Younger Generations Growing Unfavorable Towards Israel: Polls

Over the last year and a half since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, young progressives have protested the Israel-Hamas war on college campuses across America. Though the number of people protesting is small relative to the U.S. population, these attitudes have spread among young people, with young Republicans and Democrats expressing increasingly negative views of Israel.

The latest poll covering Americans’ views of Israel and the Israel-Hamas war was conducted from March 24 to 30 by Pew Research, with 3,605 U.S. adults. The poll found that compared to a March 2022 poll, the percentage of adults who had an unfavorable view of Israel grew from 42% to 53%.

The biggest increases in unfavorable views came from 18- to 49-year-old Republicans, who went from 35% unfavorable to 50%; 18- to 49-year-old Democrats, who went from 62% to 71%; and Democrats age 50 and older, who went from 43% to 66% unfavorable. The most favorable group toward Israel, Republicans age 50 and older, had the smallest change, moving from 19% to 23% unfavorable. Overall, Democrats had a much more unfavorable view of Israel, at 69%, though Republicans overall saw an increase in unfavorable views of Israel from 27% to 37%.

Part of the reason for current unfavorable views of Israel is a lack of confidence in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked if respondents thought that Netanyahu would do the “right thing” regarding world affairs, again, only Republicans aged 50 and older had net positive confidence, while 18- to 49-year-old Republicans (and all ages of Democrats) had net negative confidence.

In another poll from The Economist taken in mid-March, Americans held a net unfavorable view of Netanyahu overall, and even more so among 19- to 29-year-olds and 30- to 44-year-olds. Volodymyr Zelensky, another foreign leader who has been criticized by some for relying too heavily on U.S. support, received a significantly higher favorability rating, with 47% viewing him favorably and 35% unfavorably.

Americans were also very skeptical of President Trump’s proposed plan to take over Gaza. Only 15% were favorable toward the idea, compared to 62% who were opposed. Only 19% thought that his plan was “extremely” or “very” likely, while the plurality thought it unlikely that he would pursue the plan.

The plan was first proposed in the early weeks of the new administration, when Trump suggested that the U.S. would take ownership of Gaza and make it into the “Riviera” of the Middle East. Since then, he has offered minimal details about what that takeover would entail or whether the administration is considering continuing with the proposal or has scrapped the idea.

Still, despite the growing unfavorability of Israel, in another Economist poll 38% viewed the United States as an ally, and 24% said they were friendly, while only 15% thought that Israel was unfriendly or an enemy. This was similar to the numbers of people who considered the European Union an ally or friendly, at 63%, with 17% saying they were unfriendly or an enemy.