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Public opinion toward Israel in the U.S. has become increasingly negative across political parties and age groups, with several recent polls showing mounting criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and weakening support among younger Republicans.
A Pew Research Center survey released in July found that Americans had become more critical of both the Israeli people and government in recent years. Views of Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas remained relatively stable.
Negative perceptions of Israel increased among supporters of both major political parties, across age groups and in most religious categories.
In 2026, 42% of Americans viewed the Israeli people unfavorably, up from 28% in 2019, according to Pew.
Favorable views of the Israeli government fell from 41% to 32% over the same period.
Americans also expressed increasingly negative views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An AP-NORC poll released this month similarly found that U.S. attitudes toward Israel had worsened. Democrats drove much of the shift because of growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
The AP-NORC survey found that 40% of Americans believed the U.S. was “too supportive” of Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians.
That figure increased from 37% in January 2024 and 27% in August 2023, before the Oct. 7 attacks.
Among Democrats, 58% said Washington was too supportive of Israel, compared with 45% two years earlier.
Among Republicans, the share rose slightly, from 25% to 27%.
Support for Israel is also declining among younger Republicans, raising questions about whether the party’s traditionally strong backing will continue, Axios reported last month.
Republican support has faced growing pressure as Israel’s military campaign devastated the Gaza Strip and Netanyahu clashed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over efforts to end the Iran war.
Netanyahu had long sought to offset declining Democratic support by strengthening relations with Republicans. However, recent polling and criticism from prominent conservative figures indicate that support is also eroding within the party, particularly among younger voters.
An April Pew poll found that four in 10 Republicans viewed Israel unfavorably.
The figure rose to 57% among Republicans ages 18 to 49, compared with 25% among those 50 and older.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last month found that one in five Republicans believed the U.S. was too supportive of Israel, three times the level recorded after the Oct. 7 attacks.
A University of Maryland Critical Issues poll found that fewer than half of Republicans, 46%, considered Israel’s military actions in Gaza justified as self-defense.
Among Republicans ages 18 to 34, only 22% supported Israel’s actions.
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