J Street - Word on the Street

The results of our 2026 Election Night Survey of American Jews are in, and we spent an hour unpacking the results with Jim Gerstein from GBAO Strategies and Tali DeGroot, our Vice President of Political and Digital. Key findings from the national survey include: - 72% of Jewish voters supported Democratic congressional candidates, compared with 24% who backed Republicans, continuing the community’s longstanding Democratic voting patterns. - 76% disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance, including 74% who strongly disapprove. - Democracy and the economy were the leading electoral concerns. Forty-four percent identified the future of democracy as one of their two most important voting issues, followed by the cost of living and economy at 34%. Israel was selected by 14%. - 76% support sanctions against violent West Bank settlers, and an identical percentage support sanctions against Israeli government ministers who aid and abet settler violence. Fifty-nine percent support sanctions against businesses and individuals involved in building or financing West Bank settlements. - 66% believe AIPAC’s campaign spending against candidates who criticize Israel increases antisemitism in the United States. Separately, 39% said support from an AIPAC super PAC makes them less likely to support a candidate, compared with 13% who said more likely. - 80% believe Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank increase antisemitism in the United States. Sixty percent believe Jewish organizations that condemn harsh criticism of Israel as antisemitic are exploiting concerns about antisemitism to defend unpopular Israeli government policies. The full conversation includes lots of important background, context, and data - give it a listen. You can also find the full results of the poll at jstreet.org/polling.

“I think humanity won yesterday.” That’s how Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, opened our conversation this afternoon on Word on the Street Live about last night’s election. We discussed several key takeaways: Americans do not want to descend into authoritarianism. Voters came out to vote for democracy and made it clear they overwhelmingly want a check on Trump and his disastrous agenda - especially around the war in Iran. J Street is now the political center of gravity on Israel and Palestine in the Democratic Party. When the new Congress convenes, a solid majority of the Democrats in the House and Senate will be J Street-endorsed. These members reflect the mainstream views of the party: a commitment to Israel and its security alongside a commitment to Palestinian rights and self-determination, and the desire for US policy that advances both. As J Street gained traction, AIPAC was losing endorsed candidates so rapidly that it ultimately decided to abandon candidate endorsements altogether. Americans responded to positive visions for how we can all access the American dream. Voters weren’t looking for partisan bickering, but instead for a vision of the future focused on freedom, prosperity, and dignity for all. The full conversation is a must-listen if you want to dig into what last night’s results mean for democracy, for the Israeli and the Palestinian people, and for a future rooted peace and diplomacy and a new approach to the US-Israel relationship. P.S. - Be sure to join us tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern Time live on Substack when we’ll be releasing our 2026 Election Survey - the deepest dive into the voting patterns and opinions of Jewish voters on Election Day. The survey found as a top line that 72% of American Jews voted Democratic. The much-discussed, so-called "exodus" of Jewish voters from the Democratic Party once again did not materialize. We will be discussing that finding and so much more so please join us then.

Israel’s election results have left both Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition bloc without a parliamentary majority, and the path to a new government is anything but clear. Ilan sat down with Israeli pollster Dahlia Scheindlin and New Israel Fund Acting CEO Mickey Gitzin to break down the results, explore the possible paths to forming a government, and discuss what comes next for Israeli democracy. One of the biggest stories was the historic turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel. But will Israel’s political leaders recognize Arab parties as legitimate partners, or will they continue to exclude them from the political equation even if it means bringing Netanyahu in? We dug into the possibilities of a minority government, a national unity coalition, and the role a new Knesset could play even before a government is formed. There are no easy answers right now, but how Israel navigates this moment will have major implications for its democracy and place in the world.

We just wrapped up a fast-moving conversation with J Street’s own Nadav Tamir and Shimrit Braun Kamin, both on the ground in Israel, about tonight’s election results – and, cautiously, there are reasons to feel optimistic. (Hopefully we’re not biting our tongues tomorrow!) First and foremost, the horrific coalition that has governed for the past four years suffered a stunning defeat, losing 25 percent of its parliamentary seats. While Likud may have won the most seats, there is almost no path for anyone but the opposition to try to put together a governing coalition. Meanwhile, in other good news, Arab voter turnout surged to historic levels with Arab parties likely to hold 17-18 seats in the next Knesset – a historic number. Shimrit shared what she witnessed firsthand volunteering at a polling station in the Negev: Long lines and an extraordinary effort to make sure people could vote, despite real barriers to access. As Nadav reminded us, Jewish Israelis and Palestinians are both part of Israel’s future. Any conversation about Israeli democracy has to reckon with that reality. We also walked through what comes next, from President Herzog’s consultations to the possible paths toward a government or another election. There’s still a lot we don’t know, but tonight’s results have given us plenty to discuss.

In this special edition of Word on the Street Live, we’re coming to you from Atlanta to talk about two major elections alongside repeat podcast guest, Daniel Biss. Later today, we’ll get our first indications of where Israel’s election is headed, so we sat down to discuss what’s at stake. And this time next week, polls will be closing across the United States, with big implications for our democracy and also the US-Israel relationship. Tune in to hear where we’re at in this exact moment.