Public Opinion Toward Israel

By Mitchell Bard

(Updated June 17, 2009)

Support for Israel is not restricted to the Jewish community. Americans of all ages, races and religions sympathize with Israel. This support is also nonpartisan, with a majority of Democrats and Republicans consistently favoring Israel by large margins over the Arabs.

The best indication of Americans' attitude toward Israel is found in the response to the most consistently asked question about the Middle East: “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with Israel or with the Arab nations?” The organization that has conducted the most surveys is Gallup. Support for Israel in Gallup Polls has remained consistently around the 50% mark since 1967. The most recent poll, reported by Gallup in February 2008, found that sympathy for Israel was 59% compared to 17% for the Palestinians. Israel’s popularity only exceeded this figure during the Gulf War. A year earlier, Gallup also reported “as Americans have moved out of the ‘no preference’ columns, they have moved disproportionately into the pro-Israeli column.”

Despite the violence of the preceding years, and a steady stream of negative media coverage, this exceeds the level of support (56%) Israel enjoyed after the 1967 war, when many people mistakenly believe that Israel was overwhelmingly popular. Israel reached the zenith of its popularity during the Gulf War. In January 1991, sympathy for Israel reached a record high of 64%. Meanwhile, support for the Arabs dropped to 8% and the margin was a record 56 points.

In 80 Gallup polls, going back to 1967, Israel has had the support of an average of 46% of the American people compared to 12% for the Arab states/Palestinians. The results are similar (47%-11%) when all 186 polls asking similar questions are included. Americans have slightly more sympathy for the Palestinians than for the Arab states, but the results of polls asking respondents to choose between Israel and the Palestinians have not differed significantly from the other surveys.

Overall, support for Israel has been on the upswing since 1967. In the 1970s, the average level of support for Israel was 42%, in the 1980s, it was 46%, and, in the 1990s, 50%, including the record highs during the Gulf War. Since 2000, support for Israel is averaging 50%.

Meanwhile, support for the Arabs/Palestinians has actually declined in the last two decades from an anemic average just below 15% in the 1980s to less than 15% since 2000. On average, Israel is favored by more than 3 to 1.

Gallup also takes regular polls on world affairs. Overall favorable ratings of Israel in February 2009 were 63%. By contrast, just 15% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Palestinian Authority, while 73% have an unfavorable view, only marginally better than the 2006 figure of 78%, the most negative Gallup recorded since it began asking about the Palestinian Authority in 2000. The PA is rated just above North Korea (15%) and Iran (12%) as the least popular countries. The same poll also found that 60% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia.

Since 1998, roughly three-fourths of respondents have said the United States should take neither side in the conflict, but those who do pick a side overwhelmingly choose Israel (27% vs. 1% for the Palestinian's side in 2001). More than three-fourths of Americans also believe Palestinian-Israeli peace is somewhat or very important to the United States.

Polls also indicate the public views Israel as a reliable U.S. ally, a feeling that grew stronger during the Gulf crisis. A January 1991 Harris Poll, for example, found that 86% of Americans consider Israel a “close ally” or “friendly.” This was the highest level ever recorded in a Harris Poll. The figure in 2006 was 75%. In a December 2008 Rasmussen poll, the figure was 63%.