New Poll: Mitt Romney Leads Among American Israelis

Mitt Romney speaking at the 2012 CPAC convention. Photo: wiki commons.

New studies are showing that many Jews, especially U.S. citizens who live in Israel, are growing increasingly Republican and feel President Barack Obama is not supportive enough of Israel.

According to iVoteIsrael, a grass-roots organization registering American Israelis to vote in the upcoming U.S. elections, Republican candidate Mitt Romney leads within that voter base by a 2:1 ratio, and 63 percent of American Israelis believe Obama is unfriendly towards Israel, Elie Pieprz, iVoteIsrael national director, told Israel Hayom.

The results offer a stark contrast to a recent Solomon Project study of exit-poll data that showed a growth of liberalism among American Jews. That study said 40 percent of American Jews classified themselves as liberal in the 1970s, compared with 45-46 percent over the last three presidential elections.

A delegation from the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), led by former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer and RJC Director Matt Brooks, recently came to Israel to support iVoteIsrael and to register more than 150,000 American citizens living there, many of whom are from critical swing states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Brooks and Fleischer said that they see a clear Republican upswing among the U.S. Jewish electorate. “If Mitt Romney can get above 25 percent of the Jewish vote, that is a huge win for Republicans,” Brooks said. “This is the goal. Twenty-five percent probably means we win Florida,” Fleischer said.