New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani got the better of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a survey of adult American Jews amid recent mutual recrimination between the two politicians, according to results released Tuesday.
Mamdani, 34, a Democratic Socialist and vocal critic of the Netanyahu-led Israeli government, was regarded favorably by 44% and unfavorably by 39% of the 1,012 Jewish adults surveyed, the results of The Associated Press-NORC Center poll showed. Netanyahu was regarded favorably by 39% and unfavorably by 59% of the Jewish adults polled.
The 1,012 Jewish adults were part of the 3,040 American adults polled overall on June 11–17.
Mamdani and Netanyahu recently dueled over Israel's war in Gaza. Mamdani, who had promised during his mayoral campaign to ensure the arrest of Netanyahu in compliance with a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) should Netanyahu visit New York City, later backpedaled in July, saying that New York City "[did] not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant."
Netanyahu visited New York City to address the U.N. General Assembly on Sep. 24. From the U.N. lectern, he shot back at Mamdani, branding him an "antisemite" cosying up to Hamas.
"To all those that are spreading these lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you. Shame on you for distorting the facts," Netanyahu said, according to Politico.
Denying that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, Netanyahu went on to apostrophize Mamdani in the address, saying, "The lies you and other antisemites spread about the Jews and the Jewish state have real consequences," according to the outlet. (RELATED: 'Mayor Playing President': Kyle Kuzma Blasts Zohran Mamdani Following Netanyahu Video)
While nearly eight out of every 10 Jewish adult (79%) polled in the survey thought that Hamas's lightning Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel was not justified, only 42% of them thought Israel's ongoing war in Gaza was justified.
Nearly half (49%) of all American adults said they did not know enough to say Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. The same proportion of the Jewish adults polled were certain that Israel had not committed genocide in Gaza. Three out of every 10 Jewish adults polled were positive that Israel had committed Genocide in Gaza.
Netanyahu's political bloc's grip on the Knesset loosened during recent elections that saw it win 53 seats, eight short of the 61 seats required for majority status and 15 short of the 68 seats that it holds in the current Knesset. (RELATED: Israel's Election Chaos Could Fuel A New Iran War Escalation)
Only 29% of the Jewish adults and 38% of the American adults overall favorably viewed U.S. President Donald Trump. Some 71% of the Jewish adults and 62% of the American adults in general disapproved of Trump's handling of his job as president.
Only 24% of the Jewish adults and 33% of the American adults approved of Trump's handling of the U.S. economy.
Nearly seven out of 10 Jewish adults (69%) and nearly six out of 10 American adults overall (59%) disapproved of Trump's handling of immigration.
Some 73% of Jewish adults and 65% of American adults disapproved of Trump's handling of Iran, while 58% of Jewish adults and 64% of American adults disapproved of Trump's handling of Israel, according to the survey's results.
The survey was conducted by interviews, with the margin of sampling error being ±2.8 percentage points.
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