NY state voters split on aid to Israel, in shift from November - poll

Positions on aid did not diverge sharply along party lines, though Republicans were slightly more supportive.

By LUKE TRESS/JTA

JANUARY 25, 2024 05:47

A PROTESTER is removed during a US Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden's supplemental funding request for Israel and Ukraine, in October. The Gaza war has implications for inter-power relations in various contexts such as the war in Ukraine, the writer notes. (photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS) — A PROTESTER is removed during a US Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden's supplemental funding request for Israel and Ukraine, in October. The Gaza war has implications for inter-power relations in various contexts such as the war in Ukraine, the writer notes.

(photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)

Voters in New York state are split on whether the United States should provide aid to Israel, according to a recent poll, a shift from the weeks following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

A Siena College survey published on Monday found that 45% of the state’s voters are opposed to providing further military or economic aid to Israel, while 43% support it, with the remainder either on the fence or declining to answer.

That’s a shift from a November survey of New York state voters by Siena, taken roughly a month after Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel launched the current war. That survey found that 51% were in favor of aid to Israel while 37% were against.

In this week’s poll, few subgroups supported aid to Israel. Slim majorities of suburban respondents and those 55 and older backed the aid, along with 75% of Jewish respondents. Among Jews, 18% oppose aid to Israel.

Positions on aid did not diverge sharply along party lines, though Republicans were slightly more supportive. Among Democrats, 47% were against aid to Israel and 43% were in favor, while 43% of independents oppose aid and 38% support it. Among Republicans, 46% supported aid and 44% opposed it.

Protesters call for a ceasefire and an end to US military funding in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as they demonstrate inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington DC, December 19, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)

Poll appears to show drop in support for aid to Israel among NYC residents

The poll queried 807 New York state voters between January 14-17, and had a margin of error of 4.5%. Margins of error for the subgroups were slightly higher.

The poll also appeared to show a drop in support for aid to Israel among denizens of New York City in particular. A poll by Quinnipiac University last month found that residents of the five boroughs were split, with 46% opposed to sending military aid to Israel, and 45% in favor.

But in this week’s Siena poll, 53% of the city’s residents opposed aid to Israel and 35% supported it.

Subgroups of younger voters, and those with lower incomes, were also less supportive of aid to Israel. In addition, half of white voters supported aid to Israel, while 40% opposed it. Thirty percent of both Black and Latino voters supported the aid, with 56% and 46% of those groups, respectively, in opposition.

The survey also asked about aid to Ukraine, which proved slightly more popular, with half of voters in favor and 40% against. On that issue, there were wider partisan gaps: 63% of Democrats supported more military and economic aid to Ukraine, compared to 26% of Republicans.

Ukraine aid was more popular than aid to Israel among all racial and age groups except Jews, who were still largely supportive of it at 70%.