New Poll Suggests Waning Support for Israel Among Democrats Since Netanyahu Return

The idea that Israel enjoys bipartisan support in America — once taken almost for granted in politics — could be challenged on the hustings following a finding by Gallup that, for the first time ever, suggests Democrats sympathize more with Palestinian Arabs than they do with Israelis. In a new poll, Gallup reckons that 49 percent of Democrats sympathize more with Palestinians — an all-time high, Gallup says — while just 38 percent sympathize with Israelis. Republicans sympathize with Israelis by a large margin, 78 percent compared to 11 percent who say they sympathize more with the Palestinians.Overall, 54 percent of the American public sympathizes with the Israelis, compared to 31 percent who sympathize more with Palestinians. The latest breakdown, though, is startling. It emerges amid what appears to be a concerted effort by Democrats and their allied newspapers to criticize the Jewish state since it returned Prime Minister Netanyahu as premier.The national political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Samuel Markstein, said the poll shows that the GOP is “the one and only pro-Israel party.” Mr. Markstein says Democrats are increasingly hostile to Israel, pointing to calls from congressional Democrats to put conditions on aid to the Jewish state.Mr. Markstein notes that there are even some within the Democratic Party who support a full boycott of the Jewish state. He notes the Democratic Party’s embrace of figures such as Ilhan Omar, a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota, who has implied Jewish bribery for American support of Israel.“[T]he Democratic Party is hemorrhaging Jewish support,” Mr. Markstein told the Sun. “Jewish voters continue to move towards the GOP in droves — as we saw just last year in New York and in Florida, with Lee Zeldin and Ron DeSantis receiving record-smashing levels of Jewish support.”In addition to sympathizing more with the Palestinians, Democrats were also more likely to have a favorable view of the ruling body of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority. The Authority holds a 36 percent approval rating among Democrats, while only 9 percent of Republicans view the Mahmoud Abbas-led organization favorably.Both Republicans and Democrats looked upon Israel more favorably than the Palestinian Authority. Some 82 percent of Republicans view Israel favorably, and 56 percent of Democrats do as well.The president of the Democratic Majority for Israel, Mark Mellman, questioned whether the poll actually indicated lower support for the Jewish state. Mr. Mellman — himself a veteran pollster — criticized the “flawed” question at the heart of the Gallup poll, relying on the word “sympathy.”“Some people no doubt respond to who they feel ‘sorrier’ for, and I’d wager a lot of very pro-Israel people feel sorrier for the Palestinians at the moment,” he explained.“This poll shows most Democrats still hold a favorable view of Israel,” Mr. Mellman said, pointing to Israel’s 56 percent approval rating among Democrats. “All that said, it’s clear that the presidential and congressional wings of the party remain strongly pro-Israel even as we all struggle with some specific polices of the current Israeli government.”He acknowledged that support for Israel is “fraying among some key constituencies” and said that the Democratic Majority for Israel would “continue to fight the battle” for Democratic support for a strong alliance between Israel and the United States.Mr. Mellman’s group is not the only one in the fight. A former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, last week announced the formation of a new group dubbed “Progressives for Israel.”“It’s time for our officials to condemn antisemitism, not just with their words, but their actions. You can’t denounce antisemitism but waver on Israel’s right to exist and defend itself,” Mr. Cuomo said.

New Poll Suggests Waning Support for Israel Among Democrats Since Netanyahu Return

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