Poll: Vast majority of US Jews view Mamdani as antisemitic, reject Gaza genocide claims

More than two-thirds of American Jews say New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is both anti-Israel and antisemitic; just 14% believe claims that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, while nearly four in five reject those accusations.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A large majority of American Jews surveyed by the Jewish People Policy Institute reject accusations that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, while more than two-thirds view New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as both anti-Israel and antisemitic, according to the institute’s July 2026 Voice of the Jewish People index.

The survey, which focused on Jews who are connected to Jewish communal life, found that 78% of US respondents said Israel had not committed genocide during the war in Gaza.

Fourteen percent said Israel had committed genocide, while 8% said they did not have enough information to form an opinion.

Rejection of the genocide accusation was even higher among respondents in Canada, at 87%, and Britain, at 81%.

JPPI said the results differed significantly from recent surveys of the broader American public, which found higher levels of support for the accusation or uncertainty over whether it was justified.

The institute’s index regularly surveys Jews in the US, Canada and Britain about issues involving Israel, Jewish communities and international affairs. The panel is intended to represent Jews who are actively connected to Jewish communal institutions or to Israel, rather than the entire Jewish population.

The survey also found that 69% of American Jews consider Mamdani to be both anti-Israel and antisemitic, an increase from the institute’s findings the previous year.

Another 20% said Mamdani was anti-Israel but not antisemitic. Just 7% said he was neither anti-Israel nor antisemitic.

The share of respondents who said they were unfamiliar with Mamdani or unable to assess him declined substantially over the past year, suggesting that he has become a more prominent and divisive figure among American Jews.

The survey also found a sharp decline in confidence that the military campaign against Iran had achieved its objectives.

In March, during Operation Roaring Lion, 66% of US respondents described the campaign as successful. By July, that figure had fallen to 36%, while 61% said the campaign had failed to accomplish its goals.

A similar decline was recorded in Canada, where the share describing the campaign as successful fell from 70% in March to 40% in July. Among British respondents, it dropped from 75% to 47%.

Despite their disappointment with the campaign’s results, most respondents did not believe the US had used excessive force against Iran.

Fifty-six percent of US respondents said the American military campaign had not gone far enough, compared with 28% who said it had gone too far. The view that insufficient force was used was shared by 73% of respondents in Canada and 67% in Britain.

The findings suggest that criticism of the campaign was directed primarily at its scope and effectiveness, rather than at the decision to use military force.

The survey found strong support for Israel coordinating its policies with the US government while retaining the ability to act independently.

Eighty-three percent of US respondents said Israel should seek to coordinate with Washington but should follow what it considers to be its own interests when disagreements arise.

That position was supported by 84% of Canadian respondents and 92% of those in Britain. Only small minorities said Israel should almost always follow the US government’s position or disregard it entirely.

Views of the US as an ally were more divided.

Eighteen percent of US respondents said the US was a truer friend of Israel than it had been in the past, while 17% said the relationship was unchanged.

Twenty-eight percent said the US was less friendly toward Israel than before, 27% said they were uncertain whether it could still be considered a friend, and 7% said it was clearly not a friend.

Taken together, 35% placed the US in the negative or strongly skeptical categories.

President Donald Trump’s ratings on his handling of Iran recovered slightly in July but remained substantially below their March level.

The share of US respondents describing Trump as a good leader on Iran fell from 46% in March to 40% in May and 21% in June. It rose to 32% in July, while 62% continued to rate his leadership negatively.

Political affiliation was the strongest predictor of respondents’ views.

Among those identifying as very conservative, 87% rated Trump positively, as did 68% of respondents who leaned conservative.

Among those identifying as very liberal, 87% described him as a “very bad” leader on the Iran issue, with another 6% rating him somewhat negatively.

Centrist respondents were almost evenly divided, with 40% rating Trump positively and 49% negatively.

The partisan split was also evident when respondents were grouped according to their vote in the 2024 presidential election. Eighty percent of Trump voters rated him positively, while 77% of Kamala Harris voters described him as a very bad leader.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ratings on Iran also declined, though more gradually.

The share of respondents describing Netanyahu as a good leader on the issue fell from 53% in March to 41% in July. Forty-nine percent rated his leadership negatively.

Among very conservative respondents, 67% described Netanyahu as a very good leader, with 95% rating him positively overall. Among very liberal respondents, 69% rated him very negatively.

JPPI CEO Dr. Shuki Friedman said the findings showed that Jews who remain connected to the US Jewish community and to Israel have largely rejected international accusations against the Jewish state.

“The findings illustrate the extent to which American Jews connected to the community and to Israel refuse to adopt the international narrative against Israel,” Friedman said.

“An overwhelming majority rejects the ‘genocide’ accusation and clearly recognizes the problems presented by figures such as Mamdani.”

Friedman added that respondents in the US, Canada and Britain broadly supported Israel’s right to act according to its own interests, even when those interests conflict with Washington’s position.

“These figures illustrate the challenge facing connected American Jews, caught between antisemitism on the one hand and an administration that does not always take Israel into account, even when it is Republican,” he said.

American JewsAntisemitismgenocide accusationsZohran Mamdani