An opinion poll published Sunday shows deep divisions between Israeli Jews and American Jews, particularly when it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump, highlighting the growing rift between the world's two largest Jewish communities.
The survey, conducted for the American Jewish Committee earlier this year, found that while 77% of Israeli Jews approved of Trump's handling of U.S.-Israel relations, only 34% of American Jews did.
Some 57% of U.S. Jews disapproved, while only 10% of Israeli Jews did.
On Dec. 6, Trump upended decades of U.S. policy and broke from an international consensus by officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He also announced that the U.S. Embassy would move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to cement this recognition, an event that took place in May. The move outraged the Palestinians, who envision parts of Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, and angered the international community, which believes the city's fate should be decided through peace negotiations.
According to the survey, 85% of Israeli Jews supported the embassy move, while only 46% of American Jews did.
The AJC surveyed 1,000 Israelis and Americans and had a margin of error of 3.1% and 3.9% respectively.
The survey was released ahead of the opening of the AJC Global Forum in Jerusalem, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to address on Sunday.
Netanyahu has forged a close bond with Trump, and their hard-line policies toward the Palestinians have strong support in Israel and among Republicans in the United States. However, most American Jews identify as Democrats and are highly critical of Trump and Netanyahu.
Experts have been warning for years that the two communities, which together make up the vast majority of Jews in the world, are drifting in opposite directions politically and are losing their sense of kinship.
The poll indicated that 59% of American Jews favor the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but only 44% of Israeli Jews support the idea.
The communities share similar views on the importance of good ties between the world's Jews. But they differ greatly on matters of religion and state, particularly on the ultra-Orthodox monopoly over religious affairs in Israel.
The vast majority of American Jews identify as either Reform or Conservative, more liberal streams of Judaism that have only a very small foothold in Israel.
On one of the most contentious issues, a mixed-gender prayer area next to Jerusalem's Western Wall, 73% of American Jews expressed support, compared to just 42% of Israeli Jews.
