A new poll found that young Americans’ support for Israel is plummeting. Over the past year, the number of adults under 35 who view the country favorably has decreased by 26%. In that age group, more Americans sympathize with the Palestinians.
The results from Gallup’s World Affairs Survey show support for Israel and the Palestinian Authority has decreased among all ages. For younger Americans, approval for Israel dropped significantly.
The number of Americans aged 18-34 who view Israel favorably decreased from 64% to 36%. Support for Israel decreased less significantly among older Americans but still dropped. For the 35-64 group, favorability for Tel Aviv was down 11% over the past year.
The youngest of the three age blocks sympathized more with Palestinians than Israelis, 45% to 37%. Overall, about half of the respondents said they sympathized more with Israelis, and only about a quarter with Palestinians. In the last decade, that gap has narrowed by about 20%.
A majority of young Americans and Democrats believe Washington should focus on pressuring Tel Aviv to end the conflict in Gaza. For all age groups, the number of people who believe the White House should pressure Palestinians is only three percent higher than the number who want the administration to focus its attention on Tel Aviv.
The shifting support away from Israel is problematic for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. While young Americans are viewed as a core segment of the president’s base, those are the very people most chaffed over Biden’s unfettered support for Israel.
Nearly half of young Americans view Israel’s military operations in Gaza as a genocide. In January, Biden was denounced at several events by protesters chanting “genocide Joe.” To prevent protesters from disrupting rallies, the campaign has raised the price of tickets, withheld the location of events from the public, and avoided college campuses.
