More Americans sympathize with Israel than Palestinians, Pew poll finds

Many among US public hold sympathies for both sides while Americans remain divided on possibility of peaceful two-state solution, according to survey.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
New York rally in support of Israel Gaza campaign, July 28, 2014 (photo credit: ANNA HIATT)
New York rally in support of Israel Gaza campaign, July 28, 2014
(photo credit: ANNA HIATT)
As a cease-fire took effect this week in attempt to end the more than seven-week conflict in Gaza, most Americans expressed more sympathy for Israel than the Palestinians, according to a new poll.
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released on Thursday a survey that found 34 percent of Americans saying they sympathized "a lot" with Israel, with another 32% of respondents sympathizing "some" with the Jewish state.
In comparison, the poll found less sympathy from the American public for the Palestinians with 11% sympathizing "a lot" with the Palestinians, although 35% said they had "some" sympathy for them.
While the results of the survey conducted August 20-24 showed that 15% of Americans held little sympathy for Israel and 12% feeling "not at all" sympathetic, nearly half of the respondents said they had "not much" (20%) or no (27%) sympathy for the Palestinians.
However, among the 1,501 adult Americans surveyed, 37% overall said their sympathies were not mutually exclusive to either side in the Middle East conflict.
A higher number though, said they sympathized with Israel and not the Palestinians while fewer sympathized with the Palestinians and not Israel.
Twenty-nine percent of those questioned affirmatively responded with one-sided sympathy for Israel while 8% said they sympathized solely with the Palestinians. The poll found that 18% did not sympathize with either side.
In terms of a peaceful two-state solution, the figures showed that the American public remains divided in light of the most recent fighting between the IDF and Palestinian factions in Gaza. While 43% said they believe Israel and an independent Palestinian state could coexist peacefully, 48% said they did not believe the situation was feasible.
The Pew survey was conducted by means of telephone interviews with American citizens, aged 18 or older, who were selected by random.