Washington, DC —

Before-before, most Americans dey support Israel because e dey resonate well for dia culture and memory. But now, e be like say di matter don dey change.

For one new poll wey University of Maryland (UMD) do, dem find say 28 percent of Americans now dey support Palestinians pass. Meanwhile, na only 22 percent dey support Israelis. Another 26 percent talk say dem dey balance for both sides, while 12 percent no support any side. Di rest no sure wetin dem think.

For di younger people, di matter dey hot pass. For di age group of 18 to 34 years, 37 percent dey support Palestinians, while only 11 percent dey support Israelis. 19 percent talk say dem dey balance for di two sides.

Di poll wey SSRS (Social Science Research Solutions) conduct from July 29 to August 7, 2025, and release on August 25, show say di gap dey wide among Republicans. For people wey dey 35 years and above, 52 percent of Republicans dey support Israelis. But for di younger Republicans wey dey under 35, na only 24 percent dey support Israelis.

For di whole country, 40 percent of Americans talk say US dey too support Israel, 27 percent feel say di policy dey okay, and 30 percent no sure. For Democrats, 63 percent believe say di Trump administration dey too support Israel. For Republicans, 57 percent feel say di policy dey balanced, but di age gap dey clear: older Republicans dey more likely to see di policy as balanced pass di younger ones.

On top di matter of genocide for Gaza, 41 percent of Americans — 67 percent of Democrats but only 14 percent of Republicans — call am genocide or something close to genocide. Meanwhile, 22 percent — 46 percent of Republicans but only 7 percent of Democrats — defend Israel, say di actions dey justified as self-defence. Another 23 percent no sure.

For younger Americans, di gap dey wider: 47 percent believe say wetin Israel dey do for Gaza na genocide or something close to am. Last year, di numbers bin dey different: for August 2024, na only 23 percent call am genocide, while 28 percent talk say di actions dey justified.

Kenneth Roth, wey be former Human Rights Watch executive director and now dey teach for Princeton, talk say di shift for American attitude fit dey because of Israel actions for Gaza and di continuous settlement expansion for West Bank.

Majority of Americans, 61 percent, believe say US military, economic, and diplomatic support dey enable wetin dey happen for Gaza. 34 percent talk say di support dey strong, 27 percent say e dey somewhat. Only 12 percent feel say US support no get impact, while 26 percent no sure.

Di view dey cut across party lines: 72 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of Republicans, and 63 percent of independents agree. When dem ask whose interest US policy dey serve, only about one-third — 34 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of Democrats, and 32 percent of independents — believe say e dey serve US interest. Another 25 percent talk say e dey serve Israel interest, 6 percent point to Arab states, and 31 percent no sure.

For Americans wey dey under 35, di split dey narrow: 27 percent believe say US policy dey serve US interest, while 26 percent talk say e dey serve Israel interest. Younger Republicans dey slightly more likely to say e dey serve Israel (26 percent) pass US (24 percent).

Nicholas Kristof, wey be writer and columnist, talk say after di October 7, 2023, attack, global sympathy dey with Israel. But Netanyahu actions for Gaza don change di way people dey see di matter, and now more people dey support Palestinians.

Di findings from UMD, wey be one of di Public Ivies, dey in line with other surveys. Gallup and YouGov polls also show say support for Palestinians dey rise for US. But di University of Maryland survey na di first one wey show say more Americans dey lean towards Palestinians pass Israelis.

With margin of error of ±2.9 points, di poll also show say di number of Americans wey dey call Israeli actions genocide don increase from 23 percent last year to 41 percent now. Di generational shift wey di figures reveal fit change di way Americans go dey debate US policy for Middle East.