According to a Siena College poll, which surveyed registered voters of New York State, a majority of Jews intend to vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election in November. If it really happens, this would be a historic change of course.
New York Jews have traditionally voted Democratic and they mean to continue that trend in congressional elections, for 54% over 39%, as they did in the special election held in District 3 where they chose Democrat Tom Suozzi over Republican Mazi Pilip earlier this month. But 53% of them said would support former president Trump in the presidential election.
The poll has a margin of error of 4.2 percent. Mark Mellman, president of Democratic Majority for Israel, holds a different opinion. He stated to the Jewish News Syndicate, “this poll tells us very little about how New York Jews will vote”. He is confident Biden knows how to appeal to the Jewish community, especially because, “he has been uniquely supportive of Israel”. But the cause of this change could be traced back to the anti-semitic hate crimes and anti-Israel protests that occurred in New York City after October 7.
However, Sam Markstein, national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, supported this “clear trend, long in the making”. In a tweet on X he cited Lee Zeldin’s 2022 gubernatorial race, which failed but received 46% of the Jewish vote after he had defended yeshivas during his campaign.
