Poll: Sanders voters more sympathetic to Palestinians than to Israel
Americans as a whole continue to support Israel by wide margin.
By HERB KEINONGirls supporting US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders cheer for Bernie during snowfall outside a campaign event in Exeter, New Hampshire(photo credit: REUTERS)
Liberal Democrats, the group for whom US Senator Bernie Sanders is the most appealing candidate in the current presidential race, sympathize more with the Palestinians than with Israel, according to a Pew Poll released on Thursday.According to the poll, when asked with whom they sympathize more – Israel or the Palestinians – 40% of those who define themselves as liberal Democrats responded the Palestinians, and only 33% said Israel.These numbers are significantly different than the national figure, which shows that Israel continues to enjoy strong support among the American public, with 54% of the public more sympathetic to Israel and only 19% with the Palestinians.Inside the Democratic Party, the poll found that while Clinton supporters are more likely to sympathize with Israel (47% to 27%), among Sanders supporters there is more sympathy for the Palestinians 39% to 33%.During his campaign, Sanders has been very critical of the Netanyahu government.There continues to be wide differences between the parties regarding support for Israel, with 75% of Republicans expressing more sympathy for Israel (just 7% say they sympathize with the Palestinians), as opposed to 43% among Democrats, and 52% of Independent voters.There are also wide generation differences in support, though fears that Israel has lost the “millennials” is not borne out by the poll. According to these numbers, 43% of those between the ages of 18-29 are more sympathetic to Israel, as opposed to 27% for the Palestinians. The numbers of support for Israel increases significantly with age, with 68% of those 65 and older supporting Israel, as opposed to only 13% for the PalestiniansThe poll was based on telephone interviews among 2,008 adults in all 50 states conducted from April 12-19. The poll has a 2.5% margin of error.