Polling shows voters’ shift toward support for Palestine
Multiple national polls* indicate a growing percentage of the Democratic electorate (including the Jewish electorate) is far more critical of Israel and supportive of justice for Palestinians than are their elected officials. This trend is especially strong among young voters, but not limited to them. What follows are some recent poll results.
More Democrats Than Ever Support The Palestinian Cause, And That’s Dividing The Party(September 2022), Five Thirty Eight:
Young people in particular view Palestinians favorably according to Pew Research Center data from March: …”a solid majority of those ages 18 to 29 (61%) express favorable views toward the Palestinians, compared with 46% of those 50 and older.”
New polls: Democrats say Biden and members of Congress lean toward Israel more than they do (August 2022) Brookings Institute Polls: "Among Democrats who had an opinion, 33% said their representatives were leaning toward Israel more than they were, while 3% said their representatives were leaning more toward the Palestinians.”
Democrats View Palestine More Favorably Than Israel (May 2022), National Review
Fewer than one percent of US Democrats view Israel as top ally (April 2022) Middle East Eye:
“… most Americans, 51 percent of respondents, opposed fully unrestricted aid to Israel if it continued to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank which many global bodies describe as being in contravention of international law.”
On specific issues, polls showed that a growing number of Democrats:
Oppose anti-BDS legislation: “Majorities of Democrats (80%), Republicans (62%), and independents (76%) indicated opposition to laws penalizing people who boycott Israel, principally over the fact that these laws infringe on the constitutional right to free speech and peaceful protest.” More than half of US students support boycott of Israel (September 2022)
Support conditioning aid: “For a few years now, the polls have consistently shown a majority of Democrats wanting to take action against Israeli settlements, including imposing sanctions, while Republicans and independents want to do nothing or limit opposition to words.” In a poll of Jewish voters, the Jewish Electorate Institute (a groupled by prominent Jewish Democrats) found, “58% of respondents said it would be appropriate to restrict aid to Israel so it could not spend U.S. money on settlements.”
Support Betty McCollum’s bill: Last year, Data for Progress reported that “72 percent of Democrats approved of Congresswoman Betty McCollum's legislation to restrict US funding to Israel used to detain Palestinian children or to demolish Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
Think Israel has too much influence on US politics: “38% of all Americans (including 55% of Democrats, and 44% of those under 35 years old), say the Israeli government has “too much influence” on the U.S. government…”
Think Israel is an apartheid state: According to a poll of Jewish voters commissioned by the Jewish Electorate Institute, 34% agreed that “Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is similar to racism in the United States,” 25% agreed that “Israel is an apartheid state” and 22% agreed that “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.”
Sympathize with Palestinians as much as or more than with Israelis: Democrats' views are now at a tipping point, with their sympathy for the Palestinians roughly matching their sympathy for Israel, while liberal Democrats have fully crossed the threshold and now sympathize more with the Palestinians.
Want more U.S. support for Palestine: A June 2021 Poll found that many Democrats want more US support for Palestinians.
Tell your Members of Congress that public opinion is shifting towards justice for Palestinians and you hope that they will take increasingly strong stands on this issue.
Thanks to Elsa Auerbach of Jewish Voice for Peace Boston for this excellent research.
*Brookings Institute Polls (article from August 2022); another article from 2021
Univ of MD poll
National Review on Pew Poll, May 2022
Gallup May 2022
AP June 2022
JTA on Jewish Electorate Institute survey