A Well of Sympathy for Israel
Favorability and Alliance
Partisanship
Religiosity
Race
Palestinian Statehood

A Well of Sympathy for Israel

Support for Israel is not restricted to the Jewish community. Americans of all ages, races, and religions sympathize with Israel. This support has also traditionally been bipartisan. Though most members of Congress on both sides of the aisle continue to support Israel, surveys have shown that support among Democrats in the general public has eroded.

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 the Palestinians?” (asked about the Arab nations until 1993). The organization that has conducted the most surveys is Gallup. In its most recent poll (February 2025), 46% sympathized with Israel, the lowest support in 25 years. Support for the Palestinians was 33%, the highest response ever. As noted below, this results from the dramatic decline in Democratic support.

The Gallup survey represented a continuation of the reversal in levels of support since the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. While much of the world sympathized with Israel immediately after the attack in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 were taken hostage, Israel came under intense criticism after it launched its ground operation – Operation Iron Sword – in Gaza, and thousands of Palestinian casualties were reported.

In recent years, Gallup has noted that many Americans have moved from “no preference” to the pro-Israeli column. Even when support for Israel dips, as occurred during Operation Protective Edge (July 8-August 26, 2014), when the NBC/WSJ and Pew polls found a decline in support to 46% and 51%, respectively, support for the Palestinians did not increase (it was 14% in both polls). Moreover, support for Israel inevitably bounces back.

In 94 Gallup polls going back to 1967, Israel has had the support of an average of 49% of the American people compared to 13% for the Arab states/Palestinians. The results are similar (48%-13%) when all 282 polls (beginning in 1967) asking similar questions are included. Americans have slightly more sympathy for the Palestinians than for the Arab states. Still, the results of polls asking respondents to choose between Israel and the Palestinians have not differed significantly from the other surveys. On average, Israel is favored by almost 4 to 1 in all polls.

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, 46%; in the 1990s, 50%, including the record high during the Gulf War. Since 2000, support for Israel has averaged 54%. In the eight Gallup polls conducted during President Barack Obama’s term, support for Israel soared to an average of 62%, with sympathy for the Palestinians increasing to 16%. In the four polls recorded during Donald Trump’s term, support for Israel was 61%. This was unsurprising given the pro-Israel policies adopted by Trump. What was more unexpected was the increase in sympathy for the Palestinians, which averaged 21%. Support for Israel slipped in the four Gallup polls during Joe Biden’s term to 55%, while sympathy for the Palestinians has averaged 27%

These polls are expected to be very sensitive to current events; however, Operation Protective Edge notwithstanding, that has generally not been the case. Gallup reported in early August 2014: “Despite the vividness of news and social media images emanating from the conflict in the Middle East [that were mostly unflattering toward Israel], Americans’ attention to the conflict and their attitudes about the actions on both sides have remained remarkably unchanged compared with...results from the period of Israeli-Palestinian violence 12 years ago.”

Operation Iron Sword in Gaza may also turn out to be an anomaly, but sympathy toward Israel in the first poll after it was launched, 51%, was the lowest since 2000, when it was 43%. That decline continued this year, which could be related to the increasing casualties in Gaza, the humanitarian situation, and the negative media coverage of Israel.

Favorability and Alliance

Gallup also conducts regular polls on world affairs. Overall, Israel’s favorability ratings in February 2025 were 54%, down from a high of 79% recorded in 1991 after the Gulf War and the lowest since 1992, when they were 48%. By contrast, just 32% of Americans had a favorable opinion of the Palestinian Territories (previously Gallup used Palestinian Authority), a record high. Jeffrey Jones wrote for Gallup, “It is unclear if the increase results from more positive views of the Palestinian people -- perhaps due to the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war or the loss of thousands of Palestinian lives in that conflict -- or because of the change in item wording.”

In 2025, Israel ranked 12th out of 22 countries in favorability, falling behind Egypt. The PA ranked 16th.

