Half of Americans think the US is ‘too supportive’ of Israel

JTA – A new survey found that 48% of American voters think the United States is “too supportive” of Israel, the highest since the pollster started asking the question in 2017. 

The survey published on Wednesday by Quinnipiac University also found that 60% of respondents reported that military intervention in Iran was “not worth it” as opposed to 34% of voters who said it was. 

The number of respondents who think US support of Israel is about right is 38%, while just 7% think the US is not supportive enough of Israel, the poll found. 

Broken down by party, 66% of Democrats think the US is too supportive of Israel, while 9% think it isn’t supportive enough, and 18% think the support is about right. 

Among Republicans, 20% think the US is too supportive of Israel, 69% think American support for Israel is “about right”, and 6% think it isn’t supportive enough. 

Among independent voters, 55% think the US is too supportive of Israel, 34% think the support is about right, and 7% think the US isn’t supportive enough. 

The poll data were released one day after three Democrats critical of Israel swept their House primary races in New York City, and in races around the country even some reliably pro-Israel Democratic candidates distanced themselves from the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). 

A survey last year by Gallup found dwindling support for Israel among Democrats, as well as waning support among Republicans. 

Still, the party divide was also in sharp evidence in the latest poll. In responses to the question about whether the Iran war was “worth it”, Democrats disfavoured military action in Iran at 93% and independents at 66%, while 75% of Republicans surveyed thought it was worth it. 

Given a list of 10 issues and asked which, if any, they considered priorities in their decision-making process in the election for the US House of Representatives, 41% of voters cited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, above Artificial Intelligence data centres (38%) and Donald Trump (38%). The high cost of living (70%) and healthcare (59%) topped the list. 

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted from 18 to 22 June, and includes responses from 1 165 self-identified registered voters. 

The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points. 

Among those surveyed, 48% said they had an unfavourable view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Twenty percent said they had a favourable opinion, and 30% “haven’t heard enough” about him. 

“Netanyahu gets poor marks from American voters as their appetite for supporting Israel wanes, with the share of voters who think the US is too supportive of Israel hitting a new high,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy wrote in the report. 

Voters were also asked about their views on the 17 June memorandum of understanding with Iran, which begins a 60-day negotiation period that doesn’t outline an end to Iran’s nuclear programme. 

“After months of diplomatic fits and starts, global economic repercussions, and a broad loss of life in the region, a majority of voters make their feelings clear: the Iran war was a bad idea,” Malloy wrote. 

Voters who are either not confident or “not so confident” that the deal will succeed numbered 59%, and 61% think it is either likely or very likely that Iran will develop nuclear weapons.