A poll conducted by Jewish Federations of North America documents how popular opinion on the war in the Gaza Strip has shifted in recent months but still shows a majority supporting Israel.
The group released its findings on Thursday after surveying 1,901 American Jews and 4,143 non-Jewish Americans from Feb. 23 through March 11. Weighing the data to mirror the U.S. population, researchers found that 28% of Americans want an unconditional ceasefire, enabling the Hamas terrorist organization to continue to control Gaza and plot future Oct. 7-style attacks. It shows an increase from 20% during the initial weeks of the conflict. The total number of American Jews who advocate this position has reached 11%.
“Americans understand that Israel’s fight against terrorism is also our fight,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “They know that a ceasefire without the return of the hostages and the eventual defeat of Hamas is wrong for Israel, wrong for Americans and wrong for the free world.”
The survey also asked about fear for personal safety, discovering that Jews were nearly twice as concerned (58%) as non-Jews (32%). Jews who wore visibly Jewish clothing or religious items reported feeling almost three times as likely to worry for their safety.
While a majority of Jews (79%) expressed an emotional connection to Israel and that it made them proud to be Jewish (72%), nearly a third of Jews (29%) described discomfort in publicly expressing support for Israel with 68% of them naming antisemitic targeting as why.
The poll also revealed that the 5% of those polled who identified as Hamas supporters feel much more confident in expressing their views publicly (83%) than pro-Israel advocates (69%) and those who sympathize with “Palestine” (63%).
