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Polls show American Jews approve of Biden’s handling of Israel-Hamas war while Americans do not
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Three polls this week asking the same question showed a stark contrast: A substantial majority of American Jews approve of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, while majorities of Americans disapprove.
The upside down results appear to be a result both of Jewish appreciation for Biden’s wholehearted support for Israel during the war, as well as the tendency of Jewish voters to favor Democrats.
A poll released Thursday by the Jewish Electorate Institute found that 74% of Jewish registered voters approved of Biden’s handling of the war Hamas launched against Israel on Oct. 7.
A Marist poll conducted for public broadcasters NPR and PBS News Hour and released Wednesday found that 53% of registered disapprove of how Biden is handling the war while 41% approve. A Quinnipiac University poll released the same day found that 54% disapprove and 37% approve.
Biden has strongly backed Israel in the war, earning protests from the left, including some lawmakers in his Democratic Party.
However, his low ratings for handling the war among registered American voters appear to reflect the polarization typical of American politics in recent years, in which partisans are not willing or able to favor the other side’s leaders, even when their politics are in sync.
Only 22% of Republicans, who otherwise tend to strongly favor Israel, approved of Biden’s handling of the war in the Quinnipiac poll, while 77% disapproved. The Marist poll showed similar numbers: 72% of Republicans disapproved and 23% approved of Biden’s handling of the war.
Jewish voters favored Biden’s handling of the war more strongly than Democrats did in general. While the Jewish Electorate Institute showed 74% of Jews approved of Biden’s handling, and 26% disapproved, both general polls, Marist and Quinnipiac, showed 60% approval among Democrats for Biden’s handling of the war. The Marist poll showed 34% of Democrats disapproved, as did 33% in the Quinnipiac poll.
Jews turned out in the tens of thousands on Tuesday in Washington to rally in support of Israel, and a Jewish Federations of North America poll last week showed that a vast majority of American Jews favor military assistance for Israel.
The Jewish Electorate Institute also reported that Jewish voters approved of Biden in much stronger numbers than the general electorate, a showing typical of a Jewish electorate that has for years favored Democrats by substantial majorities.
Whereas Jewish registered voters approved of Biden’s performance as president 66% to 34%, registered voters in general, the Quinnipiac poll showed, disapproved, 59% to 37%. The Marist poll had better news for Biden, but he was still under water, with 42% of registered voters approving of his performance and 52% disapproving.
The Jewish Electorate Institute reached 800 Jewish registered voters by text between Nov. 5-9 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. The institute is nonpartisan, but its board is comprised mostly of prominent Jewish Democrats. GBAO, which carried out the poll, works principally for Democrats and oliberal groups.
Quinnipiac reached 1,574 registered voters between Nov. 9-13 and had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. Marist reached 1,293 registered voters between Nov. 6 and 9 through landlines, cell phones and internet panels. Its poll had a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.