JUST RELEASED 

We did the research — here’s what Jewish voters actually care about in 2020.

Friend,

For the past four years, President Trump and his enablers have lied about antisemitism and tried to use Jews for political gain, even while their conspiratorial rhetoric has led to an increase in violence.

How has all of this affected the Jewish vote? We needed to find out, so for the first time in our organization’s history we conducted a national survey of Jewish voters. We want you to be among the first to see the results.

Here are the top five takeaways from our research:

Jewish voters want to defeat Trump.

Trump and Republicans are losing the fight for the Jewish vote. Three-quarters of Jewish voters hold unfavorable opinions of the President. And in an open-ended question about what matters most about next year’s elections, the most common response is defeating Donald Trump.

We will help remove Trump from office in November.

Jewish voters believe that Trump holds racist and antisemitic views.

Majorities of Jewish voters believe Trump holds antisemitic views and racist views (including among both white Jews [76% agree] and Jews of color [79% agree]). And a majority sees Trump as representative of the Republican Party, which could pose a problem for down-ballot Republicans.

We see Trump for who he is.

For Jewish voters, Trump and the Republican Party have a white nationalism problem, too.

Two out of three Jewish voters affirm that white nationalism is a bigger problem in the Republican Party.

We will not be fooled.

American Jews see antisemitism as a major problem — and it’s making us feel less safe.

Majorities of Jewish voters in every party — Democrat, Independent, Republican — feel less safe in this country today than they did four years ago.

We see who is responsible.

And it’s driving American Jews to get involved.

Among the 90% of voters who believe antisemitism has increased in the past four years, a plurality (46%), including a majority of Jewish Democrats, say it has spurred them to get involved in political activism.

We will impact the 2020 election.

What does all this data mean?

It means that any discourse about Jewish voters — whether from mainstream Jewish institutions or right-wing campaigns — is not accurate unless it reflects our community's clear priorities and unity in rejecting Trump.

It also means that, while we feel the growing threat of antisemitism and white nationalism, we are not abandoning our values — we will show up for ourselves and others in solidarity.

The gravity of this political moment is inspiring Jews to take action and fight for the future that we all deserve and know is possible. If we work together, we will be a force to reckon with this coming November.

Bend the Arc is going to have a lot more to share with you soon about how to get involved in this political moment. We have the power, and we get to decide how we’re going to use it.

In the meantime, check out the rest of this critical research and then share it to help correct the record about our community’s 2020 priorities.

In strength,
Stosh Cotler, CEO