Worrisome trends in American support for Israel
While overall support for Israel remains strong, with 50% of Americans sympathizing more with Israel, compared to 10% sympathizing more with the Palestinians, according to the latest Pew poll, worrisome trends exist. Elliott Abrams blogs at the Council on Foreign Relations:
...conservative Republicans are more than twice as supportive of Israel as liberal Democrats, among whom support for Israel is not very much greater than support for Palestinians. When I point out these numbers, and others like them, to Democratic Party leaders they usually get angry and say "Israel should not be a partisan issue. Stop making Israel a partisan issue." That's a foolish reply, for every poll I have seen in recent years gives the same general result. Support for Israel on the Left-in Europe, in America, in the Democratic Party-is eroding. That's an obvious fact.
Pew also reports:
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.
Even worse, the age structure of support for Israel is unfavorable, as the young reflect the indoctrination dealt to them by the leftists in control of education. Abrams writes:
Of great concern to supporters of Israel will also be the age data, showing that support for Israel drops sharply among the young: 58% of those over 65 but only 38% of those under 30 sympathize more with Israel.
Hat tip: Clarice Feldman