More Americans sympathize with Israel amid battle with Hamas: survey

International News | The Hill

In a recent The Economist/YouGov poll, more Americans say they sympathize with Israelis than with Palestinians amid the country’s conflict with militant group Hamas.

The amount of Americans who say that their sympathies lie more with Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has grown by 11 percent, from 31 percent to 42 percent, since March, according to The Economist/YouGov poll released Wednesday. In comparison, the amount of Americans who said their sympathies lie with the Palestinians has dropped, from 13 to 9 percent.

Recent fighting between Hamas and Israel has resulted in more than 2,000 people killed on both sides. President Biden has thrown his support behind Israel, alongside many American politicians.

“In this moment we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel,” Biden said Tuesday. “And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack. There’s no justification for terrorism. There’s no excuse.”

Sympathies for the Israelis have also grown among both Democrats and Republicans. Twenty-six percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans said they sympathize with the Israelis in October, versus 19 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans in March.

Other findings in the recent poll show a majority, 54 percent, of Americans saying they think the U.S. government favors the Israeli side of the conflict, up from 41 percent in March.

The recent Economist/YouGov poll was conducted between Oct. 8 and 10, featuring responses from 1,500 U.S. citizens and a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points. The March poll was conducted between March 11 and 14, featuring responses from 1,500 U.S. citizens and a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.