{"id":49025,"date":"2014-04-29T16:39:23","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T21:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2014\/04\/29\/public-divided-over-whether-israel-independent-palestinian-state-can-coexist\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:10:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:10:24","slug":"public-divided-over-whether-israel-independent-palestinian-state-can-coexist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2014\/04\/29\/public-divided-over-whether-israel-independent-palestinian-state-can-coexist\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Divided over Whether Israel, Independent Palestinian State Can Coexist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Survey Report<\/h2>\n\n

Amid the breakdown of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, the public is divided over whether a way can be found for a peaceful two-state solution in the Middle East. Overall, 46% say an independent Palestinian state can coexist peacefully with Israel, 44% do not think this can happen. <\/p>\n\n

\"Public<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

A year ago, 50% thought it was possible for an independent Palestinian state to exist peacefully alongside Israel, 41% did not.<\/p>\n\n

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted April 23-27 among 1,501 adults, finds that Republicans are particularly skeptical about the prospects for a peaceful two-state solution: just 34% think a way can be found for this to happen. Independents (50%) and Democrats (52%) are more optimistic that a solution can be found.<\/p>\n\n

A landmark 2013 Pew Research survey of Jewish Americans found 61% of U.S. Jews<\/a> expressing optimism about the possibility of a peaceful two-state solution. A Pew Global Attitudes Project survey, conducted last spring<\/a>, found that 50% of Israelis and just 14% of Palestinians believed that a peaceful two-state solution was possible. That report found optimism for a two-state solution was highest in France (71%) and lowest in Lebanon (11%) and the Palestinian territories, among the 13 countries surveyed.<\/p>\n\n

The current survey finds that in the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, the U.S. public\u2019s sympathies continue to lie much more with Israel. Roughly half (53%) say they sympathize more with Israel, 11% sympathize more with the Palestinians, and 16% volunteer that they sympathize with neither side. Support for Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians has been consistent over the nearly four-decade history of this measure. There continue to be partisan differences in views: 68% of Republicans sympathize more with Israel compared with 46% of Democrats (just 15% of Democrats and 7% of Republicans sympathize more with the Palestinians).<\/p>\n\n

The survey was completed before controversy arose over Secretary of State John Kerry\u2019s comment at a closed-door meeting last week that Israel risked becoming an \u201capartheid state.\u201d Kerry subsequently apologized for the statement, which he made during a private meeting of the Trilateral Commission and was first reported by the Daily Beast<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The survey finds little change in views of Barack Obama\u2019s handling of the Middle East conflict. A 45% plurality says Obama is striking about the right balance, while 22% say he favors the Palestinians too much and just 9% say he favors Israel too much.<\/p>\n\n

Views of Two-State Solution<\/h3>\n\n
\"Liberal<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Overall, 34% of Republicans think a way can be found for an independent Palestinian state to coexist with Israel, while 56% do not think this is possible. Democrats think a two-state solution can be achieved by a 52%-39% margin. Liberal Democrats (59%) are more likely than the party\u2019s conservatives and moderates (47%) to say an independent Palestinian state can coexist peacefully alongside Israel.<\/p>\n\n

Blacks express much more optimism about the prospects for a two-state solution than do whites and Hispanics. By about two-to-one (62%-29%) blacks say a way can be found for peaceful coexistence. Among Hispanics, 49% think an independent Palestinian state can exist alongside Israel, 37% do not think this can happen. Whites are about evenly divided (43% think a two-state solution is possible, 47% do not).<\/p>\n\n

Among religious groups, a majority of white mainline Protestants (58%) and about half of white evangelicals (52%) do not believe a way can be found for a way for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to peacefully coexist. Catholics are divided (45% think a two-state solution is possible, 41% do not) while the religiously unaffiliated, by 51% to 42%, think a way can be found for the two sides to coexist. Black Protestants say a two-state solution this is possible by a 64%-26% margin.<\/p>\n\n

More Sympathize with Israel than the Palestinians<\/h3>\n\n
\"Middle<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

In the ongoing dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, a 53% majority sympathizes more with Israel, while far fewer (11%) sympathize more with the Palestinians; 16% volunteer that they sympathize with neither side.<\/p>\n\n

In polling by Pew Research and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations dating back to 1978, sympathy toward Israel has never been higher. A decade ago, four-in-ten (40%) sympathized more with Israel and 13% sympathized more with the Palestinians. By the summer of 2006, sympathy with Israel had risen to 48% and has remained at or around 50% since that <\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"Conservative<\/figure>\n\n

Republicans continue to register very high measures of sympathy for Israel (68%), while 7% sympathize more with the Palestinians and 9% volunteer \u201cneither.\u201d Among Democrats, 46% sympathize more with Israel, 15% say they sympathize more with the Palestinians, and 15% say neither. The opinion gap is especially large between the two party\u2019s ideological wings: 75% of conservative Republicans sympathize more with Israel, compared with 41% of liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n\n

As in past surveys, there are religious differences regarding sympathies toward Israel and the Palestinians. About eight-in-ten white evangelical Protestants (81%) sympathize more with Israel, up from 70% three years ago; just 4% today sympathize more with the Palestinians. White mainline Protestants (49%-11%) and black Protestants (44%-12%) sympathize more with Israel by less one-sided margins. Among adults not affiliated with a religion, twice as many sympathize more with Israel (41%) than the Palestinians (20%).<\/p>\n\n

Views of Obama\u2019s Handling of Middle East Situation<\/h3>\n\n
\"Most<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Overall, 45% say that Obama is striking the right balance in the Middle East these days, while 22% say he is favoring the Palestinians too much and 9% say he is favoring Israel too much; about a quarter (24%) do not offer a rating.<\/p>\n\n

Views of Obama\u2019s handling of the situation differ markedly by partisanship and religious affiliation.<\/p>\n\n

About two-thirds (65%) of Democrats say Obama is striking the right balance in the Middle East, with few saying he is favoring Israel (10%) or the Palestinians (5%) too much. By contrast, 40% of Republicans say Obama is favoring the Palestinians too much, while a quarter (25%) say he is striking the right balance and just 8% think he is overly favoring Israel.<\/p>\n\n

Among Republicans and Republican leaners who agree with the Tea Party, fully 65% say Obama is favoring the Palestinians too much, just 11% say he is striking the right balance, and 3% say he is favoring Israel too much. Republicans who do not agree with the Tea Party are much more divided in their views (34% right balance, 30% favoring Palestinians too much, 10% favoring Israel too much).<\/p>\n\n

Among all Protestants, 43% say Obama is striking the right balance while 28% say he is favoring the Palestinians and 6% say he is favoring Israel. White evangelical Protestants are critical of Obama: 43% say he is favoring the Palestinians compared with 31% who say he is striking the right balance. By contrast, nearly seven-in-ten (68%) black Protestants say Obama is striking the right balance; very few say he is favoring Israel (7%) or the Palestinians (4%) too much.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Survey Report Amid the breakdown of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, the public is divided over whether a way can be found for a peaceful two-state solution in the Middle East. Overall, 46% say an independent Palestinian state can coexist peacefully with Israel, 44% do not think this can happen. A year ago, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","sub_headline":"More Continue to Sympathize with Israel over Palestinians ","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"prc_watchers":[],"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[{"key":"c8535f4a-6dda-412d-9c6c-d8a8c8cf3323","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/legacy-pdf\/4-29-14 Israel-Palestinians 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