While the war between Israel and Hamas has now passed its second month following the October 7 terrorist attacks, American support, at least among Republicans and independents, clearly favors the Israeli state. However, Democrats are not only divided, but they tend to favor Palestine slightly more depending on their age, according to a new survey by The Wall Street Journal.
The results are quite clear. Among Republican voters, support for Israel is almost absolute: more than two-thirds, 69%, said they sympathized more with the Israelis, compared to 2% who sympathized more with the Palestinians. The remaining 17% said they sympathized with both groups equally.
Democrats, on the other hand, change their view of the conflict depending on their age. The youngest people mainly support Palestine, and those over 50 support Israel, although in disproportionate numbers.
According to the poll, Democrats under 50 were more favorable toward Palestinians by a margin of 35% to 13%. In contrast, those over 50 were more sympathetic to Israelis by a margin of 22% to 12%. In total numbers, 24% of Democrats said they supported Palestine more compared to 17% who sympathized more with Israel. The remaining 48% chose both options equally.
Independents, like Republicans, were largely favorable to Israel, although by a smaller margin. 35% said they sympathize more with Israel compared to 11% who opted for Palestine. 34% said they supported both sides equally.
If you take the total numbers of the survey without differentiating their political thinking or age, you will notice that the American people mostly support Israel over Palestine, at 42% against 12%. Just 33% said they supported both sides equally.
Likewise, a large majority of respondents supported Israel's military measures. 55% said that the Israeli army is doing what is necessary to stop Hamas from attacking again, compared to 25% who say that Israeli retaliation has already gone too far.
Disapproval of Biden's management
President Joe Biden, who is experiencing a severe popularity crisis, is failing to convince Americans regarding his response to the war between Israel and Hamas.
According to the WSJ, 52% of people who participated in the study said they disapproved of Biden's management compared to 37% who support his diplomatic response.
Biden's poor ratings regarding his response to the war are explained mainly by Democrats' division over support for Israel and Palestine. Since the Hamas attacks occurred, the President has received a lot of criticism from the progressive American electorate, which largely represents the young vote of the Democratic Party.
