Americans' support for Israel declining, poll shows

Forty per cent of voters say US ally intentionally killing civilians in Gaza

Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage in Gaza wave American flags at a rally outside the US embassy in Tel Aviv on Monday. Getty Images

Support for Israel among US voters has declined 13 percentage points over the past year, a new poll has shown.

The survey of 1,313 voters nationwide, carried out by The New York Times and Siena, also showed that most Americans oppose sending further economic and military aid to Israel.

After the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, polling at the time showed that 47 per cent of US voters sympathised with Israel, compared with 20 per cent who backed Palestinians. But this year's poll, released on Monday, showed support for Israel has dropped to 34 per cent while support for Palestinians was at 35 per cent. Thirty-one per cent said they were unsure or backed both equally.

The report comes as the war in Gaza, which health officials in the enclave say has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, approaches its second anniversary. Tens of thousands have been injured and much of the territory has been reduced to rubble.

Forty per cent of those polled voiced the belief that Israel is intentionally killing civilians in Gaza – almost double the proportion who agreed with that statement in 2023. About six in 10 agree that Israel should end its campaign in the enclave.

The US has continued to support Israel throughout the conflict, providing military and economic aid despite growing opposition in Congress.

According to the survey, almost seven in 10 American voters oppose sending more aid to Israel. Younger voters, regardless of party affiliation, were more likely to support an end to aid.

The decline has mostly been driven by Democratic voters, more than half (54 per cent) of whom say they sympathise more with Palestinians, while only 13 per cent express greater sympathy for Israel.

Republicans still support Israel over Palestinians – by 64 per cent to nine per cent – but even their backing has declined by 12 percentage points since 2023.

While prominent Republicans have traditionally been vocal in their support of Israel, cracks are forming in the party. One example is Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, who has said US taxpayers should not be forced to continue supporting “nuclear-armed Israel”. She is joined by conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who has called Israeli influence on US policy “humiliating”.