Pew Poll: American Support for Israel and Netanyahu Drops Sharply Since 2022
Majority of Americans Now View Israel Negatively, Doubt Netanyahu’s Leadership, and Oppose U.S. Involvement in Gaza—Young Voters and Democrats Show Strongest Shift.
Watan-A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that American views toward Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have grown more negative over the past three years.
Respondents answered the same questions posed in previous surveys conducted between March 2022 and 2024. This year, 53% expressed a negative view of Israel, compared to 43% in 2022.
According to the new poll, fewer Americans now say the war between Israel and Hamas is personally important or crucial to U.S. national interests compared to those who felt this way earlier last year.
Overall, public perception of Israel has worsened in the past three years, with over half of American adults (53%) now holding a negative view of Israel—up from 42% in March 2022, prior to Hamas’s attack and Israel’s invasion of Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The survey also showed that Americans’ confidence in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains relatively low (32%). The poll was conducted between March 24 and 30, just before Netanyahu’s latest visit to Washington, and included a nationally representative sample of 3,605 U.S. adults.
A slight majority (54%) said the war between Israel and Hamas is very or somewhat personally important to them. This is down from 65% in January 2024, just a few months after the October 7 attack.
Personal Importance
Both Republicans and Democrats are likely to describe the conflict as personally important. In both parties, those aged 50 and older are more likely to view the conflict as personally significant than younger individuals.
Among Republicans, the generational gap is wider (18 percentage points) than among Democrats (10 points). Younger Republicans are notably more uncertain about whether the war is personally important to them (17% vs. 7%).
Jewish Americans are the most likely to view the conflict as personally important, with 93% saying so—including 74% who say it is extremely important.
A significant portion of Muslims (68%) and white evangelical Protestants (66%) also see the conflict as very or somewhat important. Lower percentages of Catholics (56%) and religiously unaffiliated adults (47%) share this view.
National Importance
When asked about the importance of the war to U.S. national interests, 66% of U.S. adults said it is very or somewhat important—down about 9 percentage points from last year.
Both Republicans and Democrats are likely to view the war as important to U.S. interests. Older Americans are more likely than younger ones to consider it nationally significant.
Majorities in most religious groups analyzed describe the war as important to U.S. interests, including 92% of Jewish Americans, 75% of white evangelical Christians, and 66% of American Muslims.
Trump and the Gaza War
Americans are nearly evenly split on whether Trump favors Israelis too much (31%) or strikes the right balance between Israelis and Palestinians (29%). Only 3% believe he favors Palestinians too much, while 37% are unsure.
Jewish Americans are also divided: 36% say Trump favors Israelis too much, 43% say he strikes the right balance, and only 2% believe he favors Palestinians. Around 17% are unsure.
By comparison, in February 2024, when asked about former President Joe Biden, fewer Jewish adults said Biden favors Israelis too much (13% vs. 36% for Trump), while more said he favors Palestinians too much (18% vs. 2% for Trump). Jewish Americans were equally likely to say Biden or Trump strikes the right balance (45% vs. 43%).
Seven in ten Muslim Americans believe Trump favors Israelis too much—a number similar to those who said the same about Biden in February.
Views on Israel
A slight majority of Americans (53%) now have a somewhat or very negative opinion of Israel. This marks an 11-point increase in negative views since March 2022, the last time this question was asked. The share of U.S. adults with a very negative view of Israel nearly doubled—from 10% in 2022 to 19% in 2025.
Democrats were more likely than Republicans to express negative views of Israel (69% vs. 37%). In 2022, 53% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans had negative opinions.
Both younger and older Democrats have grown more critical of Israel over the past three years, with negative views increasing by 9 points among younger Democrats and by 23 points among older Democrats.
Among Republicans, most of the change occurred among younger voters. Republicans under 50 are now equally likely to have negative and positive views of Israel (50% vs. 48%). In 2022, they were far more likely to have positive than negative views (63% vs. 35%).
Views on Israel also vary widely across religious groups. Muslims and religiously unaffiliated Americans are especially critical of Israel (81% and 69% negative, respectively).
White non-evangelical Protestants are nearly split (50% unfavorable, 47% favorable), while American Jews and white evangelical Protestants generally have favorable views of Israel. Around 70% of each group express a favorable view, including 42% of Jews and 36% of evangelicals who are very favorable.
Views on Netanyahu
According to the survey conducted just before Netanyahu’s latest Washington visit, a narrow majority of Americans (52%) have little or no confidence in Netanyahu’s ability to “do the right thing,” while 32% expressed confidence in him.
This hasn’t changed much since last year, though the percentage of Americans with little or no confidence in Netanyahu rose notably between 2023 and 2024.
Republicans remain significantly more optimistic about Netanyahu’s handling of global affairs than Democrats (51% vs. 15%). Older Republicans are particularly supportive: those aged 50+ are about twice as likely to trust Netanyahu as those under 50 (70% vs. 32%).
Among Democrats, both younger and older age groups lack confidence in Netanyahu. (In both parties, younger people are less likely to be familiar with him.)
More than half of white evangelical Protestants (58%) say they trust Netanyahu on global issues. Other religious groups show more divided or generally negative views.
For example, 53% of Jewish Americans do not trust Netanyahu, while 45% do. Among Muslim Americans, 87% have little or no trust in him, including 74% who have no trust at all.
Two-State Solution
Fewer than half of Americans (46%) now believe it is possible for Israel and a future Palestinian state to coexist peacefully—a concept known as the “two-state solution.” This is down from 52% in a late 2023 survey.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe peaceful coexistence is possible (56% vs. 36%).
Younger Americans are also more likely than older ones to believe a two-state solution is achievable.
Jewish and Muslim Americans are split on the issue: about half of Jews (47%) believe it’s possible, while 52% say it’s not. Among Muslims, 56% say coexistence is possible, while 43% disagree.
U.S. Control Over Gaza
Trump suggested that the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip. In the new survey, 38% of Americans do not believe he will pursue this policy.
The idea is widely unpopular: 62% of Americans oppose U.S. control over Gaza—including 49% who strongly oppose it. Only 15% support Trump’s proposal, while 22% are unsure.
Jewish Americans show slightly more support for the idea than other religious groups. Among Jewish adults, 32% support Trump’s proposal, while 64% oppose it. (Jewish Americans are less likely than others to express uncertainty on the issue.)
