The Pew Research Center surveyed Americans about a month after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
Iranians react to US-Israel ceasefire in war against Iran
Crowds gathered in Tehran as Iranians reacted to a two-week cease-fire in the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Americans continue to have increasingly negative views of Israel as conflicts continue in the Middle East, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
A survey released on April 7th found that 60% of all American adults have a negative opinion of Israel, compared to 53% a year ago. Only 37% of respondents had a favorable view of Israel, a longtime U.S. ally in the region and a historical beneficiary of foreign aid.
The latest Pew poll shows a 20-point change from 2022, when most Americans had a favorable view of Israel. Second, only 42% had a negative opinion of Israel.
Pew found that across the ideological spectrum, especially younger Americans, have negative views of Israel. Approximately 70% of respondents under the age of 50 had a negative opinion of Israel.
Among people who identify with the Democratic Party, 80% had a negative opinion of Israel. Pew said Republicans have mixed views on Israel, with about 58% still holding a favorable view, compared to 41% disapproving.
Pew conducted a poll of approximately 3,500 American adults between March 23 and March 29, about a month into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Iran is currently under a ceasefire. The war has fueled Americans’ suspicions that Israel, and especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has dragged the United States into a long-running conflict in the Middle East.
The study comes two and a half years after the Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel in 2023, followed by Israel’s devastating siege of Gaza and increased incursions into the occupied West Bank, both of which are considered part of a future Palestinian state.
Some human rights groups and a growing number of Americans have called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide, but Israeli supporters deny such claims as biased and say the country’s military is taking steps to reduce civilian casualties. The Gaza conflict is currently in a tenuous truce, but Israel continues to carry out attacks in Palestinian territory and Lebanon against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.
A small but growing number of candidates, particularly Democrats, are increasingly distancing themselves from explicit support for Israel, including by questioning military aid to Israel. Some prominent conservative figures aligned with President Donald Trump, including Tucker Carlson and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called on the president to halt the Iran war and steer the United States away from Israel.
More than half of respondents to the Pew survey were not confident that President Trump would be able to make good decisions regarding U.S.-Israel relations.
For generations, American opposition to Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has been growing. Fewer than 30% of Pew’s respondents said they were confident that Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, would do the right thing regarding world affairs.
The Pew survey found results that were sharply divided by religion. Almost two-thirds of Jewish Americans and white evangelical Protestants had a favorable view of Israel. Meanwhile, 39% of white non-evangelical Protestants, 35% of Catholics, 33% of black Protestants, and 22% of religious independents had a positive opinion of Israel. Only 4% of Muslim Americans view Israel favorably.
In late February, Gallup found that Americans’ sympathies are closer to Palestinians than to Israelis. Most people between the ages of 18 and 34 have more empathy for Palestinians, Gallup is the first to point this out.
A slight majority of Americans say the conflict between Israel and Hamas is personally important to them, according to a new Pew poll. However, after President Trump announced that he was suspending US military operations in Iran for two weeks, the number of people who said it was personally important jumped to 77%.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
