Surveys conducted exclusively for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies have indicated a growing dissatisfaction among US voters.
US President Joe Biden’s show of solidarity with Israel after October 7 has since faced increasing criticism from American voters, according to a survey conducted for Newsweek.
In the aftermath of the operation carried out by the Palestinian Resistance in southern Israel, Biden stood firmly alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, providing moral and military support to Tel Aviv.
Growing Dissatisfaction
Surveys conducted exclusively for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies have indicated a growing dissatisfaction among US voters with Biden’s handling of the Gaza crisis.
One expert in Middle East and US foreign policy suggested that Biden may find it challenging to justify his stance on Israel to his base during the presidential campaign.
The initial survey of 1,500 eligible US voters, conducted on October 29, showed a slight overall approval rating for Biden’s handling of the Israel situation, with a 2.53 percent margin of error.
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However, subsequent polls in December revealed a slight increase in approval, with 39 percent of respondents supporting Biden’s actions.
Since then, the situation in Gaza has worsened, with staggering casualties reported.
Despite this, US officials have not halted military aid to Israel, instead authorizing the transfer of additional weaponry.
“U.S. officials haven’t blocked military aid to Israel. The Washington Post reported last week that the U.S. had authorized the transfer of 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs and other weaponry to the country,” Newsweek reported.
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Complicity in Genocide
The most recent polling showed a decline in approval ratings for Biden’s actions.
“Overall, last month’s survey saw Biden’s approval rating on Israel slump from plus 6 in December to –9 points,” Newsweek noted.
A significant portion of voters, particularly among younger demographics, held Biden responsible for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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“Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of Generation Z voters (born between 1997 and 2012) held Biden most responsible for the humanitarian situation,” the report stated.
Democrats are reportedly concerned about the potential electoral impact of Biden’s handling of the Israel issue, especially after a significant number of voters in Michigan pledged “uncommitted” in protest of his policies toward Israel.
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“The problem is most voters, particularly among the youth and among minorities (…) .are very divided on the current conflict right now,” Osamah F. Khalil, a US foreign relations and Middle East expert, was quoted by Newsweek as saying.
“What they see this as at a minimum an issue of complicity—that the Biden administration is complicit in what’s now been described as a genocide,” Khalil reportedly added.
According to Khalil, Biden “appears to be avoiding college campuses” and “we haven’t seen much of Kamala Harris, the vice president, either”.
Biden’s recent criticism of Israel, especially following the strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers with the World Central Kitchen on April 1, does not seem to “be playing well with American voters,” the Newsweek reported.
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“The public hand-wringing versus the actual demonstrative support for Netanyahu’s government, politically, diplomatically, militarily is going to be difficult for Biden,” Khalil said, adding that “it would be very difficult for him to explain that to the base and energize the base to come out in November.”
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 33,173 Palestinians have been killed, and 75,815 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(The Palestine Chronicle)
