While Israeli Jews have in recent years given strong backing to Republican presidential candidates over their Democratic rivals, that may be about to change in 2016.
In 2004 the Tel Aviv University’s Peace Poll showed that Israeli Jews favored Republican incumbent George W. Bush by a wide margin, with 49% saying they preferred Bush compared to just 18% who hoped to see John Kerry win the White House.
The margin narrowed somewhat in 2008, but Republican John McCain still soundly “defeated” Obama among Israeli Jews, who preferred him by a margin of 46% to 34% for Obama according to a Rabin Center study.
In 2012 Republican Mitt Romney was the candidate of choice for 57% of Israelis, compared to only 22% who preferred Obama.
But the recently released Tel Aviv University Peace Poll shows that Israeli Jews may be wavering on current GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump.
When asked which of the two frontrunners would be best from Israel’s standpoint, 40.3% of Israeli Jews chose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, compared to 30.1% who selected Manhattan real estate mogul Donald Trump.
Regarding America’s interests, a whopping 42.7% of Israeli Jews believed Clinton was better suited for the White House, compared to only 24.3% who believed Trump was preferable.
In last month’s Peace Poll, Israeli Jews favored the GOP over the Democratic Party by nearly six points, suggesting that Trump’s brash public persona is hurting him overseas even among those who would otherwise be inclined to favor the Republican Party.