Such a low has not yet been recorded. April 2026 presents statistics no less horrifying of the status of Israel in the American public eye.
The most recent survey of the PEW Institute, the biggest and most reliable of such institutes, indicates that 60% of Americans embrace a negative opinion of Israel, a figure which reflects a negative drop of 20% since 2022. A Gallup poll finds a downswing: for the first time in decades, where more Americans identify with the Palestinians (41%) than with Israelis (36%).
An additional blatant trend is the loss of the young generation. It is evident that among young people aged 18-29, the level of identification with Palestinians reached as high as 75%. Specifically among Democrats under 50, 84% have a negative image of Israel. But even among Republicans, the traditional stronghold of support, considerable erosion has also surfaced, with 57% under the age of 50 expressing a negative opinion of Israel.
We can no longer assume that these are simply figures. They are influential in practical ways as well.
Two weeks ago, 40 out of 47 Democratic senators voted to cease supplying army bulldozers to Israel, even though this vote was outweighed by a Republican majority, it denotes a loss of a bipartisan consensus. Concurrently, in Congress, as well, there was an attempt to establish limiting conditions for defense help to Israel, especially with regard to the war and the fear of its future escalation.
All of these clearly point to a definite downslide of the Israeli image, whose danger is very clear in the image in the eyes of Israeli among the general population.
Dr. Kobi Barda, a well known 'Americanolg' and researcher in the broad spectrum HIT school in Holon, asks how we reached such a state where the majority of the Democratic Party, including its top brass, are opposed to arms agreements with Israel?
"This process did not take place in one day; it has happened in the space of over a decade. It all began with the Netanyahu's decision to `go head on head' with Obama, the then incumbent U.S. president. The decision to accept the Republican invitation to speak in Congress in opposition to Obama was, in my opinion, the turning point.
"With time, this trend intensified, especially after the entrance of 'the Squad' of women, some of them Moslem, into the House of Representatives in 2018, who identified themselves as being anti-Israel.
"Hatred towards Israel became a significant factor as part of the broader process of influence in the universities with the flow of money from Qatar, whose goal was to defame Israel and which apparently was very successful. Today, the Israeli 'tag' is considered very controversial in large sectors of the Republican Party."
These are the factors embraced by those who focus on Israel with almost total blindness with the arms growth of other countries, including the joining of Japan to the arms race, against its almost traditional policy, and the frantic armament race of Egypt and other countries.
