What do Americans think of Israel? Poll finds large shift in opinion since war

Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald on Apr 9, 2025

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In a shift from recent years, the majority of Americans now have a negative view toward Israel, according to new polling, which comes as the war in Gaza marks a year and a half long.

In the latest Pew Research Center survey, 53% of respondents said they have a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of Israel, marking an 11-point increase from 42% in 2022, when Pew last asked the question.

The poll — conducted March 24-30 with 3,605 U.S. adults — found negative views toward the Middle Eastern nation have increased across the political spectrum.

The vast majority of Democrats, 69%, now express an unfavorable opinion, which is up from 53% in 2022.

This shift was pronounced among older Democrats, with those aged 50 and above swinging 23 points from 43% to 66%, while 18-49-year-olds swung 9 points.

Meanwhile, a far smaller share of Republicans, 37%, said they have an unfavorable view, which is an increase from 27% in 2022.

Younger GOP respondents changed their views the most over this time frame, with negative attitudes among 18-49-year-olds growing from 35% to 50%. Views have largely held steady among those 50 and older — 19% versus 23%.

Attitudes toward Israel also differed significantly among religious groups in the U.S.

Muslim Americans were the most likely to be averse to the country, with 81% saying they hold an unfavorable opinion. The vast majority of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 69%, and 53% of Catholics said the same.

Jewish Americans, meanwhile, were the most likely to favor Israel, with 73% expressing a positive view. Similarly 72% of white Evangelical Protestants held a favorable view.

Other findings

The poll — which has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points — also found declines in the shares of Americans who say the Israel-Hamas war is important to them personally and to U.S. interests more broadly.

A majority, 54%, said the war is very or somewhat important to them personally, which is down from 65% recorded in January 2024.

Similarly, 66% of respondents said the war in Gaza is very or somewhat important to American national interests — a 9-point decrease from last year.

Americans are also divided over President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict. A slight plurality, 31%, said he is favoring Israel too much, while 29% said he is striking the right balance and just 3% said he overly favors Palestinians.

Additionally, 52% said they have no or little confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” while 32% said they have confidence in Israel’s leader. These results are about on par with those from 2024.

The poll comes a year-and-a-half into Israel’s current conflict in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostages, according to U.S. officials.

Since the war began, about 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in the seaside enclave, according to NPR, citing Palestinian authorities. About 1.9 million Palestinians, about 90% of the population in Gaza, have been displaced, and most face extreme hunger and water shortages, according to the United Nations.

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