Americans have generally positive views toward Israel, despite a more critical perspective toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government, a new Pew research study has shown.
In the study, conducted during 2022 and 2023, there was some difference of opinion depending on age group and affiliation in the 2022 part of the survey.
Americans over 65 had a 69% favorable view of Israel compared to 49% between age 30 and 49, which drops to 41% in the under-30 age bracket. Republicans support Israel at 71%, compared to Democrats where 44% have a favorable view of the country.
Religious Americans tend to support Israel more, study finds
Among American Protestants, 63% have favorable views as opposed to 42% of the religiously unaffiliated. White evangelicals had the highest levels of support at 80%. Jewish and Muslim Americans could not be given a figure due to sample size restrictions.
While less than half (48%) of Americans view Israel’s government favorably, two-thirds have a positive image of the Israeli people. This is similar to the way many countries are perceived abroad.
A surprising 26% of Americans said they had never heard of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Among the 18-29 age group, only 13% of respondents felt confident in Netanyahu’s handling of world affairs. Although party affiliation seems to have an impact, 49% of Republican voters have confidence in the Israeli prime minister’s global leadership.
Most respondents felt the US-Israel relationship is strong
The US-Israel relationship remains strong according to respondents to the 2022 poll. Seventy-four percent described the relationship between the two countries as “good” in both the Democrat as well as Republican camps. College-educated Americans were more likely to say that the relationship was good, with those with post-graduate education being most likely to feel that America has a positive relationship with Israel.
There is significant disagreement over sentiments that US President Joe Biden is too strict or lenient to one of the sides. A majority of Americans (62%) was unsure whether the president was favoring Israelis or Palestinians, but 13% felt he was favoring the Palestinians over Israeli interests. Only 13% felt he was striking the necessary balance.