(JTA) — Fewer than half of Americans sympathize more with Israelis than with Palestinians, according to a new Gallup poll, the lowest figure for Israelis since at least 2001.
The poll, published Thursday, found that 46% of respondents sympathize more with Israelis while 33% sympathize more with Palestinians.
The 13-point gap is also the smallest since at least 2001. That year, 51% of respondents sympathized more with Israelis, but only 16% sympathized more with Palestinians.
Sympathy for Israelis has dropped in the past few years, as Israel has been led by a hardline right-wing government and, since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, fought a war against the terror group in Gaza with high numbers of casualties.
Thursday’s poll was taken in February, spanning the time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington, DC and President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of the Gaza Strip, which Netanyahu endorsed.
A decade ago, 62% of respondents sympathized more with Israelis, compared to 16% with the Palestinians. In 2022, the gap was 55% to 26%.
Among Democrats, the drop this year was even starker, with the Palestinians receiving more sympathy by a wide margin: Just 21% say they sympathize more with Israelis, while 59% sympathize more with Palestinians.
Polls show Israel losing sympathy
That’s a considerable shift from 2022, when Democrats’ sympathies were about even at 40% for Israelis vs. 38% for Palestinians. Last year, it was 43% for Palestinians vs. 38% for Israelis. Polls taken more than a decade ago show Democratic sympathies lying more with Israelis by wide margins.
Thursday’s number dovetails with a Gallup poll released in late February that found just 33% of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel, compared with 83% of Republicans.
This week’s poll found that Republican sympathies with Israelis have remained relatively steady, at 75% vs. 10% for Palestinians. Among independents, the Israeli-Palestinian split was 42% to 34%.
The poll also found that 55% of Americans, and majorities of Democrats and independents, support the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Among Republicans, support for a Palestinian state was at 41%.
The poll also found that just 40% of respondents approve of the way President Donald Trump is handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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