A new poll by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, published Tuesday, points to an unusual finding among American Jews: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, known for his strongly anti-Israel positions, enjoys higher favorability ratings than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the poll, conducted from June 11 to 17 among 3,040 Americans, including 1,022 respondents who identified as Jewish, 44% of Jews said they had a favorable opinion of Mamdani, compared with just 32% who said the same of Netanyahu. Conversely, 39% of Jews expressed an unfavorable opinion of Mamdani, while 59% expressed an unfavorable opinion of Netanyahu.
The gap is also striking when it comes to very favorable views: 21% for Mamdani compared with 11% for Netanyahu. However, it should be noted that Mamdani and Netanyahu were not presented in the poll as a direct choice against each other, but were examined separately and independently as part of a broader list of figures and issues.
In an interview late last month with ABC, Mamdani refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Asked about this Tuesday in an interview with CNN, Netanyahu replied, "He conveniently forgets that the only democracy in the Middle East is Israel," adding, "Twenty percent of our citizens are Muslims. They sit on the Supreme Court. They're in the Knesset. They're partners in every walk of life." Netanyahu also said Israel was "a democratic Jewish state that is fighting for its life."
30% believe Israel committed "genocide"
The war in Gaza also produced a troubling finding among American Jews: 30% believe Israel committed "genocide" against Palestinians during the war. Forty-nine percent rejected that definition, while 21% said they did not know enough to say.
That finding corresponds almost exactly with the results among all Americans surveyed, among whom 31% said Israel had committed "genocide" in the Gaza Strip. However, the main gap appears on the other side of the equation: Among Jews, 49% reject the definition of "genocide," compared with only 20% among all Americans. The general public shows far greater uncertainty: 49% of all Americans said they did not know enough, compared with just 21% among Jews.
On additional questions about the war, the picture is complex. Seventy-three percent of Jews said Israel's immediate military response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack was justified, compared with 16% who said it was not. By contrast, on Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza, Jewish respondents were almost evenly split: 42% said it was justified, 43% said it was not justified, and 14% said they did not know enough. At the same time, 79% of Jews said Hamas' Oct. 7 attack was not justified, and 69% said Hamas' refusal to disarm after the October 2025 ceasefire was also not justified.
Most respondents identified as Democrats
The political profile of the Jewish sample may explain part of the picture. Fifty-nine percent of Jews in the poll identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, compared with just 27% who identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning, and 14% who described themselves as independents or without a clear affiliation.
Ideologically, 42% described themselves as liberal, 41% as moderate and 16% as conservative. Asked whether they supported the MAGA movement associated with US President Donald Trump, 83% said they did not support it, compared with 16% who said they did.
