Poll: Israelis Overwhelmingly See Trump as Pro-Israel
JERUSALEM, Israel – A whopping 83 percent of Israeli poll respondents believe President-elect Donald Trump will be a friend of the Jewish state.
The poll, conducted by the Dialog polling firm and sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation surveyed 500 Israelis on their impression of how the presidential election will affect Israel and the American Jewish community.
Less than half the respondents (42 percent) believe Trump will throw out the controversial Iranian nuclear deal, while just 3 percent think he'll carry out his campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
Nearly half of those surveyed said they're concerned over the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since Trump's election.
Jay Ruderman, president of the foundation, pointed out that while the poll shows that Israelis are upbeat about the incoming Trump administration, American Jews are still worried about growing anti-Semitism and its impact on their lives.
"Israelis have faith in a strong relationship between the United States and Israel but are worried about the new reality for their fellow Jews in America," Ruderman said.
At Monday's Knesset Caucus for Israel-US Relations, co-sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation, participants discussed the prospects for the American Jewish community under the new administration.
Among those taking part in Monday's discussion were Anti-Defamation League President Jonathan Greenblat; Editor-in-Chief Jane Eisner of the Forward; McGill University Prof. Gil Troy, who also teaches at the University of Haifa's Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies; and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-NY, who spoke by video-conferencing.
In related news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told participants of the Brookings Institute's annual Saban Forum he's planning on working closely with President-elect Trump to curb Iran's aggressive nuclear weapons program, which he believes the U.S.-led agreement strengthened. Netanyahu addressed the forum by video-conferencing.
Since the deal was signed last summer, Iran has become even more aggressive, he said, and its "march to the bomb" must be stopped.
Netanyahu called the U.S.-led nuclear agreement "a bad deal" and said it's paving the way for Iran to expand its support of terror groups worldwide as it moves steadily forward in its quest to develop nuclear weapons.
