A survey conducted by the British public opinion institute YouGov aimed to evaluate the changing stance of Americans on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The data was gathered from 1,000 American adults surveyed from October 24-28, 2023, following a recent Hamas attack on Israel. To provide context, the results were compared to those of a similar survey from 2002.
Significant growth in support for the Israeli position was noted, with a rise from 22% to 36%. Conversely, only 17% of respondents supported the Palestinian position, compared to 27% in the 2002 survey. There was also a decrease in those holding a neutral view, dropping from 39% to 23%. Some participants declined to provide an answer.
In terms of support for a Palestinian state, the current survey’s findings were contrasted with those from 2009. Back then, 68% of respondents were in favor of its creation, but now only 47% hold this stance. Additionally, 35% revealed that they did not have a clear point of view on the issue, a notable increase from 19% in 2009.
The survey also included questions about respondents’ perceptions of the influence of certain states and groups on the global situation. The research showed a general decrease in positive attitudes toward the UK, Japan, and Europe over the years, while positive views of France saw an increase from 5% to 36%. Attitudes towards Israel improved slightly, with a decrease in opposition to Hezbollah from 71% to 49%, and relatively unchanged negative attitudes towards Hamas, which held steady at 68%.
Ranking last were Russia and Iran. While Americans consistently held a negative attitude toward Iran, their perception of Russia significantly deteriorated from -16% to -70%.