(RNS) — More than half of U.S. adults now express an unfavorable opinion of Israel, and younger generations on both sides of the political divide are growing more negative in their view of the country.
Those are among the findings of a new Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday (April 8).
The poll found that 53% of Americans now express a “somewhat” or “very unfavorable” opinion of Israel. This marks an 11-point increase in unfavorable views since March 2022, when Pew asked the same question.
In the intervening years, Israel has launched a devastating attack on Gaza, killing some 50,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children. The war in Gaza followed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200.
“Among both Republicans and Democrats, older Americans are more likely to say war between Israel and Hamas is important to them and to U.S. interests” (Graphic courtesy Pew Research Center)
The share of U.S. adults who voice “very unfavorable” views of Israel has roughly doubled over this three-year period, from 10% in 2022 to 19% in 2025. Democrats, the poll found, are much more likely to express unfavorable opinions of Israel than Republicans (69% vs. 37%).
“In some sense this marks the culmination of a process by which Israel is no longer perceived as David, but as Goliath,” said David Myers, a professor of history at the University of California, Los Angeles. “There’s been a shift in the perception of who’s the powerful and who’s the powerless, who’s the oppressor and who’s the oppressed.”
The poll, conducted from March 24-30 among 3,605 Americans, may mark a watershed in American public opinion about Israel.
The United States used to be an outlier among other countries of the world because of its positive view of Israel, said Ian Lustick, a retired political scientist from the University of Pennsylvania and a Middle East scholar. “Now we’re seeing that the United States is more in alignment with the rest of the world on this issue,” Lustick said.
Significantly, the poll found, younger Republicans, aged 18-49, have also soured on Israel, though less than young Democrats. Half of Republicans under 50 now have negative views on Israel, up from 35% in 2022. In 2022, they were much more likely to see Israel positively …