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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.” (Ps 122:6)

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The American public has historically strongly supported Israel, especially since the 1967 Six Day War. This support substantially contributed to the establishment and development of a “special relationship” between the two countries. The Gallup Poll, the first and the most reputable polling organization in the US, has been measuring American attitudes towards Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict since before the establishment of Israel. The long-term trends on several issues show constant growth in public support. The 2018 survey reveals record scores in favor of Israel, but also a few weaknesses.

The Gallup Poll has conducted surveys of American public opinion towards Israel since the 1947 UN Partition Resolution. Since 1977, Gallup has conducted such surveys annually, and during periods of violence or special events, several times a year.

On March 13, 2018, Gallup released the most recent survey, conducted during the first ten days of February. A comparative analysis of the results obtained during the seventy years of Israel’s independence reveals an incredible improvement in Israel’s standing but also a few black clouds on the horizon of which Israel should be aware.

Sympathies

One question has consistently appeared since the first poll: “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with Israel or with the Arabs/Palestinians?” In November 1947, 24% of respondents sympathized more with Israel, 12% with the Arabs, and 64% gave other answers such as “don’t know.”  In the 2018 survey, the figures had turned around: 64% sympathized more with Israel, 19% with the Palestinians, and only 20% selected other answers….

Question: “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?”

The main reason for the increase in sympathy towards Israel this century is probably the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and Washington. Many Americans felt that both the US and Israel are victims of Arab terrorism and are fighting the same war against similar enemies. The more recent highly positive results for Israel may have been influenced by the upheaval and violence of the so-called “Arab Spring.” The turbulence and atrocities of this period across the Arab world highlighted the stability and democratic nature of Israel.

Favorability

Gallup found similar results in the distribution of responses of national samples to another question about the views of Americans on Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Figure 2 shows that in 2018, 74% held favorable views of Israel while only 21% held a similar view of the Palestinian Authority. The graph also shows that from 2000 to 2018, Israel’s favorability went up by 12%, while that of the Palestinians remained almost constant and below 20%.

Question: “Next, I’d like your overall opinion of some foreign countries. What is your overall opinion of [RANDOM ORDER]? Is it very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable? Percentage viewing each very favorably or mostly favorably? Israel, Palestinian Authority.”…

Sociodemographic Differences

Demographic analysis, however, reveals several negative trends, especially in the distribution of responses by political affiliation, age, and ethnicity. For many years, Israel enjoyed strong bipartisan political support, with Republicans and Democrats almost evenly supporting Israel. This bipartisanship factor helped Israel pass favorable legislation in Congress and secure high levels of military aid. In the long-term sympathy index, twenty years ago, the Republicans scored slightly more than the Democrats, and the gap was only 5%. Figure 3 shows that in 2008, the gap widened to 28% and in 2018 it reached 38%, the highest gap ever.

Question: “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?” Sympathies are consistently more with the Israelis.

Gallup also found considerable gaps between young and old people and between whites and Hispanics. Young voters and Hispanics are much less supportive of Israel than the other age and ethnic groups. Young people tend to be more Democratic and liberal, and they are exposed on college campuses to intense anti-Israeli Palestinian and Muslim propaganda and incitement to hatred. Hispanics are much less familiar with Israel and are more concerned about US relations with neighboring Central and Latin American countries…. (Excerpts from  Prof. Eytan Gilboa from The Began-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies)