American support for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has continued to weaken, with recent polling suggesting that younger Republicans are becoming less uniformly supportive than older members of the party.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey of 3,040 U.S. adults conducted last month found that about one-third of Americans believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. About half of Democrats said they held that view.
The Hamas attack killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, and led Israel to launch a military response against Hamas in Gaza. The war has resulted in more than 70,000 Palestinian deaths, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health that were reportedly confirmed earlier this year by Israeli military officials.
Although younger Republicans remain far more supportive of Israel than younger Democrats, the AP poll found they are less consistently pro-Israel than older Republicans. The survey measured views on whether Israel’s actions amount to genocide, opinions on U.S. aid levels and favorability toward Netanyahu.
Among Republicans overall, only 13% said Israel’s actions against Palestinians constitute genocide. However, the poll showed a growing generational split, with Republicans under 45 expressing softer support and greater criticism of Israel than older Republicans.
About two in 10 Republicans under 45 said Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, compared with roughly one in 10 Republicans ages 45 and older.
Younger Republicans were also more likely than older Republicans to say the United States is “too supportive” of Israel. They were also more likely to hold unfavorable views of Netanyahu.
Overall, 60% of Republicans said U.S. support for Israel is “about right.” At the same time, the share of Republicans who said the U.S. is “not supportive enough” of Israel has fallen from 39% to 15% since 2024.
A Pew survey released in April found that most Jewish Americans and white Evangelicals continued to view Israel positively. However, 70% of adults ages 18-49, including 57% of Republicans in that age group, had an unfavorable view of the country.
A March NBC News poll also found that support for Israel has declined across all age groups since 2023, with the steepest drop among voters ages 18-34. In the survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted Feb. 27-March 3, 63% of voters under 35 expressed a “negative” view of Israel, while 13% had a positive view and 23% were neutral.
