TEL AVIV (JTA) — Donald Trump’s speech to America’s largest pro-Israel lobby did not help his standing among Israelis, a new poll shows.
The March Peace Index, a monthly poll of Israeli attitudes by the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, showed that 40 percent of Israeli Jews thought Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton would be “better for Israel,” versus 30 percent for Trump, the Republican front-runner.
In addition, 43 percent of Israeli Jews feel Clinton would better serve American interests, as opposed to 24 percent for Trump.
The poll was taken from March 28 to 30, about a week after Trump addressed the national conference of AIPAC. His speech, which struck traditional pro-Israel notes, drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd amid scattered protests. Previously, Trump had said he would be “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israelis also favored Clinton over Trump before the AIPAC conference. A survey in early March by the Israeli news website Walla found that Israelis preferred Clinton to Trump by a margin of 38 to 23 percent. IDI’s February poll, however, found that 60 percent of Israelis believed a Trump administration would be friendly to Israel.
