Israelis are willing to defy the United States to defend their national interests.
In a JNS/Direct Polls survey of Israelis conducted on Aug. 19 regarding their view of the presidential race that pits Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump, Harris enjoys the support of a 28% of Israelis to Trump’s 64%, with 9% of Israelis professing to have no opinion.
In a JNS/Direct Polls survey of Israelis carried out on July 9, 34% of respondents supported Biden to 55% for Donald Trump and 11% had no opinion.
In this week’s poll, Harris has virtually no support among Israelis aged 18-29; 93% support Trump compared to a 7% for the vice president. All age groups support Trump against Harris by well over 50 points except seniors. Israelis 65 and over are tied with 43% supporting each candidate and 14% undecided.
With the U.S. pushing Israel to avoid taking action against Iran or Hezbollah in Lebanon that risks intensifying the regional war, JNS/Direct Polls asked Israelis a series of questions about how they assess the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to Israel’s security and how they feel about defying the administration’s wishes on a series of pressing issues.
When asked to what extent they believed Biden and Harris when they declare their commitment to Israel’s security, 38% of respondents said that they have great faith in the U.S. leaders’ commitments to Israel’s security. Twenty-one percent said they somewhat believed them, 22% said they had little faith in their commitment, and 19% said they have no faith in the U.S. leaders’ commitment to Israel’s security.
On the other hand, only 34% of Israelis believe that Biden and Harris are committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Sixty percent do not believe them. And 6% have no opinion.
Fifty percent of Israelis believe that following the events of Oct. 7, Israel should give less consideration to the U.S. administration’s positions on foreign affairs and national security issues. Twenty-three percent believed that Israel’s position should be unchanged from what it was on Oct. 6, and 22% said Israel should give greater consideration to the U.S. position.
These numbers were reflected in answers to specific questions.
Fifty-two of Israelis said that in the event the U.S. asks for Israel not to carry out a military operation in Lebanon or attack Iran’s nuclear installations, Israel must defy the U.S and act in accordance to its interests. Another 29% said that it depends on the specific circumstances in which the U.S. makes the request. Eighteen percent of Israelis responded that Israel must abide by such an American request.
JNS asked the Israeli public what they believed was responsible for the rising levels of animosity towards the Jewish state among Democrats. Forty-five of respondents attributed the growing hostility to the presence of extreme progressive view in the American body politic. Thirteen percent attributed the hostility to either the Israeli government or the American Jewish community.
Twenty-six percent of Israelis believed that progressive opinion and hostility towards the Israeli government and American Jews were equally responsible for the rising levels of hostility. And 16% said neither of the choices was accurate.
The poll was carried out on Aug. 19 among 531 Israelis aged 18 and up from a representative sample of the public. A statistical sampling error of 4.6% with a 95% probability was calculated.
** This article was originally published on JNS.org **
