Sea Change: ‘Very Unfavorable’ Views of Israel Triple Among US Adults

Amid a major war on Iran waged in partnership with the United States, Israel’s reputation among Americans has continued to deteriorate, with 60% of US adults viewing Israel unfavorably. That’s a hefty 18-point increase from 2022, according to a new survey from Pew Research. Over the same stretch, Israel’s “favorable” share cratered by 18 points.  

While the top-line unfavorable rating is bad news for Israel, things are even worse when you look under the hood: The proportion of Americans who have a very unfavorable view of Israel now stands at 28% — triple what it was in 2022.  

Alongside his country’s sagging standing with the US public, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also increasingly unpopular, as 59% of American adults have little or no trust that he will “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” also a seven-point worsening from last year’s finding. 

Pew conducted the survey during the week of March 23-29, roughly a month into the US-Israeli war on Iran, but a few weeks before this week’s brinksmanship –which had many fearing a years-long global economic catastrophe if President Trump followed through on his threats to eradicate Iran’s “whole civilization” and Iran carried out its promised destruction of energy and water infrastructure around the Persian Gulf.   

There continue to be significant differences between Americans who associate themselves with the Democratic Party and those who are Republicans or Republican “leaners.” A whopping 80% of Democrats have an unfavorable or very unfavorable view of Israel, almost doubling the 41% of Republicans who feel that way. In what may be the most significant sub-trend in US-Israeli politics, a solid 57% majority of Republicans under age 50 now have a negative view of Israel. Unless that turns around, this suggests that the GOP’s status as a fortress of Israeli support will soon be a thing of the past. Republicans are split on Netanyahu: 45% have some or a lot of confidence in him, while 44% have little or no confidence.  

There are also interesting contrasts by religious affiliation. Here’s the percent that have mostly positive views of Israel: 

• White Evangelical Protestants: 65%
• Jewish Americans: 64%
• White Non-Evangelical Protestants: 39%
• Catholics: 35%
• Black Protestants: 33%
• Unaffiliated/Atheist/Agnostic/”Nothing In Particular”: 22%

As for Trump’s handling of the US-Israel relationship, 55% lack confidence in him to make good decisions. Here again, party differences are huge: Only 16% of Democrats are confident in Trump’s management of the relationship, compared to 73% of Republicans. Here again, a huge difference within the GOP across age cohorts:  Only 52% of Republicans under 30 are confident in Trump’s decision-making vis a vis Israel, compared to an overwhelming 93% of those 65 and older. 

While Pew didn’t explore the drivers of Israel’s steadily-sagging standing with Americans, it’s safe to say that Israel’s wholesale destruction of Gaza and skepticism over the rationale for US-Israeli warfare on Iran last summer and again this year have played a big part.