American Jews view New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani more favorably than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed on Tuesday.
The survey, carried out on 1,022 Jewish adults nationwide between June 11 and June 17, found that 44% of American Jews view Mamdani either very favorably or somewhat favorably, whereas just 32% of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Netanyahu.
Thirty-nine percent of US Jews viewed Mamdani unfavorably, and 59% viewed Netanyahu unfavorably.
A strong majority of US Jews viewed US President Donald Trump unfavorably (70%), whereas only 29% had a favorable opinion. This differed from the national average (including Jews and non-Jews) which was 38% favorable and 59% not.
The respondents were then asked whether they approve or disapprove of the way Trump is handling a variety of issues.
Majority of Jews do not approve of Trump policies
A strong majority of Jews did not approve of how Trump is handling the economy (74% disapproval), immigration (69% disapproval), and Iran (73% disapproval). The question regarding Trump’s handling of Israel led to a narrower split, but nevertheless, a majority (58%) of Jews disapproved.
When asked how important Israel is to them personally, a majority (58%) of US Jewish adults answered “extremely or very important,” and 28% said “somewhat.” Only 12% said Israel was not an important matter for them personally.
Interestingly, 38% of Jewish respondents said they felt the US was “too supportive” of Israelis, while 28% said Israelis are not supported enough by the US, and 32% said the support is at the right level.
A majority of 43% of Jewish respondents said the US is not supportive enough of Palestinians.
Among Jewish adults, 33% were in favor of an independent Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem; 36% were opposed; and 30% were neutral.
7% of US Jews say Hamas' October 7 was justified
Perhaps the most extraordinary results came from a series of questions asking respondents whether actions taken by Israel and Hamas were justified.
Seven percent of US Jews said Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was justified, and 14% said Hamas’s refusal to disarm after the ceasefire in October 2025 was justified.
Nevertheless, a strong majority (79%) said Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was not justified, and another strong majority of Jews (73%) said Israel’s immediate military response to Hamas’s attack was justified.
When asked whether they believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, 49% of US Jews said no and 30% said yes; 21% declined to answer.
It is worth noting that the majority of Jewish respondents in the survey were not religious. When asked how often they attend religious services, 34% said never, 18% said less than once a year, and 16% said one or twice a year.
Only 10% of respondents were Orthodox, whereas 43% of respondents identified as Reform and 23% as Conservative. Nineteen percent said they had no particular denomination.