Washington, DC – A new poll from the research firm Gallup indicates that only 32 percent of Americans support Israel’s military action in Gaza as atrocities against Palestinians are still persuading. This is a 10-point drop from September 2024.
The issue was also revealed by the survey’s release on Tuesday, which revealed a significant partisan gap. Democrats had 8% of the vote, while 71 percent of those who identified as Republicans said they were against Israel’s actions.
In total, 60% of respondents said they were against Israel’s military action in Gaza.
The most recent survey, according to Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland and director of the Critical Issues Poll, reveals a growing trend of Israeli discontent that extends beyond the Gaza war.
According to Telhami, “What we’re seeing here is an enraging generational paradigm among particularly young Americans — primarily Democrats and independents, but even some young Republicans — who now use the horrors of Gaza to characterize Israel itself,” according to Telhami.
Only 9% of those under the age of 35 in the survey on Tuesday said they approve of Israeli military action in Gaza, and 6% said they approve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Following a Pew Research Center poll conducted in April, the majority of respondents, including 50 percent of Republicans under 50, said they had negative views of Israel.
Washington’s unwavering support for Israel has been ongoing despite the change in public opinion in the US. The US has given Israel billions of dollars in military aid as well as diplomatic support at the UN since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
The Israeli assault on Gaza, which human rights organizations have characterized as a genocide, has been supported without a compromise by President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden.
In Gaza, Israel has imposed a suffocating siege, flattened the majority of the area, and reduced its buildings to rubble, killing more than 60, 000 Palestinians. The UN reported on Tuesday that there was “mounting evidence of famine and widespread starvation” and that the siege was to blame for the deadly hunger.
However, the US Congress continues to be steadfastly pro-Israel across all parties. In a 422-to-6 vote in the House of Representatives earlier this month, a legislative effort to stop Israel from receiving $500 million in missile defense funding failed.
What accounts for the tense relationship between the policies of ordinary Americans and their elected representatives’ positions?
Telhami cited “priorities” among voters. He explained that elections have traditionally been driven by foreign policy. For instance, Democrats typically choose domestic issues like abortion, the economy, and gun control as their top priority.
He also noted the influence of pro-Israel organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which have spent millions of dollars on progressive candidates for president.
However, the professor claims that things are changing.
He claimed that as more and more people in the US vote on the issue because they are “soul-searching” to question what they stand for, Palestine is taking on greater public importance.
“It’s not just Gaza,” he said. In terms of our assistance, support, or, at times, direct collaboration, we are enabling the horror in Gaza, according to Telhami.
That it is actually transforming who we are, not just “Do we support Israel?” Do we back Palestinians?
He claimed that the movement’s victory in the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City last month demonstrates it.
“Zohran Mamdani’s rise in New York is giving people pause because, as some people believed, he’s been able to generate excitement despite his views on Israel-Palestine, but rather because of his views on Israel-Palestine,” he said.
Source: Aljazeera
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