Over the last decade, Democrats have shown an increasing affinity toward the Palestinians; and now, according to a new Gallup survey – for the first time ever – their sympathies in the Middle East now lie substantially more with the Palestinians than with the Israelis (49% vs. 38%). Sympathy toward the Palestinians is also at a new high among political independents, up six points to 32%.
However, more Independents (49%) still lean toward the Israelis. Republicans' views are unchanged, with nearly eight in ten (78%) continuing to sympathize more with the Israelis, while 11% side with the Palestinians.
In short, says Gallup, Americans' view 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."
Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, finds none of that surprising.
"Right now, the Israeli Left is trying to throw [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu out of office," she offers. "I think there's a disease with them – and I think it's a disease that would include some anti-God perspectives and a lot of wokeness."
And Markell says the same thing can be found in America's modern churches.
"They're all woke – and they don't like Israel either," she states bluntly. "So, none of this surprises me. The Bible said all these things would happen; and … that in the last days there would be two hated people: the Christians and the Jews. So, we're just seeing everything play out as foretold."
In the same survey, Gallup revealed party affiliation isn't the only determinant in how individuals view the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. People in the age range 44 and older (Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Silent Generation) have solid positive net sympathy toward Israel. However, Millennials (ages 23-43) are evenly divided between the two.
