The 46% support for Israel is the lowest percentage in 25 years of tracking of this metric on its World Affairs survey, even though Americans are still more inclined to say they sympathize with Israelis than with Palestinians on the Middle East issue. Both last year and in 2001, Americans’ affection for Israel fell to its lowest point in history, at 51%. Meanwhile, 33% of American adults now say they sympathize with Palestinians, which is a two-point increase from the previous year and the highest reading to date.
The most recent reading comes from a poll taken between February 3 and 16, when Israel and Hamas maintained their hostage-taking and temporary ceasefire that began in mid-January. The poll started the day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House and met with President Donald Trump for a joint press conference. Trump stated his intention for the United States to possess and reconstruct the Gaza Strip at a news conference on February 4.
Less than half of the US is now sympathetic toward Israel
Partisans’ positive assessments of the two nations are consistent with their sympathies for the Middle East crisis. In other words, Democrats are almost three times more likely to identify with the Palestinians than with the Israelis (59% vs. 21%), but Republicans are more likely to sympathize with the Israelis (75%). The sympathies of independents are comparable to those of the national average.
Although independents’ support for Israel is currently at its lowest level in World Affairs polls by one point, Republicans and independents have continuously supported Israel since 2001. Democrats have backed the Palestinians ever since. At first, it appeared that Democrats’ waning support for Israel was due to their dislike of Netanyahu’s right-wing political leadership. But over the last two years, it has dropped much further. The figure for Palestinian sympathies surged 11 points to 49% in February 2023, the first time that Palestinian sympathies were the majority among Democrats, while the reading for Israeli sympathies fell to 38%.
When Hamas militants struck Israel on October 7, 2023, eight months later, they had killed more than 1,000 Israelis and captured about 250 more. By February of the following year, Democrats’ support for the Palestinian people had fallen six points. Democrats’ sympathy for the Palestinians has increased by 16 points, reaching the majority level for the first time in a year, despite the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Americans continue to support a two-state solution in the Middle East
Since 1999, it has been tracking Americans’ opinions on this. Since then, Americans have been increasingly in favor of and still are in favor of the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Before that, Americans’ support for an independent Palestinian state was still more than their opposition, but it was still well below the majority.
Democrats are generally in favor of an independent Palestinian state, which makes sense given their majority-level sympathy for the Palestinians. Approximately 76% of Democrats support such a state, while only 53% of independents share the same view. 49% of Republicans reject a Palestinian state, compared to 41% who favor it. Since 2021, Democrats’ support for a Palestinian state has been increasing, while independents’ support has remained largely stable during that time. Support for Republicans has increased by 15 points since it fell precipitously the previous year.
Impact of Israeli military actions and human rights concerns
The views have been fueled by prevalent dissatisfaction with the actions of the Israeli military force in Gaza, especially after the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict. Many Americans characterize the attitude of Israel as disproportionate or unfair; therefore, support has been reduced. The suffering of civilians is visibly inflated through media and social media that influence opinion and create a feeling of indignation about the alleged human rights violations.
By spreading fake news and emotionally charged messages on both sides, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and TikTok are significant contributors to the polarization process. In the case of Israeli cyber teams intentionally picking out Palestinian information, an automated content moderation system has the potential to over-delete posts that are pro-Palestinian due to keyword reporting and provide an imbalance in the existing Palestinian-Israeli situation. Such an atmosphere intensifies polarization within Americans, the level of suspicion, and the augmentation of radical opinions.
Younger and more liberal Americans are affected by social movements such as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter that emphasize solidarity with oppressed people and denounce colonialism and occupation. Long-term US support of Israel is in question due to the development of academic debate and activity around the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which has also revealed the intricacy of the problem.
Compared to earlier years, fewer Americans today consider the Israel-Hamas conflict to be strategically or personally significant to US interests. Sympathy for Israel is eroded as a result of this drop in perceived relevance, which lowers emotional involvement and support.
In the case of Arab youth, they admitted that they were more aware of the Palestinian cause and the reasons for the Palestinian cause, as well as the daily sufferings of Palestinians due to social media content when Israel invaded Gaza. This exposure acts as a benefit to young people who could otherwise not experience the media coverage that they can get in reaction to their emotions and their inclusion in the political system.
Social media is a very critical tool in recording and sharing events in situations where foreign journalists are unable to access them. With smartphones and digital networks, Palestinian activists and journalists reach global audiences in the form of investigations and videos, and it is this public opinion that is thereby influenced on a global level.
Social media also influences the reputation of businesses and the behavior of customers. It was established that social media affected the economic and political activities through public opinion on boycotting the businesses believed to be on the side of one group or the other during the Gaza-Israel conflict.
Why is America supporting Israel?
Democrats’ waning support for Israel in the protracted war with the Palestinians is a major factor in the continued erosion in American sympathy for the Israelis. The majority of Republicans still have sympathy for Israel. The majority of Americans still want the creation of an independent Palestinian state, although Democrats are much more in favor of it than Republicans. As world leaders debate how to ensure Israel’s safety after the war, what role Hamas will play in Gaza, and how to manage the West Bank, the discussion of a two-state solution for attaining peace in the area has largely been put on hold in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
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