Over 80% of Israelis support the bombings in Iran since February 28, according to two surveys conducted in mid-March, one by an Israeli think tank, and the other by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University.
This figure has remained fairly constant since the beginning of the war, but it hides significant disparities, as Israeli analyst Dahlia Scheindlin points out in The Guardian: while 91% of Jewish Israelis support the war, about two-thirds of Arab Israelis oppose it. Moreover, even though a majority of the polls say the campaign should continue until the regime collapses, only 11% anticipate a “complete collapse,” according to the INSS survey.
In the United States, the situation is largely reversed. Sixty-one percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict in Iran, according to a Pew Research Center survey from March 25. Only 37% approve. However, the president still enjoys strong support from Republican voters, at 69%.
“Trump is failing on the domestic front,” warns a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and “it could get worse” in case of ground intervention: “Only 34% approve of using a limited number of special forces, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, and support for a large-scale invasion falls to 7%.’
Trump’s image seems to be suffering, as USA Today notes: his approval rating “has fallen to its lowest since returning to the White House,” at 36% by the end of March, according to Ipsos and Reuters, after hovering around 40% since last summer. “Most Americans seem to be angry with the president due to the surge in food and fuel prices […] In the recent Reuters survey, 25% approve of his handling of purchasing power,” the newspaper adds.
This is fueling divergent views with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu on the strategy and duration of the conflict, which are becoming clearer as the war progresses.
