There has been a significant decline in Americans’ opinions of Israel in recent years, particularly among Democrats and independents, as revealed by a recent national poll.
This survey, shared by NBC News, comes two and a half years after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza, amidst ongoing contentious discussions within the Democratic Party regarding support for Israel.
The poll, conducted from February 27 to March 2, shows just 32% of Americans view Israel positively, while 39% hold negative views. This represents a notable shift from three years ago, when the positive opinion was at 47% compared to 34% negative.
Much of the downturn in favorable opinions stems from Democrats and independents.
In 2023, the Democratic Party is clearly divided, with 34% expressing positive views of Israel and 35% negative. Currently, only 13% of Democrats feel positively towards Israel, while 57% view it negatively.
For independents, the shift is stark as positive views have plummeted from 40%-22% to just 21%-48% negative.
Interestingly, while Republicans have also seen a slight decline in their views—moving from 63% positive to 12% negative in 2023 to 54% positive and 18% negative now—it’s notably less drastic.
The survey, coinciding with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, also suggests that Americans are split in their sympathies between Israel and the Palestinians.
In 2013, Americans favored Israel by a significant margin of 45% to 13%, whereas now it’s pretty much a toss-up, with 40% sympathizing with Israel and 39% with Palestinians.
There is a clear shift among Democrats; back in 2013, they were more sympathetic to Israel by a margin of 34% to 18%, but now they favor Palestinians by 67% to 17%.
Independents who were once more sympathetic towards Israel by 37% to 10% are now leaning towards Palestinians by a margin of 37% to 27%.
Conversely, polls indicate that Republicans continue to show stronger support for Israel. They’ve increased from a 67% to 8% margin in 2013 to 69% to 13% today.
The poll also points to a generational divide, revealing a decline in positive views and sympathy toward Israel among younger Americans.
Recently, an attack by Hamas on Israel resulted in about 1,200 fatalities and 251 individuals being taken captive.
Palestinian health officials report that more than 72,000 people have died in Israeli military actions in Gaza since the beginning of this conflict.
Although a majority of Republicans still back Israel, the ongoing war in Gaza has ignited a heated debate among Democrats, which is shaping up in the context of the party’s 2026 primaries.
