Pew research poll indicates nations are turning against Israel

In a new poll published last week, Pew Research measured how favorably Israel was seen by people living in 24 different nations. The results were overwhelmingly negative.

Approximately 1,000 participants from each country over 18 years of age were asked, “Please tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable opinion of Israel?”

After surveying people from 24 nations across six different continents, the polling company found that almost every country, with the exception of India, Kenya, and Nigeria, viewed Israel more negatively than positively. Even the U.S. now showed a larger number of respondents indicating an unfavorable view. 

The only Middle Eastern nation surveyed, Turkey, had the most extreme response with 93% negative and only 4% expressing a favorable view.

Around half or more of adults surveyed said they had an unfavorable view of Israel in 20 out of the 24 countries, and was particularly high in Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey where the proportion reached more than three quarters seeing Israel negatively. The median of all 24 countries being 62% negative and 29% positive.

Compared to a survey conducted in 2013, 7 out of 10 countries saw the share of adults holding a negative view of Israel increase significantly. The UK is given as an example, rising from 44% having an unfavorable view of Israel in 2013, to 61% now. 

Even in Nigeria the number seeing Israel negatively has risen slightly since 2013, but so has the number in favor of Israel, with the grey “don’t know” area diminishing. 

Compared to a similar poll conducted just three years ago in March 2022, there was a rise of 11% in the U.S. seeing Israel negatively. 

Pew Research reported that there were some observable differences according to age and ideology, with younger people particularly in high-income countries (Australia, Canada, France, Poland and South Korea and the U.S.) tending to see Israel more negatively, with a pronounced age gap evident in the U.S.

Those on the left ideologically tend to have more negative views of Israel, according to the research. In Australia for example, about twice as many on the left see Israel unfavorably as those on the right (90% vs. 46%) while in the US 74% of liberals have a negative view of Israel, compared with 30% of conservatives.

Israelis are seemingly aware of the global disapproval. When surveyed around 58% of Israelis said their country is not too or not at all respected around the world while 39% believed that it was. The share of Israelis who say their country is “not at all” respected has increased 9 points from 15% to 24% since last year.