Encouraging data on relations between countries • 72% feel that their relationship with Israel is stronger than it used to be, and even intensified
Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn // Photo Archive: IP
An extensive survey of the Jewish community in the US reveals that the vast majority continue to love Israel. About 80% have pro-Israeli attitudes and 67% are emotionally connected to Israel; 40% also stated that the main reason that makes them less connected to Israel , Is the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump, and about a third have pointed to the rise of right-wing or ultra-Orthodox parties as a significant factor in moving away.
This is one of the largest surveys conducted among American Jews, and the findings have dropped the ground under the fragile discourse that has developed in the field in recent years. The survey was initiated by the Ruderman Family Fund in December 2019. It was sampled by 2,500 adult Jews, both women and men, In the US, using the Mellman Group, where the statistical deviation is 1.96%.
Survey data is quite surprising given the tensions that have emerged in recent years between the parties, including the outline of the Western Wall and the attitude of US President Donald Trump. 45% of respondents think their personal relationship with Israel remains as it was five years ago, while 27% think the connection has strengthened. Only 20% think the connection has weakened.
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When asked about the ratio of communities (Jews in the US to Israel), 51% thought it was the same (28%) or stronger (23%) than it was five years ago. Conversely, 32% think the relationship has weakened in the last five years. The answers to affiliation show a clear picture: Jews who identify with the liberal currents feel that the relationship is weaker than their counterparts, but the picture is not one-dimensional: 15% of those who identify themselves as Orthodox claimed that the relationship was weakened, while 31% of the Conservatives claimed the connection was stronger.
"Gap between passwords and territory"
An in-depth look at the data shows that the more religiously active an American Jew is, the more likely he is to support Israel without reservations - but that is not guaranteed either. The group with the most sweeping support in Israel is of those who identify themselves as Orthodox, with 40% support. The Reconstructionist stream (a stream of renewed Judaism) has the biggest criticism of the government's policy: only 6% support Israel unreservedly, compared to 44% who support Israel but pass "a lot of criticism" and 17% who do not hold pro-Israeli positions at all.
Shira Roderman // Photo: Hershel Gutman
The survey found that the level of religious activity was also linked to emotional connection with Israel: 92% of Orthodox claimed to have an emotional affinity for Israel, as well as 85% of those who identified themselves as conservatives. Conversely, people who identified with the Reform Movement kissed the general average (64%), and only 54% of those not affiliated with one or another stream answered yes to the question. By the way, 55% of US Jews have visited Israel or have family ties with someone who currently lives in Israel.
The survey also shows that involvement in Jewish institutions derives mainly from a desire to contribute to and strengthen the Jewish community in the United States, and less because of the connection to Israel. "The discourse between Israel and the Jewish community is fed by professionals, organizations and institutions, and it has been assumed that they make the public opinion. The survey shows that this is not the case. There is a considerable gap between the slogans and the feelings in the field, "says Shira Roderman, CEO of the Roderman Family Foundation. "The time has come to diversify the discourse between the parties and to talk about the unite, not the party," Ruderman concluded.