Sympathy for Israel plunges among younger voters: Poll

Sympathy among U.S. voters for Israel in its war with militant group Hamas plunged among young voters, with more than half now expressing more sympathy for the Palestinians, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The nationwide poll released Thursday found 54 percent of those surveyed said their sympathies lie more with Israelis while 24 percent said their sympathies lie more with Palestinians.

Overall sympathy for Israelis is down 7 percentage points from the last Quinnipiac University poll taken Oct. 17, when 61 percent said they sympathize with Israelis and 13 percent said the Palestinians.

But among voters aged 18-34, sympathy for Israelis plunged from last month and shifted to Palestinians.

The poll found a slight majority, or 52 percent, said their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians, while 29 percent said Israelis. This is a significant reversal from October, when 41 percent of these voters said Israelis and 26 percent said Palestinians.

The newest poll numbers come about five weeks since Hamas’s bloody assault on Israel on Oct. 7 that left more than 1,200 people dead, including hundreds of civilians. Israel launched a major campaign to eliminate Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, including airstrikes, bombings and more recently ground attacks in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

More than 11,470 Palestinians have died in the conflict, according to the Hamas-ruled Health Ministry in Gaza.

Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza has sparked growing global pressure on Israel to halt its retaliatory attacks on the Hamas-controlled territory to allow civilians to leave or aid to be delivered.

Pollsters found 46 percent of voters approve of Israel’s response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, while 40 percent disapprove and 14 percent did not say.

This approval rating is slightly lower than Quinnipiac University’s poll from Nov. 2, when 50 percent approved of the response, 35 percent disapproved and 15 percent did not say.

The approval numbers are divided among party lines, with 73 percent of Republicans approving of Israel’s response and 18 percent disapproving, compared to 27 percent of Democrats who approve and 60 percent who disapprove. Independents are more evenly split, with 44 percent disapproving and 40 percent approving.

One of the biggest shifts came among young voters aged 18 to 34, with 66 percent disapproving of Israel’s response and 20 percent approving. Compared to Nov. 2, 52 percent disapproved and 32 percent approved.

“While Americans overwhelmingly believe that Hamas lit the fuse that set the region on fire, support for Israel’s devastating counterattack deteriorates with younger voters,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said.

When it comes to the U.S.’s support for Israel, a majority of voters, or 73 percent, said they think supporting Israel is in the national interest of the U.S. and 19 percent said it is not in the national interest. Quinnipiac University said this is “largely unchanged” since its Oct. 17 poll.

The poll’s findings are similar to those published in a Reuters/Ipsos poll the day earlier that showed Americans have less support for Israel than at the start of the conflict. The poll also found a majority of Americans now back a cease-fire in the war, which the Biden administration opposes.

The Quinnipiac University poll surveyed 1,574 registered voters from Nov. 9-13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.