(PewResearch).Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, far more Americans continue to say they sympathize with Israel rather than the Palestinians (by 48% to 11%). These opinions are little changed from recent years.
23% say the changes occurring in the Middle East will be good for the United States; about as many (26%) say the changes will be bad and 35% say they will not have much effect.
There also is considerable skepticism that people in the Middle East will benefit from the protests and calls for change: 45% say these actions will not lead to lasting improvements for the people living in these countries while 37% say they will lead to lasting improvements.
Nearly half of Americans (48%) say they sympathize more with Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians while just 11% sympathize more with the Palestinians; 15% volunteer that they sympathize with neither side.
Fully 75% of conservative Republicans sympathize more with Israel -- by far the highest percentage of any partisan group.
At the other end of the ideological spectrum, just 32% of liberal Democrats sympathize more with Israel while 21% sympathize more with the Palestinians.
Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants continue to stand out for their strong support for Israel: 70% say they sympathize more with Israel compared with just 3% who sympathize more with the Palestinians.
About half of white Catholics (52%) sympathize more with Israel, as do 46% of white mainline Protestants; just 12% in each group sympathizes more with the Palestinians.
About a third (32%) of the religiously unaffiliated sympathize more with Israel while nearly as many (25%) volunteer than they sympathize with neither side; 14% say they sympathize more with the Palestinians.
