Takeaways from the AP-NORC poll of more than 1,000 Jewish Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press surveyed more than 1,000 Jewish adults in the U.S. to better understand their views on Israel's military actions in Gaza, their opinions of the political parties and their experiences with prejudice in the United States.

The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults — including people who identify as Jewish by religion and religiously unaffiliated people who identify as Jewish through culture, ethnicity or family background — offers a rare detailed accounting of a key demographic that sits at the very center of some of the nation’s most divisive political debates.

Here are five takeaways from the AP-NORC survey:

Among Jews with a religious affiliation, views on Israel’s recent military actions are far from uniform or uncritical.

About 7 in 10 Jewish adults overall identify as Jewish when asked about their religious affiliation. The rest, about 3 in 10 Jewish adults, say they are atheists, agnostics, or have no particular religious affiliation, but still identify as Jewish in other ways.

While about 8 in 10 of those with a religious affiliation say Israel’s immediate military response to Hamas’ attack on October 7 was “justified,” only about half say Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza are justified. Among Jewish adults without a religious affiliation, only about half saw Israel's immediate response as justifiable. Now, only about 2 in 10 say the ongoing military operations are acceptable.

About one-quarter of Jewish adults with a religious association believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, an accusation that’s been leveled by some major human rights organizations and a team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations. That accusation has been vehemently denied by Israel and the U.S. government. Roughly 4 in 10 Jewish adults without a religious affiliation say Israel has committed genocide.

About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say prejudice against Jewish people is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States today.

About one-third of Jewish adults in the survey say they feel “very” or “somewhat” safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. today, while about one-third feel “very” or “somewhat” unsafe. The remaining roughly 3 in 10 say they feel neither safe nor unsafe.

A significant share of Jewish adults, about 3 in 10, say they or someone in their household has experienced physical assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or damaged property because of their Jewish background over the last year, according to the survey.

The survey points to how Jewish adults’ attitudes toward their own personal safety have changed over a relatively short period as more Americans became critical of the United States’ close alliance with Israel and the war in Gaza. The poll found that Jewish adults who feel a close emotional tie to Israel are particularly likely to feel unsafe in the country today.

Few Jewish adults believe that President Donald Trump — or the Democratic or Republican parties — are doing a good job supporting Jewish people in the U.S.

Only about 2 in 10 Jewish adults say Trump supports Jewish people in this country “extremely” or “very” well. That’s similar to the slight share who find the Republican Party and the Democratic Party highly supportive, but Jewish adults are more likely to say the Democratic Party is at least “somewhat” supportive.

Americans overall are more likely than Jewish adults to see Trump as “extremely” or “very” supportive of Jewish people in the United States. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say Trump is highly supportive of Jewish people, compared to about 2 in 10 Jewish adults.

The poll also found most Jewish adults have negative views of Trump. About 7 in 10 Jewish adults have a “very” or “somewhat” unfavorable opinion of Trump, compared to about 3 in 10 who have a favorable view.

Protests around events conducted in support of Israel became more common following the backlash over Israel’s military action in Gaza.

The war in Gaza began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed roughly 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Israel responded with a yearslong counterattack that killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the territory's Hamas-run government. Its casualty figures are viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations but don’t distinguish between civilians and militants.

The poll found that about half of Jewish adults say protesting an event that is supportive of Israel is not a form of antisemitism, but roughly 4 in 10 say it is. About 1 in 10 are uncertain.

Jewish adults are more unified in deeming some actions as definitively antisemitic. The overwhelming majority say vandalizing synagogues or Jewish-owned businesses because of Israel’s actions is antisemitism. The same goes for denying the reality or scope of the Holocaust, putting responsibility for Israel’s actions on Jewish people in the United States or saying Israel shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state.

Support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many older Jewish adults in the United States, but younger Jewish adults appear less likely to prioritize it.

About half of older religious Jewish adults — those 45 and older — say that supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important for their Jewish identity. By contrast, only about 4 in 10 younger religious Jewish adults emphasize support for Israel.

