US public opinion increasingly negative toward Israel, polls show

Public opinion toward Israel in the US has grown increasingly negative, according to several recent polls, reflecting mounting concern over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

A Pew Research Center survey released in July found that Americans have become more critical of both the Israeli people and government in recent years, while their views of Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have remained relatively stable.

Negative perceptions of Israel increased across both major political parties, age groups and most religious categories.

In 2026, 42% of Americans viewed the Israeli people unfavorably, up from 28% in 2019. Favorable views of the Israeli government fell to 32% from 41% over the same period. Americans also expressed increasingly negative views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An AP-NORC poll, also released this month, similarly found that US attitudes toward Israel had worsened, with Democrats driving much of the shift because of their criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

The survey found that 40% of Americans believed the US was “too supportive” of Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, up from 37% in January 2024 and 27% in August 2023, before the Oct. 7 attacks.

Among Democrats, 58% said Washington was too supportive of Israel, compared with 45% two years earlier. Among Republicans, the figure rose only slightly to 27% from 25%.

Support is also weakening among younger Republicans, raising questions about whether the party’s traditionally strong backing for Israel will endure, Axios reported last month.

Republican support has come under growing pressure as Israel’s military campaign devastated the Gaza Strip and Netanyahu clashed with US President Donald Trump’s administration over efforts to end the Iran war.

Netanyahu had long sought to offset declining Democratic support by strengthening ties with Republicans. But recent polling and criticism from prominent conservative figures suggest support is also eroding within the party, particularly among younger voters.

An April Pew poll found that four in 10 Republicans viewed Israel unfavorably. The share rose to 57% among Republicans aged 18 to 49, compared with 25% among those aged 50 and older.

A Quinnipiac University poll released last month found that one in five Republicans believed the US was too supportive of Israel, three times the level recorded after the Oct. 7 attacks.

A University of Maryland Critical Issues poll also found that fewer than half of Republicans, 46%, considered Israel’s military actions in Gaza justified as self-defense. Among Republicans aged 18 to 34, only 22% supported Israel’s actions.