A majority of Americans have an unfavourable view of the Israeli government, a new survey by Pew Research Centre has found.
According to Haaretz, the poll results published yesterday show “a huge partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats with regards to how they view the Israeli and Palestinian peoples”.
The poll, part of a regular series looking at US citizens’ views on Israel and the Palestinians, introduced for the first time questions “that distinguish between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples — and their respective governments”.
While 64 per cent of Americans say they have a favourable opinion of the Israeli people, only 41 per cent have a favourable view of the Israeli government, with 51 per cent viewing the government unfavourably.
With regards to the Palestinians, meanwhile, 46 per cent of Americans view the Palestinian people favourably, while only 19 per cent have a favourable opinion of the Palestinian government.
The Pew survey, conducted 1-15 April among 10,523 US adults, also “finds large partisan differences in opinions about both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and their governments”.
Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are substantially more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to have a favourable view of the Israeli people (77 per cent vs. 57 per cent).
The partisan gap is even wider in opinions of the Israeli government; while “by nearly two-to-one (61 percent to 32 percent), Republicans have a favourable view of Israel’s government”, two-thirds of Democrats view Israel’s government unfavourably and just 26 per cent have a favourable opinion.
The poll also showed an age gap, with those 65 and older are the only age group in which a majority (57 per cent) have a favourable view of the Israeli government; among adults younger than 30, by contrast, just 27 per cent view Israel’s government favourably.
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