A Pew Research Center poll (March 2025) also found that the public’s views of Israel have become more negative over the past three years, roughly doubling from 10% to 19%.

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 (29% vs. 3% for the Palestinians’ side in the University of Maryland's December 2015 survey). Since 2007, most Americans have favored pressuring the Palestinians to make peace compromises. In Gallup’s February 2021 poll, 44% favored more pressure on the Palestinians, while a record high of 34% said the U.S. should put more pressure on the Israelis. 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. In May 2011, CNN found that 82% of Americans believed Israel is “friendly” or an “ally.” In 2013, ADL reported that 75% of the respondents considered Israel a “close ally” or “Friendly/not close ally.” In 2021, an Economist/YouGov poll found that 67% considered Israel “friendly” or an “ally.” In 2023, Pew reported that Israel was seen as the third-most-important ally, after the UK and Canada.

Partisanship and Age

Support for Israelis and the Palestinians differs dramatically based on party and ideology. There is a general misperception that Democratic support for Israel was historically much higher than Republican sympathy. That was never true, and the shift has been in the dramatic increase in Republican support for Israel.

In 42 Gallup polls dating back to 1993, the average support for Republicans is 69%, and for Democrats, 45%. However, a clear and seemingly inexorable trend shows Democratic support for Israel in severe decline from its second-highest level of 58% in 2014 (the peak was at the time of the 1991 Gulf War, when support for Israel hit its high for the first time—64%—and Democratic support was 62%) to just 21% in 2025. During that period, sympathy for the Palestinians increased from 23% to 59%. Initially, Megan Brenan noted, “Democrats’ declining sympathy for the Israelis was seemingly the result of disapproval of the nation’s right-leaning political leadership under [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. However, it has fallen further in the past two years.” This is most likely related to negative attitudes toward the conduct of the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Republican support has remained consistent at 81% in 2014 and 75% in 2025, while support for the Palestinians has increased from 7% to 10%. The partisan gap in support for Israel has widened, rising from 45% in 2024 to 54% in 2025.

A similar trend is evident in favorability ratings toward Israel and the Palestinian Territories. In 2025, the partisan gap was 50 points, shattering the prior record of 30 in 2023. In 2014, 74% of Democrats had a favorable opinion of Israel; in 2025, it dropped to 33%. For the first time, a majority of Democrats (60%) rated Israel unfavorably. Independents also saw Israel less favorably since the war started in Gaza, falling from a high of 76% in 2021 to 48% in 2024.

The 2025 Pew survey revealed a similar pattern: 69% of Democrats had an unfavorable opinion of Israel compared to 37% of Republicans. That represented an increase in both since 2022, when the split was 53% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans holding negative views of Israel.

There was an equally marked difference among Gallup respondents in different age groups in sympathy for Israel versus the Palestinians – 18-34 year-olds favored the Palestinians 48% to 29%, 35-54 year-olds were nearly the opposite, preferring Israel by 45% to 33%. Those over 55 sympathize with Israel by 56% to 27%.

Over the past three years, Pew found that both younger and older Democrats have become more critical of Israel; however, the shift has been more pronounced among older Democrats, whose negative views have risen by 23 points, compared to a 9-point increase among younger Democrats.

The most significant change among Republicans has occurred among younger adults. Today, Republicans under 50 are nearly evenly split in their views of Israel, with 50% expressing an unfavorable opinion and 48% a positive one. This marks a sharp contrast from 2022, when 63% viewed Israel positively and only 35% negatively.

According to Gallup Senior Scientist Frank Newport, younger Americans, especially those aged 18–29, are driving the trend away from support for Israel. Once more sympathetic to Israel, despite leaning left politically, they are now nearly evenly divided between the two sides—making them the most pro-Palestinian cohort in U.S. history.

