The 2024 presidential election is coming down to the wire, with polls showing a historically close race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. But if the outcome were up to the people of Israel, there would be a clear and decisive winner.
According to a recent poll, 54% of Israeli citizens want Trump to win the election, while just 24% want a Harris victory. The poll was conducted by Langer Research Associates and PORI (Public Opinion Research Israel).
When Israeli Jews specifically were polled, 58% said Trump, while 23% backed Harris.
The vast polling gap is likely a reflection of Trump's strongly pro-Israel foreign policy, in contrast to the equivocal support of Joe Biden and Vice President Harris.
While Harris and Biden have both said that Israel has a right to defend itself, they have repeatedly accused Israel of causing too many civilian casualties in its war with Hamas.
The Langer Research Associates poll found that a majority of Israelis believe Israel is being too careful about limiting civilian casualties.
Supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition overwhelmingly supported Trump, by 84%, while supporters of Israel's opposition were split evenly, with 39% backing Harris versus 37% for Trump.
One year after the October 7, 2023, attack, Israel's war with Hamas is threatening to escalate into a wider war involving Iran and Lebanon. The mounting Middle East crisis has put Harris on defense, as President Trump blames her and Biden for emboldening Iran and its proxies to attack Israel.
Harris is also scrambling to stem bleeding support from Arab voters with a recent poll showing Trump ahead with the traditionally Democratic demographic.
American Jews have historically supported Democrats, and polling suggests this remains largely unchanged, although the October 7 assault, and the Democratic party's equivocation concerning Hamas, has opened up a divide within the party.
Trump has said that Jewish voters who do not support him should "have their heads examined" and he has suggested if he loses, Jewish voters will be partly to blame.
In a radio interview on the one-year anniversary of October 7, Trump complained that his support of Israel hasn't always been reciprocated
“I did more for Israel than anybody. I did more for the Jewish people than anybody. And it’s not a reciprocal, as they say,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.
