Israeli and American Jews know little about each other, new study finds

• Published date: 15 June 2021
• Author: SHIRA HANAU/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Still, both groups expressed an affinity for the other in the poll by the American Jewish Committee.

Among American Jews, a total of 40% said their knowledge of Israelis was either nonexistent or weak, and another 21% ranked their knowledge of Israelis as medium, while 37% said they received a "strong" education about Israel.

Among Israeli Jews, a total of 69% said they did not receive any education about Diaspora Jews or it was "not comprehensive," while 20% said it was "so-so" and 11% said it was comprehensive.

The survey comes as Israel sees its first new prime minister in 12 years after Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Likud party, was ousted by the right-wing Naftali Bennett and the centrist Yair Lapid, who came together in an unusual coalition.

Officials of the new government led by Bennett say that Netanyahu damaged relations with the Jewish Diaspora through his close alliances with right-wing leaders overseas and his...