2021 AJC Surveys of American and Israeli Jewish Opinion

Key Findings:

In June 2021, AJC released its annual survey of American Jewish opinion along with a companion survey capturing the views of Israeli Jews. The two surveys shed light on the perspectives of American and Israeli Jews on a range of important topics, including the relationship between the Jewish state and the Diaspora and attitudes toward President Biden. 

Survey of American Jewish Opinion

The results of the interviews of Jewish respondents were reported in two phases. 

Part I was released on June 2, 2021 via the AJC website and it focused on a limited number of questions from the complete survey which summarized respondents' overall views of President Biden (70% approval) and his management of a variety of issues, including the economy, U.S.-Israel relations, the Iranian nuclear issue, immigration, race relations, the threat of anti-Semitism and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Survey results showed:

Political party identification: 51% Democratic, 22% Independent, 13% Republican and 13% "other."

2020 Presidential election: 68% Biden, 21% Trump, 4% other candidates, and 5% did not vote.

12% of Orthodox, 61% of Conservative, 80% of Reform, 99% of Reconstructionist, 86% of Secular, and 71% of non-specified denomination voted for Biden.

 70% of American Jews approve and 26% disapprove of the job President Biden is doing as president.

On June 14, 2021 AJC released additional results from the survey, adding a series of questions related to the respondent's Jewish identity, early Jewish education, sources of Jewish education re: Israel as a child, teen and adult, and connections to Israel and Israeli Jews.    

Survey results showed:

60% of American Jews say being connected to Israel is important to their Jewish identity, while 21% say it is not too important and 19% say it is not at all important. Yet tthe number who say Israel is important to their Jewish identity drops to 46% among those ages 18-39. 

American Jews are divided on the strength of the formal Jewish education they received about Israel from kindergarten through 12th grade: 37% described it as strong, 21% as medium, 22% as weak, and 18% said it was non-existent. Orthodox Jews were more likely than others to have gained a strong education.

Jews who affiliate with one of the denominations of American Judaism are more likely to say Israel is important to their Jewish identity – 84% of Orthodox Jews, 87% of Conservative Jews and 64% of Reform Jews - than those with no denominational affiliation (34%). 

45% of U.S. Jews have visited Israel.  For those who have not visited, 24% said it was due to lack of interest, 25% lack of opportunity, 27% lack of funds, and 9% said they are concerned about safety or security.

Survey of Israeli Jewish Opinion

On June 14, AJC also released the results of a survey of Israeli Jewish Opinion. Questions in the survey focused on Israeli respondents' knowledge of the number of Jews living in the Diaspora (outside of Israel), the percentage of the world's Jews living in the United States, denominational identification among American Jews, sources of knowledge about Diaspora Jews, and interest in learning more about American Jews. 

A small number (10%) of Israeli Jews said that they were very interested in learning more about American Jews, another 37% were somewhat interested, and 30% were "so-so" interested.

Approximately 47% of the Israeli respondents had traveled to the United States, while 29% had visited several times and 18% just once.  

Regarding specific connections to American Jews, only 33% of survey respondents reported that they did not have an immediate family member, an extended family member, a distant family member or a close friend living in the United States. 

U.S. and Israel Comparisons and Contrasts

On June 14, AJC issued a report which compared the responses of the U.S. and Israeli respondents: “AJC Surveys of U.S.- Israeli Jews Reveal Inadequate Education on Israel, Diaspora." AJC's comparative analysis of American and Israeli Jews focuses on the relationship between the Jewish state and the Diaspora, attitudes toward President Biden in the U.S. and Israel, and “inadequacies” in Jewish education related to Israel and the Diaspora, stating that the two largest Jewish communities in the world are significantly lacking in education about each other. 

Comparative analysis showed:

Education in Israel about Diaspora Jewry is far less common than learning about Israel in America.

22% of the Israeli sample said they understand well the different denominations of American Judaism, while 49% said they understand well the topic of antisemitism in the Diaspora.

Among the U.S. respondents who visited Israel, 73% say their visit(s) strengthened their connection to Israel, while 6% said it was weakened. 20% say their experience made no impact on their connection to Israel.

In contrast, 70% of Israelis who had visited the U.S. said their visit(s) had no impact on their connection to American Jews, 6% said it was weakened and 25% said it was strengthened.

Using the metaphor of a family, 11% of American Jews said they view Israeli Jews as siblings, 15% as first cousins, 46% as extended family and 28% as not a part of their family. For Israeli Jews, 24% consider American Jews siblings, 18% first cousins, 45% extended family and 14% not part of their family. While Israelis feel connected to American Jews, 39% of Israeli Jews agreed that they have a lot in common with them.