WASHINGTON, DC – The majority of American Jews oppose the US war with Iran, viewing it as a reckless escalation without a clear mission or exit strategy. The findings come from a poll of Jewish American public opinion conducted by GBAO Strategies and commissioned by the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy organization J Street.
“This data is a wake-up call for anyone claiming to speak for the American Jewish community while beating the drums of war,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “Most American Jews see this war for what it is: A reckless, unforced error by a President who has no clear, achievable goals or an exit strategy. This poll proves that the ‘pro-Israel’ position is the pro-peace position – and that means stopping this war before more lives are lost.”
Key survey results and analysis from GBAO include:
Here are the analysis memo from GBAO, topline survey results, and crosstabs.
“American Jews have clearly formed views on the war in Iran,” said Jim Gerstein, Principal at GBAO. “A large majority opposes the war, and they do not think Trump has a plan and mission in Iran. Jewish voters hold overwhelmingly negative views of both Trump and Netanyahu – Jewish opposition to the war and those leading it is unmistakable.”
A previous poll of people in a think tank panel, taken at the outset of the war, was not a representative sample of American Jews and was inaccurately characterized in some press outlets as reflecting Jewish public opinion. We now have our first poll of American Jews’ views of the war, which reveals strong opposition.
J Street has commissioned polls on the political views of the American Jewish community since 2010, and previous results and analysis memos can be found at jstreet.org/polling/