Israelis like American sports and American television series. But they follow US presidential elections with even greater interest. In fact, Israel (alongside the Philippines) is the most pro-American country in the world, with 83% of the population expressing warm feelings toward the US (according to the summer 2020 Pew global survey).
Most Israelis like US President Donald Trump and they hope he wins re-election. In a recent poll, 54% of Israelis favor Trump, compared to 21% who favor the Democratic candidate Joe Biden. (Another 25% said they did not know.) Among Israeli right-wingers, 77% prefer Trump, compared to 7% who back Biden. Left-wingers back Biden 45-22%.
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By contrast, just before the November 2016 elections, Israelis favored Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump (41% to 31%). Hillary benefited from her association with her husband President Bill Clinton who was perceived a great friend of Israel. (In Israeli conservative circles, support was higher for Trump.)
After four years, Trump's popularity in Israel has peaked. For most Israelis, no other American administration can claim to be more supportive of Israel than Trump's. There are a number of reasons for this.
Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, something that many previous presidents promised to do, but reneged once landing in office. This is a foreign policy action of real meaning for Israelis, who are adamant in their attachment to the 3,000-year-old capital of the Jewish People. Israelis cannot understand why countries of the world refuse to accept Israel's choice of Jerusalem as their capital and to place their embassies in western Jerusalem; which is not disputed land. Trump also recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Moreover, on issues that are very important to Israel – Iran and the Palestinians – there has been a much greater convergence of views than ever before between Jerusalem and Washington.
Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu fought tooth and nail against the nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated by the Obama administration. During the 2016 campaign, Trump slammed the agreement as "one of the dumbest deals ever," being very apprehensive of Iranian intentions. His administration implemented a policy of "maximum economic pressure" on Iran and withdrew from the Iran deal in May 2018.
In contrast to Obama's obsession with "illegal" Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, the Trump administration recognized their legality. In fact, Trump and his team have been much more relaxed regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue, understanding correctly that it is hardly the most important problem in the chaotic Middle East. The Mideast peace plan announced by the Trump administration in January 2020, the so-called "deal of the century," was from Israel's perspective the best peace plan ever tabled by a Western government.
Trump's positions on other issues that have drawn tremendous criticism are less problematic for Israelis. For example, the idea of building a wall along the US-Mexican border to stop illegal immigration is viewed in Israel as the sovereign right of a nation to prevent undesirable elements entering its territory. Israel has built walls and fences to stop the infiltration of terrorists and illegal immigrants. Sophisticated fences are exported by Israel's military industries. Israeli high-tech technology has been developed to enhance the effectiveness of such barriers.
Trump's diatribes against Muslims are unseemly, but Israelis can understand where he is coming from since they have been subject to Islamic terrorism and Arab state aggression for 100 years. On the other hand, the political correctness of the Obama years, when Obama refused to even acknowledge radical Islam as the source for most of global terrorism, infuriated Israelis.
Obama also estranged Israelis by not distinguishing between Israeli building in Jerusalem and the West Bank. He often dished out "tough love," as he called it, to Israel. Indeed, after eight years of tense relations with the Obama administration, most Israelis have been relieved to find a friend in the White House.
Israelis are known for their tendency to be very direct. Thus, Trump's courage to call a spade a spade is appreciated in Israel, even if some of his statements border on vulgarity. It is refreshing to the Israeli ear to hear an American presidential candidate not beating around the bush, but rather addressing issues without the constraints of liberal political correctness. This quality has earned Trump some popularity in Israel.
We should also remember that since the late 1960s, Israelis generally have preferred Republican presidents. Yitzhak Rabin who served as Israel's ambassador to Washington (1968-73) openly supported the Republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon. Similarly, Israeli preferences for Mitt Romney over Obama were abundantly clear. In comparison to Europeans and many current American Democrats, Israelis are nationalist and conservative. The conservative Israeli Likud party has won almost every election since 1977.
Israelis followed the decline of American international fortunes during the Obama years with alarm. It frightened them to see America so weakened. Thus, a president who wants to "make his country great again" by increasing defense spending and standing tall against America's enemies abroad (especially Iran and China) strikes a responsive chord with Israelis.
Finally, it is worth noting that Trump's family enchants Israelis. His daughter converted to Judaism and belongs to an Orthodox community. Trump has Jewish grandchildren that he is proud of. His Jewish son-in-law is an important advisor. Living in New York may have sensitized him to the sensibilities of the Jewish community in terms of supporting Israel, and indeed he has made being pro-Israel a hallmark of his presidency.
In short, most Israelis hope the pollsters in America prove wrong once more.
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