50% of the American public say they sympathize more with Israel, compared with just 10% who
say they sympathize more with the Palestinians, according to latest PEW Research survey.
There continue to be stark partisan differences in Middle East
sympathies. Conservative Republicans maintain strong support for Israel
with fully 75% saying they sympathize with Israel compared with just 2%
who sympathize with the Palestinians. By contrast, liberal Democrats are
much more divided: 33% sympathize more with Israel, 22% with the
Palestinians. Independents sympathize more with Israel by a 47% to 13%
margin.
Among
religious groups, white evangelical Protestants remain strongly
supportive of Israel. Two-thirds (67%) say they sympathize more with
Israel; only 5% say they sympathize more with the Palestinians. Opinion
among other religious groups is more mixed. Catholics, for example,
offer more sympathy for Israel than the Palestinians by a 44% to 11%
margin.
There also are age differences in Mideast sympathies. About
four-in-ten (38%) people younger than 30 sympathize more with Israel
than the Palestinians. That is only slightly lower than the percentage
of 30-49 year olds who sympathize with Israel (46%). However, more than
half of those 50 and older (58%) sympathize with Israel more than the
Palestinians. Age differences were more modest in 2011 and 2010.
