Pew survey: The world, including Israel, trusts Biden over Trump
But the numbers for Israel aren’t cut-and-dry, nor do they consider views on Trump as a war-time ally.
The grim tragedy is that both Biden and Trump are in different ways trapped in the mental debris of the war on terror.
More nations trust Joe Biden over Donald Trump to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs. And that goes for Israel, too, according to the Pew Research Center. At the same time, most Israelis are displeased with Biden’s approach to the Gaza.
The survey was conducted in the run-up to the US presidential election in November, and with several pressing global conflicts and diplomatic situations in need of attention, not least of them the war between Israel and the Iranian menace.
Comparative trust in leaders
The survey, conducted across 34 countries, indicates that globally, Biden is viewed more positively than Trump. In Israel, the trust in Biden stands at 57%, a slight edge over Trump’s 54%. This sentiment reflects broader global trends, where Biden generally receives higher trust ratings in 24 out of the 34 surveyed nations. However, Trump fares better in three countries: Turkey (10% for Trump vs. 8% for Biden), Hungary (37% vs. 24%), and Tunisia (17% vs. 10%).
In general, Israelis would appear to be equally happy with either man in the Oval Office, though it must be noted that Biden’s approval rating among Israelis has fallen rather drastically from this time last year (68 percent).
Handling of the Israel-Hamas war
Despite the slight preference for Biden over Trump, 60% of Israelis express dissatisfaction with Biden’s management of the Gaza war. This dissatisfaction spans both Jewish Israelis (53%) and Arab Israelis (86%). The sentiment is echoed internationally, with only 31% of respondents across the surveyed countries approving of Biden’s handling of the conflict, while 57% disapprove.
But the results among different sectors in Israel require further explanation.
Jewish Israelis disapprove because they believe Biden is tying Israel’s hands and preventing the IDF from achieving the war’s goals: the defeat of Hamas and the safe return of all hostages.
Arabs disapprove because the Biden administration is overall taking what’s seen as a pro-Israel position, even if it is disrupting certain aspects of Israel’s war plans.
Would Israelis be happier with Trump in the context of the current conflict? The Pew survey didn’t go into that, but the general feeling is that they would.
First, Trump would not have made the concessions to Iran in recent years that many Israelis believe facilitated the current jihadist onslaught, nor would he have delayed arms shipments to Israel over disagreements regarding battle plans for the border town of Rafah. Many feel Trump would also have given Israel more backing to respond in a more decisive manner to the ongoing cross-border attacks from Lebanon.
All of this is of course anecdotal, but Trump has himself suggested as much in his public criticisms of Biden’s handling of the conflict.
Israeli views on the United States
Despite the mixed feelings
towards Biden and Trump, Israelis maintain a favorable view of the
United States overall, with 77% expressing a positive opinion, though
this is a decrease from 87% the previous year. Only 22% of Israelis view
the US unfavorably.
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