Ahead of inauguration, Trump gets high marks from Israeli Jews

Two-thirds of Israeli Jews are pleased Trump will be taking office next week, with moderately high levels of confidence that he will properly handle key issues, including Iran, the Israeli-Arab conflict, and US-Israel relations.

By World Israel News Staff

Over two-thirds of Israeli Jews are looking forward to President-elect Donald Trump taking office next week, according to a new poll published on Tuesday.

Ahead of Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States next Tuesday and in light of reports that he is exerting significant pressure to broker a deal to end the war in Israel and secure the release of hostages, the “Israeli Society Index” survey, conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), examined what the Israeli public thinks about the incoming president.

The data shows that the majority of all Israelis (61%) are pleased that Donald Trump will be returning to the White House. By contrast, 28% of Israelis expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s return to office.

When broken down by political orientation, the survey reveals that among those who identify as right-wing, 96% are satisfied, while among those who identify as left-wing, 76% are dissatisfied.

Among Jewish citizens of Israel, 68% are satisfied, and 24% are dissatisfied. In contrast, among Arab citizens of Israel, 32% are satisfied, while 43% are dissatisfied.

The survey also examined respondents’ confidence in Trump’s ability to “do the right thing” regarding U.S.-Israel relations: 32% of Israelis expressed high confidence, 40% reported moderate confidence, and 21% said they do not believe Trump will act appropriately.

The research included a comparison with the opinions of American Jews about Trump, as measured by JPPI’s “Voice of the People” panel.

The study found that Israeli Jews place more trust in Trump than American Jews do: 77% of Israeli Jews expressed confidence (high or moderate) in Trump’s handling of U.S.-Israel relations, compared to only 54% of American Jews.

Respondents were also asked whether they believe Trump will handle Iran effectively. Only 20% of Israelis expressed “high confidence” in Trump’s ability to act appropriately, 44% reported “moderate confidence,” and roughly a quarter (27%) said they do not trust him to act properly in dealing with Iran. In contrast to other issues, American Jews expressed greater confidence in Trump on Iran policy than do Israeli Jews.

On the Israeli-Palestinian issue, one-third (34%) of Israelis indicated they lack confidence that Trump will do the right thing, 43% expressed moderate confidence, and only 13% reported high confidence in Trump regarding this issue.