Poll: US Jews solidly back Obama
American Jews continue to support President Barack Obama, according to poll conducted ahead of Republican challenger Mitt Romney's visit to Israel; meanwhile, Americans are found to be more positive than negative toward PM Netanyahu
WASHINGTON - Despite the Republicans challenger's efforts to win over Jewish votes, American Jews still solidly back President Barack Obama, a Gallup poll released on Friday shows.
According to the survey, which tracked trends from June 1-July 26, Jewish registered voters favor Obama over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney by 68% to 25%.
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The poll was conducted ahead of Romney's scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this weekend in Israel as part of Romney's first official overseas trip.
Romeny with Netanyahu (Photo: Getty Images)
Although one goal of Romney's visit to the Jewish state could be to attract greater support among Jewish voters in the US, Jewish Americans have been a traditionally strong Democratic group, so they are unlikely to become much more supportive of Romney regardless of the outcome of the trip.
Americans view Netanyahu positively
A separate poll also released Friday found that Americans have a more positive (35%) than negative (23%) view of Netanyahu, though four in 10 are not familiar enough with him to rate him.
Netanyahu traveled to the US earlier this year and met with Obama. The relationship between the two leaders has been tense at times due to their public disagreements about possible borders in an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement. Romney's visit to Israel could be meant to demonstrate that he would be in closer agreement with Netanyahu and Israel as president than Obama is.
Romney's upcoming meeting with Netanyahu may also help garner further support for the Republican candidate in among US Republicans, who are especially positive towards Israel.
Republicans also view Netanyahu more positively than Democrats do. The poll found that 50% of Republicans see him favorably and 16% unfavorably. In contrast, Democrats' opinions of the Israeli leader are more negative (31%) than positive (25%). Independents' opinions are slightly more positive than negative.
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