Poll shows American Jews less interested in Israel
Photo: UJC
Poll: U.S. Jews say Israelis are militant
A Jewish Agency poll shows a decline in Jewish American interest in Israel, but more American Jews plan to visit the country
A recent poll showed 40 percent of American Jews believe Israelis are “militant and nationalistic.”
The poll also showed the Jewish American community’s affiliation with Israel is on the decline.
According to a poll conducted by the Jewish Agency, which was published last week in the Jewish-American newspaper Forward, American Jews do not discuss Israeli-related issues as often as they have in the past, they do not participate in as many pro-Israel activities, and, in general, they care less about what is happening with their brothers in Zion.
Although the poll showed 66 percent of American Jews regard Israelis as “peace and democracy-loving heroes,” it also showed that close to 40 percent believe Israelis are “militant and nationalistic.”
In a similar poll conducted two years ago, almost 33 percent of those who participated said they remain emotionally attached to Israel, but the figure dropped to 25 percent in the recent poll.
As to the question of whether they are proud of Israel, 38 percent of those who participated in the poll said they are “very” proud, 38 percent said they are “often“ proud, 29 percent responded they are “sometimes” proud, and five percent said they are “never” proud of Israel.
As opposed to the previous poll, which showed that 74 percent of American Jews follow Israel-related news and more than 50 percent discuss Middle East affairs with their friends, the recent poll showed only 65 percent of American Jews follow Israel-related news, and only 39 percent discuss Middle East affairs.
The percentage of American Jews who donate money to Israeli causes has dropped from 49 to 40, and the percentage of American Jews who participate in pro-Israel activities has dropped from 27 to 22.
However, a majority of those who participated in the poll said they continue to preserve other aspects of their Jewish identity, including participation in local Jewish community activity.
In addition, 15 percent of those who participated in the poll said they plan to visit Israel, as opposed to only 12 percent in the previous poll.
