Two nations top list of pro-Israel countries – beating out US

Poll shows two sub-Saharan African nations had the highest rates of support for Israel, beating out the US and Hungary, with low levels of support across most of continental Europe.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A pair of new polls released this week found waning support for Israel across much of Europe, as the war against the Hamas terror organization continues.

The poll, conducted by YouGov between May 12^th and the 26th and published by The Guardian on Tuesday, showed support for the Jewish state in six European nations falling to the lowest level recorded by the pollster.

Less than one out of five respondents in each country surveyed by the poll – including Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, Spain, and Italy – said they had a positive view of the Jewish state.

In some cases, less than one in ten respondents had a positive view of Israel.

Since August 2021, Israel had a net negative rating in all six countries, the YouGov tracker shows, though support for Israel has fallen even further since the Hamas invasion of 2023.

Israel’s net rating in Germany, for example, peaked in November 2021 at -3, falling to -24 in August 2023 before rising to -4 in November 2023. Since then, however, it has fallen to -44, the worst level recorded.

Israel’s poorest scores were recorded in Spain (-55 net rating) and Denmark (-54), while its highest scores were in Germany (-44) and Britain (-46).

A plurality of respondents in each country said that Israel had a right to send troops into the Gaza Strip in response to the invasion of October 7^th, 2023, but argued that the Jewish state had “gone too far and caused too many civilian casualties.”

Few respondents believe Israel’s response has been “proportionate” or that Israel “was right” in its handling of the war, with just 16% of French respondents agreeing, compared to 14% of Germans, 13% of Danes, 12% of British respondents, 12% of Spanish respondents, and just 6% of Italians.

A second poll, published by Pew Research Center on Tuesday, surveyed residents in 24 countries across five continents, polling respondents on their views of Israel.

According to the survey, which did not include Arab states, the median favorability score was 29%, compared to 62% unfavorable.

The United States, Israel’s most important strategic ally, gave Israel a net negative score of 8, with 45% of respondents having a favorable view of the Jewish state, compared to 53% who have an unfavorable view.

While that rating is far above the global average found in the poll, it lagged behind two African nations, Nigeria and Kenya.

A total of 59% of Nigerians and 50% of Kenyans view Israel favorably, compared to 32% and 42% respectively who perceive the Jewish state unfavorably.

Hungary, whose conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been a prominent supporter of Israel, came in fourth with 36% of respondents having a positive view of Israel, was followed by India and South Africa, who were tied at 34%, and Canada at 33%.

The lowest scores were reported in Turkey, where just 4% of respondents had a favorable view of Israel, followed by Japan, with 13%, Poland with 16%, Indonesia with 17%, Spain with 18%, the Netherlands with 19%, and Sweden with 20%.