Americans’ view of Israel is at its lowest point in almost 50 years, a new poll shows, as the NAZA documentary, which accuses Israel of recklessly killing civilians in Gaza, hits American cinemas. On a favorability thermometer scale, where zero represents a cold, unfavorable view and 100 is the warmest reading possible, Americans gave Israel a rating of 44, according to new research by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs published on Monday. This is the lowest level ever recorded by the nonpartisan organization, which has surveyed Americans’ foreign-policy views since 1974.
Favorability for Israel has declined across the political aisle, among Democrats, Republicans and independents, the poll found, with more than half of Americans in favor of the U.S. decreasing or stopping military aid to the country. It comes as NAZA, named after the Hebrew acronym for collateral damage, is set to open at theatres in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle on October 9, after much controversy over the allegations in the film, which Israel vehemently denies. It has already started showing in New York.
The film, produced by The Guardian, does not have a traditional distributor and is playing in the U.S. and abroad with the help of independent film studio mk2. Its contents, which the producer says “reveal the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza” based on anonymous interviews with 24 members of Israeli intelligence and the military, have prompted intense backlash from Israel and advocacy groups in America. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a lengthy statement at the beginning of this month, saying it “categorically rejects these allegations,” questioning the film’s sources and arguing it contains “absurd contradictions.” Newsweek contacted the Israeli Embassy in Washington and NAZA filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor via email for comment.
The Chicago Council’s new overall score of 44, the lowest in the organization’s history, follows a consistent decline in favorable views toward Israel since 2022, when it was 58. This shift can be seen across all political groups, but most sharply among Democrats, who dropped from an average of 52 in 2022 to 30 this year. Republicans’ view decreased from 69 to 62 and independents' from 56 to 41.
The current 32-point difference between Republicans and Democrats on favorability toward Israel is now at its highest point ever. But there are differences among factions in the same political camps, with MAGA Republicans still showing a favorable view of Israel – 67 compared to non-MAGA Republicans who average at 55. Likewise, Democrats who identify as liberal give a lower score for Israel (27) than those who describe themselves as moderate (34).
For the first time ever, more than 50 percent of Americans believe Washington, D.C., should reduce or cut US military assistance to Israel – 56 percent up from 38 percent in 2022. The Chicago Council surveyed 2,156 adults between July 10 and 21 this year. It reports a margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points.
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