Israel – Not All Gloom and Doom
The monthly tracker from HarvardHarris shows that Israel’s support in the US is holding up nearly two years in.
Being Israeli—or even just a vocal supporter of Israel—has never been easy. But these days, it feels particularly heavy. Just this week, a close friend from London reached out, expressing his deep frustration with the global climate and with how Israel is handling the current crisis. I understood him completely. I share his frustration.
I, too, am angered by the rhetoric of some extremists in our government and disheartened by how poorly we often communicate our side of the story. And yes, I’m deeply troubled by how frequently the world seems unwilling—or unable—to see our perspective.
But amid the noise, I find myself holding onto a cautious optimism.
There’s a tendency, especially in difficult times, to focus solely on what’s going wrong. And there’s plenty of that. But I believe it’s equally important to acknowledge what’s going right—however modest or incremental it may be.
Take, for example, public opinion in the United States. The Harvard Harris Poll has been tracking sentiment on the Israel-Hamas conflict nearly every month since October 2023. One of the questions they ask is simple: In the Israel-Hamas conflict, do you support more Israel or more Hamas?
The results, while not perfect, are telling.
Support for Israel has remained consistently high. While it has dipped slightly from a peak of 84%, it still stands at a solid 77%—and notably, it rose last month. That’s not insignificant. In a world where narratives shift rapidly and misinformation spreads like wildfire, the fact that a strong majority of Americans continue to support Israel is something worth noting.
Even more encouraging is the breakdown: support for Israel remains above 60% across all age groups. Politically, it’s 86% among Republicans and 71% among Democrats. That kind of bipartisan backing is rare these days—and it speaks to a deeper recognition of the moral clarity in this conflict, even when others try to muddy the waters.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we can be complacent. The battle for hearts and minds is ongoing, and we must do better—both in how we act and how we explain ourselves to the world. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are still many who see through the fog, who understand the stakes, and who stand with us.
So let’s not relax – we have tough times ahead, but this is actually something to hold onto and reinforces the need for constant attention.
And that, at least, is something to hold onto.
