Jewish Americans feel they have a lot at stake in this month's contentious elections in Israel as three years of Mideast conflicts rile up emotions across the United States, from street protests to the midterm races.

But they are sharply divided along political, religious and often generational lines on the preferred outcome in a vote that's perceived as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and held against the backdrop of the enduring trauma of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's supporters, especially among Orthodox Jews, believe he's protecting a country they love as central to their identity.