Is President Obama losing the support of U.S. Jews?
The approval gap between Jews and all voters is the lowest it has been since he took office — a sign that a group often relied on by the Democratic Party for strong support may be wavering.
After Obama took office in January 2009, 77 percent of U.S. Jews approved of him, compared to 63 percent of all Americans. Over the past six years, approval in both demographics has fluctuated over time but the gap has stayed around an average of 13 points. The gap has narrowed to just eight percentage points, however, according to a new Gallup poll.
Currently, 54 percent of Jews approve of Obama, compared to 46 percent of all Americans.
Obama’s approval rating among both groups has gone up since the second half of 2014, and the gap has in fact narrowed from 10 points (52 percent to 42 percent) to just eight for the first half of 2015 — even in the face of very visible tension between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the recent nuclear agreement with Iran.
Furthermore, Jews who attend religious services weekly are also more likely to disapprove of Obama than approve of him. Though Jews are the least religious of any major U.S. religious groups — only 16 percent attend weekly services compared to the national average of 33 percent — 60 percent of that group disapprove of Obama’s job, compared to 34 percent who approve.
The random telephone poll of roughly 1,000 Americans who identify as Jewish was conducted from Jan. 2-March 31, with a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. The poll of 44,000 Americans conducted over the same period had a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point.
