Plurality of Democrats sympathize with Palestinians over Israelis: Poll

Sympathy for Palestinians is growing among Americans, and particularly among Democrats, a plurality of whom said in a new poll that they are more sympathetic to the plight of Palestinian civilians than Israelis, as the Israel-Hamas war stretches into its second month.

A Quinnipiac University poll released this week found that, among Democratic voters, 41 percent surveyed said their sympathies lie with the Palestinians, while 34 percent said they were more sympathetic to the Israelis, and 25 percent were undecided.

It’s a dramatic shift from just last month. About 48 percent of Democrats said in Quinnipiac’s Oct. 17 poll that they were more sympathetic to Israel, and 22 percent said the Palestinians, after Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israelis.

The change comes as Democratic leaders face mounting pressure to support a cease-fire to halt the violence. Hamas killed some 1,200 people during its attacks on Israel more than a month ago. Israel is now waging an air and ground campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, killing well more than 10,000 civilians, according to Gaza health officials.

Thousands of people have taken part in human rights protests across the United States in support of a cease-fire. This week a demonstration outside of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., turned violent as Capitol Police clashed with demonstrators who were blocking the exit, with prominent Democrats stuck inside.

Sympathy among young voters for Israelis has plummeted in the past month, the latest poll found. More than half of voters aged 18-34 said they were more sympathetic toward the Palestinians.

Overall, more than half of voters surveyed — 54 percent — said they are more sympathetic to Israelis, while 24 percent said the Palestinians.

Eighty percent of Republican voters said their sympathies lie with Israel, while 7 percent said the Palestinians.

The Quinnipiac University poll surveyed 1,574 registered voters across the country from Nov. 9-13. It has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.