Six in 10 Democrats view Israel unfavorably, marking the first time that any one political party has held majority levels of anti-Israel sentiment, according to a new Gallup Poll released Thursday.
Just 33% of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel, down 14 points from last year, according to the survey. With Republicans holding an 83% favorability of Israel, the 50-point margin between Republicans and Democrats is also a record, shattering the previous high of a 30-point divide in 2024, according to Gallup.
“The widening partisan gap likely reflects Democrats’ opposition to Israel’s actions in the Israel-Hamas war. It could also be a reaction to Trump’s strong backing of Israel, highlighted in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House earlier this month,” Gallup wrote in its analysis.
Meanwhile, 48% of independents view Israel favorably vs. 44% who view the Jewish state unfavorably, according to the survey.
Overall, 54% of Americans have a favorable view of Israel, the lowest mark since January 2000 (54%), according to Gallup.
“U.S. policy toward certain countries lacks bipartisan consensus, with Republican and Democratic leaders having more distinct views about policy toward Israel, Mexico and Ukraine. The result is increasingly wide partisan gaps in ratings of those countries,” Gallup wrote.
The all-time low in favorability of Israel among Americans was 45% in 1989, according to the poll.
Gallup surveyed 1,004 adults from Feb. 3-16. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.