On the second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel, a narrative has taken hold that Jewish Americans are embracing hostile views toward Israel, like those of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
It is a compelling storyline, but do most American Jews actually agree with Mamdani’s rejection of national rights for the Jewish people in any part of historic Israel? Polling data and the actions of local Jewish communities consistently show the answer is no.
A national survey earlier this year found that 72 percent of American Jews hold a favorable view of Israel. Another poll shows that Jews are almost universally supportive of Israel — a mere 5 percent of Jews “say they are not supporters of the Jewish state.” Polling has found that 85 percent of young Jews “believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state,” and that 70 percent of American Jews “believe anti-Zionism is antisemitic by definition.”
Rather than indicate a Jewish community prepared to see Israel vanish, these numbers reflect a forceful opposition to anti-Zionism.
The actions of local Jewish communities provide even more gripping evidence. When elected officials or organizations have taken positions that threaten Israel’s security or undermine its legitimacy, large and diverse swaths of their local Jewish communities have objected. The examples are numerous.
When Sen. John Ossoff (D-Ga.) cast votes in favor of withholding certain arms from Israel, more than 50 Jewish institutions in Atlanta — including major synagogues, day schools, and communal groups — spoke out strongly against his stance. Their response was not the reaction of a small faction, but of a broad-based Jewish community defending Israel’s security.
In New Jersey, more than 150 local rabbis called out Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) following his vote on the same bill, stating, “As leaders in New Jersey’s Jewish community spanning religious denominations and political affiliations, we join together in our condemnation of Senator Kim’s irresponsible and misguided vote.”
In Maryland, 80 local rabbis sent an open letter to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), stating, “We have differing opinions about some of the rhetoric and actions taken by the current Israeli government, but today we write with a unified voice to urge you to change your rhetoric and actions that we believe mischaracterize the current war and undermine America’s support for the Jewish state.”
Later, when the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace hosted its annual conference in Baltimore, hundreds of Jewish Baltimoreans signed a letter declaring that the group “is a token organization that exists to sell the public a false narrative that Jews oppose Israel’s existence.”
A similar dynamic unfolded in North Carolina after the state Democratic Party passed a resolution calling for an arms embargo against Israel. The North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association issued a public statement rejecting the resolution as “morally unsound,” demonstrating that Jewish opposition to the embargo represented the majority of the state’s Jewish community and not just a handful of activists.
In all of these cases, national Jewish political groups echoed the concerns expressed locally, working in partnership with grassroots Jewish communities. The combined effect demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of American Jews are firm in their commitment to Israel’s security.
Of course, there are important debates within the Jewish community. Some, particularly younger Jews, may use different language, emphasize different values, or express more skepticism toward Israeli government policies. But it would be a mistake to conflate those debates with a wholesale rejection of Israel. Younger Jews may be more critical of Israeli government actions, but the overwhelming majority affirm Israel’s legitimacy, value the U.S.-Israel relationship, and want Jewish voices represented in the public square.
Claiming that American Jews favor Mr. Mamdani because of his anti-Israel positions may be tempting for critics who want to undermine the conventional Jewish community. But the evidence tells another story: Jewish Americans continue to stand firmly against Israel’s enemies, both ideologically and politically.
As we reflect on the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, this dedication to Israel’s security has never been more crucial. This commitment is a mainstream belief deeply embedded in the fabric of Jewish American identity. That doesn’t mean that every Jew agrees on every issue. No community of millions speaks in one voice. But Jewish political organizations play an essential role in reflecting the shared values and commitments of the majority. And in that mission they remain aligned with the core beliefs of the American Jewish community, who continue to value Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and to defend itself against its adversaries.
Jonathan Schulman is executive director of The Jewish Majority, a research and education center focused on Jewish American perspectives.
