Half in new poll say Israel has gone too far in Gaza war

Exactly half of Americans say Israel has “gone too far” in its military response in Gaza, according to a new survey.

The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found 31 percent of Americans said Israel has “been about right” in its response and 15 percent said it has “not gone far enough.”

The percentage of Americans who said Israel has “gone too far” in its military response is up 10 percentage points from November, when 40 percent of respondents answered that way. At the time, 38 percent of Americans said Israel had “been about right” in its response and 18 percent said it had “not gone far enough.”

In the AP and NORC poll, 35 percent of Americans said Israel is an “ally that shares U.S. interests and values,” down from 44 percent in November. Forty-four percent in the new poll said Israel is a “partner that the U.S. should cooperate with, but doesn’t share its interests and values,” up from 40 percent in November.

Almost two-thirds of those surveyed — 61 percent — put “a lot” of blame on Hamas for the war, with 35 percent putting “a lot” of blame on Israel. Another third of those surveyed said Iran had “a lot” of the responsibility for the war.

And President Biden has lost some support in how he’s handling the crisis, with 31 percent in January versus 37 percent in December expressing approval. Among Democrats asked the same question, Biden has lost support, with 46 percent in January, down 13 points from the month prior.

The AP and NORC poll was conducted between Jan. 25-29, with responses from 1,152 adults and a margin of sampling error at plus or minus four percent at the 95 percent confidence level. 

Chicago this week became the largest U.S. city to call for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. It is now united with other large American cities like Detroit, San Francisco and Atlanta in the call for a break in hostilities, which have killed tens of thousands of people.