American Sympathy for Israel Reaches ‘All-Time Low’ in New Poll

American sympathy for Israel reached an “all-time low” in the latest Quinnipiac University poll released this week.

Newsweek reached out to Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry for comment via email.

Why It Matters

The U.S. has been a key ally to Israel for decades, but polls suggest an increasing number of Americans are questioning that relationship amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas led an attack against Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting 251 people. Israel has said 58 hostages remain in Gaza, and Trump has said 21 remain alive. Israel has since launched an offensive on Gaza, killing more than 54,000 people, according to The Associated Press, citing Gaza’s Health Ministry. Critics have sounded the alarm on Israel’s military operation, raising concerns about the number of civilians killed or displaced, as well as conditions such as the threat of starvation on the Gaza Strip.

The poll also comes as tensions heat up between Israel and Iran amid concerns Israel could launch a strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Iran’s government warned this week such action would be met with an “unprecedented response.”

What to Know

Although sympathies are shifting, more Americans are still sympathetic to Israel—37 percent—than the Palestinians—32 percent—according to the Quinnipiac poll, which surveyed 1,265 registered voters from June 5 to June 9, 2025 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

Additionally, 31 percent were unsure which side they are feeling more sympathetic toward, according to the polling report.

“This is an all-time low for the Israelis and an all-time high for the Palestinians since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question of registered voters in December 2001,” reads the polling report.

Israeli sympathy reached a high mark on October 17, 2023—less than two weeks after the Hamas attack on the Israeli music festival. At that point, 61 percent of Americans were more sympathetic toward Israel, while 13 percent were more sympathetic toward Palestinians.

The May, 2024, Quinnipiac poll found that 46 percent of Americans were more sympathetic with Israel, while 29 percent were more sympathetic toward Palestinians.

The finding is not particularly surprising, Dina Smeltz, vice president of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, told Newsweek on Thursday.

“This has been building for some time, and this drop is driven by decreases in both Democratic supporters’ opinion and Independent supporters’ declining favorability toward Israel,” she said.

Smeltz noted that the polling doesn’t necessarily mean Democrats and independents don’t support the state of Israel—just that they do not support its current policies.

These shifts may not mean much to the Trump administration, which appears to be “focused mostly on what its base wants,” Smeltz said, as Republicans are generally still supportive of Israel. However, it does pose a “serious challenge” to the Democratic Party, whose base is split between progressive and moderates who “don’t always see this issue in the same way,” she said.

“You could see that in the struggles that the Biden administration had in addressing this issue before and during the last election,” she said.

The poll is in line with the council’s latest data as well, with its latest survey finding Americans overall rate their feelings toward Israel on a scale of one to 100 as a 50—the lowest point since at least 1980. That poll surveyed 1,019 Americans from April 18 to April 20.

A Gallup poll released in March also found the number of Americans who are sympathetic to Israel had dropped to its lowest point of 46 percent, compared to 33 percent who were sympathetic to the Palestinians.

What People Are Saying

Smeltz told Newsweek: “The people who should really be paying attention to these polls are the Israeli government officials and Israeli political leaders. Its policy toward the Palestinians, especially in the ongoing military action in Gaza, seems to have squandered a great deal of American support, especially among younger generations and nonwhite Americans. Israel’s policies and the U.S. response to them will shape attitudes among budding politicians, experts and voters from these demographic groups in the near term and in future policymaking. Israel may not have an opportunity to improve its image once the war is over.”

Progressive commentator Mehdi Hasan responded to the poll on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “It only took 50,000+ dead Palestinians and the starvation of the entire Gaza Strip.”

In March, Gallup wrote: “Americans’ sympathies with the Israelis continue to decline, largely because of Democrats’ dwindling support for the Israelis in the long-standing conflict with the Palestinians. Republicans remain overwhelmingly sympathetic toward the Israelis.”

What Happens Next

The situation between Israel and Iran remains tense ahead of nuclear talks this weekend in Oman. Americans’ views of Israel may continue to be shaped over how the Middle East conflicts play out over the coming months.