Americans are divided over who is to blame for the ongoing violence in Israel, with many Democrats blaming Israel and most Republicans blaming Hamas, according to the latest poll from The Trafalgar Group.
Fighting between Israel and Hamas has reached new heights in the last week, with Israel firing hundreds of air and ground strikes in Gaza while Hamas has responded with thousands of rockets, leaving at least 227 people dead in the Gaza Strip and 12 in Israel, according to Haaretz.
The Trafalgar Group’s poll, which was conducted in partnership with Convention of States Action, shows that among all Americans:
- 28% blame Hamas for the violence in Israel.
- 27% blame Israel.
- 10% blame Iran.
- 7% blame the Palestinian Authority.
- 26% are unsure.
When limited to just Democrats:
- 38% blame Israel.
- 15% blame Hamas.
- 6% blame Iran.
- 6% blame the Palestinian Authority.
- 34% are unsure.
When limited to Republicans:
- 42% blame Hamas.
- 14% blame Iran.
- 12% blame Israel.
- 10% blame the Palestinian Authority.
- 20% are unsure.
Among independents:
- 31% blame Israel.
- 28% blame Hamas.
- 9% blame Iran.
- 7% blame the Palestinian Authority.
- 24% are unsure.
“Bipartisan support for Israel has been a hallmark of American politics for decades. Mainstream America continues to strongly support Israel, but these numbers reveal a shocking new trend among Democrats. Increasing majorities actually blame the Jewish State for the current violence, rather than Hamas and Iran, who are openly anti-Semitic, genocidal and celebrate the killing of civilians,” Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States Action, said in a statement.
“Senator [Chuck] Schumer and [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi have lost control of their party, as extremists like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Sen. Bernie Sanders—and their supporters—are now leading a far-left foreign policy agenda in which state-sponsored terrorism, anti-Semitism and genocide are in and representative democracy and human rights are out.”
Politico and Morning Consult found in a recent survey that Democratic voters tend to be equally sympathetic toward both sides (36%) while a majority of Republican voters (51%) are more sympathetic toward the Israelis.
President Joe Biden in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the U.S. expects to see “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire,” according to the White House.
The Trafalgar Group surveyed 1,101 likely voters across the country from May 15-17, with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
Source: Newmax
