Vicky Arias, FISM News
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A new Gallup poll released today shows that Democrats have more sympathy for Palestinians than Israelis, as their support of Palestinians has increased sharply over the past year.
The poll summarized the results by explaining that “Americans’ views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have become more polarized as Democrats increasingly commiserate with the Palestinians, while Republicans maintain their solid alignment with the Israelis.”
Results of the poll, which questioned 1,008 Americans, reflect that 49% of Democrats are sympathetic to Palestinians, while 38% are supportive of Israelis. Additionally, the poll shows that Democrat support for Israelis is lower than it’s ever been, or more than 20 years, which is as long as the data reflects.
According to the poll, “Democrats’ waning religiosity may be a factor in the longer-term trend” behind their allegiance to Palestinians.
A GROWING TREND
Overall, 54% of American support lies with Israelis over Palestinians in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict but waning support of Israel in the Democratic Party has been apparent for some time.
In May 2021, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) proposed legislation that would block the sale of weapons from the United States to Israel.
Ocasio-Cortez said in a press release at the time that “we should not be sending ‘direct attack’ weaponry to [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu” in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The representative opposed “the sale of $735 million in American-made weapons to the Israeli government.”
Despite Ocasio-Cortez’s opposition to selling weapons to Israel, an American ally, in 2021, the representative was in favor of giving money to Ukraine, in part for military purposes, in 2022, to the tune of $40 billion dollars.
There is growing concern among conservatives and Israeli supporters that anti-Israel sentiments may become normalized in the Democratic Party.
In 2021, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., received wide backlash for a Twitter post she made that many viewed as equating the United States and Israel with terrorist organizations, like Hamas and the Taliban.
“We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity,” Omar posted. “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”
Fierce criticism arose over a duly-elected U.S. official lumping the United States and Israel in with the Taliban, who is known for beheading detractors and committing acts of forced marriage. Omar, however, chose not to delete the tweet, and it currently remains visible on her page.
Israel is the United States’ strongest ally in the Middle East, collaborating with us on many fronts, and American support of the nation is crucial.
According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “Israel continues to help the United States deal with traditional security threats. The two countries share intelligence on terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Middle Eastern politics [and] Israel’s military experiences have shaped the United States’ approach to counterterrorism and homeland security.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) recently explained the importance of American-Israeli unity.
Israelis “need our help to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, they need our help to achieve peace with their neighbors, and they need our help to defeat the terrorists threatening both our nations,” Cotton stated. “Yet they don’t get that from the Biden administration.”