A majority of American voters back sending more military aid to Ukraine as its war with Russia nears the two-year mark — but the electorate is split on giving further assistance to Israel to fight its war against Hamas, according to a new poll.
The Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday found that 46% of registered voters are against providing the Jewish state with further military help in its fight against the terror group, compared with 45% who are for it. The remaining 9% said they didn’t know or declined to give an answer.
Compared to a poll released last month by the Connecticut university, opposition to additional assistance to Israel has increased among every age cohort — though a majority of voters aged 50 and up still support more Israel aid.
“There are shifting sentiments as the human losses mount and the Biden administration leans on Israel to lessen the impact on Palestinian civilians,” said Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy.
“While voters make it clear they have a personal stake in supporting Israel, they are less enthusiastic about fortifying its close ally’s arsenal.”
While 49% of voters said they sympathized more with the Israelis than the Palestinians, that’s a five-percentage-point drop from last month. The proportion of respondents who said they sympathized more with the Palestinians was unchanged at 24%, while 27% said they were unsure.
By contrast, 55% of voters told Quinnipiac they supported sending additional military aid to Ukraine, up one percentage point from November. Another 38% said they were opposed — down three percentage points from the previous month.
Congress is currently at an impasse over a $110 billion national security supplemental requested by President Biden, with roughly $61.4 billion in aid dollars meant for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, and around the same amount for US border enforcement.
House Republicans passed a separate measure to fund Israel’s defense but declined to take up the Ukraine funding request.
“What the Biden Administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win, and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said earlier this month.
Talks also broke down in the Senate as GOP lawmakers insisted any package would have to include immigration reforms, after more than 2.47 million migrants were stopped entering the US from Mexico in the 12 months ending Sept. 30
Talks are set to continue over the holiday recess and into 2024, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressing optimism about an eventual deal in a joint statement late Tuesday.
“Challenging issues remain, but we are committed to addressing needs at the southern border and to helping allies and partners confront serious threats in Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. The Senate will not let these national security challenges go unanswered,” the leaders said.
The Quinnipiac poll also found that 58% of Democrats want to halt military aid to Israel — a 10% increase from November — while 65% of Republicans support additional assistance.
Independent voters also oppose more Israel, with 48% against it and 41% for it, after the cohort narrowly broke in favor of it last month (47%-45%).
Americans are also divided along racial lines over the conflict, with 51% of white voters supporting Israel aid, but 56% of black voters and 60% of Hispanic voters opposed.
Despite the skepticism of arming Israel, more than two-thirds of voters (69%) still say supporting the Jewish state is in the US national interest, while just 23% say it is not.
Similarly 69% say supporting Ukraine’s war effort is in the national interest and 25% say it is not.
Voters are also split in judging Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas, with 43% approving and 42% disapproving — and 63% of Democrats in the latter category
By political party, 40% of Democrats said they sympathize more with the Palestinians while 77% of Republicans said they sympathized more with Israelis.
On Ukraine, 77% of Democrats and 51% of independents back further military assistance to Kyiv, but a majority of Republicans (51%) oppose the idea.
A slim plurality of voters (35%) believe that the US is doing about the right amount to help Zelensky’s military, while 32% believe Washington is doing too much and just 25% believe the US is doing too little.
“American voters hold firm on helping Ukraine battle Putin,” Malloy added. “But while Israel’s war effort continues to get full throated support from the GOP, it’s clear Republican voters are losing patience with supporting Ukraine.”