A Gallup survey released Friday found that, for the first time in its tracking, a narrow plurality of U.S. adults say they sympathize more with Palestinians than with Israelis. The poll reported 41% of respondents sympathize more with Palestinians and 36% with Israelis; the remainder said they sympathize equally with both, with neither, or were undecided. Gallup cautioned that the difference is not statistically significant, but noted it is the first occasion in which Israel did not lead in its multi-decade tracking.
A year earlier the balance favored Israel, 46% to 33%. Gallup said the shift toward Palestinians began before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and accelerated during the Gaza war. The change was driven largely by independents, who now favor Palestinians by an 11-point margin.
Party divisions are stark: 65% of Democrats say they sympathize more with Palestinians versus 17% who side more with Israelis, while 70% of Republicans express greater sympathy for Israel. Gallup added that Republican backing for Israel remains high overall despite a modest erosion over the past decade.
Analysts cited growing Democratic criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and concerns among some Democratic voters that President Joe Biden did not do enough to restrain Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as factors contributing to shifting attitudes.
The poll was a telephone survey of 1,001 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 2–16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.