In 1st, Gallup Finds More Democrats Sympathize With Palestinians Over Israelis

A new Gallup poll had found that, for the first time, more American Democrats sympathize with the Palestinians than with Israel in the on-going conflict. According to the poll, 49% of Democrats sympathize with the Palestinians, an 11% increase in the last year, compared to 38% with Israelis.  In addition, sympathy for Palestinians from US voters identifying as independents is at an all-time high of 32%, with 49% lean toward Israelis. Some 78% of Republicans reported sympathy with Israelis compared to 11% for Palestinians, in numbers that have remained unchanged.

There are also generational differences in how US adults view the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Net sympathy toward Israel, which is the percentage sympathizing more with the Israelis than the Palestinians, is solidly positive among older generations, including baby boomers with 46 points, Generation X with 32 points and the Silent Generation with 31 points. However, millennials are now evenly divided, with 42% sympathizing more with the Palestinians and 40% with the Israelis, which is a -2 net sympathy score for Israel.

In total, sympathy toward the Palestinians among all US adults regardless of political affiliation or generation is at a new high of 31%, while the proportion not favoring a side is at a new low of 15%. The 54% of Americans sympathizing more with the Israelis is similar to last year’s 55%, the lowest since 2005.

The poll asked Americans which side they sympathize with more in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after asking for their overall opinions of Israel and Palestine in a list of close to 20 countries. It interviewed 1,008 adults, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.