The results are less surprising considering that older Americans have historically been more sympathetic to Israel. Some are alarmed by the disparity; however, if past trends persist, the youngest people today will likely shift their views in Israel’s favor. Still, even the oldest cohorts significantly improved their attitudes toward the Palestinians, and barring changes in Israeli policy, this may result in changes in U.S. policy.

Religiosity

The shift in support for Israel reflects declining religiosity in the U.S. and changes in religious demographics, according to Newport. Protestants, long Israel’s strongest base of support, have dropped from 52% to 45% of the population, while the religiously unaffiliated (“nones”) have risen above 20%. Protestants remain overwhelmingly pro-Israel, but their shrinking share reduces Israel’s traditional support. In contrast, “nones” have not only grown but have become the only major group with greater sympathy for Palestinians than for Israelis—a “double blow” for Israel.

Catholics have also become somewhat more sympathetic to Palestinians, though they still favor Israel by a 2-to-1 margin. Even among American Jews, historically near-unanimous in support for Israel, sympathy for Palestinians has modestly increased, with more expressing neutrality or ambivalence, Newport observed.

He also noted that those who attend services most often remain the most pro-Israel, while those who rarely or never attend are now evenly split or lean pro-Palestinian. As religious observance declines nationwide, support for Israel erodes in tandem.

Evangelicals have historically been very pro-Israel; however, a survey by Kirill Bumin and Motti Inbari indicates that their opinions may be shifting, especially among youth. Overall, in 2021, 50% of evangelicals supported Israel compared to 19% for the Palestinians (31% supported neither). Those under 30, however, favored the Palestinians by 45%-29%, while those over 30 supported Israel by 56%-12%.

In the 2025 Pew survey, 72% of White evangelical protestants viewed Israel favorably. Muslims had an almost mirror-negative opinion (81%), and White non-evangelical Protestants and Catholics were about evenly divided in their views.

Newport concluded that Israel’s strongest supporters—religious and older Americans—are shrinking demographically, while the fastest-growing segments of the population—young and secular Americans—are increasingly sympathetic to the Palestinians, creating risks for the future of U.S.-Israel relations.

Race

Changing demographics might affect U.S. policy towards Israel. Blacks have historically been less sympathetic to Israel than whites, and, over the last three years, support for both Israelis and Palestinians has averaged 41% compared to whites favoring Israel by 62% to 24%. For Hispanics, the comparable figures are 48% to 29%. Support for Israel among these minorities has not dropped precipitously, but, as in the case of Democrats, their sympathy for the Palestinians has grown. In 2025, whites favored Israel by a 54%-30% margin, non-whites favored the Palestinians by 40-31%.

Palestinian Statehood

Given their sympathy for the Palestinians, it is unsurprising that 76% of Democrats support a Palestinian state, compared with 53% of independents and 41% of Republicans. The question, “Do you favor or oppose the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip?” does not take into account nuances such as the boundaries of such a state or requirements for Israeli security.

See also: American Attitudes Toward the Middle East
American Opinion Toward Israel As A Friend And Ally
Gallup Polls
American Sympathy Toward Israel/Arabs/Palestinians
American Jewish College Student Survey
Palestinian Homeland Polls
Public Attitudes Toward the Peace Process
Public Opinion Toward Foreign Aid
American Jewish Committee Annual Polls

Sources: Gallup; CNN; ADL;
Frank Newport, “Support for Israel in U.S. Hampered by Declining Religiosity,” Gallup, (June 21, 2024).
Jeffrey M. Jones, “U.S. Views of Israel, Ukraine, Mexico Most Divided by Party,” Gallup, (February 24, 2025).
Megan Brenan, “Less Than Half in U.S. Now Sympathetic Toward Israelis,” Gallup, (March 6, 2025).
Laura Silver, “How Americans view Israel and the Israel-Hamas war at the start of Trump’s second term,” Pew Research Center, (April 8, 2025).

American Public Opinion Toward Israel: An Overview