Thousands of demonstrators rally march to the Israeli consulate on May 12, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) A newly released survey has found that about a quarter of American Jewish voters view Israel as an apartheid state.
The poll, which was conducted by the Jewish Electorate Institute from June 28-July 1, asked respondents if they agreed or disagreed with the statement “Israel is an apartheid state.” Twenty-five percent answered in the affirmative; 52% disagreed, but those that disagreed were split on whether or not calling Israel an apartheid state is antisemitic––28% said it is antisemitic, while 24% said it isn’t.
Additionally, 34% agreed with the statement “Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is similar to racism in the U.S.” and 22% agreed that “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians”; of those that disagreed with these statements, 20% and 31% viewed them as antisemitic, respectively. Only 9% said they agreed that “Israel doesn’t have the right to exist,” and 67% of those that disagreed with the statement said that not believing in Israel’s right to exist is antisemitic. Sixty-two percent said they had an emotional attachment to Israel.
The survey also asked respondents about which groups they are most concerned when it comes to antisemitism. Sixty-one percent said they were primarily concerned about antisemitism from right-wing groups and individuals, whereas 22% said they were most concerned about antisemitism from the left, and 12% said they were concerned about antisemitism from both the left and the right.
On President Joe Biden, 80% said they approved of his performance so far as president and 74% said they approved of his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sixty-four percent said they preferred Biden’s handling of antisemitism to how former President Donald Trump handled it; 63% said they believe Biden is doing a better of job of handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than Trump did.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) hailed the poll as evidence of “why the past four years have only solidified the Democratic Party as the political home of Jewish Americans” in a tweet. JDCA also noted that “for the first time … Republican efforts to suppress the vote are a top political concern of Jewish voters,” a reference to how the poll found that 76% favor new laws “expanding voting rights” and 62% favor removing the Senate filibuster to get those laws implemented.
This new poll from @JewishVoters demonstrates why the past four years have only solidified the Democratic Party as the political home of Jewish Americans. It also shows, for the first time, that Republican efforts to suppress the vote are a top political concern of Jewish voters. https://t.co/Gdh4jY4qP2
— Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) July 13, 2021
Others expressed concern about how a quarter of the respondents view Israel as an apartheid state.
“Poll finds a quarter of US Jews completely uneducated on Israel,” international human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted.
More accurate title: “Poll finds a quarter of US Jews completely uneducated on Israel.” pic.twitter.com/gWaLf2fEgB
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 13, 2021
The Elder of Ziyon blogger noted in a post that “the numbers are even worse for the young.” “American Jews are thoroughly ignorant about their own history, their religion, and the Jewish state. That ignorance translates into apathy and then into a willingness to believe the enthusiastic modern antisemites who pretend that they are merely anti-Israel.” The blogger added that the survey results reflect “a massive failure of American Jewish leadership, Jewish education, synagogues and the previous generation of American Jews who taught their children that Judaism and Israel aren’t priorities for them.”
25% of American Jews call Israel "apartheid." American Jewish leadership has failed. https://t.co/rhqacwBRIk
— Elder of Ziyon 🇮🇱 (@elderofziyon) July 13, 2021
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