After two years of war, US public backs Palestinians over Israel for first time — poll

Support for Israel has plummeted in the US after nearly two years of war in Gaza, according to a poll released on Monday.

The poll, by The New York Times and Siena University, said that more respondents backed the Palestinians over Israel for the first time since the survey began asking the question in 1998.

The poll was in line with other recent surveys showing Israel’s support dropping among swathes of the American public.

Immediately after the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel, 47% of respondents backed Israel, compared to 20% who backed Palestinians, The New York Times reported.

In Monday’s survey, 35% supported the Palestinians, and 34% Israel, while the remainder said they didn’t know or didn’t favor either side.

Questions about ending the war and military support for Israel also showed the harsh view many Americans have of the Jewish state.

A slight majority of 51% opposed the US providing economic and military support to Israel, while 39% were in favor.

Nearly six in ten respondents said Israel should halt its military campaign “to protect against civilian casualties,” even if the hostages were not released, or Hamas was not eliminated — Israel’s chief goals.

Most respondents, or 62%, said Israel was not taking enough precautions to avoid civilian casualties, and 40% said they believed Israel was intentionally killing civilians. In December 2023, 22% said that Israel was intentionally killing civilians.

Antagonism toward Israel was highest among younger respondents and Democrats.

Among 18-29 year olds, 61% backed the Palestinians over Israel, and among Democrats, 54% sided with the Palestinians and 13% with Israel.

Republicans favored Israel by a margin of 64% to 9%, although that support has also seen a modest decline.

Around the start of the war, Democrats were nearly evenly divided between their support for Israel and the Palestinians. The biggest shift against Israel has been among white Democrats with college degrees, the report said.

Eighty-one percent of Democrats said Israel should stop the war, even if the hostages are not freed or Hamas not eliminated, compared to 30% of Republicans.

Close to seven out of 10 respondents under the age of 30 opposed providing economic or military aid to Israel.

The poll queried 1,313 registered US voters between September 22 and September 27. The margin of error was 3.2 percentage points.