JTA
A new poll found that half of U.S. voters — including 77% of Democrats — believe that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, in a finding that adds to mounting signals of deep public disapproval of Israel’s operations there, JTA reported.
The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac between Aug. 21 and 25, also found that 60% of Americans said the United States should not send more weapons for Israel to use against Hamas in Gaza.
The rate was higher — 75% — among Democrats, reflecting a position being adopted at a rapid clip by Democrats in Congress, including, last week, a leading moderate on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith.
A month into the Gaza war in November 2023, Quinnipiac found that 39% of Americans opposed sending more aid to Israel for use against Hamas. The following month, 46% opposed sending more aid. Since then, the number has only risen.
The poll also asked a question the firm has surveyed on for more than two decades: “From what you know about the situation in the Middle East, do your sympathies lie more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?” The latest results found a statistical dead heat, the strongest showing for the Palestinians in the poll’s history.
“Support for the Palestinians grows while the appetite for funding Israel militarily dips sharply. And a harsh assessment of the way Israel is prosecuting the Gaza campaign invokes a word of infamy,” Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac analyst, said in a statement summarizing the new poll’s results.
