Jewish Democratic Council of America

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For too long, a small but vocal segment of our community has tried to sell us the false narrative that Donald Trump’s policies were “good” for Israel and American Jews. Trump’s actions this week in the Middle East and recent polling prove this narrative is demonstrably false.

A new poll indicates that more than half of Jewish American voters believe Trump is antisemitic and that many of his actions have worsened antisemitism in the United States. When it comes to foreign policy, Donald Trump’s trip to the Gulf this week prioritized his own interests, epitomized by his plans to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar while sidestepping Israel.

In recent weeks, Trump has failed to prioritize Israel’s security interests as he aims to make deals across the Middle East with everyone from Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia to the Houthis and Hamas. At a time of ongoing crisis in Gaza and attacks against Israel by the Houthis, it appears that the only regional actor Trump is bypassing is Israel.

BYPASSING ISRAEL

This week, the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, was released after 584 days in captivity. The sheer joy of the Alexander family’s reunion was palpable, and Jews worldwide are incredibly relieved that Edan is home. The backstory of his release, however, leaves questions about Trump’s approach to Israel.

According to reporting, negotiations that led to Edan’s release were conducted in secret, behind Israel’s back, via the former head of Arab Americans for Trump. This intermediary’s ideological alignment with and close ties to Hamas leadership would have gotten him deported from the United States if he were a foreigner. The hypocrisy and double standards of this White House know no bounds.

Despite a direct negotiation with Hamas that lasted nearly a month, Israelis were not informed about the talks until a deal was struck. Following his release, Trump hoped Edan would travel to Qatar – the primary funder of Hamas – for a meeting. That visit was rightfully called off due to concerns about Edan’s health. Trump’s intention to use Edan for a photo op in the home of his captors’ financiers is consistent with how Trump treats American Jews – as props to further his agenda, exploiting our struggle as an opportunity to claim a “win” for himself. If Donald Trump wanted to meet with Edan Alexander this week, he should have visited Israel.

Despite repeated Israeli requests that the president visit Israel on this trip, the White House apparently refused. As former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told CNN, “There’s nothing that Netanyahu has that Trump wants, needs or (that he) can give him, as opposed to, say, the Saudis, the Qataris, (or) the Emiratis.”

Trump’s bypassing of Israel is larger than his refusal to make a stop on his regional tour. Last week, Trump reached a truce with the Houthis that did not include efforts to stop the barrage of Houthi missiles targeting Israel. Similar to the “Arab Americans for Trump” negotiation with Hamas, Israel was not aware of the Houthi truce until it was final. To this day, Houthi strikes targeting Israel have continued.

In fact, the Houthis have fired at least five rounds of missiles at Israel since the U.S. truce was reached, demonstrating that Trump’s omission of Israel from the Houthi agreement was likely seen as a green light to increase its attacks on Israel, which have recently focused on population centers around Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport.

Trump also bypassed Israel in his agreement this week with Saudi Arabia, which included $142 billion in arms sales to the Kingdom. While the Biden administration had attempted to bring Saudi Arabia into the historic Abraham Accords as part of a larger agreement, the Trump administration appeared content to give up on normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel for now. What remains unclear is how this advanced weaponry may impact Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME), whether it will change Iran’s calculus regarding its nuclear program, and what the U.S. actually gets out of the deal other than loss of leverage in any future effort to encourage Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel.

Other examples of Trump bypassing Israel this week include his surprise announcement to lift sanctions on Syria, which Israel reportedly warned against but was ignored. When asked earlier today if he knew Israel opposed U.S. recognition of Syria’s new government, Trump replied: “I don’t know, I didn’t ask them about that.” The same can be said of every other significant development and Trump deal across the region, including his ongoing negotiations with Iran to reach a nuclear agreement that apparently has Israel “bracing” given their concerns.

PLUMMETING IN THE POLLS

Widespread concern about Donald Trump’s approach to domestic and foreign policy is apparent in the newest polling of American Jewish voters. According to a poll just released by the non-partisan Jewish Voters Resource Center (JVRC), 100 days into Trump’s second term, three-quarters of Jewish voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, and significant majorities oppose his domestic and foreign policy.

Nearly two-thirds of Jewish voters disapprove of his handling of antisemitism. A majority believe that some of his actions increase antisemitism, and more than half (52%) of Jewish voters believe Donald Trump himself is antisemitic.

More than half of Jewish voters (61%) believe that Trump’s arresting and deporting pro-Palestinian protestors who are legal residents increases antisemitism, and nearly half (49%) think that Trump’s withholding of federal funding from universities – ostensibly due to “antisemitism” – also increases antisemitism.

Jewish voters are overwhelmingly opposed to Donald Trump’s agenda, and they continue to find their political home with Democrats who are aligned with their values. This is important information to share with anyone who may falsely believe that Jewish political preferences have changed since October 7. Jewish voters remain strong Democrats for two reasons: (1) Jewish voters strongly oppose Donald Trump and his approach to domestic and foreign policy, and (2) Democrats align with the vast majority of Jewish voters on every issue, including support of Israel.

At least seven out of ten Jewish voters plan on supporting Democrats in the midterm elections. They trust Democrats more than Trump and Republicans to combat antisemitism. They overwhelmingly support the Democratic position, as opposed to Trump’s, on every key policy issue before Congress, including Republican plans to cut more than $700 billion in Medicaid funding to renew Trump’s tax cuts, which 88% of Jewish voters oppose.

TAKING ACTION

This is a critical moment for American Jews to act to voice their widespread opposition to Trump’s agenda and take this fight to the ballot box, where Jewish voters will continue to serve as an essential component of a winning Democratic coalition, and JDCA is leading this effort. Nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake, and it’s more important than ever before that we work together to take back the House in 2026 and the White House in 2028.

Here are three steps you can take today to defend your values with JDCA:

Thank you for your partnership and support, and Shabbat Shalom,

Halie Soifer

CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America

Donald Trump’s Israel Flyover