As fighting continues in Gaza and Lebanon, a record proportion of U.S. voters say their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians than Israelis, according to a poll released Thursday.
In the Quinnipiac University poll, 38% of voters said they were more sympathetic to the Palestinians, while 35% named the Israelis. Another 27% had no opinion.
“Since Oct. 7, 2023, the state of Israel has lost ground in the eyes of American voters, while the Palestinian population has new-found support,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy told JNS.
A Quinnipiac poll taken right after Oct. 7 had a record 61% of U.S voters expressing sympathy with the Israelis and 12% siding with the Palestinians. But the longer the war in Gaza continued, the fewer the American voters who sympathized with Israel. Support slipped under 50% in December 2023 has remained there ever since.
Much of that is drop-off due to younger voters, Malloy said.
Sam Markstein, political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, noted the lack of support among Democrats. They sided with the Palestinians, 62% to 13%, while Republicans were more sympathetic to Israelis by 64% to 14%. Independents sympathized with the Palestinians over the Israelis by 40% to 29%.
Almost half of registered voters, 48%, said the U.S. was too supportive of Israel, including 67% of Democrats and 57% of independents.
Another 34% said the support was about right, including 68% of Republicans, and 8% said the U.S. was not supportive enough. Another 10% had no opinion.
“Israel had to respond forcefully because in that neck of the woods, you have to be strong,” Markstein said. “We obviously grieve for every single life that was lost, but the lives that are lost in Gaza are not the responsibility of Israel. They’re the responsibility of Hamas, who started this whole thing.”
The percentage of voters sympathizing with the Palestinians was the highest, and the percentage sympathizing with the Israelis was the lowest, since Quinnipiac began asking the question in December 2001.
