GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- According to a new Gallup poll, Protestants are slightly more likely than Catholics to favor the Israelis over the Palestinians, and are more likely than Catholics to say that one reason for their support is that the Israelis have a biblical claim to the land. Catholics are more likely to cite practical concerns for their support for Israel -- such as statements that Israel is fighting terrorism and that it is a U.S. ally.
The poll, conducted April 22-24, shows that overall, 47% of Americans say their sympathies lie with the Israelis, while 13% favor the Palestinians, and another 40% express no preference one way or the other. These results come from combining the responses to two different ways of asking the question. The first, asked of half the sample, uses the term "Palestinian Arabs," while the second question, asked of the other half of the sample, mentions only the term "Palestinians." There were no significant differences in the results between the two questions, suggesting that the inclusion of the word "Arabs" -- as has been the case for the trend question Gallup has been asking since 1988 -- does not affect the responses compared to the simpler designation "Palestinians."
In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinian Arabs?
In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?
COMBINED RESPONSES (Q.40/Q.40A)
|
|
Palestinian Arabs/ Palestinians |
|
|
|
|
|
Apr 22-24 |
47% |
13 |
9 |
18 |
13 |
|
(vol.) Volunteered response |
|||||
As shown in the following graph, Protestants express sympathies for the Israelis by a margin of 49% to 12%, with 39% expressing preference for neither side. By contrast, Catholic support is somewhat smaller -- 42% favor the Israelis, while 16% favor the Palestinians, and another 42% express preference for neither side.
| Sympathies in the Middle East Conflict Compared by Religion (In Percent) |
 |
| April 22-24, 2002 |
Respondents were asked to explain why their sympathies were more with one group or the other. As shown below, 19% of Protestants say they favor Israel because it has a biblical claim to the land, compared with only 11% of Catholics who cite that reason. Catholics are more likely than Protestants to give responses that reflect more practical concerns -- their feelings that the Israelis are fighting terrorism and that they are allied with the United States.
Why would you say your sympathies are more with the [Israelis/Palestinians]? [OPEN-ENDED AND CODE]
|
Sympathize with Israel |
Protestants |
Catholics |
|
% |
% |
|
|
Is fighting terrorism/subjected to terrorist attacks |
20 |
26 |
|
Believe Israel has a claim to the land/biblical claim to the land |
19 |
11 |
|
Believe in and support Israeli/Jewish cause |
9 |
5 |
|
Historical persecution of Jews |
5 |
9 |
|
Israel is more stable/willing to negotiate |
6 |
4 |
|
Palestinians are unwilling to negotiate with Israel |
5 |
6 |
|
Don't trust/like the Palestinians/Arabs |
5 |
6 |
|
Israel is in a dangerous situation/surrounded by enemies |
3 |
4 |
|
Allied with the U.S. |
1 |
5 |
|
Respondent is Christian |
1 |
2 |
|
From media reports |
2 |
0 |
|
Is a democracy |
1 |
1 |
|
Friends with/know Jewish people |
1 |
1 |
|
Other |
8 |
8 |
|
None |
0 |
1 |
|
No opinion |
14 |
12 |
As shown in the table below, the major reason for support of the Palestinians is the perception that the Palestinians are the victims, which is related to the second-most-important reason -- that Israel is being too aggressive. That the Palestinians also have a claim to the land is mentioned by about one in six of those who express sympathy for the Palestinians.
Unlike the other answer, this answer produces only slight differences between Protestants and Catholics. Because of the small number of people in each religious category on this question, however, only the total results are shown below.
|
Sympathize with Palestinians/Palestinians Arabs |
2002 Apr 22-24 |
|
% |
|
|
Are the victims/being invaded |
30 |
|
Israel is too aggressive/disapprove of Israel's actions |
19 |
|
Have a claim/right to the land |
17 |
|
U.S. supports Israel too much |
4 |
|
Believe in/support the Palestinian cause |
3 |
|
Other |
7 |
|
None |
3 |
|
No opinion |
17 |
Religion Related to Ideology
A statistical analysis of the results suggests that one reason Catholics are relatively less supportive of the Israelis over the Palestinians is that Catholics are less likely to be conservative. Among Protestants, conservatives outnumber liberals by a 35-point margin (47% to 12%). Among Catholics, conservatives outnumber liberals by just a 24-point margin (39% to 15%). The number of moderates among Catholics and Protestants is about equal (40% and 38%, respectively).
The significance of these results is that ideology is highly correlated with Middle East sympathies. The current poll shows that conservatives support the Israelis by a margin of 62% to 12%, moderates support the Israelis by 52% to 19%, and liberals do so by just 45% to 24%. Thus, the fact that Protestants are more conservative than Catholics partly explains why Protestants also give greater support to the Israelis than do Catholics.
Survey Methods
The latest results are based on telephone interviews with 1,009 national adults, aged 18+, conducted April 22-24, 2002. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
