Americans, Especially Democrats, Becoming Less Sympathetic to Israel, Poll Finds

American sympathies regarding the Middle East are sharply shifting against Israel, according to a new Gallup poll. 

The poll, which collected responses from Feb. 3-16 and released its findings on Thursday, found that 46 percent of Americans sympathize with Israelis and 33 percent sympathize with Palestinians, reflecting the lowest level of support for the Jewish state in the 25 years of the survey's existence. The Jewish state's previous low-point in the poll stood at 51 percent in 2001. 

Moreover, American sympathy toward Palestinians has steadily climbed over the past decade. In 2015, only 15 percent of Americans expressed sympathy with Palestinians over Israelis. By 2023, that number increased to 27 percent. 

Democrats and Republicans also hold widely disparate views on Israel and the Palestinians, according to the poll. Approximately 83 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats currently have a "favorable" view of Israel, representing a staggering 50-point partisan gap. 

Though Republican support for Israel has largely remained stable since the start of the ongoing war in Gaza, Democratic support for the Jewish state has collapsed in recent years, dropping 20 points between 2022 and 2025. 

This is the first year that the majority of either major political party expressed an "unfavorable" view of Israel, with 60 percent of Democrats indicating a negative opinion of the Jewish state. In addition, 40 percent of self-described independent voters indicated an "unfavorable" view of Israel. 

The recent survey by Gallup is the latest indicator that support for Israel is increasingly fragmenting along partisan lines. An Economist/YouGov survey from last month found that 35 percent of Democrats indicate their sympathies "are more with" Palestinians, and only 9 percent say they are more sympathetic toward Israelis. 

Meanwhile, 32 percent of Democrats responded that their sympathies are "about equal" between both Palestinians and Israelis, and another 24 percent were not sure. That same poll revealed that 60 percent of Republicans expressed sympathy with Israelis, while 6 percent expressed more sympathy toward Palestinians.

Shifting views of Israel among the Democratic base have likely influenced liberal lawmakers to stake out more adversarial positions against the Jewish state. Although Democratic politicians have repeatedly reiterated that Israel has a right to "defend itself," many have raised concerns over the Jewish state's conduct in the war in Gaza. 

Many Democrats reportedly exerted private pressure on former US President Joe Biden to adopt a more aggressive stance against Israel and display more public sympathy for the Palestinians.

In November 2024, 17 Democrats voted in favor of implementing a partial arms embargo against Israel. Every Republican senator voted against the attempted embargo. High-profile Democratic lawmakers, such as Jon Ossoff (D-GA), accused Israel of behaving with "reckless disregard" for the lives of Palestinians. Ossoff also lectured Israel to "have mercy on the innocent." 

However, some Democrats, such as Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), have expressed unwavering support for Israel and have lambasted their liberal peers for abandoning support for the Jewish state.

Originally published at The Algemeiner