Donald Trump is currently beating President Biden by nine points among Jewish voters in New York, 53 percent to 44 percent, according to a new poll from Siena College.
The results are pretty remarkable considering that Jewish voters typically vote overwhelmingly Democratic, particularly in New York, and Trump has not been historically popular among the demographic. The poll does not have enough detail on the group to draw definitive conclusions, but it comes at a time when Jews have witnessed the explosion of antisemitism on the left following the October 7 attacks, and when Biden has been increasingly hostile toward Israel’s efforts to use force to defend itself.
Biden’s turn against Israel and unwillingness to combat antisemitism on his side has been accompanied by reports suggesting that Democratic operatives are concerned that Muslim voters staying home could cost him Michigan. But little focus has been put on what happens to his standing if he abandons Israel in pursuit of Muslim votes.
While Jews are heavily concentrated in states that are not expected to be competitive (New York, New Jersey, Maryland, California, and Florida), even states that are non-competitive at the presidential level have congressional districts that will be hotly contested. Furthermore, there are proportionately more Jews in the swing state of Pennsylvania (3.3 percent) than there are Muslims in Michigan (about 2.4 percent).
Also, the broader U.S. public says it supports Israel over Hamas by a four-to-one margin.
All the more reason to believe that Biden’s betrayal of Israel is bad politics as well as bad policy.