Gallup: Seven in 10 Americans Continue to View Israel Favorably
by Lydia Saad
http://www.gallup.com/poll/181652/seven-americans-continue-view-israel-favorably.aspx?

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Even as relations between the leaders of Israel and the
United States reportedly deteriorate over disagreement about how to handle
Iran's nuclear program, Israel has retained its broadly favorable image in
the U.S. over the past year. Seventy percent of Americans now view that
country favorably, and 62% say they sympathize more with the Israelis than
the Palestinians in the Mideast conflict. By contrast, 17% currently view
the Palestinian Authority favorably, and 16% sympathize more with the
Palestinians.

Americans' Recent Perceptions of the Israelis and the Palestinians
[February 2014]((February 2015))

RATE VERY/ MOSTLY FAVORABLY
[72]((70)) Israel
[19]((17)) Palestinian Authority
SYMPATHIES IN MIDEAST SITUATION
[62]((62)) More with the Israelis
[18]((16)) More with the Palestinians
GALUJP

These attitudes, from Gallup's Feb. 8-11 World Affairs survey, are unchanged
from a year ago, suggesting that neither the evident friction between
President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nor
the 50-day conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip last year, greatly affected how each is
perceived in the U.S.

In fact, Israel's public image in the U.S. has been fairly strong since
2005, with an average 68% of Americans viewing it favorably. But from 2000
to 2004, when hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians were running
high, its favorable score averaged 60%. Prior to that, Israel's favorable
rating was even more volatile, reflecting other Mideast events, including
the 1991 Gulf War, when positive views of Israel soared after that country
suffered Iraqi rocket attacks.

Gallup first measured Americans' impression of the Palestinian Authority,
the official governing body of the Palestinians, in 2000, and since then,
the percentage viewing it favorably has averaged 17%, diverging
significantly on only a few occasions. One of these came in 2005, when
favorable opinion of the Palestinians increased in polling conducted shortly
after Mahmoud Abbas was elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian
president.

Asked to Choose Sides, Six in 10 Americans Favor Israelis

Americans' tendency to sympathize more with the Israelis than the
Palestinians in their regional conflict also peaked in 1991 during the Gulf
War, then fell in 1993 as President Bill Clinton led intense
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and more Americans favored both sides or
neither side. Americans remained largely neutral through 2001, spanning
several more peace initiatives, when the 9/11 attacks -- as well as years of
failed peace talks that yielded to heightened Palestinian-Israeli
violence -- may have fundamentally changed their outlook toward the Middle
East. Since 2004, Israel has consistently received the majority share of
Americans' sympathies.

Republicans Nearly Unanimous in Support of Israel

A key reason Americans' sympathy for Israel has solidified at a sizable
majority level is that Republicans' support for the Jewish state has
increased considerably, rising from 53% in 2000 to more than 80% since
2014 -- with just 7% choosing the Palestinian Authority. A particularly
large jump in GOP sympathy for Israel occurred in the first few years after
9/11 and at the start of the 2003 Iraq War.

Democrats' support for Israel has also risen since 2000, but not quite as
sharply as Republicans'. Additionally, the percentage of Democrats
sympathizing with Israel fell 10 points this year to 48%, possibly
reflecting the tension between Obama and Netanyahu.

Bottom Line

U.S.-Israel relations have been much in the news over the past year, and
tension between Obama and Netanyahu has reportedly worsened since the latter
accepted House Speaker John Boehner's invitation to address Congress about
Iran this spring -- an offer the White House did not sanction. Meanwhile,
Israel and the United States share a strong interest in seeing the
international terrorist organization known as the Islamic State group, or
ISIS, thwarted. Throughout all of this, Israel's positive image in the U.S.
remains broadly intact nationally, even as Democrats' sympathy for Israel
may have slipped. The percentage of Democrats viewing Israel favorably is
also down, currently at 60%, vs. 74% a year ago. Positive views of the
Palestinian Authority are fairly scarce, but no lower than they have been in
recent years.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted
Feb. 8-11, 2015, with a random sample of 837 adults, aged 18 and older,
living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based
on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4
percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone
respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by
time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are
selected using random-digit-dial methods.