US Jews optimistic about Iran war, skeptical of Israel-Palestinian peace

New poll shows American Jews sharply divided over Israeli settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria while giving high marks to Netanyahu and Trump on Iran war.

By World Israel News Staff

Two-thirds of American Jews believe the joint US-Israeli campaign against the Iranian regime is succeeding, according to a new poll published Thursday morning.

The survey was conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), polling American Jews earlier this month regarding the war with Iran, job approval of both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Most American Jews (62%) still say they support the war with Iran, down slightly from 68% at the beginning of the conflict.

A wider majority (66%) say they believe the US and Israel are winning the war, with 24% calling the US-Israeli operation a “major success,” and 42% who said the strikes have been successful “to some extent.”

By contrast, 14% of respondents said the war was a complete failure, while 12% said it was a partial failure.

Nearly half (46%) say the war will only be a success if it leads to regime change in Iran.

Despite the generally bullish view American Jews have regarding the war overall, a growing number fear that the conflict is harming Israel’s image in the United States.

During the first week of the war, 45% predicted the conflict would harm Israel’s image. By the third week, that figure had risen to 56%.

The results reflect gaps between Jews in the liberal camp and conservatives. In an analysis by voting patterns, the gap is especially sharp: While a majority of Harris voters (77%) believe the war will harm Israel’s image, only one-fifth (22%) of Trump voters think so.

A sharp increase was also recorded in concern over rising antisemitism in the United States as a result of the war: from half of respondents at the start of the war (52%) to nearly two-thirds (65%), who now believe the war will lead to an increase in antisemitism in the US.

The poll also found that American Jews are generally critical of both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu but gave both leaders higher marks in terms of their handling of the war with Iran.

A majority of American Jews rate Trump negatively overall (63%), with 52% describing him as a “very poor” leader.

By contrast, on the question of Trump’s leadership regarding Iran, the picture is more balanced: 46% rate him positively and 48% negatively.

As for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a majority of respondents in the US (56%) rate his overall leadership negatively, while about one-third (35%) give him a positive rating.

When it comes to leading the campaign against Iran, Netanyahu receives a more positive evaluation in this context: 54% rate him as a good leader on Iran, while 38% gave him a negative rating.

Turning to the Israeli-Arab conflict, 75% of respondents agree with the statement that there is no chance of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in the foreseeable future.

At the same time, when asked about the general principle, two-thirds of respondents (66%) agree that there is no substitute for a long-term peace arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians, even if they do not see a possibility of achieving it in the near future.

American Jews are sharply divided over Israel’s settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria, with a plurality (47%) rejecting the claim that Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria enhance deterrence and contribute to national security, while 41% said Israeli settlements do create deterrence and bolster national security.

When examining a question on the same issue that presented the opposite view—namely, that the communities in Judea and Samaria are a “burden”—a mirror image emerged.

A majority of panel participants in the US (55%) believe that the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are a burden on the IDF and harm the security of all Israeli citizens. By contrast, 45% do not agree with this claim.