Poll: Americans, Europeans Have Negative View of Israel

by Kyle Anzalone | Jun 5, 2025

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/poll-americans-europeans-have-negative-view-of-israel/

A new survey from Pew Research found that in the US and several European countries, a growing number of adults have negative views of Israel. Tel Aviv’s image in the US has declined throughout the 20-month onslaught in Gaza.

In the US, 53 percent of Americans have a very unfavorable or somewhat unfavorable view of Israel, against 45 percent who had a positive view. Among Western nations, in the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, nearly four in five adults have a negative opinion of the Jewish State.

Of the 24 nations polled, only Indians, Kenyans, and Nigerians had a positive view of Israel. Overall, two out of three people surveyed had a negative sentiment of Tel Aviv.

In the US, there was the largest split between adults who identified themselves as on the right or left. Only 30 percent of Americans on the right said they had a negative view of Israel, compared to 77 percent of respondents on the left. The margin was the widest of any country polled.

A Pew poll released in April had a slightly tighter margin, finding that 69 percent of Democrats viewed Israel unfavorably, while only 37 percent of Republicans said the same. That survey found a wide split in the Republican party, with 50 percent of right-wing American adults under 50 expressing a negative opinion of Tel Aviv.

Pew found that Israelis understand they are viewed unfavorably on the global stage. A majority of Israelis, 58 percent, said Tel Aviv was not respected around the world, compared to only 39 percent who viewed Israel as respected.

Tel Aviv’s public image has fallen in the US and around the world as the Israeli military has conducted a brutal military operation in Gaza. Many top Israeli officials have called for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, stating that it is the goal of the current operations.