Republicans, conservatives, and Trump voters are far more likely to consider Israel an ally of the United States than Democrats, self-described liberals, and Biden voters, a new poll finds.
According to the poll, which was conducted by YouGov from August 16th to the 18th and published by The Economist, American adults on the political Right are far more likely to view Israel as an ally of the US, and are less likely to view Israel as being unfriendly vis-à-vis the US.
Out of the entire polling sample of 1,500 American adults, 36% said they view Israel as an ally of the US, compared to 26% who say Israel is friendly with – but not an ally of – the US, 11% who said Israel is not friendly with the US, and five percent who said Israel is an outright enemy of America. Among registered voters, 42% said Israel is an ally, 28% said it is friendly, 11% described Israel as unfriendly, and four percent called it an enemy.
Nearly two-thirds (66%) of respondents who said they plan to vote for President Trump this November said Israel is an ally of the US, compared to just 24% of people who plan to vote for Joe Biden.
Likely Biden voters were more likely (38%) to describe Israel as being friendly, compared to 17% of Trump voters. Biden voters are also more likely to view Israel as being unfriendly or an enemy, with 17% saying Israel was neither an ally nor friendly, compared to 10% of likely Trump voters.
Broken down by ideology and political alignment, 58% of Republicans and 58% of self-described conservatives said Israel is an ally, compared to 23% of self-described liberals (and the same percentage of Democrats) and 32% of moderates (and the same percentage of independents).
Eighteen percent of Democrats and 17% of independents said Israel was either unfriendly or an enemy, compared to 21% of liberals and 19% of moderates. Just 10% of conservatives said Israel was unfriendly or an enemy.
Demographically, men were far more likely to view Israel as an ally than women, with older respondents, college graduates, and higher-income respondents all disproportionately likely to call Israel an ally and less likely to call Israel an enemy.
Forty-two percent of men and 29% of women described Israel as an ally, with 25% of men and 26% of women called Israel friendly, 13% of men and 10% women calling Israel unfriendly, and four percent of men and six percent of women calling Israel an enemy.
People with a high school education or less were most likely to call Israel unfriendly or an enemy (19% combined), compared to 16% of people who went to college but never graduated, 12% among college graduates, and 14% among postgrads.
Just 25% of people with a high school education or less called Israel an ally, compared to 39% of people with some college education, 45% of college grads, and 47% of postgrads.
Respondents with income under $50,000 per year were least likely to see Israel as an ally (30%) and most likely (17%) to call Israel either unfriendly or an enemy. By comparison 40% of those earning $50,000 to $100,000 and 48% of those earning more than $100,000 a year called Israel an ally. Fifteen percent of middle income respondents said Israel is an enemy or unfriendly, compared to 12% of high income respondents.
Non-whites were also far less likely to describe Israel as an ally, and more likely to say Israel is an enemy or unfriendly.
Among non-Hispanic whites, 41% say Israel is an ally, while 12% say it is unfriendly or an enemy. Among blacks, just 18% called Israel an ally, with 25% calling the country an enemy or unfriendly. Twenty-seven percent of Hispanics called Israel an enemy or unfriendly, nearly as many as the number (28%) who called Israel an ally.