Anti-Israel Sentiment in US at All-Time High

A New York Times/Siena poll published on 30 September shows US support for Israel has collapsed, with most voters rejecting further aid and sympathies tilting toward Palestinians for the first time since 1998.

Conducted from 22–27 September, with 1,313 registered voters, the survey found broad opposition to new economic or military assistance to Tel Aviv.

Nearly two years after the 7 October 2023 Hamas operation, six in 10 respondents said Israel should end its military campaign even if hostages remained or Hamas was not eliminated.

Forty percent of those surveyed said Israel was deliberately targeting civilians, nearly double the share who agreed in the 2023 survey.

For the first time since the New York Times (NYT) began tracking voter sentiment in 1998, Palestinians now hold a slight edge in public sympathy over Israelis.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said they backed Palestinians, 34 percent chose Israel, and another 31 percent were either undecided or leaned toward both.

The survey shows a major reversal since 2023, with Democrats driving the shift – a majority now sympathize with Palestinians, only a small minority with Israel, and over eight in 10 want the genocide to end regardless of whether Israel’s aims are achieved or not.

Nearly six in 10 say Tel Aviv is deliberately killing civilians, which is double the share from two years ago, with once reliable demographics of supporters now shifting their views.

“The Israeli government’s response … had become unreasonable,” said Shannon Carey, a physician assistant from Hartford. She urged Washington to end military and financial backing, calling the Israeli assault a “humanitarian crisis.” “This isn’t a war. It’s a genocide.”

Other recent surveys have reflected the same trajectory. A Quinnipiac University poll released on 24 September found only 47 percent of US citizens now believe supporting Israel serves Washington’s interests, a steep fall from 69 percent in late 2023.

Nearly half of voters said they hold a negative view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while most disapproved of US President Donald Trump’s handling of the genocide in Gaza.

Gallup polling cited alongside those results reported that just 32 percent of the public supports Israel’s military campaign, with disapproval climbing to 60 percent – the worst ratings for Netanyahu since 1997.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey published on 20 August showed a similar picture, with 58 percent of respondents saying all UN member states should recognize Palestinian statehood.

Sixty-five percent said Washington should act in Gaza to help those facing starvation under Israeli blockade, while nearly six in 10 described Israel’s assault as excessive.

Complementary findings from Pew, Gallup, and Brookings underline the same trend: rising unfavorable views of Israel, majorities opposing its war, and growing recognition among US voters that the campaign amounts to genocide.