A notable shift has occurred within the American Jewish community regarding trust in US leadership on Iranian policy, as revealed by a recent Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) survey. The data indicates a rapid loss of confidence in President Donald Trump’s approach to the Iranian regime, coinciding with increased diplomatic overtures between Washington and Tehran. The survey found that nearly half of American Jewish respondents expressed no confidence in the president’s ability to handle the Iran issue, and just 15% voiced strong confidence—a sharp reversal from high support levels earlier in the year.
JPPI’s survey, conducted in April, captured this growing skepticism: while 77% of respondents reported robust confidence in Trump’s ability to confront Iran in January, the figure dropped to 44% only three months later. Today, skepticism is widespread, with many citing concerns that renewed diplomatic engagement might enable the regime in Tehran—long recognized as a primary backer of regional terrorism—to further its nuclear ambitions and entrench its proxies across the Middle East.
This development holds significant ramifications for Israel, which regards Iran’s nuclear program and terror network as urgent existential threats. The Israeli government, historically insistent on maintaining strong US pressure against Iran, is closely watching shifts in American political attitudes and their potential impact on strategic policy. Iran continues to arm and direct terrorist organizations, notably Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and allied militias in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. The threat posed by these Iranian-backed forces was underscored most horrifically in the October 7, 2023 massacre—recognized as the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust—when Hamas terrorists executed, assaulted, and abducted hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians.
The Obama administration’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was opposed by the Israeli government and many in the American Jewish community, who argued that the agreement failed to permanently prevent Iranian nuclear capability and did not address Tehran’s support for designated terror organizations. With the US withdrawal from the JCPOA under Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign, Israeli leaders and supporters of a firm stance saw cause for optimism. However, recent reports of renewed talks and discussions of possible sanctions relief have again raised anxiety.
The consequences of American policy reverberate across the Middle East. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated as a terrorist entity by the US and its allies, directly threatens Israel from multiple fronts and supplies weaponry to Hamas and Hezbollah. The recent Abraham Accords and deepening Israeli-Arab alignment were partially motivated by shared concerns over Iran’s regional ambitions.
For decades, the American Jewish community has played a pivotal advocacy role in Washington, supporting robust aid to Israel—including life-saving technologies like Iron Dome—and confronting rising antisemitism at home and abroad. The JPPI’s strategic findings highlight an emerging disconnect between much of American Jewry and the current administration’s Iran policy, raising questions about the durability of bipartisan consensus on key security issues.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have emphasized that credible deterrence and persistent international pressure are essential to restraining the Iranian threat. The memory of the October 7th massacre and the longstanding experience of antisemitic violence inform a deep skepticism toward any diplomatic arrangement that does not entail strict verification and demonstrable diminution of Iran’s military and terror capacities.
As American political attitudes shift, Israeli policymakers and the broader pro-Israel community will carefully monitor the direction of US-Iran engagement. Sustained, principled opposition to Iranian aggression—along with tangible support for Israel’s inherent right to self-defense in the face of Iranian-backed terror—remains central to regional stability and the protection of democracy and Jewish life in the Middle East.
