Americans have grown significantly more negative toward both the Israeli people and the Israeli government in recent years, while opinions of Palestinians and Palestinian leadership have remained relatively stable, according to a recent survey.
As recently as 2022, Americans viewed Israelis much more favorably than Palestinians. Today, however, the two groups are viewed nearly equally, reflecting a sharp decline in favorable views of Israelis following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent wars in Gaza and Iran, according to the Pew Research Center.
The poll of 12,574 U.S. adults was conducted May 4-17, about two months after the U.S.- and Israeli-led war against Iran began and before Hamas announced it was dissolving its government in Gaza.
While attitudes toward Israelis have deteriorated, Americans continue to distinguish between the Israeli people and their government.
Majorities hold unfavorable views of the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, though unfavorable views of Israel's government have risen far more sharply than those of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas, according to Pew.
The survey also found the decline in support for Israelis spans political parties, age groups and most religious affiliations, although the extent of the change varies widely.
Republicans and Republican-leaning independents continue to view both the Israeli people and the Israeli government much more favorably than Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents. Democrats, meanwhile, express more favorable views of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority than Republicans, though favorable views of Hamas remain low in both parties.
Support for Israelis has fallen in both parties since 2022, but the decline has been much steeper among Democrats, widening the partisan divide.
Among younger Americans, the differences are especially pronounced.
Adults under 30 view the Palestinian people more favorably than the Israeli people by a 58% to 32% margin. That gap is driven largely by young Democrats, 72% of whom view Palestinians favorably, compared with 26% who hold favorable views of Israelis.
Young Republicans now view Israelis and Palestinians at roughly equal levels, a reversal from several years ago, when they expressed substantially stronger support for Israelis.
Americans ages 50 and older remain more favorable toward Israelis than Palestinians, particularly older Republicans. Older Democrats also rate Palestinians more favorably than Israelis, but by a narrower margin.
The survey also found that younger Democrats hold especially negative views of Israel's government. Among Democrats under 30, respondents were slightly more likely to express a favorable opinion of Hamas than of the Israeli government, although favorable views of Hamas remained relatively low overall. Democrats of all ages viewed the Palestinian Authority somewhat more favorably than Israel's government.
Religious affiliation also continues to shape public opinion.
Jewish Americans and White evangelical Protestants expressed the most favorable views of both the Israeli people and the Israeli government. White evangelical Protestants were the only major religious group in which a majority, 57%, viewed the Israeli government favorably.
Among Jewish respondents, favorable views of Israelis declined from 89% in 2024 to 83% this year, while favorable views of the Israeli government fell from 54% to 47%.
Muslims, Black Protestants, and religiously unaffiliated Americans were more likely than members of other religious groups to express favorable views of Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority, Pew found. Younger Jewish adults were also less likely than older Jews to express favorable opinions of Israelis and Israel's government.