YouGov USA
March 10-12, 2024
The Details
1. 32% (-4 compared to the previous month) of Americans are more sympathetic to the Israelis, 17% (+3) are more sympathetic to the Palestinians, 27% (=) support both and 24% (+2) aren’t sure.
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Those under the age of 44 are much less sympathetic towards Israel and much more sympathetic towards the Palestinians, and above that age the opposite is true.
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Just over a quarter across all ages are sympathetic to either side.
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Amongst registered voters the numbers are slightly more in Israel’s favor: 38% are more sympathetic to the Israelis, 17% to the Palestinians, 29% to both, and 16% aren’t sure.
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Trump supporters are overwhelmingly more sympathetic to Israel (61%) vs. the Palestinians (6%).
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The Black community is far less sympathetic towards Israel than the general population (13%) but they feel the same regarding the Palestinians (17%). Almost half of them say that they feel sympathy to both sides.
2. 19% of Americans favor increasing military aid to Israel, 33% favor decreasing it, 26% prefer to maintain the same amount, and 22% are not sure. 29% overall favor increasing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, 23% favor decreasing it, 22% opt for maintaining the same amount and 25% aren’t sure.
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Men have a stronger tendency to prefer increasing aid to Israel (22%) vs. women (15%).
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Surprisingly, we don’t see a significantly stronger tendency amongst women compared to the general public to increase the humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
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18-29-year-olds feel stronger about decreasing aid (38%) than the general public. They also feel stronger about increasing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians (36%).
3. Half of Americans support the U.S. military installing a temporary pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip for cargo ships to unload food, water and other emergency supplies. 24% oppose the initiative and 26% aren’t sure.
4. 65% support a ceasefire now, only 13% oppose it and 23% don’t know. A full 86% of those who voted for Biden in the previous elections support it.
5. 51% of Americans disapprove of the way Biden is handling the Israel-Hamas war, 28% approve and 21% aren’t sure.
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But 61% who voted for Biden in the previous elections approve, whereas 83% who voted Trump disapprove.
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High earners tend to approve of Biden’s handling of the war much more (36%).
Key Takeaways
The tables have turned and Israel now has to work much harder to maintain the American public’s sympathy. The increased sympathy Americans felt for the Israelis in the aftermath of October 7 has vanished, and sympathy for the Palestinians is now higher than it was pre-October 7. If we don’t maintain this sympathy, we will see more sympathy for the Palestinians than for the Israelis within a few months.
The American public wants Biden to do a better job handling the Israel-Hamas War. Most Democrats think he’s doing the job well, but to win the election he needs to garner the trust of those who do not already support him. This may explain the more critical tone towards Israel in recent weeks, compared to previous months (putting aside his frustrations with the Israeli government’s actions and statements).
An overwhelming majority of Americans support a ceasefire now. This is clear from the protests across the nation as well. Clearly, it is not clear to Americans that a ceasefire now will put Israel in immediate and imminent threat. We need to do a better job in showing them that Hamas cannot be trusted to maintain a ceasefire, that their demands – if met – will put Israelis’ safety in peril and won’t free the Palestinians either.