US Jews more likely than Christians to criticise Trump’s Israel policy

American Jews “are much more likely than their Christian counterparts to express criticism of President Donald Trump’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, a survey has found.

According to JTA, the US-based Pew Research Centre found that 42 per cent of American Jews believe Trump is favouring the Israelis too much, “while a similar share, 47 per cent, said he was striking the right balance between the Israelis and Palestinians”.

An unsurprisingly low six per cent said Trump favours the Palestinians too much.

Among Christians, meanwhile, “59 per cent said the president was striking the right balance between the two sides and 26 per cent said he favours the Israelis too much.”

“The level of support for Trump’s policies on Israel rose significantly in the evangelical community: 72 per cent agreed with the balance Trump is striking,” JTA added.

The report noted that a majority of American Jews (52 per cent) identify as Democrat, and only 16 per cent as Republican (citing combined Gallup tracking poll data for 2018).

Gallup polling also “found that Jewish Americans were among the least likely in 2018 to approve of President Donald Trump of all religious groups in 2018, with just 26 per cent approving and 71 per cent disapproving.”

READ: Orthodox Jews denounce US lawmaker who said ‘Palestine does not exist’