Even CNN’s chief data analyst was shocked when he looked at polls showing the dramatic shift in support — or lack thereof — for Israel, particularly among younger Democrats, in less than a decade.
Harry Enten went over the numbers with CNN anchor Kate Bolduan on Wednesday morning, and he showed just how much the Democratic Party had changed with regard to support for Israel — and while he noted that the wildest swing was among Democrats under the age of 50, even those over 50 had made a sizable shift away from supporting the Jewish state.
WATCH:
Re: Mamdani & Israel, Democrats are longer pro-Israeli when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Dems sympathized more with Israelis by 13 pt in 2017. Now, it’s Palestinians by 43 pt.
Among Dems under 50, it was Israelis by 14 pt in 2017. Now, Palestinians by 57 pt. pic.twitter.com/AfGop8UHTF
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) July 2, 2025
The conversation centered on the recent Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral race — a primary that was won handily by self-described Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani — and Enten noted that, during the race, Mamdani’s chief opponent and disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) had criticized the Queens assemblyman for not being supportive enough of Israel.
“Andrew Cuomo, during the primary, attacked Mamdani as being insufficiently pro-Israel. I’m not quite sure the former governor understood how much the politics have changed around this issue among Democrats,” he said.
“What are we talking about here? All right, who do Democrats sympathize more with: Israelis or Palestinians? In 2017, the Democratic Party was a pro-Israeli party,” Enten explained. “Look at this. They sympathized with the Israelis by 13 points—more with the Israelis than the Palestinians. But look at this sea change. Now, Democrats sympathize more with the Palestinians by 43 points.”
“Oh my God! That is a change in the margin of 56 points over the course of just eight years. So all of a sudden, it’s the pro-Palestinian position that actually reigns supreme in Democratic politics, not the Israeli position,” he continued. “And that is part of the reason why Mamdani was able to do so well in this primary, because those attacks over Israel, simply put, did not ring true for Democrats. They’re now on the side of the Palestinians, not the Israelis.”
Bolduan pushed for more information, noting, “This is a much bigger issue, specifically with Mamdani, though. I mean, an outspoken critic of Israel. He’s facing continued criticism, though, for not being outspoken enough against antisemitism, that is for sure.”
Enten broke the data down further, pointing out that the shift away from support for Israel had been far more dramatic among younger Democrats.
“So take a look here. Who do aged 18 to 49 Democrats sympathize more with: the Israelis or the Palestinians? Again, in 2017, younger Democrats sympathized more with the Israelis by 14 points. Look at this shift now: Palestinians—they sympathize with the Palestinians by 57 points,” he said. “That is an over 70-point shift in the margin in just a matter of eight years! … The bottom line is the politics around the Israelis and the Palestinians have shifted tremendously among Democrats, and they’ve shifted specifically tremendously among Democrats who are under the age of 50.”