What do Americans think of Benjamin Netanyahu? New poll breaks 28-year record

Miami Herald

2 days ago

A record-high share of Americans now have a negative view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the latest Gallup poll.
At the same time, support for Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip has plummeted to a record low.
The survey comes as Netanyahu's government faces growing international condemnation for its handling of the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
According to Gaza health officials, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 55,000 Palestinians — the majority being women and children — while most buildings across the territory have been destroyed or damaged.
Many of the territory's 2.1 million residents — nearly half of whom are children — also face famine and starvation due in large part to Israeli restrictions on aid coming into the area, according to the United Nations.
'Food is running out. Those seeking it risk being shot. People are dying trying to feed their families,' Tom Fletcher, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, said in a July statement.
President Donald Trump recently acknowledged there is 'real starvation' in Gaza and urged Israeli officials to allow 'every ounce of food' into the enclave, echoing calls from other prominent world leaders.
Meanwhile Netanyahu has denied there is severe hunger in Gaza and called the claim that Israel is 'applying a campaign of starvation' a 'bold-faced lie.' He's also blamed Hamas for stealing aid supplies.
Here is a breakdown of the results from the Gallup poll.
For the first time ever, a majority of Americans, 52%, now express an unfavorable opinion of Netanyahu, marking his highest negative rating seen since Gallup began polling on the leader in 1997 (he has served as prime minister from 1996-1999, 2009-2021 and from 2022 onward).
Meanwhile, 29% expressed a favorable view, while 19% had no opinion.
These results underscore a recent transformation in American attitudes toward Netanyahu — a member of Israel's right-wing Likud Party.
For most of the 2000s and 2010s, his unfavorable rating held steady at around 25%, but it skyrocketed to 47% in 2023, following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. This rating stood at 45% in 2024, the same year the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of war crimes — a charge Netanyahu denied and said is rooted in antisemitism.
In the latest poll — which surveyed 1,002 U.S. adults July 7-21 — views toward the prime minister varied significantly based on partisan affiliation and age.
Record-low shares of Democrats and independents — 9% and 18%, respectively — expressed an favorable opinion of him. In contrast, a record-high 67% of Republicans had a positive view of Netanyahu, who has maintained a close political alliance with Trump.
Nearly half of adults 55 and older, 47%, said they had a favorable view of the Israeli premier, while just 6% of 18-34-year-olds said the same.
Opposition to the Israeli military's operations in the Gaza Strip has also surged to an unprecedented intensity.
For the first time, a majority of Americans, 60%, now disapprove of the country's military actions in the Palestinian territory. This is up 12 points from 48% in September 2024.
In contrast, 32% said they approve of the Israeli Defense Force's actions, down from 42% in 2024.
Here, again, there were major demographic differences, according to the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The vast majority of Republicans, 71%, said they favor the military's conduct in Gaza, marking an increase from 66% last year.
However, just 8% of Democrats said the same, down from 24% in 2024. Similarly, 25% of independents approve of the IDF's actions in Gaza, marking a double-digit decrease from 41% in 2024.
Additionally, 49% of those 55 and older approved, while just 9% of 18-34-year-olds said the same, underscoring a generational divide that has emerged in U.S. public opinion toward Israel.
'The increasingly skeptical and divided American public poses a challenge for Israeli leadership and U.S. policymakers who are seeking to navigate the conflict,' Gallup concluded.