Trump Beating Clinton in Israeli Absentee Ballots 49% to her 44%

posted on: Nov 4, 2016

BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer

According to the Israeli-American voting organization, iVoteIsrael, as many as 30,000 American citizens living in Israel have cast their ballot. Of those who sent in absentee ballots, 49 percent voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump and 44 percent voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Various sources state that upwards of 200,000 Israelis are registered to vote in America, indicating a low voter turnout this year.

These figures are drastically different from previous U.S. presidential elections, where Republican candidates earn a large majority of the votes from Israeli voters. In 2012, Mitt Romney earned 80 percent of Israeli-American votes, while President Obama only received 14 percent. And four years earlier, Senator John McCain earned 76 percent of the vote against Obama, according to The Media Line.

Data for key battleground states indicate that Trump won Israeli voters from Florida, while Clinton won voters from Michigan and Pennsylvania. However, voter turnout was at an all-time low for this election, regardless of the fact that both candidates have campaigned strenuously for the pro-Israel vote.

Trump has significantly less support amongst American voters in Israel, despite opening four campaign offices in Tel Aviv and the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank. He may have still won the Israeli vote, but not by nearly the same margins as the Republican nominees before him.

Hillary Clinton, though, has extremely close relations to some of the most influential members of Israeli society, including Haim Saban – her largest donor. Clinton’s ability to earn 44 percent of the vote is an astonishing achievement for any Democratic nominee, but also unsurprising given her relationship with the country. Throughout her campaign, Clinton has said she wants to take the U.S.-Israel relationship to the next level, staunchly opposes the BDS Movement, and believes no American president can be “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Clinton has been criticized for “fawning” over Israel, and both candidates have arguably focused far too much attention on the demands of the pro-Israel lobby in America.

It’s difficult to say who the true winner of the Israeli vote may be. With Israel’s low voter turnout, it’s possible that neither candidate won. Both worked tirelessly to ensure pro-Israel voters that they’re on their side, yet only a fraction of those voters actually mailed in their ballots. Perhaps even the Israelis were sorely disappointed with their options this election cycle, just like Arab Americans.