Shira Rubin

Special for USA TODAY

TEL AVIV — The Republican Party this week launched an election drive to encourage American citizens who live in Israel — especially those from pivotal swing states like Florida — to vote for presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The Israeli pro-Trump movement, whose slogan is "In Israel's interest," has grown exponentially, especially among young religious American expatriates "fed up with the elites," said Michal Adar, who is originally from Atlanta and now lives in Raanana.

“There’s been a lot of disappointment in (President) Obama, which has translated into support for Trump,” Adar said Monday. She said Trump’s blunt style is “very Israeli in that it’s very direct and very relevant to the kinds of things Israelis are also talking about: Islamic terror, economic problems, our need for real defense.”

Sixty-one percent of Israelis see Trump as “moderately” or “very” friendly to Israel, according to an Israel Democracy Institute study released last March. The poll found that 34% considered a Republican candidate would be pro-Israel, compared to 28% who said the same about a Democratic candidate.

Adar is active on the Facebook group “Trump White and Blue,” which has nearly 9,000 Israeli and American followers. She works with other American Republican organizations in distributing information and organizing registration centers to help U.S. citizens cast absentee ballots.

Trump sparked concern among Jewish Republicans in February, when he said he would be “neutral” in dealing with stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on an independent Palestinian state. He also has been ambiguous about whether he would recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital (current U.S. policy does not, pending negotiations with Palestinians on its future status).

To offset such worries, Adar points to Trump's positive comments about the Israeli security wall along the border of territories claimed by the Palestinians, calling it a model for the wall that he has vowed to build on the U.S.-Mexican border — and paid for by Mexico.

“We trust Trump, because more than anything he says, we know he shares our values and that he has the right kind of worldview — that maybe not every Muslim is a terrorist, but that every terrorist is in fact a Muslim,” Adar said.

Democrats have a far less ambitious effort underway to court American voters here.

Sheldon Schorer, an activist with the Democrats Abroad in Israel chapter, said the group is currently undergoing reorganization, has held only two public events and has no plans to match the GOP's outreach.

But the Democrats have an advantage on who their standard-bearer is, Schorer said. "The Republicans have an especially unattractive candidate this year," he said, adding that interest in the election is high because "the Israel-U.S. relationship is so important to Americans living here."

Trump vows to protect Israel from Iran and U.N.

Abe Katsman, an American who lives in Jerusalem and works as counsel for the Republicans Abroad Israel, said, “While Trump was not the first choice for the Republicans in Israel (during the primaries), and there is still an obvious concern about what Trump will do, all indications point now to him making things work.”

He said Trump’s effort to omit support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute from the GOP platform “is appreciated by Americans in Israel who have not liked the kind of pressures that the Obama administration, and especially (Democratic nominee) Hillary Clinton, have put on Israel to make extremely dangerous concessions for nothing in return.”

While President Clinton had a favorable reputation in Israel, Hillary Clinton is seen as responsible for Obama’s unpopular policies, including her support of the Iran nuclear deal signed last summer, Katsman said. He noted that a WIN/Gallup poll of 65 countries last year found only four with a dimmer view of Obama than Israel. Even Iranians held Obama in slightly higher regard, giving him a net favorability score of -21%, compared to Israel’s -22%.

Republicans Abroad Israel estimates that 100,000 Israelis voted in the last presidential election, with 85% supporting Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Katsman said he hopes the trend continues.

Elad Pressman, a pro-Trump American who lives in Tel Aviv, expressed disappointment with the nuclear deal, which he said allows Iran to empower its networks of proxy terrorists throughout the region. “No matter how much the elite media tries to manipulate his image, Trump understands the biggest problem in the region — Iran," Pressman said. "He understands that to stabilize this region, you need to be true to your word, and of course come to the table with a lot of skepticism.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not interfere in the U.S. election and does not plan to endorse a presidential candidate.

Other top Israeli officials met last week with David Friedman, Donald Trump's adviser on Israel. In addition, the free newspaper Israel Today, funded by U.S. casino mogul and Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, has run pro-Trump editorials.

In an interview with the newspaper in May, Trump said: "I am extremely strongly in favor of Israel, I respect it and have loved the people of Israel for a long time. I have many friends who are from Israel and we're going to make sure that Israel is going to be in very good shape forever."