The vast majority of Israelis — nearly eight in ten — say they are concerned about a decline in support for Israel among the American public, according to a new survey reported by JTA.
The poll of 1,000 Jewish Israeli adults, conducted Dec. 11 by the Ruderman Family Foundation, comes amid a notable decline in support for Israel across the American political spectrum over the course of the war in Gaza.
In September, a poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena University found that, for the first time, American voters sympathized more with Palestinians than Israelis. While support for Israel has long been a hallmark of the Republican Party, a June poll also found that sympathy for Israelis had dropped within the GOP over the previous year.
Among younger Republicans, criticism of U.S. support for Israel has risen in the wake of the Gaza war alongside a growth of antisemitic influence, raising alarm among Jewish GOP leadership.
The June poll also found that sympathy for Israelis among Democrats had dropped to just 12%, while 60% sympathized more with Palestinians.
These changes have left Israelis alarmed, according to the survey. Nearly half of respondents said they were “very concerned” or “concerned” about declining U.S. support, while another 30% said they were “concerned to some extent.” Concern was higher among older and secular Israelis.
But even as the poll found that declining support among Americans overall was a matter of stark concern for Israelis, it focused more on ties between Jewish Americans and Israelis, finding that 44% of Israelis expect support for Israel among younger American Jews to be lower in the future than it is today.
Indeed, an October poll from the Washington Post found that emotional ties to Israel were far lower among younger Jews. While 68% of American Jews over 65 said they were emotionally connected to Israel, among those aged between 18 and 34, that share dropped to 36%.