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Poll of Israelis: Clinton More Suited to be President

A plurality of Israelis think Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, would be better than Hillary Clinton at fighting terrorism and improving U.S.-Israel relations, a new poll published on Friday showed.

According to the poll, conducted by Panels Politics research institute for The Jerusalem Post, Thirty-eight percent of Israeli adults think Trump would be a better president to lead the fight against terrorism, while only 21 percent think the same about Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner.

Also, more Israelis (36 percent) think that Trump’s election is more likely to improve relations between the Israeli government and the U.S. administration.

However, in terms of suitability, Clinton leads Trump 40-29 percent as being more suited to be president of the United States. And 34 percent think Clinton’s election in November will improve U.S.-Israel relations.

The poll also showed a stark divide between different segments of Israeli society in their attitude towards Trump and Clinton. Among Haredim (Orthodox Jews), 46% said they favored Trump over Clinton, as did 40% of rightwing voters, and 39 percent of young voters aged 18-29. Fifty-four percent of respondents who identified themselves as secular said they favor Clinton, as did 68% of left-wing respondents.

The most recent Israel Democracy Institute’s monthly Peace Index poll showed that while a majority of Jewish Israelis think Clinton would be better for Israel than Trump, 42 percent don’t trust her at all when it comes to safeguarding Israeli security.  On the other hand, a whopping 62 percent are sure or think that Trump will be committed to safeguarding Israel’s security if elected as president.

Another poll conducted by TNS/Teleseker for Israel’s Channel 1/Mabat in April, 42 percent of Israelis believe the Israeli Prime Minister would get along much better with a President Trump, while 32 percent think Netanyahu would have a better working relationship with a President Clinton.

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