According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday, nearly 70% of Americans think Israel should call a ceasefire in its attack on Gaza.
About 68% of respondents answered that they agreed with the statement that “Israel should declare a ceasefire and try to negotiate,” Reuters reported.
When broken down by party, about half of Republicans and three-quarters of Democrats support this view, meaning that President Joe Biden would be acting against the will of the majority in his party by not promoting Israel. Stop your attack.
The new survey, which was conducted online on Monday and Tuesday this week, collected responses from 1,006 adults across the country. It also found that support for Israel had fallen nearly 10 percentage points since the last Reuters/Ipsos poll on October 12–13.
When asked what role the United States should play in the conflict, about 32% of respondents said “the United States should support Israel,” up from 41% in mid-October. The number of people who agree that “the United States should be a neutral mediator” increased from 27% to 39%.
The first poll came about a week after the October 7 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people in Israel. The group also took about 240 hostages in Gaza. The second survey comes in the sixth week of Israel’s bombing and land invasion of Gaza, which has taken an increasing toll on the civilian population and resulted in massive destruction of infrastructure in the strip.
The attack has already killed more than 12,000 people, about 40% of them children, and damaged or destroyed schools, bakeries, and medical facilities. Due to fuel shortages and damage to the mobile network, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry was unable to contact hospitals in the struggling strip to receive an updated death toll, it reported. The Washington Post
In the survey, more people say they oppose than support sending weapons to Israel, at 43% and 31%, respectively. In comparison, 41% supported sending weapons to Ukraine, while 32% opposed it.
The reporter for InterceptPrem Thakker noted that the results of the poll show a growing disconnect between American voters and their representatives when it comes to US policy towards Israel.
“4.5% of Congress now supports a ceasefire,” Thakker tweeted. “No Republican members spoke in favor of stopping the violence.”
The poll is just the latest indication that American voters want an end to Israel’s bombing of Gaza. An Oct. 20 Data for Progress poll found that 66% of respondents supported a ceasefire. A recent survey by the Marist Catholic Congregation found that the percentage of respondents who thought Israel “went too far” in its response to the October 7 attacks rose from 26% after the attacks to 38%. The Hill on Wednesday
Americans also participated in a series of protests and direct actions calling for a cease-fire, including a march on Washington, DC, on November 4. The March, which, according to the press, was perhaps the largest pro-Palestine march in the history of the United States,
