Young Republicans increasingly critical of Israel, polling shows

Major generational gap opens on the right as support for Israel plummets among young Republicans, new research shows.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A growing generational divide within the Republican Party is reshaping American attitudes toward Israel, with fewer than half of Republicans under 35 now viewing the Israeli people favorably, according to a Pew Research Center analysis published October 16.

The findings reveal a deterioration in attitudes among younger Americans on the right, who have moved increasingly away from the strongly pro-Israel positions traditionally associated with the Republican Party.

Just 43% of Republicans aged 18–34 expressed favorable views of the Israeli people in a May 2026 survey, compared with 79% of Republicans aged 50 and older.

The gap was even wider regarding Israel’s government, which received favorable ratings from only 28% of younger Republicans, against 68% of older Republicans.

The findings represent a sharp reversal from 2019, when 71% of Republicans under 35 viewed Israelis favorably, compared with 82% of those aged 50 and above. Favorability among the younger group has consequently fallen by 28 percentage points over seven years, while declining only three points among older Republicans.

The shift is particularly significant because it extends beyond opposition to Israeli government policies or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that negative perceptions have increasingly affected attitudes toward Israelis themselves.

Pew researchers Jonathan Schulman and William Miner noted that generational divisions on foreign policy are generally more pronounced among Republicans than Democrats, with younger Republicans sometimes holding views closer to those of Democrats than to older members of their own party.

The October analysis draws on several earlier Pew surveys, including a study conducted May 4–17 among 12,574 American adults.

A separate Pew survey conducted in March found that 57% of Republicans aged 18–49 held unfavorable views of Israel, up from 50% the previous year. Republicans overall remained more positive, with 58% viewing Israel favorably and 41% unfavorably.

Young Republicans have also become significantly less supportive of Netanyahu. Only 30% of Republicans under 50 expressed confidence in his handling of world affairs in March, compared with 58% of Republicans aged 50 and older.

The differences extend to President Donald Trump’s management of relations with Israel. Among Republicans under 30, just 52% expressed confidence in Trump’s handling of the US-Israel relationship, compared with 93% of Republicans aged 65 and above.

Another Pew survey found that Republicans under 30 now express nearly identical levels of favorability toward the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, at 42% and 40%, respectively. The result marks a substantial departure from earlier years, when young Republicans were considerably more sympathetic toward Israelis.

The erosion in support comes amid growing divisions on the American right over military intervention, US assistance to Israel, and the Trump administration’s involvement in the war with Iran.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference in March, younger Republican attendees openly questioned the longstanding alliance between Washington and Jerusalem.

“Our younger generation, we don’t like Israel as much compared to the older generation,” 18-year-old conservative Ryder Gerrald told Reuters. Gerrald argued that American taxpayer money should be directed toward domestic priorities rather than Israel’s military.

Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec also described increasing skepticism among younger Republicans, saying many questioned the purpose and benefits of the US-Israel relationship.

University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami, who directs the university’s Critical Issues Poll, similarly identified a major shift in Republican opinion.

“Something is absolutely brewing among young Republicans,” Telhami told Axios in June.

Research conducted by his university found that only 22% of Republicans aged 18–34 believed Israel’s military actions in Gaza were justified under its right to self-defense.

The growing skepticism has been amplified by prominent figures on the American right, including Tucker Carlson and other advocates of a more noninterventionist foreign policy. Their criticism of US support for Israel has challenged the party’s traditional foreign policy establishment, while some rhetoric in the broader debate has drawn accusations of antisemitism.

Nevertheless, support for Israel remains substantial among older Republicans and evangelical Christians, many of whom regard the Jewish state as a strategically and religiously important American ally.

“Israel is God’s people,” 83-year-old Republican Harry Strine III told Reuters at the same conservative conference.

A February Gallup survey found that 70% of Republicans continued to sympathize more with Israelis than Palestinians, although that figure had fallen by 10 percentage points since 2024.

Faith & Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed has maintained that Republican and evangelical leaders remain strongly committed to Israel, while acknowledging that deteriorating public opinion figures “are dangerously low.”

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