The Peace Index published monthly by the Israel Democracy Institute revealed that in the Jewish public a majority (61 percent) believes the American president’s decision to withdraw all American troops from Syria as harming Israel’s security interests.

This issue was surveyed in the wake of  President Trump’s decision in December to pull out the 2,000 U.S. troops currently in Syria. The U.S. was heading a multi-national coalition battle against the Islamic State (ISIS) and the president accompanied the announcement of his decision with the declaration that ISIS was “largely defeated.”

In response to questions about how Israel will fare in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, the president responded, “Israel is going to be good. We give Israel 4.5 billion a year.”

Though Trump’s answer did not satisfy his critics, it seems to reflect what most Israelis believe. The Peace Index showed that 75 percent agreed with Trump’s assertion that Israel defends itself “very well.”

The Peace Index survey conducted by phone and internet compiled the responses of 600 Israeli adults on January 2-3, and had a margin of error of 4.1 percent.