For all the distrust that supposedly separates them, American Jews feel a lot of solidarity with their Muslim counterparts.

That’s the stereotype-defying implication of a new poll by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, which shows that American Jews express more understanding for American Muslims than any other U.S. religious group.

Eighty percent of American Jews believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the country, placing them behind only Muslims themselves (93%), and far ahead of the next most sympathetic religious group, Catholics, 59% of whom see American Muslims as loyal.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Jews also topped all other religious groups — except for Muslims themselves — in expressing the belief that U.S. Muslims don’t support al Qaeda.

In one case, American Jews actually managed to be more sympathetic to Muslims than Muslims themselves, with 6% more asserting that U.S. Muslims face prejudice from other Americans.

Gallup’s accompanying report doesn’t speculate on the causes of this affinity, but The Shmooze wonders whether centuries of “dual loyalty” accusations have heightened Jews’ ability to identify with other minorities.

Even on the most polarizing issue that divides them, American Jews and Muslims share the same general vision. Eighty-one percent of U.S. Muslims support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a view held by nearly the same proportion — 78% — of U. S. Jews.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount