Poll: US Christians happier than Jews over Trump’s Israel support

A poll has found that American Jews are more likely than American Christians to say that President Donald Trump is favoring Israel “too much.”

According to a study by the Pew Research Center released last week, while “U.S. Jews have a strong attachment to Israel, they are divided in their assessment of Trump’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.”

Some 42 percent of American Jews actually believe Trump “favors Israelis too much,” according to the study while 47 percent said he has struck “the right balance” between Israelis and Palestinians.

Meanwhile 59 percent of Christians said he has found the “right balance” and only 26 percent said he favors Israelis too much. Among evangelical Christians, 72 percent think Trump is balanced.

American Jews are generally Democrats and are politically more liberal than American Christians, even though both subsets usually support Israel. Amazingly, Evangelical Christians are more loyal to Israel than American Jews. Many Jews, like presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, have traded in Judaism for humanism and liberalism. Others have managed separate their Judaism from loyalty to Israel. However, the majority of Jews still have a strong pro-Israel stance.

Trump has certainly been a staunch supporter of Israel, if not the strongest support among American presidents in recent times—maybe ever. In two significant moves this past year, he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli. He is expected to roll out a peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians in the upcoming weeks.