Tuomas A. Lehtinen / Getty Images A poll released by Gallup on March 16 found that, for the first time, Democrats have become more sympathetic to the Palestinians than the Israelis.
The poll, from February 1-23, asked respondents, “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?” Forty-nine percent of Democrats said the Palestinians, 38% said the Israelis and 13% said neither. Gallup’s Lydia Saad noted that the 38% and 13% figures are “new lows” among Democrats and that the 49% figure was an increase of 11% from the previous year.
Forty-nine percent of independents said they were more sympathetic to Israelis, 32% said the Palestinians and 19% said neither side; Saad wrote that the 32% figure was a “new high” among independents. As for Republicans, 78% said they were more sympathetic to Israelis, 11% said the Palestinians and another 11% chose neither; Saad wrote that these figures are “unchanged.”
Nationwide, 54% of Americans said they sympathize more with Israelis, which Saad noted was “similar to last year’s 55% but is the lowest since 2005.” Thirty-one percent said they sympathized more with Palestinians, a “new high” per Saad. “The resulting 23-point gap in Americans’ sympathy for Israel versus the Palestinians represents Israel’s slimmest advantage on this question in Gallup’s World Affairs poll trend,” Saad wrote. “It is also the first time Israel has not enjoyed a better than 2-to-1 advantage over the Palestinians in Americans’ sympathies.”
Additionally, Saad pointed out that there are generational differences in terms of support for Israel, as “net sympathy toward Israel—the percentage sympathizing more with the Israelis than the Palestinians—is solidly positive among older generations, including baby boomers (+46 points), Generation X (+32) and the Silent Generation (+31).” “By contrast, millennials are now evenly divided, with 42% sympathizing more with the Palestinians and 40% with the Israelis, yielding a -2 net-Israel sympathy score,” Saad wrote.
And yet, American “favorability toward Israel remains strong,” Saad wrote, noting that, when pitted against the Palestinian Authority (PA), Americans are far more favorable toward Israel by a margin of 68% to 26%. That 68% is among the “average” in past Gallup polls, per Saad. “Israel is viewed favorably by a majority of all party groups—82% of Republicans, 67% of independents and 56% of Democrats,” she wrote. “Conversely, relatively few in all three groups view the Palestinian Authority positively: 36% of Democrats, 28% of independents and 9% of Republicans.”
Saad posited that the Democrats’ increasing sympathies for the Palestinians could be due to two facts: more Palestinians being killed as a result of an “escalation of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities over the past year” and the fact that Democrats have become increasingly less religious. “Sympathy for Israel has historically been highly correlated with religion, with those attending religious services weekly being much more sympathetic to the Israelis than those who seldom or never attend,” Saad wrote. Saad concluded her analysis by arguing that the wide favorability disparity between Israel and the PA shows “that while rank-and-file Democrats may want Palestinians’ needs addressed, they will want solutions that respect Israel’s needs as well.”
Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement that the March 16 poll reflected “an extremely troubling trend.” “Many elected Democrats claim to be pro-Israel, but party activists and rank-and-file members are increasingly indifferent and even hostile to the Jewish state,” Brooks said. “It’s long past time for Democratic leaders to admit they have a problem that must be addressed to restore the historic bipartisan support for Israel.”
🚨SHOCKING new Gallup poll finds more Dems now take sides against Israel.
RJC CEO @mbrooksrjc: "This is an extremely troubling trend…It’s long past time for Dem. leaders to admit they have a problem that must be addressed to restore the historic bipartisan support for Israel." pic.twitter.com/8pt1zk996F
— RJC (@RJC) March 16, 2023
Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), an open supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, argued on Twitter that the poll shows that “Americans are recognizing now more than ever that Palestinians face violence and racism from the Israeli government.” “New polling reflects the shift we’ve seen in our communities, with Democrats increasingly supporting Palestinian human rights,” she added. “At a time when so many Democrats have rallied against fascism at home, many of these same people are wondering why we send billions of dollars every year to a far-right government that leading human rights organizations say is maintaining an apartheid system.”
Fellow Americans are recognizing now more than ever that Palestinians face violence and racism from the Israeli government. New polling reflects the shift we've seen in our communities, with Democrats increasingly supporting Palestinian human rights.https://t.co/Ve5adpnDze
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 16, 2023
At a time when so many Democrats have rallied against fascism at home, many of these same people are wondering why we send billions of dollars every year to a far-right government that leading human rights organizations say is maintaining an apartheid system.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 16, 2023
Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer said in a statement, “There is no contradiction between being pro-Israel & supporting Palestinian rights, which is why Democrats continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as security assistance for Israel and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a zero-sum game, and thus polling that presents it as a binary choice is inherently flawed. Also, there is no evidence of erosion of support for Israel among Democrats in Congress & the White House.”
…There is no contradiction between being pro-Israel & supporting Palestinian rights, which is why Democrats continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as security assistance for Israel and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians…
— Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) March 17, 2023
…The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a zero-sum game, and thus polling that presents it as a binary choice is inherently flawed. Also, there is no evidence of erosion of support for Israel among Democrats in Congress & the White House."
— Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) March 17, 2023
Democratic Majority for Israel tweeted that the poll shows that “a majority of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel.”
A new Gallup poll finds a majority of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel. #proIsrael #democrats pic.twitter.com/YMSDFzrapD
— Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) March 17, 2023
Laura E. Adkins, Opinions Editor of The Forward, tweeted that the question Gallup asked respondents was “supremely flawed” in part because “many reasonable people ‘sympathize’ with *both* Israelis and Palestinians. It’s a false choice. Not to mention that the U.S., for example, gives ample aid to both sides.” She also argued that the poll was taken during February, a month that “was blood soaked, and well-documented in American media. Of *course* sympathies for the Palestinians were markedly higher in February!”
For one, many reasonable people "sympathize" with *both* Israelis and Palestinians. It's a false choice.
Not to mention that the U.S., for example, gives ample aid to both sides.
— Laura E. Adkins (@Laura_E_Adkins) March 16, 2023
2: Timing matters.
The poll was conducted in February.
Remember February?
It was blood soaked, and well-documented in American media.
Of *course* sympathies for the Palestinians were markedly higher in February!https://t.co/s6Gape0t5h
— Laura E. Adkins (@Laura_E_Adkins) March 16, 2023
Washington Examiner Magazine Executive Editor Seth Mandel tweeted, “Fascinating to watch Chuck Schumer and Steny Hoyer preside over this shift” and then added in a later tweet that the results of the poll don’t “have much to do with the actions of Schumer/Hoyer, as there are no actions by Schumer/Hoyer.” He also tweeted that the wording of the question in the poll wasn’t “great” because “I disapprove of asking [people] to choose. Can sympathize with both! Sympathy is a good thing to have, and it’s not a finite resource. I encourage everyone to not think of the conflict as a binary choice.”
Fascinating to watch Chuck Schumer and Steny Hoyer preside over this shift https://t.co/HYEpkWG2eJ
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 16, 2023
definitely doesn't have much to do with the actions of Schumer/Hoyer, as there are no actions by Schumer/Hoyer
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 16, 2023
It's not great wording to begin with also because I disapprove of asking ppl to choose. Can sympathize with both! Sympathy is a good thing to have, and it's not a finite resource. I encourage everyone to not think of the conflict as a binary choice.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 17, 2023
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