missing in the extensive media coverage of the Jewish community,” he added.
The US midterm elections marked a sweeping Democratic victory where the US war on Iran and US support for Israel played a central role in races such as Michigan.
Democratic Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed won the race there in a historic landslide against Aipac supported Republican candidate Mike Rogers.
Sayed, who campaigned on cutting US aid to Israel along with other Middle Eastern countries and condemned Israel’s genocide on Gaza, won 60 percent of early Jewish voters, according to a poll by Mercury Public Affairs.
The poll also showed that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been smeared as being an antisemite, had a higher favorability rating among Jewish Americans, 49 percent, compared to outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at 20 percent.
Overall, the poll from GBAO Strategies found that 72 percent of Jewish voters supported Democratic candidates and that 76 percent supported sanctions against “violent West Bank settlers”.
The president of J Street said the poll underscored the falsehood of stereotypes about Jewish voters in the US.
“Jewish Americans have been treated as a political football throughout this election cycle, with politicians and commentators insisting that our community demands unconditional support for the Israeli government. These results tell a very different story,” Jeremy Ben-Ami said.
“Jewish voters overwhelmingly backed Democrats, strongly oppose President Trump and support holding the Israeli government accountable for its actions. They want American leadership that advances peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, and they are rejecting the idea that supporting Israel means writing its government a blank check,” he added.
