October's survey points to an increase in support for Trump among Jewish Israelis, reaching 70% who favor Trump – up from 60% in June.
These findings point to the belief held by many Jewish Israelis that Joe Biden's election would weaken US-Israeli relations and strengthen the relationship between Washington and the Palestinian Authority.Some 42% of Jewish Israelis said that if Biden wins the race for the presidency, the Israeli-US relations would weaken, while only 7% said they believed it would strengthen. On the other hand, 35% of the Israeli Jewish public believes that Israel-US relations will not change under a Biden presidency.
A third of Israeli Jews also believe that under a Biden administration, Washington's relations with the Palestinians will improve, while 24% believe that US-Palestinian relations will not change. Another third remain uncertain about a change in the relationship, while 11% say that a Biden administration will weaken US-Palestinian relations.
A different view is held among Israeli Arabs on both US relations with Israel and the Palestinians. On the question of Israel-US relations, a plurality of Israeli Arabs (35%) believe that relations will not change, in contrast to 16% who believe relations will improve, and 24% who say they will weaken.
The Israeli Arab view of US-Palestinian relations also shows a degree of uncertainty, with 29% saying there will be no change in relations, 21% believing relations will improve, and 19% suggesting relations will weaken. A plurality of 31% is not sure.
BROKEN DOWN by political camp, 82% of Israelis on the Right and 62% of Israeli centrists expressed a preference for Trump when asked about Israeli interests. Surprisingly, 40% of Israeli leftists said that Trump is preferable in terms of Israeli interests, while another 40% expressed a preference for Biden.
Among Israeli Arabs, views were more much divided. 36% of Israeli Arabs said that Trump is preferable in terms of Israeli interests, while 31% favored Biden. Similarly, 33% of Israeli Arabs did not know.
Another possible explanation for the growing support of Jewish Israelis in Trump can be seen in Israel's recent signing of agreements with Gulf and Muslim countries, with more agreements expected to take place in the foreseeable future.
The large majority of participants in the October survey said that the recent agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan have changed Israel’s regional strategic status for the better. The majority on that issue crosses political camps.
Some 37% of participants said that they think the agreements had a positive effect and 38% said they were sure of it.
The survey also examined the percentage of people who would prefer to leave Israel and move to the US or another Western country if given the opportunity. In 2019, the survey found that 13% of participants would emigrate if they could, while the 2020 survey found that 20% would prefer to leave the country – about a 50% increase.The IDI noted that these results apply to all political camps, but that the rise is especially evident among participants affiliated with the left-wing camp, with over a third of participants affiliated with left-wing parties saying that they would prefer living in a different Western country and not in Israel.
The Israeli Voice Index is a monthly survey conducted by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute. The October survey was conducted on the Internet and by telephone from October 27 to 29, and included 611 men and women who were interviewed in Hebrew and 150 who were interviewed in Arabic, constituting a representative national sample of the entire adult population of Israelis aged 18 and older.