Younger Jewish adults are more likely to prioritize other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays. About 7 in 10 Jewish adults under 45 say celebrating Jewish holidays is at least “very” important to their Jewish identity, compared to about half of older Jewish adults.

FILE - A large menorah stands in front of the White House on the third night of Hanukkah, Dec. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Jewish Bay Area residents stage a sit-in protest in the lobby of Senator Alex Padilla's office in San Francisco calling for a stop to the Israel-Hamas war, August 27, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)

FILE - An Orthodox Jewish man crosses the street as athletes in the men's elite division make their way through Brooklyn during the New York City Marathon, Nov. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

FILE - Hasidic Jewish men chat on June 16, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Lionel Messi could conjure no more magic.

Twenty years after his World Cup debut and a career that lifted him above Pelé and Diego Maradona as soccer’s greatest player, at 39 he could not will Argentina to become the first repeat champion in more than a half-century.

Spain outplayed the Albiceleste from the opening whistle at MetLife Stadium, where the overwhelming majority of 80,663 were hoping for a recoronation. Ferran Torres scored 37 seconds into the second extra-time period, lifting Spain to a 1-0 victory and its second World Cup title.

Instead of Messi becoming a two-time champion, the crown passed. He fought back tears and had a look of misery as he and teammates faced applauding and bowing Argentina fans at the stadium's south end while Spanish stars lifted the trophy on a podium at the center stripe.

After leading Argentina to victory in the 2022 final against France, sandwiched between c onsecutive Copa America championships, Messi could only bow his head, grimace and put hands on hips as Spain's Lamine Yamal, less than a week past his 19th birthday and projected as the sport's next big thing, ran to embrace Torres after the goal.

“I hope that everyone feels proud of him, of what he’s achieved because he’s the best football player ever stepping foot on a pitch,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.

Spain's dominance was thorough in the final and throughout the World Cup as they extended their unbeaten streak to 38 games, the longest by a European team.

La Furia Roja had a 20-2 advantage in shots, the second-largest difference in a World Cup final since stats exist since 1966, behind only West Germany outshooting Argentina 23-1 in 1990, according to Opta. They out-passed Argentina 845-433.

They conceded just one goal the entire tournament, the fewest by a World Cup champion, and scored 14 while compiling a 145-45 advantage in shots. Goalkeeper Unai Simon totaled 10 saves over eight games — Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez had 11 in the final alone.

When Messi left European soccer for MLS three years ago after four Champions League medals and 12 league titles with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, some speculated he would be another retiree moving to Florida.

Instead, he led Argentina back to the final with eight goals and four assists and boosted his World Cup career total to 21 goals, the record until France's Kylian Mbappé scored twice in Saturday's third-place game to surpass him to 22.

Messi became the first player to start three World Cup finals and raised his international goals total to 125, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo's 146. He is now regularly mentioned in the same breath as Maradona and Pelé, himself a three-time World Cup champion.

With his distinctive slow walk, arms swinging at his side as he waited for the right moment to burst into a sprint, the diminutive 5-foot-7 attacker was the center of attention any time he got the ball on the right flank. Opponents and fans waited for him to cut to the center and unleash a shot with his lethal left foot.

Messi had just 15 touches in the first half and 54 over the game at the stadium where he has been repeatedly frustrated. He famously retired from international soccer after a penalty-kicks loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final at MetLife only to reverse himself 47 days later and lead his nation to its third World Cup title.

Against Spain, Messi never had the ball in position to score, and his attempts to pass to teammates didn't connect.

“The first idea was to keep Messi at bay,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said.

Half a dozen Spanish players walked over to Messi after the final whistle to hug and console him. Messi dropped to the grass, hands behind him, staring.

When Spain later formed a guard of honor for Argentina players to approach the podium for their second-place medals, Messi tried to smile but couldn't. He had a blank look as he walked through and a few opponents patted him on the back and chest.

Spain is now the world's soccer power, the first nation to hold the men's and women's titles at the same time, While gold confetti fluttered onto the Spaniards, Messi walked out one of the field's corner exits, a silver consolation medal hanging from is neck, his shoulders hunched, his expression glum.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) checks his medal after the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) walks on the pitch during the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)