American Jews view NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani more favorably than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed Tuesday.
The survey, carried out on 1,022 Jewish adults nationwide between June 11 and June 17, found that 44% of American Jews view Mamdani either very favorably or somewhat favorably, whereas just 32% of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Netanyahu.
39% of US Jews viewed Mamdani unfavorably, and 59% viewed Netanyahu unfavorably.
A strong majority of US Jews viewed Donald Trump unfavorably (70%), whereas only 29% had a favorable opinion. This differed from the national average (including Jews and non-Jews), which was 38% favorable and 59% not.
The respondents were then asked whether they approve or disapprove of the way Trump is handling a variety of issues.
Majority of Jews do not approve of Trump policies
A strong majority of Jews did not approve of how Trump is handling the economy (74% disapproval), immigration (69% disapproval), and Iran (73% disapproval). The question of Trump’s handling of Israel led to a narrower split, but nevertheless a majority (58%) of Jews disapproved.
When asked how important Israel is to them personally, a majority (58%) of US Jewish adults answered “extremely or very important,” and 28% said “somewhat.” Only 12% said Israel was not an important matter for them personally.
Interestingly, 38% of Jewish respondents said they felt the US was “too supportive” of Israelis. 28% said Israelis are not supported enough by the US, and 32% said the support is at the right level. A majority of 43% of Jewish respondents said the US is not supportive enough of Palestinians.
Among Jewish adults, 33% were in favor of an independent Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, and 36% opposed. 30% were neutral.
7% of US Jews say Hamas’ October 7 was justified
Perhaps the most extraordinary results came from a series of questions asking respondents whether actions of Israel and Hamas were justified.
7% of US Jews said Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 was justified, and 14% said Hamas’ refusal to disarm after the ceasefire in October 2025 was justified.
Nevertheless, a strong majority (79%) said Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 was not justified, and another strong majority of Jews (73%) said Israel’s immediate military response to Hamas’s attack was justified.
When asked whether they believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, 49% of US Jews said no and 30% said yes. 21% declined to answer.
It is worth noting that the majority of Jewish respondents in the survey were not religious.
When asked how often they attend religious services, 34% said never, 18% said less than once a year, and 16% said one or twice a year.
Only 10% of respondents were Orthodox, whereas 43% of respondents identified as Reform and 23% as Conservative. 19% said they had no particular denomination.
