Poll: American Jews view Israel’s election as critical, majority back ‘change’ bloc

New poll shows American Jews back Democrats over Republicans in the upcoming midterms 55% to 31%, while a majority hope Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition is defeated in Israel’s election.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A large majority of American Jews with strong ties to Israel and the Jewish community consider Israel’s 2026 election exceptionally important, with most preferring a victory by the current opposition, according to new polling data released by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI).

The October findings of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People Index show that 78% of respondents regard the election as particularly significant, including 55% who describe it as “especially important” and 23% who consider it “the most important election in Israel’s history.”

The survey also revealed substantial differences between the priorities of American and Israeli Jews ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

Among American Jewish respondents, 36% identified greater national unity and fewer internal divisions as the most important issue in the election, followed by security at 23% and making Israel a more liberal country at 17%.

Among Israeli Jews, however, security ranked first at 34%, followed by relations between the government and judiciary at 17% and making Israel more liberal at 14%.

Only 13% of Israeli Jewish respondents identified national unity as the most important issue, compared to 36% of American Jews. Conversely, relations between the government and judiciary were selected by just 6% of American respondents.

Economic issues ranked relatively low among both groups.

Political ideology also played a significant role in determining the priorities of American Jews. Among those identifying as strongly liberal, 41% selected making Israel more liberal as their leading concern. National unity ranked first among moderately liberal respondents and centrists, at 55% and 45%, respectively.

Among strongly conservative respondents, 65% identified security as the most important issue, while 12% selected making Israel a more Jewish state, an option chosen by almost no liberal respondents.

Asked which political camp they would prefer to win Israel’s election, 57% of American Jewish respondents favored the current opposition, unchanged from September and up from 54% in August.

Only 15% preferred a victory by the current governing coalition, while 21% said it was not their place to express a preference.

Interest in the election remained high, with 35% saying they were following developments very closely and another 44% following them somewhat closely.

The survey also examined voting intentions ahead of the upcoming US congressional midterm elections.

A majority of respondents, 55%, said they intended to vote for Democratic candidates, compared to 31% who planned to support Republicans. Another 10% remained undecided, while 4% said they did not intend to vote.

Israel-related issues were expected to play a significant role in those decisions. Fifty-five percent said such issues would be a very important factor in determining their vote, while 30% described them as somewhat important. Only 14% said they would have little or no influence.

The survey also found continued broad agreement regarding Israel’s importance to the Jewish people.

Eighty-eight percent of respondents said Israel’s existence was essential to the long-term future of the Jewish people, identical to the figure recorded in October 2025. Eight percent disagreed.

However, among respondents identifying as strongly liberal, 23% said Israel’s existence was not essential to the Jewish people’s future.

JPPI CEO Dr. Shuki Friedman said the findings demonstrated the importance of Israel’s election to Jewish communities beyond the country’s borders.

“American Jews see the elections in Israel as a very important event and understand that their results will have implications for them as well, and for Diaspora Jews in general,” Friedman said.

He called on Israel’s next government to strengthen its relationship with Jewish communities worldwide.

JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People Index surveys American Jews with relatively strong connections to Israel, Jewish identity or Jewish communal life, rather than a nationally representative sample of all American Jews.