The latest Pew Research Center survey concerning American public opinion toward Israel is troubling, even if not entirely surprising. As Americans look at the Middle East, fewer are saying that the Israel-Hamas war is important to them or to U.S. national interests than felt that way before.
The poll, which was conducted between March 24 and 30, finds that Israel’s favorability rating among a cross section of Americans had a minus 8% rating, with 45% of Americans viewing Israel favorably, while 53% view it unfavorably. These results represent a dramatic change from Pew’s last poll of this nature in 2022, in which Israel had a plus 13% favorability score among Americans, with 55% favorable and 42% unfavorable.
The falloff in popular support for Israel is consistent with the findings of a Gallup poll conducted in February, but the Pew results show an even deeper decline in American support for Israel.
According to the Pew report, Israel is losing support from older Democrats and younger Republicans. Older Democrats — who were reasonably strong supporters of Israel during the Biden administration — are likely disenchanted with the close relationship between Israel and the Trump administration. Their support for Israel has crashed to a 66% negativity rating, which represents a 22-point drop in support over the past three years.
And while a healthy majority of Republicans still view Israel favorably, not all do. Younger Republicans appear to be influenced by the increase in anti-Israel and antisemitic postings and discussions on social media and on right-wing podcasts. Thus, Republicans under 50 years of age are now pretty evenly divided over Israel, with 50% viewing Israel negatively and 48% viewing it positively.
What saves Israel’s favorability rating among Republicans is the evangelical community. Among evangelical Protestants, for example, 72% view Israel positively. Among nonevangelical Protestants, Israel’s favorability rating falls to 47%.
Much of the diminution of popular support for Israel focuses on negative feelings toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Fifty-two percent of surveyed Americans have little or no confidence that Netanyahu “will do the right thing regarding world affairs,” while 32% express confidence in him. That troubling statistic is partially driven by Netanyahu’s very clear decision to align fully with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party and to give relatively short shrift to even longtime Democratic friends and supporters.
This public perception is real. And as the Pew survey results confirm, that perception influences opinion. Democrats are feeling undervalued and underappreciated by the Netanyahu government even as they work hard to maintain support for the Jewish state against mounting questions and criticism.
The Senate’s recent vote on what has now become Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) yearly attack on continued U.S. funding for Israel is a good example. Democrats rallied in support of Israel. And support for Sanders’ proposals was less than it had been last year. But Israel’s embrace of that result was muted, even as Netanyahu continued his effort to curry favor with Trump.
Israel and Netanyahu have a decision to make. They can continue what they are doing and likely sustain support in the short term, or they can recalibrate their efforts to embrace and cultivate those segments of the American population that they are losing — including crucial support from the Democratic Party. It shouldn’t be a difficult decision. ■
It’s not a difficult decision. A Democratic party led by Sanders and AOC is a death destination for Israel. Until the other Democrats start fighting these radicals, ignoring their party is the only rational decision.