According to a new Pew Research Poll, most Americans view Israelis favorably, but less than half feel the same way about the Israeli government. The study also shows a sharp partisan divide in opinions on Israel, the Palestinians and their respective governments.
Overall, 64 percent of respondents said they held very or somewhat favorable opinions of Israelis, with just 41 percent saying the same about Israel’s government. However, just 46 percent of respondents had very or somewhat favorable views of Palestinians, and a paltry 19 percent said the same of the Palestinian Authority government.
When asked about Israeli and Palestinian governments, 61 percent of Republicans expressed support for Israel’s government, compared with just 26 percent of Democrats.
Last year, 46 percent of Americans sympathized more with Israel, while 16 percent said they sympathized more with Palestinians.
The survey was conducted April 1-15 among 10,523 adults on the center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel.