A recently conducted survey assessing how Jewish voters view leading Israel advocacy groups finds that public opinion is divided over the effectiveness of outside engagement in American elections. 

The Mellman Group poll, commissioned by the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) and released last week, surveyed 800 registered Jewish voters between March 13-23. It found a narrow 39% plurality agreed that it “was more important than ever” for pro-Israel groups to play a leading role in speaking out against candidates who oppose a close U.S.-Israel alliance, while 37% of respondents feared that such advocacy risks making things worse.

The split largely was along partisan lines: While two-thirds of Jewish Republicans and 59% of Jewish independents backed strong pro-Israel political advocacy, just 28% of Democrats shared the same view. A near-majority (46%) of Democrats feared that pro-Israel electioneering could turn voters against Israel. 

AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has been playing a leading role in influencing contested primaries, predominantly on the Democratic side.  

But while the group’s aggressive spending in last month’s Illinois Democratic primaries drew outsized attention in the national press, only 11% of Jewish respondents said they were paying a “great deal” of attention to pro-Israel groups’ activity in primaries. Over half of Jewish respondents (51%) said they were paying no attention at all or “not much” attention to pro-Israel engagement in politics. 

The poll also tested the public perception of the three leading Israel advocacy groups in Washington: AIPAC, Democratic Majority For Israel and J Street. AIPAC held the highest favorability rating (39%), with 29% viewing the longtime pro-Israel group unfavorably, while 32% said they were unsure. 

While Republicans and independent Jews overwhelmingly view AIPAC favorably, opinion was split among Jewish Democrats, with 29% viewing the group favorably, 37% viewing AIPAC unfavorably and 33% saying they were unsure. 

DMFI boasted the highest net favorable rating among Jewish respondents, with 32% viewing the Democratic Party’s pro-Israel group favorably while just 16% viewed it unfavorably. Its numbers were strongest with Jewish Democrats and weakest with Jewish Republicans.

J Street, which came out last week against funding Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, held a net unfavorable rating, according to the poll. Just 18% viewed the group favorably, while 19% viewed it unfavorably, with a 46% plurality having never heard of the progressive group.