A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 34% of Likely U.S. Voters say that, looking at the history of Israel and Palestine, they sympathize more with the Israelis, down from 42% in February, and a sharp decrease from 59% in November 2023. Twenty-nine percent (29%) now are more sympathetic to the Palestinians – up from 24% in February – while another 36% are undecided.
The survey found opinions on the Middle East have turned against Israel in the wake of the Iran war, especially among Democratic voters. The drop in support for Israel tracks the open antisemitism among Far-Left candidates encouraged by Zohran Mamdani’s success in the New York City mayoral race.
In November 2023, Democrats sympathized more with Israel by a 26-point margin, 48% to 22%. Now, Democrats favor the Palestinians by an 18-point margin, 41% to 23%. A majority (52%) of Republicans still sympathize more with Israel, while sympathies are almost evenly divided among voters not affiliated with either majority, 31% of whom favor the Palestinians and 29% side with the Israelis.
Forty-six percent (46%) of all Likely Voters think Israel has too much influence in the Trump administration, up from 35% in February. Thirteen percent (13%) now say Israel doesn’t have enough influence and another 25% believe the amount of Israeli influence in the Trump administration is about right. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure.
Among voters who sympathize more with the Palestinians, 81% think Israel has too much influence in the Trump administration.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) are concerned about Israel’s influence in the news media – up from 51% in February – including 30% who are now Very Concerned. Thirty-three percent (33%) aren’t concerned about Israel’s media influence and 10% are not sure.
More Democrats (65%) than Republicans (50%) or unaffiliated voters (54%) say they’re at least somewhat concerned about Israel’s influence in the news media.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democrats think Israel has too much influence in the Trump administration, as do 30% of Republicans and 48% of unaffiliated voters.
Forty-four percent (44%) of Republicans say the amount of Israeli influence in the Trump administration is about right, but only 11% of Democrats and 22% of unaffiliated voters agree with that.
There isn’t much of a “gender gap” on these questions. Just slightly more men (48%) than women voters (44%) believe Israel has too much influence in the Trump administration.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of whites, 24% of black voters, 29% of Hispanics and 33% of other minorities say that, looking at the history of Israel and Palestine, they sympathize more with the Israelis. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of whites, 37% of black voters, 32% of Hispanics and 30% of other minorities sympathize more with the Palestinians. Black voters are most likely to be Very Concerned about Israel’s influence in the news media.
Older voters are much more likely to sympathize with Israel, while nearly half (47%) of those under 30 sympathize more with the Palestinians.
Among those who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, 58% sympathize more with Israel and just 12% sympathize with the Palestinians. The sympathies are reversed among Kamala Harris voters, with 44% sympathizing more with the Palestinians and just 18% sympathizing with Israel.
The survey of 1,107 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on June 3-4 and 7, 2026 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. To see survey question wording, click here.
