US Election Polls of the 2024 US Presidential Election show that the competition between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is at its fiercest on the day before the US presidential election. How do Israelis see it?
Election polls in Israel indicate that more than 60% would vote for Trump if given the chance, compared to just 20% for Harris.
A common answer one gets from Israelis who support the former US president when asked about their choice is that “Trump is better for Israel,” according to JPost.
This answer, in the opinion of the author of the article, Susan Hatice-Rolev, seems completely logical on the surface only for two reasons: First, the majority of Israeli Jews today are neither liberal nor progressive, and therefore Kamala Harris has no chance in principle, while the conservative, “or rather illiberal and reactionary” Trump has an inherent advantage.
The second reason is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors Trump, and does not have a friendly relationship with Harris.
But Rolev, who previously served as a researcher in the Israeli parliament ( the Knesset ) and a lecturer in international relations at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, believes that a Trump victory would have dire consequences for Israel, the United States, and the free world alike.
The author of the article continued her fierce attack on Trump, addressing “those who still believe that he is in Israel’s interest,” saying, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” referring to the fact that he is the enemy.
That some of Trump’s statements and remarks indicate that he is inclined towards fascists and Nazis, and she based this on events that occurred during his presidency of the United States; including his defense of white nationalists and neo-Nazis who participated in the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, where a woman was killed while demonstrating against the rally.
When it comes to Netanyahu’s bias toward Trump in the election, Rolev cites two important questions to explain it. First, she believes, this bias may be linked to the fact that Netanyahu himself may be seen as a “new autocrat” in the making and finds it convenient to deal with leaders of the same type.
The second is that Trump may have made promises to the Israeli prime minister, in their meetings, the nature of which he did not disclose to the public.
However, she believes that it is no secret that Trump has isolationist tendencies that are inconsistent with continued American over-involvement in supporting Israel in its current war against Iran and its “proxies.”
Trump called on Netanyahu to end his war in Gaza and Lebanon and to stop exchanging attacks with Iran as soon as possible before he takes office next January if he wins the upcoming presidential election.
Although she and many Israelis welcome Trump’s calls, Netanyahu and his government are categorically opposed to ending the conflict before Israel achieves “total victory.”
In her article, the former researcher considered that Trump’s promise to Muslim voters in several pivotal states that he would bring peace to the Middle East if he won, raises concerns in Israeli government circles, as the former US president was known for his belief that the establishment of a Palestinian state is ultimately part of the peace process.
She also noted his statement in which he warned American Jews that if Harris wins the election, they will bear the burden, and he even said that “any Jew who votes for the Democrats should undergo a mental health examination.”
Although Rolev expects, at the end of her article, that Trump’s defeat may spark unrest and even violence in the United States if he again refuses to recognize the election results, she nevertheless believes that his loss is better than his victory.
