This week, the AJC released a new poll of American Jewish opinion which showed — to no one’s surprise — that President Trump is extremely unpopular amongst American Jews.
But buried in the poll is a far more interesting statistic. The survey asked respondents whether they supported immediately moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Just 16% supported doing so unilaterally, while a whopping 80% either oppose outright it or favor it in the context of a peace agreement.
Sometimes, moving the embassy prior to a peace deal is described by the media and by some elected officials as a pro-Israel position. The AJC poll demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of American Jews disagree.
The argument that Trump has anything to gain among American Jews by moving the embassy is directly contradicted by this AJC poll. In case it wasn’t already clear, tacking even further right on Israel policy will not endear American Jews to Trump — it will drive them further away.