American Sympathy For Israel Has Plunged Since October 7 Attack

American sympathy for Israel has fallen dramatically over the past 12 months since Hamas' October 7 attack, according to a new poll which shows sharp divisions in attitudes along age and political party lines.

The Economist and YouGov survey taken among American voters between September 21 and 24, 2024, in addition to polling taken since March 2023, also shows a distinct average rise in sympathy for Palestinians.

According to the Economist/YouGov poll, which has a 3 percent margin of error, in response to the question "In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are your sympathies more with …?" a high of 48 percent of respondents answered "Israelis" on October 14, 2023, but this had fallen to 33 percent by September 21, this year.

Israeli sympathy before October 7 was last recorded as 31 percent on March 11, 2023. There was a leap in sympathy following the Hamas attack, and it has now fallen back to where it was before October 7.

The Israeli government has been contacted via email for comment.

On October 7, 2023, 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack on the Nova Festival, as well as the surrounding villages. A further 251 people were taken hostage, and 97 hostages remain in Gaza, including a one-year-old boy.

During the past year, the Israeli response to the attack has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, over half whom are women and children. The war has also led to the displacement of over 90 percent of people living in the Gaza strip.

When answering "In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are your sympathies more with …?" a low of 9 percent of Americans responded "Palestinians," on October 7, 2023. But support for Palestinians has now climbed to 19 percent as of September 21, 2024.

Palestine's delegation to the United Nations has been contacted via email for comment.

Those who answered "about equal" are 24 percent of respondents. This group has not changed much since October 7, when 22 percent of respondents said they have "about equal" support for both Israelis and Palestinians.

These answers are more disparate when looked at along partisan and age-based lines.

Only 14 percent of Democratic poll respondents currently have more sympathy for Israelis than Palestinians. However, 63 percent of Republicans expressed their primary sympathy is with Israelis.

Additionally, 19 percent of 18-29 year-olds sympathize with Israelis, whereas 49 percent of those older than 65 side with Israelis.

The polling also looks into how support for arming Israel, and providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians has changed over time.

When answering the question "Do you favor the U.S. increasing, decreasing, or maintaining the same amount of military aid to Israel?" only 23 percent of respondents answered "decreasing" on November 4, 2023. That number has now risen to 38 percent of respondents who believe the U.S. should decrease its aid to Israel.

Only 18 percent of respondents believe the U.S. should increase its aid, and that number has also fallen from a high of 26 percent on November 18.

The U.S. State Department has been contacted via email.

Similarly, answers to the question "Do you favor the U.S. increasing, decreasing, or maintaining the same amount of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians?" have changed since it was initially asked in November 2023.

On November 4, 2023, 26 percent of respondents believed that the U.S. should increase aid to Palestinians. That response has now risen to a high of 32 percent of people who believe in more aid in 2024.

The poll does not express why opinions have shifted on Israel, however the mounting toll from the war in Gaza, and current strikes on Lebanon have seen led to protests across the U.S, as well as blowback against Democratic candidates from pro-Palestine groups on the left.