Record number of Americans think Israel isn’t getting enough US support — poll
At the same time, Netanyahu’s public image in the United States hits an all-time low, Gallup survey finds
A record share of the United States public thinks that the US government is not doing enough to support Israel in the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, a Gallup poll conducted between December 1 and December 20 has found.
At the same time, however, the poll, published Friday, found that Americans view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more unfavorably than ever.
When asked by Gallup if they believe that the US is giving adequate support to Israel, 38 percent of respondents said that Israel receives the right amount of support.
An additional 36% of people said Israel is getting too much support, while 24% said it isn’t getting enough.
According to Gallup, which has been asking the same question periodically since 2001, the 24% who say that the US isn’t doing enough for Israel is the highest figure it has ever recorded.
When asked whether the US is giving adequate support to Palestinians, 31% said there was too much support, 33% said they were receiving the right amount, and 33% said they weren’t receiving enough support.
When examining the responses along party lines, Gallup found that 40% of Democrats and 26% of Republicans believe Israel receives too much support from the US, while just 14% of Democrats but 52% of Republicans believe Palestinians receive too much.
Turning to the question of US involvement in resolving the ongoing war, which began on October 7 with the deadly Hamas assault on more than 20 communities in southern Israel, 39% of people said that they believe the US isn’t doing enough to end the fighting.
An additional 19% of people said that the US is doing too much to this end, while 41% said that the US’s involvement, as it currently stands, is adequate.
Examined along party lines, the poll showed 48% of Democrats believe the US is being adequately involved, compared to 33% of Republicans. Forty percent of both Republicans and Democrats believe that not enough is being done to end the war.
Since the start of the war in Gaza — triggered by the brutal Hamas massacre on October 7 in which some 1,200 people were killed and over 240 others were taken as hostages — US President Joe Biden’s administration has continued to provide support to Israel while at the same time stressing the need to minimize civilian casualties.
At the same time as more people than ever believe that Israel deserves more support from the US than it is currently receiving, US support for Israel’s prime minister is at an all-time low.
Asked by Gallup for their opinion on Netanyahu, 47% of people said they view him unfavorably, while just 33% said they view him favorably.
Before the December 2023 poll, Gallup had asked the same question of US adults in 2019. At the time, 40% of people said they viewed him favorably and just 27% said they did not.
The question of Netanyahu’s image in the US has been asked by Gallup periodically since 1997, and his favorability rating amid the ongoing war in Gaza is the worst on record.
While support for Netanyahu is still high among Republicans, of whom 55% said they view him in a positive light, the number has still dipped from the 65% of Republicans who said the same in 2019.
As in the US, Netanyahu’s public approval has dropped dramatically in Israel since October 7.
With many blaming the prime minister and his hardline right-wing government for the security failures that led to the October 7 assault, a survey published Friday by the Israel Democracy Institute found that only 15% of Israelis want Netanyahu to remain in office after the war ends.
An additional survey published by the Kan public broadcaster on Sunday night found that Netanyahu’s Likud party would win just 20 seats if elections were to be held today, compared to its current 32, and that the bloc of parties that make up his current government would fall far short of being able to form a majority coalition.
