“After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s much-publicized and controversial address to Congress, Americans’ opinions of him have worsened,” the statement said. “His favorable rating is down seven percentage points, to 38 percent, while his unfavorable rating has increased five points, to 29 percent.”
Gallup explained that the changes are largely confined to US Democrats, while US Republicans’ views of Netanyahu are essentially stable.
Since the speech, Gallup numbers show Democrats who viewed Netanyahu favorably decreased from 32 percent to 17 percent, while those who viewed him unfavorably increased from 32 percent to 46 percent.
Republicans have continued the 62 percent favorability rating of the Israeli Prime Minister with 38 percent who view him unfavorably.
Thirty-three percent of Americans do not have an opinion of Netanyahu, and remain unchanged from his March visit, according to Gallup.
The Netanyahu address, according to the statement, was controversial because US House Speaker John Boehner did not notify US President Barack Obama about his plant to invite Netanyahu as he should have because of the President’s responsibility to conduct foreign policy.
Netanyahu’s recent visit will cause a decline of US sentiment towards Israel, mainly amongst Democrats, according to the statement. Additionally, his visit may contribute to increasing US-Israeli tensions under the Obama and Netanyahu administrations or may be merely forgotten.
Gallup provides data-driven news based on US and world polls, daily tracking, and public opinion research.
