68% of ‘connected’ American Jews support the US-Israel war against Iran, survey finds
The results suggest U.S. Jews are more supportive than Americans overall but less than Israeli Jews
Iranian Americans wave flags and chant during a gathering of Iranian community members showing support for Israel and the United States, outside the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, on March 5, 2026. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
(JTA) — About two-thirds of “connected” American Jews support the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, a new survey has found, even as they are concerned that it could exacerbate antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the United States.
The results of the survey, taken last week by Israel’s Jewish People Policy Institute, suggest that American Jews are more supportive of the war than Americans overall. Multiple surveys last week found that about 60% of American voters opposed the military action, with support significantly lower among Democrats, historically the party of most Jewish voters.
A partisan shift was apparent in the JPPI survey, with near-total support for the war from those who describe themselves as politically conservative. Still, 57% of “leaning liberal” Jews said they support the war. Self-identified “strong liberals” were the only group of U.S. Jews to say they oppose the war, with only 28% backing it.
The survey of 692 American Jews drew from a panel maintained by JPPI that aims to reflect the denominational distribution of U.S. Jews. The institute says its polls reflect the sentiments of “connected” Jews because its panel includes fewer intermarried Jews, more Jews who are affiliated with denominations and more Jews who have lived in Israel than demographic data would suggest is representative of U.S Jewry overall.
The JPPI survey finds that American Jews are more like Israeli Jews than like U.S. voters overall. An Israel Democracy Institute poll taken last week found that 93% of Jewish Israelis supported the military operations against Iran.
Iran has long waged a campaign against both Israel and the United States, but while it has struck at U.S. targets around the world, Israel is geographically in its crosshairs. Its missiles killed dozens of Israelis during a 12-day war last year and have killed more than a dozen already during the current war, which has expanded to much of the Middle East.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have indicated that in addition to ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions and demolishing its military infrastructure, they want the nearly 50-year-old Islamic Republic regime to fall. The JPPI poll found that only a quarter of U.S. Jews say regime change should be a primary goal of the war, compared with 58% who say the war should seek to “eliminate nuclear program, ballistic missile capabilities, and support of terror.”
American Jews polled by JPPI also said they expected the war to increase both antisemitism (52%) and anti-Israel sentiment (45%) in the United States. Already, the war has sparked debate over whether Trump was forced into the conflict by Netanyahu — a narrative they both have rejected. The survey found that 72% of American Jews believe Trump needed no convincing, while only 14% believe Netanyahu was the primary driver of military action against Iran.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
